It is well known that what does not kill you makes you stronger, and in 2006, Valentino Rossi met defeat at the end of a season in MotoGP. It was a great first, a real disappointment that changed the Doctor. In what way? He responds, like Jeremy Burgess and Davide Brivio who also saw the metamorphosis up close…
Valentino Rossi had never experienced this before. What ? The fact of having been beaten by another at the end of a season in the title race. But in 2006, it's good Nicky Hayden who took the crown, in an epilogue in Valencia where the Doctor fell at the start of the race. He thus put an end to his comeback on the official Honda who did not ask for so much and who thus reaped the fruits of a solid season characterized by regularity.
On this episode, we read Vale's comments on InSella.it : " I took a big step because I realized that, if I wanted to win again, I would have to change my habits a lot. More training and more athlete life ". He thus entered the modern era, a change that those close to him also saw. His long-time team leader, Jeremy Burgess, indeed also spoke: “ for the first time, Valentino started training in the gym. He had never done it before : over the years at Honda, he had not needed this type of work ».
« Maybe Valentino Rossi needed to get his feet back on the ground«
This significant defeat was like a wake-up call and Davide Brivio, team manager at the time, also remembered this moment: “ the loss of the title in Valencia helped him in the following years. Maybe he needed to get his feet back on the ground. It helped him accept the ups and downs ».
Red actually also lost the following year in 2007, to a Casey Stoner on a Ducati that we didn't expect. But the Tavullia prodigy found his way back to success in 2008, when he managed to achieve nine victories and in 2009, when he managed to beat his teammate Jorge Lorenzo with impressive regularity.
