Valentino Rossi produced truly a remarkable streak at the start of his MotoGP career. He finished inside the top three in the world championship for 11 consecutive seasons.
For context, even Marc Marquez has only been able to string together seven straight seasons on the championship podium. His 2020 injuries ended his run.
Availability was one of Rossi’s biggest assets. Remarkably, he didn’t miss a single race in the premier class until the 2010 season.
| YEAR | TEAM | POS |
| 2000 | Honda | 2nd |
| 2001 | Honda | 1st |
| 2002 | Honda | 1st |
| 2003 | Honda | 1st |
| 2004 | Yamaha | 1st |
| 2005 | Yamaha | 1st |
| 2006 | Yamaha | 2nd |
| 2007 | Yamaha | 3rd |
| 2008 | Yamaha | 1st |
| 2009 | Yamaha | 1st |
| 2010 | Yamaha | 3rd |
Having won four titles with Yamaha, the Doctor left at the end of that year. While he cited the desire for a new challenge, he was also unhappy that the Japanese manufacturer gave newcomer Jorge Lorenzo equal status.
Uccio Salucci reveals just how unhappy Valentino Rossi was at Ducati
Rossi’s move to Ducati proved to be a mistake. They may now be a dominant force in MotoGP, but they were the third-best manufacturer when they landed rider #46.
He only managed to finish seventh in his debut season, a year that ended with three consecutive DNFs. And the following year was hardly any better as he climbed just one place.
With no victories and just three podiums on Desmosedici machinery, Rossi returned to Yamaha in 2013. In an interview with MOW, his longtime associate and close friend Uccio Salucci revealed the scale of his unhappiness at the Bologna outfit.
Rossi momentarily considered staying home after starting the 2012 campaign with a P10, P9 and P7.
“Look,” Salucci said. “I tell you, and I’m honest as always… after three or four races in 2012 he never told me he was breaking his contract, but he did say he wanted to stay home.
“But for ten minutes. Then he rolled up his sleeves, arrived at the races having already won a few world championships and worked hard to stay ahead of everyone else, at least those with Ducati.”
Why Valentino Rossi was once labelled a ‘maniac’ at the Italian Grand Prix
In a recent interview, Rossi said the 2015 season was his ‘biggest regret’. Specifically, he rued how the final stretch of the races panned out.
The year is most remembered for Rossi’s infamous ‘kick’ at the Malaysian GP, but he feels he should have won an eighth top-level title. He missed out on victory in each of the last six races.
Rossi damaged his reputation in the Marquez incident, but it hasn’t overshadowed some of his greatest moments in the sport. One of those came at the Italian Grand Prix, the venue for this weekend’s race.
Troy Bayliss called Rossi a ‘maniac’ after he surged from fifth to first at the end of a shortened race at Mugello. He took more risks than any other rider in tricky conditions, and it paid off.
