Icon not only of sport, idol for many generations of fans Ruthless on the track, he knew how to be loved even when he lost a race
history
In motorcycling there is a before and after Valentino, messiah of the pagan god of speed. A boy with blond curls who, not even of age, entered the track to rewrite the rules of his sport. Before there were black and white riders, Rossi wore color with an enthusiasm and innocence that hardly anyone could resist. The talent was the pure one of the phenomenon, but his victories soon became something more than a simple sporting success. They were a party, a small show seasoned with impromptu gags, in which everyone wanted to participate because everyone wanted to be Valentino, even Brad Pitt confessed it one day.
And yet, looking at him, he was a teenager like many others, dry and straight, with a shrewd look. On the bike he thrilled, he enjoyed the fight, braking to the last centimeter, overtaking a few meters from the finish line. Without a helmet, he enjoyed even more, with the joke always ready, the raspberry against his opponents, the irreverence always forgiven. No one before had been like the Doctor, who will never have an heir. He is the pilot with the most imitation attempts, all of which have failed. He was not the first to give up n. 1 of world champion to keep the iconic 46, but made it his own style, a trademark. Like yellow, the color of the heart, which he never gave up and which his fans have adopted. Countless, whatever the circuit, even in Spain, land of the most terrible rivals, from Gibernau to Marquez, passing through Lorenzo. It didn’t even matter what the results were, even in dark times the crowd was all for him. “Even today I meet people who cry when they see me, it’s the greatest recognition for me,” he says. Like Michael Jordan for basketball or Alberto Tomba for skiing, Rossi has become synonymous with his sport. Winning helps, indeed it is essential, but getting into the hearts of the fans is more so. Before social networks, characters in constant live, Valentino was able to enter every home. He was ruthless on the track and bubbly in front of the microphones. There is no rider in the MotoGP paddock who hasn’t grown up with his legend, including Marquez, the last enemy, who boasted the Doctor’s poster as a boy.
The new faces of MotoGP are all his children, starting with the students of his Academy (the school for young talents) to those who are proud just to share the track with him. Nobody will be able to take his place and it will take many years to see those stands that he knew how to dye yellow even on bad days, the recent ones without results or those of the failed adventure in Ducati.
As if Valentino had shown his human side in difficulties, previously hidden by the armor of the unbeatable champion, and had increased his sympathies towards him. There are riders who have won more than him, others had more talent, some have beaten him, but there was only one Valentino. He brought a new way of being a driver, of talking to the fans and winning them over, making them dream. Winning like or more than him will not be enough to replace him, the Doctor will remain a yardstick for the new champions, born when he was already running and winning. –
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