Yamaha Motor Company Limited (ヤマハ発動機株式会社, Yamaha Hatsudōki KK^?, IPA: [jamaha] /ˈjɑːməhɑː/) (TYO: 7272), is a Japanese motorized vehicle-producing company. Yamaha Motor is part of Yamaha Corporation and its headquarter is located in Iwata, Shizuoka. Along with expanding Yamaha Corporation into the world's biggest piano maker, then Yamaha CEO Genichi Kawakami took Yamaha into the field of motorized vehicles on July 1, 1955. The company's intensive research into metal alloys for use in acoustic pianos had given Yamaha wide knowledge of the making of lightweight, yet sturdy and reliable metal constructions. This knowledge was easily applied to the making of metal frames and motor parts for motorcycles. Yamaha Motor produces motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles, boats, marine engines including outboards, automobile engines, personal watercraft and snowmobiles.

The Yamaha corporate logo is composed of three tuning forks placed on top of each other in a triangular pattern.

In 2000, Toyota and Yamaha Corporation made a capital alliance in which Toyota paid Yamaha Corporation ¥10.5 billion for a 5 per cent share in Yamaha Motor Company while Yamaha and Yamaha Motor each bought 500,000 shares of Toyota stock in return.

Yamaha Motor Company was founded by Torakusu Yamaha (in Japanese 山葉 寅楠 Yamaha Torakusu); 山葉 Yamaha means "mountain leaf".

Yamaha Motor divisions[link]

• Motorcycles — Sport bikes, Star Cruiser bikes, Trail bikes, Road racers and Motocrossers
• Commuter Vehicles, including scooters
• Recreational Vehicles — All-terrain vehicles and snowmobiles
• Boats — Powerboats, sailboats, utility boats and custom boats
• Marine Engines — Outboard motors, electric marine motors, marine diesel engines and stern drives^[1]
• Personal watercraft
• Electric bicycles
• Automobile engines
• Industrial-use Unmanned helicopters
• Golf cars
• Power Products — generators, multipurpose engines, water pumps and snow throwers
• Swimming pools, watersliders and pool-related equipment
• Intelligent machinery, including compact industrial robots
• Electric wheelchairs and wheelchair electric drive units
• Yamaha parts and accessories, apparel, cycle helmets and motor oil

^[2]

Key products[link]

Motorcycles[link]

Yamaha XS650 vertical-twin

Yamaha's first motorcycle was the 1 YA-1, which had a 125 cc, single-cylinder two-stroke engine. It was launched in February 1955 and the bike won its first race, the Mount Fuji Ascent Race, in July 1955.^[3] Yamaha continued producing two-stroke engines until it launched the XS-1 in 1969, with a 650 cc two-cylinder four-stroke engine, using expertise that it gained doing engine development work for Toyota.^[4] In 1979, the XT500 won the first Paris-Dakar Rally.^[5]

In 1994, Yamaha announced the creation of Star Motorcycles, a new brand name for its cruiser series of motorcycles in the American market. In other markets Star motorcycles are sold under the Yamaha brand.

Today Yamaha produces scooters from 50 to 500 cc, and a range of motorcycles from 50 to 1,900 cc, including cruiser, sport touring, sport, dual-sport, and off-road.

Racing heritage[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

Two-time Grand Championship winner Kenny Roberts at the 1981 German Grand Prix.

Yamaha has a long racing heritage where it has had its machines and team winning many different competitions in many different areas, particularly in motorcycle racing(performance sport). Yamaha has had great success with riders such as Giacomo Agostini, Bob Hannah, Heikki Mikkola, Kenny Roberts, Eddie Lawson, Wayne Rainey, Jeremy McGrath, Stefan Merriman, Phil Read, Chad Reed, Valentino Rossi, James Stewart and currently Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies. They won the supercross championship two years in a row (2008 and 2009) with the YZ 450F (One with Chad Reed, and the other with James Stewart). Yamaha has won a total of 36 World Championships, including 3 in MotoGP and 9 in the preceding 500 cc two-stroke class, and 1 in World Superbike.

Yamaha created the innovations which lead to the modern motocross bike, as they were the first to build a production monoshock motocross bike (1975 for 250 and 400, 1976 for 125) and one of the first to have a water-cooled motocross production bike (1977 in works bikes, 1981 in off-the-shelf bikes).

Since 1962, Yamaha produced production road racing grand prix motorcycles that any licensed road racer could purchase. In 1970, non-factory "privateer" teams dominated the 250cc World Championship with Great Britain’s Rodney Gould winning the title on a Yamaha TD2.

Yamaha also sponsors several professional ATV riders in several areas of racing, such as cross country racing and motocross. Yamaha has had good success in cross country with their YFZ450, being ridden by Bill Ballance, winning 9 straight titles since 2000. Yamaha's other major rider, Traci Cecco, has ridden the YFZ450 to 7 titles, with the first in 2000. In ATV motocross, Yamaha has had success with Dustin Nelson and Pat Brown, both who race the YFZ450. Pat Brown's best season was a 3rd place title in 2007, while Nelson has had two 1st place titles in the Yamaha/ITP Quadcross, one in 2006 and the other in 2008.

