Label: Valentino Rossi

Apr142024 by Blaž ŠtremfeljNo Comments

Vinales managed what even Valentino Rossi failed to do

By winning the Grand Prix of the Americas, Maverick Vinales set a very unique milestone that even Valentino Rossi, who used to be considered a reference point, was unable to achieve. Vinales became the only racer who managed to win in the MotoGP class (after 2002) on motorcycles from three different manufacturers, and the Spaniard is only the fifth racer in history to achieve such a feat. Vinales celebrated his first victory on a Suzuki motorcycle, then recorded a few more victories on Yamaha, and after switching to Aprilia in 2021, he has already won sprint races, which are officially recorded in other statistics.

Dec272023 by Blaž ŠtremfeljNo Comments

Rossi first at Minardi, then Ferrari

formula 1, MotoGP News

Valentino Rossi has revealed more details about the testing of the F1 racecar, after which he was close to transferring from the world of motorcycling. During the golden era of Ferrari's dominance, the Italian repeatedly tested the race car with which Michael Schumacher won the F1 race, after proving to himself and the observers that his times were completely competitive, and he was very close to moving to the Formula One championship. Speaking on Gianluca Gazzoli's podcast, Rossi revealed that if he were to make the switch, he would first have to prove himself in arguably the worst car in the caravan, the Minardi team that finished last among constructors in the 2004 and 2005 seasons before the team was bought by the Austrian Red in 2006 Bull and renamed it Toro Rosso. At the beginning of its existence, the team from Faenza worked closely with Ferrari, which b

Nov282023 by Tomaž StrgaršekNo Comments

Rossi confirmed for Le Mans 24 Hours

Automotive

Valentino Rossi will compete in the World Endurance Championship (WEC) next year in the new LMGT3 category. The Italian, who has raced in the GT World Challenge Europe series for the past two seasons, will thus take another step forward in his new career on four wheels. He will continue to be part of the Belgian team WRT, which uses racing cars from the German manufacturer BMW. Next June, as part of the WEC season, he will take part in one of the most legendary races, the 24 Hours of Le Mans. "I'm very happy to compete in the WEC championship. It's the next step in my endurance racing career," said the nine-time World Motorcycle Champion. BMW is one of the nine manufacturers that will compete in the LMGT3 category in the upcoming WEC season. In addition to them, Ferrari, Porsche, Chevrolet, Aston

Nov272023 by Blaž ŠtremfeljNo Comments

Francesco Bagnaia: I didn't have to win, but I dreamed about it

MotoGP News

Francesco Bagnaia said he wanted to confirm the world title by winning the race, even though he didn't even need to after Jorge Martin's crash. A victory by Jorge Martin would have made Bagnaia the champion just by finishing in the top five, but the Spaniard crashed in the sixth lap and Bagnaia cruised to another victory to cap off a successful season. "I feel amazing," he said. "I've never been so happy. I'm so happy because I won the race. The victory today was not necessary given the circumstances, but I dreamed of confirming the championship with the victory. I'm happy, but I was scared during the race. "With five laps to go, I started to get cold and I was afraid of what would happen because I chose the hard front tire. It wasn't easy for me today because I was under a lot of pressure."

Nov232023 by PRNo Comments

Valentino Rossi back to Yamaha

MotoGP News

According to some German media, Valentino Rossi is said to have reached an agreement that his VR46 team will race with Yamaha motorcycles from 2025 onwards, thus at least indirectly returning the once successful relationship to the track. Rossi's Mooney VR46 team has been competing with Ducati bikes since entering the MotoGP class in 2022, and from 2025 they are expected to use Yamaha engines. According to German Speedweek speculation, one of the team's riders would get a fully factory-backed motorcycle, and for the first time in two seasons without a semi-factory team, Yamaha will have four motorcycles in the MotoGP races. The VR46 team has linked up with Indonesian lubricant manufacturers, Pertamina Lubricants, who will be their main sponsor for at least the next three seasons from 2024.

