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Valentino Rossi

Valentino Rossi
Nationality Italian
Date of birth February 16, 1979 (1979-02-16) (age 30)
Place of birth Urbino, Italy
Website valentinorossi.com
MotoGP Record
Current team Fiat Yamaha Team
Bike number 46
Championships 9
125cc - 1997
250cc - 1999
500cc - 2001
MotoGP - 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2009
Race starts 227
Wins 103
Podium finishes 164
Pole positions 58
Fastest laps 83
Points 4026
2009 championship position 1st (306 pts)
Valentino Rossi, (born February 16, 1979 in Urbino),[1] is an Italian professional motorcycle racer and multiple MotoGP World Champion. He is one of the most successful motorcycle racers of all time, with 9 Grand Prix World Championships to his name. According to Sports Illustrated, Rossi is one of the highest earning sports personalities in the world, having earned an estimated $34 million in 2007.[2]

Following his father, Graziano Rossi, Rossi started racing in Grand Prix in 1996 for Aprilia in the 125cc category and won his first World Championship the following year. From there, he moved up to the 250cc category with Aprilia and won the 250cc World Championship in 1999. He won the 500cc World Championship with Honda in 2001, the MotoGP World Championships (also with Honda) in 2002 and 2003, and continued his streak of back-to-back championships by winning the 2004 and 2005 titles after leaving Honda to join Yamaha, before regaining the title in 2008 and retaining it in 2009.[3]

Rossi is first in all time 500 cc/MotoGP race wins standings, with 77 victories, and second in all time overall wins standings with 103 race wins (behind Giacomo Agostini with 122).