The company also produced Formula One engines from 1989 to 1997, initially for the Zakspeed team, in 1992 for the Jordan 192, and from 1993 onwards for Tyrrell. These never won a race, but drivers including Damon Hill, Ukyo Katayama, Mark Blundell and Andrea de Cesaris scored some acceptable results with them.

Automobile engines[link]

Yamaha-built DOHC V6 Ford Taurus SHO engine

Yamaha has built engines for other manufacturers' vehicles beginning with the development and production of the Toyota 2000GT (1967) with the Toyota Motor Corporation. In 1984, executives of the Yamaha Motor Corporation signed a contract with the Ford Motor Company to develop, produce, and supply compact 60° 3.0 Liter DOHC V6 engines for transverse application for the 1989–'95 Ford Taurus SHO.^[6][7] From 1993 to 1995, the SHO engine was produced in 3.0 and 3.2 Liter versions. Yamaha jointly designed the 3.4 Liter DOHC V-8 engine with Ford for the 1996–'99 SHO. The Volvo XC90 uses a larger version of the same engine. Yamaha also co-developed the 1.7 sigma SE engine used in the Ford Puma. Yamaha also built Formula One racing engines from the late 1980s to the mid 1990s, with little on-track success. In 1991, Yamaha developed its F1 engined supercar called the OX99-11 where two drivers sit in tandem in front of the engine, but the project was cancelled due to the world recession and lack of interest.

Yamaha also tunes engines for other manufacturers, Toyota being one of them. Yamaha logos are, for instance, found on the Toyota S engines.^[8] as well as the 2ZZ-GE used by Toyota, Pontiac, and Lotus.

Yamaha developed a prototype for a two-seater sports car with help of Albrecht Goertz. While the Yamaha/Nissan partnership never progressed beyond the prototype stage, Toyota took up the design and released the Toyota 2000GT.

Snowmobiles[link]

Yamaha Phazer snowmobile

In 2010 Yamaha was the only snowmobile manufacturer to use four-stroke engines across its range.^[9] In Canada though, there are still three models that Yamaha manufactures that are still two-stroke. They are the Bravo, VK 540 and the Venture XL. Yamaha had introduced four-strokes to their line-up in 2003 and the line-up became four-stroke based for model year 2005. The RX-1 released in 2003 was the first performance-oriented four-stroke snowmobile to ever hit the market. It was not, however, the first modern four-stroke snowmobile produced. That honor belongs to Arctic Cat for their Yellowstone Special, released in 2000, which was designed as a rental sled that could meet Yellowstone National Park's stringent emission requirement. However, Yamaha received much criticism for its weight disadvantage when compared to similar two-strokes, despite its fuel economy and low-range torque. Yamaha is now on the cutting edge of four-stroke technology with the introducing of their 80FI engine which is equipped on the Phazer and Venture Lite models. This engine has one of the highest specific output of any four-stroke in production, with 160 HP/L, Yamaha achieves this even without the use of a forced induction system. Yamaha is also a key player in the "four-stroke wars", which are a series of advertisements from opponent Ski-Doo who claim their E-tec and power-tec equipped two-strokes are still cleaner and more efficient than four-strokes, while Yamaha still claims the four-strokes are cleaner. Yamaha also broke a multi-year absence from sno-cross in the winter of 2006/2007 with their introduction of a factory race team headed by former Arctic Cat racer Robbie Malinoski.

Yamaha was the first brand to win with a 4-stroke in a professional snowcross race. This happened in 2006 at the WPSA snow cross Championship.

Current line-up[link]

• Apex
• Nytro
• FX Nytro
• Phazer (4th Generation)
• RS Vector
• RS Venture
• VK Professional
• YBR
• YBR Custom

All-terrain vehicles (ATV) vehicles[link]

• BW80 / 200 / 350
• YFZ450
• Raptor 80 / 250 / 350 / 660 / 700R
• Blaster 200
• Yamaha Timberwolf 250
• Banshee 350
• Warrior 350
• Bruin 350
• Kodiak 400 / 450
• Grizzly 80 / 125 / 350 / 400 / 450 / 550 / 600 / 660 / 700
• Big Bear 350 / 400
• Wolverine 350 / 450
• Tri-Zinger 60
• Tri-Moto 125 / Tri-Moto 175 / Tri-Moto 200 / Tri-Moto 225
• Yamahauler 200
• Tri-Z 250

See also[link]

Companies portal

• List of Yamaha Scooters
• Yamaha WaveRunner

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Yamaha Motor Company

• Yamaha Motor Co. global site
• Yamaha Motorcycles at the Open Directory Project

Valentino Rossi
Rossi at the 2010 Qatar Grand Prix
Nationality	Italian
Born	(1979-02-16) February 16, 1979 (age 33) Urbino, Italy
Current team	Ducati Team
Bike number	46
Website	valentinorossi.com
Motorcycle racing career statistics MotoGP World Championship Active years 2000– Manufacturers Honda (2000–2003) Yamaha (2004–2010) Ducati (2011–) Championships 7 (2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2009) 2011 Championship position 7th (139 pts) Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points 202 79 140 49 67 3498 250cc World Championship Active years 1998–1999 Manufacturers Aprilia Championships 1 (1999) Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points 30 14 21 5 11 510 125cc World Championship Active years 1996–1997 Manufacturers Aprilia Championships 1 (1997) Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points 30 12 15 5 9 432

Valentino Rossi, (born February 16, 1979 in Urbino),^[1] is an Italian professional motorcycle racer and multiple MotoGP World Champion. He is one of the most successful motorcycle racers of all time, with nine Grand Prix World Championships to his name – seven of which are in the premier class.

