In the Rossi family, when the decision was made for son Valentino to retire, although the mother took note of it, the father was difficult to convince. The nine-time title winner admitted to having had difficulty getting Graziano to accept that he was going to stop there, that an era was ending. The paterfamilias was questioned on this subject and he responded frankly, and not only about his feelings…
In a confidential interview collected by Moto.it, Graziano Rossi confirms his son's version Valentino who wants him to have difficulty accepting seeing number 46 withdraw from MotoGP competition at the end of this year: “ I'm just saying I would have liked to see him still on the bike and I tried to convince him by simply repeating what I would have liked. And I would have hoped that he could overcome this kind of crisis and come back strong, as he knows how to do... he said.
Then he adds: “ I don't think Valentino will be any less happy without the bike. He'll have everything a motorcyclist could want in retirement: he'll do some car races, like the 24 Hours of Le Mans, that's cool. And then there is his team taking shape: there seem to be some problems, but I hope everything goes as planned ". One last mention which does not remove this shadow which stubbornly hangs over this agreement with the Saudis…
Graziano Rossi: “in my opinion Valentino would prefer to stop now”
Now that the announcement is made and the outcome is inevitable, there is one season left to finish. In what state of mind will this epilogue be approached? “ He will keep the same spirit and the same commitment. He will run the remaining races, do his best and give his best, but if what is to come is what has happened so far... Honestly, this is the thing that worries me the most. Why make a bad impression until the end of the championship?… But unfortunately you can't do without it: you can't give up, you can't go faster, you don't want to because it's the moment , and then there are contracts that you may not respect ».
Moto.it then asks him this question: Would Valentino be happier to stop now? “ In my opinion, Yes, definitely, absolutely. Nothing will be easy, because he will run with completely different motivation and conditions than when he was trying to go fast... ". Let's hope, then, at the very least, that everything goes well.
