How Valentino Rossi made one MotoGP hero “suffer” with his "aura"

Dani Pedrosa says he “suffered a bit” battling against Valentino Rossi in MotoGP due to the Italian’s ability to “beat you” off of the race track.

During the 2000s, Valentino Rossi was the reference rider in the MotoGP World Championship, amassing seven world titles between 2001 and 2009.

In the late 2000s, he faced stiff opposition form the likes of Casey Stoner, Dani Pedrosa and Jorge Lorenzo, though was still able to beat all of them head-to-head in title battles.

Pedrosa, who raced in MotoGP with Honda between 2006 and 2018 before retiring, says he “wasn’t as calm” overtaking Rossi as he was with others.

He also notes that Rossi was able to get in his head off-track, with the MotoGP legend famed for his ability to use the media to his advantage against his rivals.

“Valentino Rossi has done an extraordinary thing for our sport,” Pedrosa, now a KTM test rider, said on Andrea Migno’s podcast.

“When I was with him on the track, especially in the early years, and I had to overtake him, I wasn't as calm as with the others.

“Let’s just say he had an aura that not many others had.

“Rossi could beat you on the track, but sometimes he didn't need to do it there, he could beat you off it.

“Because of my character, I suffered a bit with that.”

Pedrosa’s biggest rivalry in MotoGP came against Jorge Lorenzo, with the bitterness between the pair to such a degree that the king of Spain had to force them to shake hands after a tough battle at the Spanish Grand Prix in 2008.

On his time against the three-time MotoGP champion, 31-time race winner Pedrosa said: “With Jorge it was a different story, because our rivalry went back years.

“He had that tremendous quality in cornering, and also in braking.

“And over the years he improved a lot. He struggled with the start, and he focused on improving it.

“Then, on going better on the first lap of races; then, on riding in the rain.”