MOTOGP » VALENTINO ROSSI
CAREER
2008 saw Valentino Rossi bounce back from two successive title defeats in spectacular style.
Rossi won nine out of the 18 races to clinch his sixth MotoGP title at round 15 in Japan and has now won more premier-class races than any other rider in history, having beaten Giacomo Agostini's long-standing record of 68 at Indianapolis.
The Doctor made only one race mistake, falling on lap one at Assen, and was the only rider to score points in all 18 races - 16 of which he finished on the podium, during his first season with Bridgestone tyres.
In terms of the title, Rossi's most significant win came during the US Grand Prix at Laguna Seca, when he brilliantly smothered Casey Stoner's performance advantage to end the Australian's three-race win streak.
Stoner was visibly unsettled by the defeat and when the Ducati rider fell whilst leading Rossi at the next two races, Valentino's eighth world title became a case of 'when' not 'if'.
Rossi's final victory margin was 93 points over Stoner - almost four race wins - and his superb season helped Yamaha claim a perfect sweep of the 2008 Riders', Manufacturers' and Teams' World Championships.
Rossi's world championship debut came at the Malaysian Grand Prix in 1996 and he finished his first international season in 9th place with one race win. The following year he became the youngest ever rider to win the 125cc World Championship, winning eleven races along the way with Aprilia. The pattern continued when he moved into the 250cc class, taking second place in his first year before becoming World Champion in 1999, once again with Aprilia.
In 2000 he entered a new phase of his career when he joined forces with Honda in the 500cc class. He proved his worth once again by finishing second, before becoming the last ever 500cc World Champion in 2001. Rossi held onto his crown for the next four consecutive seasons, taking the MotoGP World title in 2002 and 2003, before moving to Yamaha and winning again in 2004 and 2005.
Rossi made history by moving to Yamaha in 2004 and winning the season-opening Grand Prix in South Africa, becoming the first rider in the history of the sport to win back-to-back premier class races for different manufacturers. He went on to win nine out of 16 races, finally clinching the world championship title, Yamaha's first for 12 years, with victory at the penultimate grand prix in Phillip Island. A final win at the Valencia Grand Prix also ensured that the Yamaha Factory Team won the team title.
Rossi followed up that triumph with a season of unprecedented success in 2005, when he successfully defended the title once again with a total of eleven race wins and five pole positions - only finishing off the podium once.
But the Rossi/Yamaha dream ended dramatically in 2006, when technical problems, accidents and injuries combined to hand Honda's Nicky Hayden the title at the very final round. Rossi had fought back from a massive mid-season points deficit to lead heading into the season finale, but then fell in the early stages of the race - gifting the title to Hayden.
Rossi and Yamaha were expected to restore order during the first season of 800cc competition, but both - like the rest of the paddock - were caught completely off guard by Casey Stoner, Ducati and Bridgestone. Stoner and his powerful Desmosedici beat Rossi to victory in the Qatar season opener and rarely showed a weakness thereafter, while Rossi's M1 remained underpowered and his Michelin tyres were rarely a match for the Bridgestones.
A disappointing season ended on a further low when Rossi broke his hand during qualifying for the Valencia season finale, then suffered a mechanical breakdown on race day - allowing Dani Pedrosa to steal second in the championship.
With one year left on his Yamaha contract, Rossi indicted his determination to regain the crown by splitting from Michelin to join Stoner on Bridgestone tyres in 2008 - a decision that forced the Fiat Yamaha pit garage to be split in two, with new team-mate Jorge Lorenzo staying on Michelins.
All MotoGP riders will use Bridgestone tyres in 2009, but the wall between Rossi and Lorenzo in the pits will remain in place.
Rossi will continue to have the support of his long-standing crew chief Jeremy Burgess, who moved from Honda to work with him at Yamaha.
Career Highlights- 2008: MotoGP world champion
- 2007: 3rd, MotoGP World Championship
- 2006: 2nd, MotoGP World Championship
- 2005: MotoGP world champion
- 2004: MotoGP world champion
- 2003: MotoGP world champion
- 2002: MotoGP world champion
- 2001: 500 MotoGP world champion
- 2000: 2nd, 500 MotoGP World Championship
- 1999: 250 GP world champion
- 1998: 2nd, 250 MotoGP World Championship
- 1997: 125 GP world champion
- 1996: 9th, 125 MotoGP World Championship
- 1995: 125cc Italian Champion
- 1994: 125cc Italian Sports Production Champion
- 1993: 3rd - 125cc Italian Sports Production Championship
- 1992: Regional Minimoto Champion
- 1991: 4th - Italian Junior Go-Kart Championship
- 1990: Regional Go-Kart Championship - 9 wins
- 1989: First Go-Kart Race
