Tag Archives: Lorenzo Baldassarri

Valentino Rossi: A Full MotoGP Retirement

Italian professional motorcycle road racer and multiple-time MotoGP World Champion Valentino Rossi will officially retire from the MotoGP scene, effective at the end of the 2021 season. 

The news came announced via live coverage on MotoGP’s website, alongside the report that the young Italian made his decision in the shadows of the Styrian GP, where he first won a podium during his 125cc class debut in the Grand Prix motorcycling scene of 1996.

a view of Valentino Rossi during his 1996 125cc win at the Grand Prix
A view of Valentino Rossi during his 1996 125cc win at the Grand Prix
-Credit, Lalasport.

According to a release from Motorsport, Rossi has been hauling podiums with his decorated self for 26 seasons, making him one of the most iconic racers of our time. 

Of the years he has been leaning into track twisties, Rossi has competed in a total of 414 races – 115 of which stand strong as Grand Prix victories. 

Valentino Rossi at his first premiere with the Honda Racing Team's NSR500
Valentino Rossi at his first premiere with the Honda Racing Team’s NSR500
– Credit, Motor Sport Magazine

After his first win in the 250cc class of 1998 (The Dutch TT), Rossi signed on to Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) – and a very nice factory NSR500 – winning the first of his seven premiere titles for Y2K in what was then the highest class in World Championship motorcycle racing.

His success continued into his riding for the Honda REPSOL team at the MotoGP World Championship, carrying him into victories for both the 2003 and 2004 years, before he made an abrupt about-face switch to Yamaha in 2004. 

Valentino Rossi riding for Yamaha in the 2004 season on the YZR-M1
Valentino Rossi riding for Yamaha in his victorious 2004 season on the YZR-M1 – Credit, MCN.

With the Yamaha YZR-M1, Rossi made headlines again, blasting past Max Biaggi and securing a win for the Yamaha team in both the 2004 and 2005 seasons. 

 Despite a series of further wins for the young racer in 2008 and 2009, Rossi’s career came to a pause when he broke his leg, putting aside any hopes invested in the Italian 2010 title. 

2011 saw Valentino healing from the broken leg, as well as undergo surgery for a shoulder injury. He signed on to the big guns during this time with a move to red on a two-year Ducati contract. 

Valentino Rossi riding for Ducati in his 2011-2013 seasons with Ducati.
Valentino Rossi riding for the red team in his 2011-2013 seasons with Ducati.
– Credit, Visordown.

2011 was Rossi’s first winless season – the first time in his Grand Prix career – and the battles on the track were harder than ever.

His best finish on a Ducati to date was in his 2012 season in France, when he beat the Tech3 riders and finished second place. 

Rossi also experienced similar successes that year with his time on the track at Le Mans of San Marino (many contribute these successes in part to the new and improved swingarm and frame sliders installed on his Ducati around this time).

Valentino Rossi battling Stoner during his race at Le Mans in Misano, 2012.
Valentino Rossi battling Stoner during his race at Le Mans in Misano, 2012.
– Credit, MotorcycleSport.

Rossi soon rejoined the Yamaha team, where he was to stay until the present date.  During his 2014-2021 seasons with Yamaha, Rossi and fellow teammate Maverick Vinales struggled a bit with their racebikes, leaving the racers feeling frustrated and less than satisfied on the track.

Despite this, Rossi continued to secure a few wins, taking the podium twice in 2014. 

In 2015 the drama mounted when Rossi accused Marc Marquez of conspiring with Jorge Lorenzo to can his potential for Australia. The resulting consequence had the Italian in a back-of-the-grid start for the Valencia finale. 

Valentino Rossi criticizes Marc Marquez for working against him on and off the track.
Valentino Rossi criticizes Marc Marquez for working against him on and off the track.
– Credit, The Race.

Rossi’s further wins were dwindling; the Italian secured two wins for 2016, then one in 2017 (The Dutch TT). His podiums also were less frequent, from five podiums in 2018 to two in 2019, and a final podium last year at the second race of Andalucia. 

Despite the chaos and beauty that naturally accompanies the stats of a racer’s career, Valentino Rossi is an amazingly talented man.

With his generous personality and competition with Biaggi, Sete Gibernau, Casey Stoner, and Lorenzo, Rossi helped create a MotoGP that, today, is seen and loved by all.

“I have made my decision for next year – and I have decided to stop after the end of the season.  Unfortunately, this will be my last season as a MotoGP rider”, says Rossi in a live coverage.

“It was great and I had an unforgettable moments with my team, with all my guys that worked for me. Molto, molto bueno. ”

a view of Valentino Rossi, speaking at a press conference.
Valentino Rossi, speaking at a press conference.
– Credit, Crash.

The young racer will always live in our hearts, as well as through his recent work with the VR46 Riders Academy, founded in 2014.

Big names have arisen from this academy – including Morbidelli, Bagnaia, Marini, Bezzecchi, Nicolo Bulega, Niccolò Antonelli, Andrea Migno, Celestino Vietti, Lorenzo Baldassarri, Stefano Manzi, Dennis Foggia and others – and we look forward to the amazing moment that Valentino Rossi’s VR46 team graces the MotoGP stage, in 2022. 

Stay tuned for updates, and make sure to check out Rossi’s Sky Racing Team VR46.

