Valentino Rossi Decides To Retire, Leaving A Record And Legacy For MotoGP

JAKARTA - The legendary Italian racer Valentino Rossi will retire at the end of the 2021 MotoGP season with a number of records that will become a legacy for the world of Grand Prix motorcycle racing.

As reported by Antara from AFP Sport, Friday, there are a number of achievements of Valentino Rossi that have not been rivaled by any grand prix racer.

The 1996 championship season marked Rossi's debut in the world of Grand Prix motorcycle racing. Since then he has recorded 423 races in all categories. This number does not include the 10 races that will take place in the remainder of the 2021 MotoGP season.

Rossi is also listed as a racer who has competed in a marathon for 26 seasons.

In his career, Rossi was recorded as the rider with the longest winning period in history, with 20 years 311 days.

The count began when Rossi finished leading for the first time in the 125cc class of the Czech GP at the Brno Circuit, August 18, 1996 until the last time he finished leading in the Dutch MotoGP on June 25, 2017. This nick made Rossi ahead of Loris Capirossi by 17 years 49 days.

In addition, Rossi has also registered himself as a MotoGP racer with the longest winning period of 16 years 351 days, starting with a victory in the 500cc top class of the Great Britain GP at Donington Park Circuit on 9 July 2000 until his last victory at the Dutch GP, 25 June 2017.

The rider who is now 42 years old has 89 wins in the 500cc/MotoGP class. This number is more than Giacomo Agostini (68) and Marc Marquez (57).

Rossi is also recorded as having the most podiums in the highest class with 199. This number beats Jorge Lorenzo with 114 podiums and Dani Pedrosa with 112 podiums.

In addition, the Italian rider also recorded the fastest 76 laps in the 500cc/MotoGP class, ahead of Giacomo Agostini with 69 laps and Marc Marquez with 57 laps.

Overall, Rossi has bagged nine titles in various classes with 235 podiums, including 115 wins, 67 times in second and 53 in third, as well as 65 pole positions and 96 fastest laps.