At this time last year, we were still waiting for the 2020 MotoGP World Championship to start, but even without the action on track, Valentino Rossi was still making headlines amid a debate about his career.
Fast forward to now and Rossi has of course moved on, but the narrative has shifted less to whether he will continue until 2022 but if he does announce he will be completing a long and brilliant career.
The decisive factor, however, is that this conclusion was not hinted at by the man himself, but rather because something is expected of him after a rather sad start to the season. This is quite a change from times when Rossi let the media hang on to every word as he ducked and dodged speculation about his future or fell into the weird red herring to get the tabloids going.
On the subject of matching items
If it’s a process through media – and comments on social media – the decision has already been made for it.
The time is not a good time for motorcycle racers, although it was kinder to Rossi than most of the others. The Italian is 42 years old, and while we’re not saying he’s “too old” – after all the age Troy Bayliss retired at the top of his WorldSBK game – that’s one factor in one Variety of reasons why he is unable to maintain the level that marked his career.
On the subject of matching items
At the center of the problem, if we look to Rossi’s own words as a guide, is his failure to put his head around the soft rear tires, although it is thanks to him that he is vociferous in his personal frustration of not being able to making it work at a distance rather than blaming someone who is listening. On the other hand, it is now a two year old mantra and it is unlikely that anyone else in the boardroom would have received the same patience.
Ironically, there has been long talk over the years that Rossi – and a few others – took advantage of trick gum on his machine to help him achieve some notable results, although this has never been formally proven and, as such, smells of cynicism applies to disgruntled drivers.
However, those words came at a time when there was a distinct gap between the so-called “aliens” on factory machines and a satellite bundle of aging motorcycles ridden by either the next or previous generation of riders.
With that in mind, it’s extraordinary to believe that Rossi has reached such a high level in two decades, but recent times have shown that MotoGP doesn’t “need” him at the top of the field to keep interest in the series going for a while, just the close races and several potential race winners – works and satellite – it has shown up in recent years.
What should Valentino Rossi do next?
There is no standard format for ending a motorcycle career. Indeed, Rossi is fortunate that fate did not intervene and was forced to call the time due to injury (Touch Wood), but we are in an unprecedented territory here because no one is Rossi’s level – although it fluctuates today – for such has held for a longer period of time.
As such, Yamaha’s respect for Rossi is evident in the fact that he is still pumping up resources for a rider that may have declined based on the results alone a while ago. While removing him from the Factory team was controversial at the time of his announcement, few would now argue against this wisdom.
While Yamaha will never admit to “hoping” that Rossi will announce that this will be his final season, Petronas SRT – who initially hesitated about getting one of the seats in which he will find new talent for a rider in late fall want to develop a career – can be a little more anxious.
Rossi’s form may worry his legion of fans, but it’s likely having a positive impact on the series. Had it stayed at a relative high in 2018, for example, it would have likely suffered a slump in Rossi – instead, we seem to get a wind where fans reluctantly admit it’s time to close this spectacular chapter.
It does, however, coincide exactly with what a MotoGP listing will be for its VR46 efforts in 2022, though circumstances are confused for the company following an announcement backed only by Saudi Arabia’s state-sponsored oil giant Aramco to say it is no wiser.
A VR46 team doesn’t necessarily install Rossi as a manager. The team’s Moto2 and Moto3 arm bears his name, but he doesn’t make it every day so it might be a stretch to point out that he’ll immediately put on headphones and rub his shoulders with Alberto Puig and Lin Jarvis.
In fact, Rossi – who is very glistening in his eyes – is not ruling out the possibility of riding a bike that bears his nickname. This could be an equally inspired decision and badly judged. For the most part, many expect Luca Marini and Marco Bezzecchi to be on the motorcycle in 2022 – which isn’t guaranteed to be a Yamaha.
Traditionally, Rossi has picked Mugello to reveal his future plans, although that could well be postponed to his beloved home race at Misano and – as the devil’s advocate – would be an appropriate place to confirm the beginning of the end.
On the other hand, nobody knows Valentino Rossi better than Valentino Rossi himself … he is smart, on the ball and convinced of his abilities. When we have him written off, you can bet he will do whatever it takes to prove everyone wrong.
While Rossi has had teams lately lining up with a cart full of banknotes to get it in their books, one has to wonder if there is anyone in this line willing to hire a driver who can only get one has 12th place in the first four races of the year.