Following his father, Graziano Rossi, Valentino started racing in Grand Prix in 1996 for Aprilia in the 125cc category and won his first World Championship the following year. From there, he moved up to the 250cc category with Aprilia and won the 250cc World Championship in 1999. He won the 500cc World Championship with Honda in 2001, the MotoGP World Championships (also with Honda) in 2002 and 2003, and continued his streak of back-to-back championships by winning the 2004 and 2005 titles after leaving Honda to join Yamaha, before regaining the title in 2008 and retaining it in 2009.^[2] He left Yamaha to join Ducati for the 2011 season.^[3][4]

Rossi is first in all time 500 cc/MotoGP race wins standings, with 79 victories, and second in all time overall wins standings with 105 race wins (behind Giacomo Agostini with 122).

Career[link]

The early years[link]

Valentino Rossi was born in Urbino, and he was still a child when the family moved to Tavullia. Son of Graziano Rossi, a former motorcycle racer, he first began riding at a very young age.^[5] Rossi's first racing love was karting. Fuelled by his mother, Stefania's, concern for her son's safety, Graziano purchased a kart as substitute for the bike. However, the Rossi family trait of perpetually wanting to go faster prompted a redesign; Graziano replaced the 60cc motor with a 100cc national kart motor for his then 5-year-old son.^[6]

Rossi won the regional kart championship in 1990.^[7] After this he took up minimoto and before the end of 1991 had won numerous regional races.^[5]

Rossi continued to race karts and finished fifth at the national kart championships in Parma. Both Valentino and Graziano had started looking at moving into the Italian 100cc series, as well as the corresponding European series, which most likely would have pushed him into the direction of Formula One. However, the high cost of racing karts led to the decision to race minimoto exclusively.^{[citation needed]} Through 1992 and 1993, Valentino continued to learn the ins and outs of minimoto racing.

In 1993, with help from his father, Virginio Ferrari, Claudio Castiglioni and Claudio Lusuardi (who ran the official Cagiva Sport Production team), he rode a Cagiva Mito 125cc motorcycle, which he damaged in a first-corner crash no more than a hundred metres from the pit lane.^[8] He finished ninth that race weekend.^[8]

Although his first season in the Italian Sport Production Championship was varied, he achieved a pole position in the season's final race at Misano, where he would ultimately finish on the podium. By the second year, Rossi had been provided with a factory Mito by Lusuardi and won the Italian title.

125cc, 250 cc and 500 cc World Championships[link]

The Aprilia RS 125 (left) and 250 (right) with which Rossi won the 125cc World Championship in 1997 and the 250cc World Championship in 1999.

In 1994, Aprilia by way of Sandroni, used Rossi to improve its RS125R and in turn allowed him to learn how to handle the fast new pace of 125cc racing. At first he found himself on a Sandroni in the 1994 Italian championship and continued to ride it through the 1995 European and Italian championships.

Rossi had some success in the 1996 World Championship season, failing to finish five of the season's races and crashing several times. Despite this, in August he won his first World Championship Grand Prix at Brno in the Czech Republic on an AGV Aprilia RS125R. He finished the season in ninth position and proceeded to dominate the 125cc World Championship in the following 1997 season, winning 11 of the 15 races.

By 1998, the Aprilia RS250 was reaching its pinnacle and had a team of riders in Valentino Rossi, Loris Capirossi and Tetsuya Harada. The death of two of his friends in a car accident also took a toll.^{[citation needed]} He later concluded the 1998 250cc season in second place, twenty-three points behind Capirossi. In 1999, however, he won the title, collecting 5 pole positions and 9 wins.

Rossi was rewarded in 2000 for his 250cc World Championship by being given a ride with Honda in what was then the ultimate class in World Championship motorcycle racing, 500cc. Jeremy Burgess had shown him the NSR500 and was convinced that the pairing of it with Rossi would bring nothing but success.^{[citation needed]} Retired 500cc World Champion Michael Doohan, who also had Jeremy Burgess as chief engineer, worked with Rossi as his personal mentor in his first year at Honda. It would also be the first time Rossi would be racing against Max Biaggi, another Italian to whom he was often compared by the racing press.^{[citation needed]} It would take nine races before Rossi would win on the Honda but, like his previous seasons in 125 and 250, it would bode well for a stronger second season as he finished second to American Kenny Roberts, Jr..

