Valentino Rossi, new broadside on Marc Marquez: “Attitude never seen”
The words of Valentino Rossi
“There was a time when the possibility of going to Formula 1 was really concrete. It was in 2004, after the victory with Yamaha, Stefano Domenicali called me to let me try the Ferrari. I went to Fiorano and managed to stay under a minute, which, at that time, was a great time. I tried the car again at Mugello, then did a real test in Valencia. At that point I had to make a choice, because I got a concrete offer to race with Ferrari’s B team, which was Minardi and, if I had good results, then move on to Ferrari. This was at the end of 2006 and I was not yet ready to leave motorcycles, I felt I could still win and so I decided to decline the offer. Who knows how it would have gone if I had chosen to continue with Formula 1.” Thus Valentino Rossi, MotoGP champion at the microphones of “Passa dal BSMT,” Gianluca Gazzoli’s podcast aired twice a week – Mondays and Thursdays – where various guests talk about current topics offering insights, curiosities and moments of reflection.
Rossi goes on to talk about his new adventure as a motorcycle racer: “In motorcycling I gave everything, trying to race to the end. Starting over was quite stimulating. I am a racer in DNA, so much so that after 25 years in motorcycles I decided to move to cars. But I also carry on this new role with great passion.” Regarding his retirement from MotoGP Valentino Rossi says, “It was hard to close with motorcycles but then everything went well. The birth of my daughter helped, the decision to quit coincided with learning that I was going to be a dad.”
Inevitable a memory for Simoncelli: “The first approach, more direct, happened when Sic was in a moment of difficulty because he could not go fast and asked me to train with my Academy. It was 2008 and we both won, me in MotoGp and him in 250. What happened to him obviously devastated me, not knowing what to do for a few months. But it never affected me on a sporting level, I never thought of quitting after the tragedy. I definitely missed him as a friend and as a person, because we were together almost every day.”
Valentino also talks about the rivalries he experienced in his many years of career: “The strongest rivalries were with Lorenzo, Stoner and Biaggi. But they have all been under the banner of respect. What was lacking, however, was from Marquez. In that case, after the rivalry on the track, there were unsportsmanlike attitudes on his part, like when he decided to let another rider, not even his teammate, win just to make me lose the world championship. For him I was the myth to destroy, but such an attitude was unheard of. It was a bad moment because it did not give me a chance to try to win the tenth title, since it was determined by an external factor not dependent on my performance.” Continued Rossi: “This behavior by Marquez could have been handled better by him and the organizers. I spoke with both Marquez and the MotoGP contacts, pointing this out, but I was not listened to at all.”
On the most beautiful victory Valentino Rossi has no doubts: “2004 with Yamaha was the most beautiful victory, achieved against everything and everyone.”
Finally, about the future, Rossi says, “I want to raise the level of my racing, participating in high-profile events, such as the 24 Hours of Le Mans, in which I should compete next year.”
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