Valentino Rossi has announced that he will retire from MotoGP at the end of the 2021 season, bringing an iconic 25-year career in motorcycle racing to a close.
The Petronas SRT’s imminent retirement has been expected for some time as a result of his difficult term, having breached the top 10 just once in 2021.
Rossi has made it clear on several occasions this year that he would wait until the summer break before making a final decision on his future.
Speaking at a specially held press conference at the Red Bull Ring on Thursday afternoon ahead of the Styrian GP weekend, Rossi revealed that he made the “very sad” decision stop racing at the end of ’21 during the summer break, adding that it feels “tough to know” that he’ll not be racing in MotoGP next season.
“Like I said during the season I would take my decision after the summer break, and I have decided to stop at the end of the season,” explained Rossi.
“Unfortunately this will be my last half-season as a MotoGP rider, and it’s a difficult and a very sad moment, and it’s tough to know that next year I will not race a motorcycle.
“I’ve done this for more or less 30 years and next year my life will change, but it’s been great and I’ve enjoyed (racing) very much and it’s been a fun journey with 25 or 26 years in the world championship.
“I’ve had unforgettable moments with my team and all those that have worked with me, I don’t have much more to say so I’ll leave it with this.”
Rossi will now turn his focus from his own racing to help develop his VR46 racing operation that will make its premier class debut with customer Ducati machinery next year, having agreed to take over the Avintia organisation.
The seven-time premier class world champion currently sits 19th overall in the riders’ standings, having only scored in four of the nine contests staged to date.
Rossi captured the bulk of his success back in the noughties, securing 78 of his 89 career wins throughout the decade along with all his seven of his premier class titles on both Honda and Yamaha machinery.
His career did enjoy a mini-renaissance across the ’14-’16 seasons where he racked up a trio of runners-up championship finishes with Yamaha, battling then team-mate Jorge Lorenzo for supremacy in ’15 before missing out on his eighth championship by just five points.