Nov132023 by Blaž ŠtremfeljNo Comments

Luca Marini to Repsol Honda for two years, official confirmation this weekend

MotoGP News

The Italian Luca Marini is expected to officially confirm his transfer from the VR46 team to Repsol Honda this week, where he will race for at least the next two seasons. Marini will, it seems, follow the path of his half-brother Valentino Rossi, who also raced with Honda at the beginning of his career, and in the Japanese manufacturer's garage he will in all likelihood work with the same chief mechanic, Santi Hernandez, who has worked closely together in recent years with Marco Marquez. The most important part that should convince Marini to transfer is the duration of the contract, as Honda initially offered the Italian a contract for one season, and at a meeting between Marini's manager and Honda in the paddock in Malaysia, they apparently reached an agreement on a longer-term cooperation. For now, the deal has not been officially confirmed, although it was unofficially confirmed by Marc Ma

Nov92023 by PRNo Comments

Rossi on Malaysia 2015: I think they will punish Marquez

MotoGP News

MotoGP is in full swing in Malaysia this weekend. The Sepang circuit hosted one of the most high-profile events in MotoGP, when the relationship between two giants, Marc Marquez and Valentino Rossi, exploded on the track. Although eight years have passed since then, the two actors, like the viewers, are still strongly divided about the events. Rossi recently spoke about the incident in one of the podcasts and said that the feelings are still exactly the same. "When I think about the last three races of 2015 now, I have the same feelings as when I finished the last race back then," said the Italian. "It remains a deep wound, which I still think too much about. Fortunately, later in my career I started doing things that make me happy, but... In Malaysia, Marc was pestering me the whole race. He wanted me to fall, but then we hit on the flat. He says that s

Nov52023 by Blaž ŠtremfeljNo Comments

Valentino Rossi behind the wheel of an LMP2 racing car for the first time

Other sports

Valentino Rossi took part in the testing of the young drivers of the WEC Championship in Bahrain, and for the first time in his career he drove the WRT Oreca 07 prototype racing car. The MotoGP star clearly got to know the car quickly, as he set a lap time of 1:55.118 in the afternoon, just behind the best time of the riders in the LMP2 class, 1:54.302, set by Charles Weerts, also a guest of the WRT team by less than a second, but it was just under seven-tenths of a second faster than the worst time in the same class. https://twitter.com/Endurance_Live/status/1721102341703664101

Nov52023 by Blaž ŠtremfeljNo Comments

Luca Marini plans to leave his brother's VR46 team

MotoGP News

Speaking to Spanish AS, Luca Marini said that his first goal is to win the MotoGP race and then find a place in the factory team. The Italian entered the MotoGP class with the VR46 team, which is owned and managed by his brother Valentino Rossi and which is having a very successful season this year. But in this year's championship, Marini was slightly overshadowed by his team rival Marco Bezzecchi, who theoretically is still in the fight for the world title. Becoming the MotoGP class champion is also Marini's goal: "But for now the first major goal is to win the race and then to find a place in the factory team where I would like to develop a motorcycle that will suit my riding style." Marini recently spoke to Repsol Honda team boss Alberto Puig, but the Italian has ruled out a move to Honda next season

Nov22023 by Blaž ŠtremfeljNo Comments

Valentino Rossi testing rookies with an LMP2 car

24 Hours of Le Mans, Other sports, World Endurance Championship

Valentino Rossi will take part in the official rookie testing of the World Endurance Championship in Barhain this weekend with the Belgian team WRT, where he will drive a prototype race car in the LMP2 class for the first time. "I'm happy for the opportunity to get behind the wheel of an LMP2 car for the first time," said the Italian. "This is a great opportunity given to me by the WRT team as we also plan to test a BMW hypercar in the future. Before this test it is very good to get some experience with the LMP2 prototype car as it has a similar level of vacuum and I am interested in what I capable behind his wheel. When I'm in Bahrain, I'll also be happy to watch the last race of the season, because I hope to race in the WEC championship in the future. That way I'll feel the atmosphere and the course of the event more easily." He will be with the team at rookie testing