Qui a dit que la retraite était de tout repos, encore plus pour un sportif de haut niveau ? après avoir raccroché le cuir l’an dernier après 26 saisons passées en Championnat du Monde moto, et 9 titres de Champion du Monde à son actif, Valentino Rossi occupe désormais ses journées au volant d’une Audi R8 en Championnat GT World Challenge Europe. Mais ce n’est pas tout : la compagnie aérienne italienne ITA est de retour pour connecter le monde et sur 22 avions, il y a les noms d’autant de champions sportifs choisis dans le cadre du projet “Leggende Azzurre”. La semaine dernière, c’était au tour de l’Airbus A350 au nom de Valentino Rossi d’effectuer son premier vol.
Blue was the color chosen, with the Italian tricolor flag on the tail, to distinguish the planes of the ITA Airways company built on the ashes of Alitalia and which saw its inaugural flight on April 2.
The planes are named after 22 Italian sporting champions who are universally known and chosen by the public as legends in their respective specialties via the “Naming Azzurri” survey conducted by ITA on its social networks.
That of Rossi joins the names of other sportsmen who have marked Italian history such as Paolo Rossi, Pietro Mennea, Gino Bartali and Fausto Coppi, as well as two other myths of Italian motorcycling: Giacomo Agostini and Marco Simoncelli.
ITA Airways itself wanted to pay tribute to the Doctor with an Instagram post: “Nine world titles and the only driver in history to have won in four different categories. Still with the number 46. Here is our Airbus A350 dedicated to the legend of world motorcycling, Valentino Rossi. Che spettacolo.
A dedication to which Valentino was not indifferent, since he commented as follows: “What a pleasure to see my name on your plane. I am happy to be part of the ITA Airways Blue Legends.”
