Drivers and teams – Valentino Rossi ensures that he did not think of continuing to race at 40 … –

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Valentino Rossi says he didn’t think he would continue running at 40…

Drivers and teams - Valentino Rossi ensures that he did not think of continuing to race at 40 ... -

Valentino Rossi will celebrate his 40th birthday on February 16, 2019, in a month to the day, just after the first MotoGP tests in Sepang (Malaysia) … A milestone that the nine-time world champion did not expect to reach when he debuted in Grand Prix. motorcycle in 1996 !

"My dream was to compete in the world championship, I never wondered how long. But I didn’t think I would continue running at 40, because no one can imagine running that long!", He told our Italian colleagues from, to whom he gives a long interview every year in a generally relaxed tone.

  • MNC special file :

The Yamaha rider – for the next two seasons! – begins his 24th Grand Prix campaign, his 20th in the premier class. His last title, in, goes back ten years already … But according to the Genie des Alpages, this longevity is not an end in itself: "the important thing is not to reach 40, but to remain competitive ".

Third in the 2018 championship behind Marc Marquez and Andrea Dovizioso, Valentino Rossi is undoubtedly still very competitive: talk to his teammate Maverick Viñales, who has just celebrated his 24th birthday but is one row behind in the MotoGP hierarchy. ! 

The Spaniard can however claim to have won a victory over the M1 in Australia, avoiding the humiliation of a completely blank season for their employer. The Italian has not managed to win a single race: a first – with Yamaha – with a bitter taste, but not necessarily linked to age.

"The older we get, the more careful we become"

"I am convinced that if we manage to make the bike progress this year, then we will be strong", hammered the Doctor during the radio show under the eyes of his lovely companion Francesca Sofia Nobello.

Drivers and teams - Valentino Rossi ensures that he did not think of continuing to race at 40 ... -

"The experience brings knowledge of the circuits and the method to properly prepare for the races," said the dean of the premier class, whose counter will show twice as many years as that of the French beginner, Fabio Quartararo, on the Yamaha Petronas !

Lucid, Valentino Rossi nevertheless gives young people obvious qualities: "Young pilots are less afraid of falling because they recover more easily. We all feel a certain fear, some more than others, and this is a parameter to take Let’s say the older you get, the more careful you become "… Old bikers than ever, sort of !

"Marc never seems to be afraid"

And among those whose ability to ignore fear he praises is his best enemy: Marc Marquez! Rossi, who generally avoids speaking out about the defending champion except to criticize him, appears to have a genuinely admiring look at Marquez’s mental toughness.

Drivers and teams - Valentino Rossi ensures that he did not think of continuing to race at 40 ... -

"Marc takes a lot of risks," notes the Yamaha rider. "It’s very courageous on his part: he seems not to be afraid and in that, he is very strong. He takes these blows … then he gets up and leaves with his second bike!", Emphasizes the champion. Italian who has been in the cold with Marquez since the end of 2015.

  • MNC special file :

"Yes, I sometimes watch it", admits the n ° 46 again, "but it is done a lot between pilots: we are attentive to what the others are doing because we are all curious. Do I get inspired? sometimes others? Again it happened to me, especially for training in order to understand, for example, what sport to practice off the track "… So this would be his secret to stay on top, at the age when most pilots watch races from their sofa ?!

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