Rossi won his first 500cc World Championship in 2001 (winning 11 races) in the final year of that class. In the following year, 500cc two-strokes were still allowed, but 2002 saw the beginning of the 990cc four-stroke Moto GP class, after which the 500cc machines were essentially obsolete. In 2001 Rossi teamed up with American rider Colin Edwards for the Suzuka 8 Hours endurance race aboard a Honda VTR1000SPW. The pair won the race despite Rossi's lack of experience racing superbikes.

MotoGP[link]

Honda (2002–2003)[link]

Rossi riding his Honda RC211V MotoGP bike

The inaugural year for the MotoGP bikes was 2002, when riders experienced teething problems getting used to the new bikes. Rossi won the first race and went on to win eight of the first nine races of the season, eventually claiming 11 victories in total.

It was more of the same in 2003 for Rossi's rivals when he claimed nine pole positions as well as nine GP wins to claim his third consecutive World Championship. The Australian GP at Phillip Island in 2003 is considered by many observers to be one of Rossi's greatest career moments due to unique circumstances. After being given a 10-second penalty for overtaking during a yellow flag due to a crash by Ducati rider Troy Bayliss, front runner Rossi proceeded to pull away from the rest of the field, eventually finishing more than 15 seconds ahead, more than enough to cancel out the penalty and win the race.

There was much speculation during the second half of the 2003 season about Rossi's plans for the future.^{[citation needed]} Some people suspected that he would succeed in his bid to claim a third consecutive title and wondered where he would go in the future. His contract with Honda was up at the end of the year and there were rumours that Rossi had become somewhat disillusioned with his ride at Honda. His tenure at Honda had effectively run its course; he had provided Honda with a 500 cc World Championship as well as consecutive MotoGP World Championships.

Partnered with increased scepticism that the reason for his success was the dominance of the RC211V rather than Rossi, it was inevitable that Honda and Rossi would part. Mid-season rumours pointed towards a possible move to Ducati, which sent the Italian press into a frenzy; the concept of the great Italian on the great Italian bike seemed too good to be true. Ducati did indeed try to seduce Rossi into riding their MotoGP bike, the Desmosedici, but for numerous reasons Rossi passed the offer up. Critics say that compared to the other manufacturers, Ducati had a significant way to go before being competitive even with Rossi at the helm. This proved to be the truth with Ducati's lacklustre performance in the 2004 season, which had actually been worse than their inaugural year in MotoGP in 2003.

In his 2005 autobiography, "What If I'd Never Tried It?", Rossi offers another reason for choosing Yamaha over Ducati, saying that the mindset at Ducati Corse was a little too similar to the one he was trying to escape from at Honda. Ultimately, Rossi signed a two-year contract with rivals Yamaha reportedly worth in excess of (U.S) $12 million; a price no other manufacturer, even Honda, was willing to pay.

Yamaha (2004–2010)[link]

With the traditional race of the season at Suzuka off the list due to safety considerations following the fatal accident of Daijiro Kato, the 2004 season started at Welkom in South Africa. Rossi won the race, becoming the only rider to win consecutive races with different manufacturers, having won the final race of the previous season on the Honda. Rossi would go on to win eight more GPs in the season, primarily battling Sete Gibernau, with Rossi clinching the championship at the penultimate race of the season at Phillip Island. Rossi ended the season with 304 points to Gibernau's 257, with Max Biaggi 3rd with 217 points.

Rossi at the 2005 British Grand Prix

In 2005 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season, Rossi captured his 7th World Championship and 5th straight MotoGP Championship. He finished with a total of 367 points, 147 points ahead of 2nd place finisher Marco Melandri (220 points), and Nicky Hayden finishing 3rd with 206 points.

Rossi at the 2006 Italian Grand Prix

The 2006 MotoGP season started off with Rossi, once again, being the favorite to take the Championship, but he had trouble in the first half of the season. Hayden held the points lead throughout most of the season, but Rossi was slowly working his way up the points ladder. It was not until Motegi when Rossi finally grabbed 2nd in the points race behind Hayden. In the Portuguese Grand Prix, the penultimate race of the season, Hayden was taken out by his teammate, Dani Pedrosa, and did not finish the race. This led to Rossi taking the points lead with only one race left in the season. However, Rossi crashed early in Valencia, the last race, and Hayden went on to win the 2006 MotoGP Championship. Rossi finished the season in 2nd place.

Rossi at the 2007 Dutch TT

Rossi returned to MotoGP for the 2007 season riding the new Yamaha YZR-M1 800 cc. In the first race in Qatar he came second to Casey Stoner on the Ducati Desmosedici. In the second round of the season Rossi won the second race of the season in Spain, and would win 3 more races that season. Stoner dominated the season, winning 10 races to take his first title, 125 points clear of second place Dani Pedrosa. Pedrosa’s win in the last race at Valencia combined with Rossi’s retirement meant that he beat Rossi into third place by a single point. This was Rossi’s lowest championship position since his first season in 1996 in 125s. His bike lacked competitiveness, particularly in top speed compared to the Honda or Ducati, and he threatened to leave Yamaha if they are unable to deliver a better package.