Source: MotorbikeWriter.com

Triumph Moto2 era begins at Jerez | Martin breaks leg

Moto2 Jerez Test 2018 Day One

Triumph engines have fired up Moto2 in Andalucia as the intermediate class test at Jerez. Early drama as reigning Moto3 World Champion Jorge Martin crashes and breaks his leg.

Lorenzo Baldassarri (Pons HP 40) topped the first day of Moto2 testing for 2019 at the Circuito de Jerez-Angel Nieto. A 1m42.203 from Baldassarri in the final session of the day saw the Italian beat compatriot Luca Marini (Sky Racing Team VR46) to the top of the timesheets.

The test signals the beginning of a new era not only for the rookies like Martin, but also of Triumph power – as well as some updates in the technical regulations. It’s off to a good start, with Baldassarri getting within three-tenths of his 2018 pole lap at the track.

Behind Baldassarri and Marini, the man in third was another man with a good record at the track: Sam Lowes, as he returns to the Federal Oil Gresini Moto2 squad for season 2019.

Moto2 riders completed four sessions throughout the day, with conditions improving in the afternoon after overnight rain had seen a damp start to proceedings. At the end of Day 1, Pons HP40’s Augusto Fernandez was fourth fastest, with Remy Gardner (SAG Team) rounding out the top five – 0.533 off the top.

Gardner had missed the Jerez race earlier this season after breaking both legs in a motocross training accident so we can’t compare his times at the circuit on the Tech3 machine he rode this season in comparison to the SAG machine he was on for this test and will race for season 2019. Tech3 used their own chassis in 2018 but is adopting a KTM chassis for their 2019 Moto2 assault while Gardner will be on the more dominant Kalex chassis in 2019. 

Reigning Moto3 World Champion and Moto2 rookie Jorge Martin crashed and was left with a left humerus fracture and some broken bones in his foot. His first taste of the category cut short for now. Martin did make a solid impression however and was inside the top 15.

Moto Test Jerez Day Jorge Martin
Jorge Martin went down hard

The fastest rookie was Nicolo Bulega (SKY Racing Team VR46), the Italian setting the seventh quickest time of the day to finish 0.566 from P1 – a great debut for the number 11 rider.

Jorge Martin was next quickest rookie, in P15, with Fabio Di Giannantonio (Speed Up Racing) P18 on the times. He was just ahead of fellow rookie Enea Bastianini (Italtrans Racing Team).

Moto Test Jerez Day Jorge Martin
Jorge Martin

Elsewhere, Jake Dixon’s (Angel Nieto Team) Moto2 debut ended with the British rider setting a quickest time of 1:44.401, 2.198-seconds off Baldassarri’s benchmark, the Briton finishing one place ahead of Moto3 graduate Marco Bezzecchi (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) – P25 and P26 respectively for the pair as they settle in.

Moto Test Jerez Day Jake Dixon
Jake Dixon

Dixon was a close runner-up to Leon Haslam in the British Superbike Championship this season and the 22-year-old Briton is a big hope for the future amongst English fans. 

Jake Dixon – P25

“It has been a good first day, which we spent learning the bike and how everything works, from the team to the tyres, which is all new to me. I had a good feeling from the first run and I was able to enjoy myself on the KTM. I am looking forward to the next two days of testing here at Jerez and to continuing to learn with the team before the first race.”

Moto Test Jerez Day Jake Dixon
Jake Dixon

Marco Bezzecchi – P26

“This start has been quite good. We worked a lot on the bike because in the beginning the riding position and the balance of the machine were far from now. In the end, we went better and better. Unfortunately the track temperature dropped a lot when we just found our best condition of the day, but anyway, we discovered many important things for tomorrow. I know that I have to improve my riding style a lot, but overall it has been good.”

Moto Test Jerez Day Marco Bezzecchi
Marco Bezzecchi

Moto2 riders will be back out on track on Saturday as they continue their adaptation to the Triumph engine.

Moto2 Jerez Test 2018
Day One Times

  1. Lorenzo Baldasarri – 1m42.203
  2. Luca Marini – 1m42.346
  3. Sam Lowes – 1m42.485
  4. Augusto Fernandez – 1m42.723
  5. Remy Gardner – 1m42.736
  6. Marcel Schrotter – 1m42.743
  7. Nicolo Bulega – 1m42.769
  8. Brad Binder – 1m42.777
  9. Alex Marquez – 1m42.818
  10. Jorge Navarro – 1m42.881
  11. Tetsuta Nagashima – 1m42.954
  12. Tom Luthi – 1m43.238
  13. Andrea Locatelli – 1m43.295
  14. Simone Corsi – 1m43.344
  15. Jorge Martin – 1m43.361
  16. Xavi Vierge – 1m43.368
  17. Dimas Ekky Pratama – 1m43.559
  18. Fabio Di Giannantonion – 1m43.697
  19. Enea Bastianini – 1m43.737
  20. Khairul Idham Pawi – 1m43.816
  21. Dominique Aegerter – 1m43.979
  22. Stefano Manzi – 1m44.004
  23. Lukas Tulovic – 1m44.009
  24. Steven Odendaal – 1m44.045
  25. Jake Dixon – 1m44.401
  26. Marco Bezzecchi – 1m44.428
  27. Bo Bendsneyder – 1m44.564
  28. Somkiat Chantra – 1m44.636
  29. Philipp Oettl – 1m45.416
  30. Xavier Cardelus – 1m45.686
Moto Test Jerez Day Times
Moto2 Jerez Test 2018
Day One Times

Source: MCNews.com.au