After losing his title in 2010 , Rossi endured two dispiriting and unsuccessful years with Ducati . But a return to Yamaha in 2013 revitalised him and his riding . By 2015 he was challenging for the title again , this time with Lorenzo . A bitter rivalry spilled over at the end of the year , and Rossi missed out , one great regret he still carries to this day .
Seasons passed and Rossi remained capable of fighting for wins and podiums . But in 2021 , at 42 years of age , Rossi has been undergoing his worst season to date after switching from Yamaha ’ s factory team to the Petronas SRT Yamaha squad . He sat 19th in the World Championship after nine races , with a best result of a single tenth place before he made his decision over the summer break .
From here , Rossi will switch disciplines and series . The nine-time World Champion had always harbored ambitions to race on four wheels ( and came close to joining Ferrari in Formula1 at the close of 2005 ). In 2022 he will take on the challenge of racing cars full time .
Rossi joined the World Championship as a 16-year-old in 1996 and has since racked up 431 GP starts over 26 seasons , the most in history . On what he will miss most from life as a MotoGP™ rider , Rossi explained . “ I will miss a lot the athlete life . To wake up every morning and train with the target , to try to win . I like a lot this life . Number one , I will miss riding the MotoGP™ bike . It ’ s always a great emotion . Also , to work with my team , starting from Thursday and trying to fix all the small details to be stronger .
“ After I will miss a lot of Sunday morning , 2 hours before the race , it ’ s something where you don ’ t feel comfortable ., you are scared but it ’ s an emotion because you know the race starts . This is something that will be hard to fix .”
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