Is It True That MotoGP Isn't Interesting After Valentino Rossi's Retirement? Hmm, Guess Not

JAKARTA - The decision to retire was finally taken by Valentino Rossi in the 2021 season. He decided to retire after 21 years of racing in MotoGP.

There was concern from Dorna that holding MotoGP would no longer be interesting after The Doctor decided to retire. Understandably, Rossi has an extraordinary support base. It was natural for Dorna to think so.

However, this concern does not seem to be proven in the opening race of the 2022 MotoGP. At the Qatar MotoGP race, the audience at the Losail Circuit was still extraordinary.

Reported by Sparkchronicles, there is very little free space. The rest, filled with lovers of the world's most prestigious motorcycle racing.

In addition, there has been a large increase in television viewership watching the Qatar MotoGP via pay television or services. Quoted from the Senor de Los Medios Twitter page, there were 407.000 spectators who watched the race at Losail with a 3.2 percent share.

This number increased from the previous year which reached 205.000 with a 1.8 percent share. This calculation is based on the pay TV service on DAZN 2, Movistar Plus+.

As for the Mandalika MotoGP race, reportedly only left for the first and second days. Meanwhile, at the time of the race, tickets were reported to have been sold out and an additional quota was being discussed.

So what about the competition on the track? No less interesting. Even without Rossi, the course of the MotoGP race is still interesting to watch.

Even at the Qatar 2022 MotoGP, a surprise has been created that makes the competition even more interesting. The winner was not Marc Marquez, Fabio Quartararo or Francesco Bagnaia, but Enea Bastianini.

Brad Binder and Pol Espargaro finished second and third. Meanwhile, racers like Marquez, Quartararo, Joan Mir, Alex Rins, Johan Zarco had to be knocked out of the competition for the top four.

So, is MotoGP no longer interesting after Valentino Rossi left? I guess there's no need to worry.

After all, Rossi is indirectly still in MotoGP. How come? There is still a team that carries the name The Doctor, namely VR46 Racing Team.

Yes, this team is owned by the Italian maestro. The team that uses the Ducati Desmosedici motorcycle engine is reinforced by two of Rossi's students, Luca Marini and Marco Bezzecchi.

So, actually Rossi did not completely leave MotoGP. There are still traces of The Doctor in the world's most prestigious race.