For 2008 Rossi changed to Bridgestone tyres. The season started slowly with a fifth place finish in Qatar, but he took his first win in Shanghai, and also won the next two races. From that race, Rossi was on the podium of every remaining race (except the Dutch round at Assen, where he crashed on the first lap and finished 11th), winning a total of nine races in the season. His victories at Laguna Seca (after a pass down the “Corkscrew” corner over Stoner,^[9][10][11] who crashed but continued and took the second place) and at a rain-shortened race in Indianapolis, meant that Rossi has won in every current circuit in the calendar. His win in Motegi was his first victory there on a MotoGP bike. The victory at Motegi won Rossi his first 800cc MotoGP title, his sixth in premier category, and eighth overall.

On June 8, 2009, Valentino Rossi rode a Yamaha around the famous Isle of Man TT Course in an exhibition lap along-side fellow Italian motorcycle legend Giacomo Agostini, in what was called 'The Lap of the Gods'.^[12]

Rossi at the 2009 United States Grand Prix

The 2009 season saw Rossi win 6 races to win his 9th championship title, beating his team-mate Jorge Lorenzo into second place by 45 points. 6 wins was the lowest number of wins Rossi has had in a championship winning season; the previous lowest was 9 in 1999 in the 250 cc class and 2003, 2004 and 2008 in MotoGP.

Rossi celebrates his 100th career victory at the 2009 Dutch TT in Assen

His victory at the 2009 Dutch TT in Assen was Rossi's 100th victory, becoming only the second rider in motorcycle grand prix history to reach 100 wins.^[13]

Rossi celebrates victory at the 2010 Qatar Grand Prix

The 2010 season began with Rossi topping most of all pre-season testing sessions and took victory in the first race of the season in Qatar, after early leader Casey Stoner crashed out. Rossi injured his shoulder and back while training on a motocross bike after the Japanese Grand Prix was postponed to October due to the disruption to air travel after the second eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland. The following two rounds Rossi was beaten by team-mate Lorenzo with Rossi complaining about shoulder pain. The injury was not taken seriously initially and was expected to cure in a few weeks, but did not turn out as expected and the ligament tear in the shoulder failed to sufficiently heal.

On 5 June 2010 at his home race at Mugello, Rossi crashed in the second free practice session, around the Biondetti corner, at around 120 mph (190 km/h). Rossi suffered a displaced compound fracture of his right tibia, and after post-surgical care close to his home in the hospital at Cattolica, it was diagnosed that he was likely to be out for most of the season.^[14][15] It was the first time that Rossi had missed a race in his Grand Prix career.^[16] However ahead of the British Grand Prix, Suzi Perry reported in her Daily Telegraph column that Rossi was planning on making a comeback at Brno.^[17] This was confirmed a week later by Rossi himself.^[18] On 7 July, Rossi rode at Misano on a Superbike World Championship-specification Yamaha YZF-R1 provided by the Yamaha World Superbike Team to test his leg's recovery.^[19] He completed 26 laps during two runs, with a best lap time that was around two seconds off the pace of recent World Superbike times at the circuit. At the conclusion of the session, Rossi complained of discomfort, reporting pain in both his leg and his shoulder.^[20][21] On 12 July, Rossi took part in another test at Brno, after which Rossi stated he was happier and a lot more in form.^[22] After an observation by the Chief Medical Officer on the Thursday before the weekend, Rossi made his return at the German Grand Prix, two rounds earlier than predicted^[23] and only 41 days after the accident. He managed to end the race in fourth place after a battle with Casey Stoner for third. He added another race victory to his name at Sepang, Malaysia on his way to collecting 10 podiums throughout the whole season, including five podiums in a row in the final run in of the season, where he finished third in the overall standings.

Ducati (2011–)[link]

Rossi during a pre-season test at Sepang in February 2011.

On 15 August 2010, after the Brno race, Rossi confirmed he would ride for Ducati Corse, signing a two year deal starting in 2011,^[3][4] joining former Honda team-mate Nicky Hayden in the team. He tested the Desmosedici for the first time in Valencia on 9 November 2010,^[24] making his first appearance since 1999, on an Italian motorcycle.^[25] Rossi underwent surgery on his shoulder which he injured during the 2010 season,^[26] in order to be ready for preseason testing in Malaysia. After original progress during the first test,^[27] the Ducati failed to meet the team's expectations at the second Malaysian test and left Rossi unsatisfied, having finished over 1.8 seconds behind Casey Stoner's pace-setting Honda.^[28]

Rossi at the 2011 Portuguese Grand Prix

Rossi started the season with a seventh place finish in Qatar, before a fifth in wet conditions at Jerez, despite a collision with Casey Stoner, which Rossi later apologised for.^[29] Another fifth place followed in Portugal, before a third place at Le Mans, benefitting from a collision between Dani Pedrosa and Marco Simoncelli, with Pedrosa retiring from the race and Simoncelli given a ride-through penalty. Rossi then finished the next four races inside the top six, with a best of fourth at Assen. Ninth at the Sachsenring, was followed by a pair of sixth places at Laguna Seca and Brno, and a tenth place at Indianapolis.

