Valentino Rossi returns to MotoGP land

In Valencia, Valentino Rossi will race on the Ricardo Tormo circuit with a car. A first for the Italian legend who returns to the track where his MotoGP career ended just over a year ago.

Published on 17/09/2022 à 11:30

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Valentino Rossi returns to MotoGP territory

Valentino Rossi is happy to return to the Ricardo Tormo track. © Michele Scudiero.

Ten months after his last motorcycle departure, Valentino Rossi returns to the Ricardo Tormo route in Valencia this weekend. An emblematic track of the world speed championship where the racing season ends each year. MotoGP. Doctor returns to an emblematic place of his career, the one which will have ended his adventure in MotoGP. “ I've been running here since it opened in 1999, said the Italian at a press conference this Friday. The track is obviously special for me. It's not one of my favorite circuits because I've never been at the top here. I really enjoyed ending my career in Valencia, it remains a very good memory. »

If he knows every nook and cranny of the four kilometers of the route on a motorbike, the nine-time world champion already has some bearings on the car. At the end of 2006, Valentino Rossi tried a Formula 1 with Ferrari on this same track. “ It was at the time when I was wondering about moving from MotoGP to Formula 1. I was pretty fast, the test went well but I wasn't ready to leave the motorcycle world. » In 2019, he took the wheel of the Mercedes de Lewis Hamilton, during a promotional day organized by Monster, joint sponsor of the two world champions.

More recently, it was here that Valentino Rossi got into the WRT team's Audi for the first time last November. “ This circuit is also important for my career in motorsport, it marks the start of my new life. I will be able to compare my data from almost a year ago and today. It will be interesting to see how I improve over the course of the season. » After the practice sessions, the Italian was quite satisfied with his pace and the behavior of his car on this track.

On a track that he knows well and where certain significant pages of his life were written, how could he not hope to score his first podium on four wheels? “ We will give everything for it! In the sprint race, we are missing something to get there, especially in the first laps with new tires. We have better luck Endurance. We will still have a chance to get on the podium in Barcelona, on a circuit that I love. The goal is to do one before the end of the season! »