Valentino Rossi has opened up about his relationship with fear during races, which has evolved over the years and now takes on a whole new dimension when he sees his brother on the starting grid.
Retired from MotoGP since the end of 2021, Valentino Rossi He still occasionally appears in the paddock, accompanying his VR46 team and its two drivers, Franco Morbidelli and Fabio Di Giannantonio. He also always has time for the other students of his driver academy, such as Francesco Bagnaia and Marco Bezzecchi, and of course for his half-brother, Luca Marini. He was also present at the last two Grand Prix in Qatar and Spain.
Now 46 years old, the Doctor continues his passion for speed by moving onto four wheels, and looks with a different eye at the races that have punctuated his life at the highest level for 25 years. Guest of Italian podcast PoretCast Giacomo Poretti spoke about his relationship with these races, which has completely changed in terms of fear. While he said he was unaware of the danger in his youth, he acknowledges that there was a shift at a certain point.
"It's a very dangerous sport, it's scary, but when you're young, in the early years, you don't imagine it, you don't think about what can happen. You think about doing the best you can, and you're afraid of making a mistake, of ruining a race, that's all, but you never think about the rest. And then, at a certain point, something happens, or you mature and when you're on the starting grid you start thinking, 'Damn, if I crash in the first two laps, there might be everyone behind me, so I have to be a little careful,' and from there you start to mature."he said.
Today, his relationship with four wheels is completely different, but he finds himself stressed at Grand Prix starts because of his younger brother's presence on the grid, in addition to the Academy drivers who are now close to him. He smiles about understanding much better today how his mother felt about him when he was racing.
"I have to say that now that I see the races and I don't participate in them anymore, it changes a lot of things. When you do them, you're afraid of doing badly, making a mistake, crashing, getting injured, but also of ruining your race. On the other hand, watching the races from the outside is a disaster. I'm always tense, because my brother is racing, and there are also the other Academy riders, who are my friends, so I suffer.", he added. "I always saw my mother scared and I never understood. Now that I see my brother on the fence, I understand her better."
However, nothing replaces in the eyes of Valentino Rossi what the Grand Prix bring to life, even when you are a spectator: "But I have to say that MotoGP, the adrenaline and the flavor of MotoGP, even when you watch, when they arrive on the grid, just before they start, for me there is nothing like it."
Main photo credit: Motoracing
