Sometimes a simple gesture is all it takes to electrify an entire paddock. In the middle of the Dutch Grand Prix weekend at Assen, Valentino Rossi wordlessly triggered a small digital earthquake: the nine-time world champion unfollowed the official MotoGP social media account. No one saw it coming. Not his fans, not the insiders, not even the most seasoned observers in the paddock.
The precise moment when Rossi pressed that fateful button. But everything points to a moment around Sunday of Italian Grand Prix at Mugello. And the coincidence is intriguing. Because Mugello is not a circuit like the others for Rossi : it was there, on these Tuscan hills, that he wrote some of the most legendary pages of his career.
So why this gesture? Speculation is rife. Some remember that Rossi has already wielded his social networks as a silent weapon. In 2015, after the season marked by his incendiary duels with Jorge Lorenzo et Marc Marquez, he had stopped following several accounts linked to MotoGP. The networks, at Rossi, are sometimes an extension of the track.
What makes this unsubscription even more mysterious is the absolute silence surrounding it. Neither Rossi, neither his entourage nor the MotoGP organization have made any official comment. The paddock is buzzing with speculation. Did his visit to Mugello revive old emotions? Rossi Does he feel out of step with the new era of MotoGP, between young talents and technological revolution?
A single click from Valentino Rossi and the entire paddock holds its breath
Impossible to say. For now, all this remains a simple anecdote... but an anecdote that speaks volumes.
One thing is certain: even far from the starting grid, Valentino Rossi continues to carry weight. Its popularity extends beyond the boundaries of sport; its fluorescent yellow silhouette still thrills millions of fans around the world.
In one MotoGP in full mutation, where we are passionate about the exploits of Marc Marquez, the talents of the new generation or technical upheavals, Rossi remains a central figure.
Because even when he's off the slopes, Il Dottore remains a master in the art of making people talk about him... without saying a single word.
