FROM THE ENCOUNTER TO MISANO ADRIATICO. The credits, to be honest, have started a long time ago. The last two seasons have been a long goodbye, a painful separation between Valentino Rossi and motorcycle racing. The 46 helmet to put on the bulletin board next to the trophies and memories of an incredible career. It’s not quite over yet because there are two GPs to go, but a good point has arrived at the end of this fantastic story this afternoon. A sweet yellow-tinted nostalgia colored the Misano circuit for the last time. Valentino will no longer race, at least in Italy, at least on two wheels.
We will see the grand finale only in mid-November in Valencia and before that there will be the stage of Portimao, two Grand Prix that will also be a catwalk for Fabio Quartararo, the new world champion – ironically – on the Yamaha that belonged to Rossi. And, since fate can be cruel and cynical when it comes to it, on the day of the Doctor’s party who did you want to win the race if not his last and hated rival Marc Marquez. Small shadows on the sun of this day which will still remain inscribed in the annals of this sport.
Vale at Misano reached position ten, the number of football stars but also the only close number of world titles, which stopped at nine. Another handful of km and then the bike number 46 will also stop. Then, to say it with his friend Cesare Cremonini – who came today to pay him homage – who knows if it will be more Sunday. Because saying goodbye to Rossi is truly an epochal gesture for the entire movement. No one has done for the motomodial what the Doctor did in his 26 years as a protagonist. And never mind if in the last two years his presence on the track has not been the main actor. Because as such he has always been perceived in the paddock and in the eyes of his fans. Not by chance, even when Marquez won everything, it was always above all his garage that was besieged by the fans. There was no track where there was no yellow spot to welcome him.
T-shirts, caps, sweatshirts, flags and even smoke bombs. Today in the stands the yellow was everywhere among the 35 thousand spectators who flocked to declare their love for the last time. But also to cheer for his brother Luca Marini, the first to hug him at the end of the race, and for the new Italian ace Pecco Bagnaia da Chivasso. What a disappointment his fall while leading the race. There are no new Valentines around, but the Italian school is alive and will give us great satisfaction in the coming years. Guido Meda said that this is his legacy: a credible sport that will survive him, his Sky VR46 Racing Team and a handful of capable and promising young Italians. As long as no one thinks of making uncomfortable comparisons. Because there is only one of Vale Rossi. His story is our story, because 26 years, how long his career lasted, is a great piece of life.
The official MotoGP account greeted him with a tweet: «GOODBYE VALENTINO! Hero, icon and inspiration for many in Italy and around the world! Last home dance completed », while Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio awarded him as an icon of Made in Italy. “With this recognition we say thanks to a character not only a protagonist of motorsport, who represented Italy all over the world making millions of fans dream”, but who also “made Made in Italy travel at very high speed on two wheels” , Di Maio said, also underlining how “wherever I go, in the list of those who tell me they love Italy there is always Valentino Rossi”.
The crowd cheered him for the last time in Italy. Very lucky the fan who took the helmet thrown in the stands. Rossi thanked everyone and, surrounded by mechanics and friends, smiled and laughed. It is not time to be sad, it is not time to look back. The future has already begun. There will be two more competitions, then the last dance will be over. The roar of the engine will subside and for a few moments on the Spanish there will be only silence. It won’t be Sunday anymore. But life will be now.