A seventh place finish at Misano was followed by a tenth place finish in Aragon, before a first-lap retirement in Japan, after contact with Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies, which left Rossi with a blow to his finger.^[30] He also retired in Australia, crashing out midway through the race. In Malaysia, Rossi qualified ninth but was involved in a collision with Marco Simoncelli and Colin Edwards on the second lap of the race. Simoncelli fell while running fourth, landing in the path of Edwards and Rossi, who both hit Simoncelli's Honda with Simoncelli's helmet also coming off in the incident. Simoncelli later died of the injuries he sustained in the crash, and the race was cancelled.^[31] At the final race in Valencia, Rossi retired at the first corner after Álvaro Bautista fell from his bike and took down Rossi, team-mate Hayden and Randy de Puniet in the process. With his retirement, Rossi finished a season winless for the first time in his Grand Prix career, and finished seventh place in the championship.

Rivalries[link]

Earlier in his career Max Biaggi was considered Rossi's main rival. At one time his website did not even have Max's name; instead a glaring "XXX XXXXXX" was placed wherever his name should have appeared.^{[citation needed]} Although they had not even raced against each other until 2000, the rivalry between the two had been growing since the mid-'90s. The rivalry died down as Rossi's consecutive World Championships and Biaggi's struggle to find support and a consistent rhythm with his races.

In his autobiography "What If I Had Never Tried It", Rossi makes a number of claims about the reasons for his rivalry with Biaggi, and some of the incidents which led to its escalation. The rivalry was also featured in the 2003 documentary film, Faster.

Jorge Lorenzo and Rossi at the 2010 French Grand Prix

The podium after the 2010 Australian Grand Prix, with Casey Stoner flanked by Jorge Lorenzo and Rossi.

Rossi's closest rival in the 2003 and 2004 seasons was Sete Gibernau, riding with Team Gresini's Movistar Honda team on a satellite RC211V in 2004 and then on an all but in name factory RC211V, which Gibernau helped to develop, in 2005. Initially they were quite friendly in the paddock and off – Gibernau partied on occasions with Rossi at the Italian's Ibiza villa – but a souring in their relationship began in the 2004 season and culminated in the "Qatar Incident" that same season when Rossi's team was penalized for "cleaning" his grid position to aid in traction, along with Honda Pons' Max Biaggi, and both riders were subsequently forced to start from the back of the grid. A number of teams, including Gibernau's Team Gresini and the official Repsol Honda factory team, appealed successfully to race direction for Rossi to be sanctioned. Rossi and his chief mechanic, Jeremy Burgess, insisted that they were doing nothing more than what many others had done before when faced with a dirty track.

Since then the two have not spoken and Rossi seemed to resolve to use the incident to apply psychological pressure on Gibernau. He is said to have sworn that after the Qatar race, which Gibernau won while Rossi crashed out after rising to 6th position, he would do everything to make sure that Gibernau never stood on the highest step of the podium again.^{[citation needed]} Gibernau retired from Grand Prix racing after an unsuccessful, injury blighted 2006 season with Ducati and he never won another race after Qatar, prompting some in the Spanish and Italian motorcycle racing media to explain this fact by way of reference to the "Qatar Curse."^{[citation needed]}

In 2007, Casey Stoner emerged as a rival for Rossi. Coupled with a Ducati, the young Australian won the first race of the year, followed by many more victories resulting in his claiming of the 2007 MotoGP World Championship title. Stoner's and Rossi's rivalry came to a dramatic climax at Laguna Seca Raceway in 2008. After numerous position changes, Rossi overtook Stoner at The Corkscrew. The bold move caused Rossi to run into the dirt and broken pavement on the inside of the right turn, and his rejoining the track came close to causing a collision between the two riders. A few laps later, Stoner went into the gravel on the slow entry into turn 11. Stoner picked up his bike to finish second, while Rossi took the win. After this, Casey Stoner made the comment, "I have lost respect for one of the greatest riders in history." For the comment, Stoner apologised to Rossi at the next race.^[32]

In 2008, Jorge Lorenzo joined Rossi in the factory Yamaha Motor Racing team, which started a new rivalry. Rossi won the 2008 title, with Lorenzo suffering two serious crashes at Laguna Seca and China. In 2009, Rossi and Lorenzo resumed hostilities with Rossi emerging as champion again. In 2009, Rossi defeated Lorenzo in several tight battles, at Valencia, Assen, Sachsenring and, most memorably, Lorenzo's home race at Catalunya, after passing him in the final corner to take victory. In 2010, Lorenzo finally emerged victorious in the championship battle, after Rossi first injured his shoulder in a motocross training accident, then breaking his shin-bone after a vicious crash in Mugello, missing 4 races.

