Valentino's retirement in second degree mode the return. Silent on this subject while he was in negotiations to renew his lease with Yamaha, the Doctor now brings up the subject on occasion to better deride it. After drawing a parallel between his career and that of the goalkeeper Buffon, here he is again with Carmelo Ezpeleta before embarking on the Argentine Grand Prix, second meeting of its nineteenth season…
It is also the boss of Dorna who recounts the exchange reported by speedweek : " I knew two months before the official announcement that Valentino would continue. Age doesn't matter much. I'm 71 years old myself and I'm still here. And that’s okay! So performance is not influenced by whether you are 35 or 41 years old ».
« Valentino Rossi wants to stay in MotoGP. He crashed during the Qatar test on Saturday. This shows that he was going full throttle. During the race he took third place. He's not just there to do laps of the circuit. His motivation is intact. When I discussed this age issue with him, he said to me: “Carmelo, why don’t I go up to 46? My number is 46 and you were born in 1946! » We love what we do and that’s why we continue ».
Incidentally, the city of Jerez will reward various personalities, ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix, as part of the Premios del Motor Ciudad de Jerez. Valentino Rossi will receive a lifetime achievement award on May 3. And Carmelo Ezpeleta, CEO of Dorna Sports, is also on the list of awards for his career and his contribution to motorcycle sport.