Nicknames[link]

Rossi at the 2011 Portuguese Grand Prix

Valentino Rossi has had numerous nicknames during his racing career. His first prominent nickname was "Rossifumi." Rossi explained the etymology of this nickname as a reference and tribute to fellow rider Norifumi Abe.^{[citation needed]}

His next nickname appeared some time around his days racing in the 250 cc World Championship. The nickname "Valentinik" was a reference to the Italian Donald Duck superhero, "Paperinik".^{[citation needed]}

Since his dominance in 500 cc and MotoGP, Rossi has used the nickname "The Doctor." This has been attributed to his "cold and clinical dismantling of his opponents" as well as his cool and calm composure in racing compared to his frenetic days in 125 cc and 250 cc where his performance was erratic and dangerous, resulting in numerous crashes.^{[citation needed]} Two theories prevail as to why Rossi uses "The Doctor." One is that Rossi adopted the nickname upon having earned a degree, which in Italy entitles one to use the title "Doctor". Another, as spoken by Graziano himself, "The Doctor because, I don't think there is a particular reason, but it's beautiful, and is important, The Doctor. And in Italy, The Doctor is a name you give to someone for respect, it's very important, The Doctor... important".^[33] Rossi often jokes, however, that the name arrived because in Italy, Rossi is a common surname for Doctors.

He has always raced with the number #46 in his motorcycle grand prix career. The number his father had raced with in the first of his 3 grand prix career wins, in 1979, in Yugoslavia, on a 250c Morbidelli. Typically, a World Championship winner is awarded the #1 sticker for the next season. However, in a homage to Barry Sheene, who was the first rider of the modern era to keep the same number (#7), Rossi has stayed with the now-famous #46 throughout his career, though as the world champion he has worn the #1 on the shoulder of his racing leathers.

The text on his helmet refers to the name of his group of friends: "The Tribe of the Chihuahua," and the letters WLF on his leathers stand for "Viva La Figa," Italian for "Long Live Pussy." He has so far escaped any sanctions or ultimatums that he remove the letters because the "W" in "WLF" represents the two "V"s in "ViVa". Equally obvious is his success at escaping any disciplinary action from the FIM or Dorna for having the letters so brazenly on the front neck area of his leathers. He traditionally also incorporates his favorite color (fluorescent yellow) into his leather designs. This has also earned him the nickname 'Highlighter Pen' more recently. It is most commonly used by commentators Toby Moody and Julian Ryder.

Fellow motorcycle racer and former team mate Colin Edwards, as well as some TV journalists, have often referred to him as 'the GOAT' (Greatest of all Time).^[34]

Other motorsport activities[link]

Rossi competing on the shakedown stage for the 2008 Rally GB

Rossi tested the Ferrari Formula One car in 2006 on January 31, February 1, and February 2 at Valencia. The first test saw Rossi spin out on the damp track into the gravel trap, ending his day. On the second day, he posted the ninth fastest time of fifteen drivers, approximately one second behind Michael Schumacher, who himself was third fastest. Rossi lapped faster than seasoned drivers Red Bull Racing's Mark Webber and David Coulthard and Toyota F1's Jarno Trulli.^[35] On the final day of testing, Rossi was just a little more than a half second behind Schumacher's best time.^[36] Schumacher hailed Rossi as having immense talent and said he would be perfectly capable of moving to Formula One and being competitive immediately.

On May 24, 2006, Rossi announced that he would be staying in MotoGP until he felt his work on the motorbike was "finished." Ferrari driver Schumacher said that he felt "saddened" by Rossi's decision but supported it. Rossi subsequently signed a new contract with Yamaha for the 2007 and 2008 seasons, then for 2009 and 2010.

Beyond his interest in F1, Rossi's strong passion is for rallying. In Rossi's youth one of his heroes was WRC Champion Colin McRae. Rally legend McRae taught Rossi the basics of driving a rally car.^[37] The two competed against each other at Monza in 2005, with McRae driving a Skoda Fabia WRC and Rossi winning in a Subaru Impreza WRC.^[38] His first official foray into rallying came in 2002 at WRC Rally Great Britain in a Peugeot 206 WRC, in which he crashed out on the second stage (first non-superspecial stage).

On October 11, 2006 it was announced that Rossi would enter that year's Rally New Zealand, a WRC event which was to run from November 17–19.^[39] He competed in a Subaru Impreza WRC04 finishing 11th out of 39. On November 26, 2006 Rossi also won the annual Monza Rally driving a Ford Focus RS WRC 04. He beat the 2005 rally victor Rinaldo Capello by 24 seconds, winning five of the seven stages on his way. He also managed to outpace former WRC Champion Didier Auriol by seven seconds in the head-to-head Master Show final. Rossi also announced at the 2006 Monza rally, that he would be entering the 2007 Rally of Great Britain, however, he later opted out. At the 2007 Monza Rally, Rossi again took first place.

Rossi had been linked with a move to both Formula One and the World Rally Championship in 2007, having tested for Ferrari and competed in a number of rally events.^[40]

But Rossi decided to remain in Moto-GP; "I have a contract with Yamaha until 2008," said Rossi. "When that finishes then we will see. What I am sure about is that I will ride until I'm 31 or 32 at most. I will look for new stimuli in the next few seasons, but for now I am fully motivated".^[41] Rossi signed a new two year contract confirming he will be at Yamaha until 2010.^[42] He originally planned to use the Impreza WRC2008 during his participation in the Rally GB in December 2008,^[43] but decided to drive a Ford Focus RS WRC 07 instead.^[44] He finished the rally in 12th place, 13 minutes and 20.4 seconds behind eventual winner Sebastian Loeb.^[45]

In January 2010, Rossi has said that once he retires from motorcycle racing, he hopes to move into rallying. "There are not many changes in a man's body between 22 and 34 so I still have some time left. I would consider shifting to cars, probably rallying, after that before I finally decide to take it easy ... I know F1 would've been easier but by the time I finish MotoGP, I will be too old for F1."^[46] Stefano Domenicali, Ferrari's Formula One Team principal, however, reasserted his wish to have a third Ferrari on the F1 grid driven by Rossi, whilst confirming that Rossi would test an older Ferrari F1 car on 21 and 22 January 2010.^[47]

In March 2010, the Italian minister Franco Frattini government awarded Rossi the first Winning Italy Award for the image he portrays of his country on an international level.^[48]

Helmets[link]

Valentino Rossi has gone through numerous helmet designs throughout his career, most featuring the Sun & Moon motif, signifying (according to Rossi) the two sides of his personality. The artist of Rossi's current helmet graphics is Aldo Drudi.^[49]

• 

  2004–2005 Seasons

• 

  Round 1–5 2006 Season

• 

  Round 7–16 2006 Season

Pre-ride rituals[link]

Rossi at the 2010 Qatar Grand Prix.

Rossi is very superstitious and is renowned for his pre-ride rituals. On a race day, he will always watch the beginning of the 125cc race to see how long the starting lights remain lit before going out at the start of the race. Prior to riding (whether racing, qualifying, or practice), he will start his personal ritual by stopping about 2 metres from his bike, bending over and reaching for his boots. Then, when arriving at his bike, he will crouch down and hold the right-side foot-peg, with his head bowed. In an interview, Rossi said "It’s just a moment to focus and ‘talk’ to my bike, like moving from one place to the next."^[50] He adjusts the fit of his leathers by standing straight up on the foot-pegs, whilst riding down the pit-lane before the start of race or practice. He also revealed in an interview with MotoGP.com that he always puts one boot on before the other, one glove on before the other, and he always gets on the bike the same way. He also gets off the bike in the same way, swinging his right leg over the front of the bike.

Personal life[link]

Rossi signing an autograph for a fan in Indonesia

After leaving the family home in Tavullia, he moved to Milan, before taking up residency in London, England during his period with Honda. During this time he acquired a villa in Ibiza which he still owns,^[51] and following the tax case has now returned to his main residence to live close to his family in Italy.

Reputed earnings[link]

According to Sports Illustrated, Rossi is one of the highest earning sports personalities in the world, having earned an estimated $34 million in 2007.^[52] In 2009 Forbes ranked Rossi as number nine among the world's highest-paid athletes having earned an estimated $35 million in the past year.^[53]

Tax avoidance case[link]

In 2007, the Italian tax authorities declared Rossi was being investigated for suspected tax evasion. Having previously unsuccessfully investigated Rossi for tax evasion in 2002, the authorities announced they were investigating Rossi for undeclared revenues of 112 million euros ($160 million) between 2000 to 2004. The officials said, against the European Taxes Agreements among European countries, Rossi's London residency has enabled him to take advantage of favourable tax conditions, such as only declaring earnings made in Britain and avoiding taxes on his lucrative merchandising and sponsorship contracts, commenting that Rossi had: "residency in London but is not domiciled there." It noted that in 2002, Rossi's Italian tax form declared earnings of 500 euros, while sponsorship contracts were all reported to be made out to foreign companies, but with his affairs controlled mainly from Italy.^[54] In February 2008, Rossi announced that he had reached a settlement with the Italian tax authorities: he paid 35 million Euros to close the tax case.

Other hobbies[link]

Rossi tries to keep his personal life out of the public eye as much as possible, though he makes no secret of his fondness for Italian football club Internazionale. After winning his ninth World title in October 2009, Inter congratulated Rossi on their official website.^[55]

Household Pets[link]

Rossi's pet dog was a Bulldog named Guido, which he had from 2000 until 2008.^[56] As Rossi travels greatly, Guido lived with Rossi's mother in Tavullia. Guido featured in various pieces of Rossi clothing and merchandise, wearing a prisoner suit during the pre season tests, and when Rossi was lagging 32 points behind in the 2006 championship, Guido was dressed with an Inuit suit. Guido died after the 2008 Australian GP and to pay tribute to him, the new World Champion designed a special sticker made up of Guido sporting a pair of angel wings and floating on celestial clouds.^{[citation needed]} Guido's death garnered so much attention that it was mentioned in Gazzetta dello Sport.^{[citation needed]}

Rossi now has two new dogs (one male and one female), named Cesare and Cecilia. During the Misano GP in 2009, right after Rossi's mistake during Indianapolis, the two dogs were wearing donkey ears on Valentino's helmet.^{[citation needed]}

Career statistics[link]

By season[link]

• * Season in progress.

By class[link]

Races by year[link]

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap)