Valentino Rossi Diary

I am sorry it has been such a long time since I wrote a diary, but as I am sure you can all guess this has been one of the strangest seasons of my career!

The big ‘moment’ of the season of course for me was the crash at Mugello. It was a very scary time for me but I was very lucky that I was able to be treated by the very best doctors in Italy and they did a fantastic job to mend my leg. The hardest time was at the beginning, when I was in hospital and I couldn’t move from my bed. Once I was allowed to go home it was easier because my friends were always beside me, keeping me entertained and happy. It was very strange to watch the racing on TV but it encouraged me to work as hard as possible to get back on my M1 as soon as possible. I spent some time in a hyperbaric chamber, which accelerates the healing process and is like a big oxygen room! It’s not so much fun to be in there; one of my friends came in with me the first time but never again after that so I had to suffer on my own!

My leg healed very quickly and we soon realised that I could make it back to racing much sooner than expected, in the end it was at Sachsenring. That first race in Germany was incredible and then again the next week in Laguna; getting onto the podium was an amazing feeling after such a low point in my career. Honestly, I have to say that at that time I was sure that once my leg was back to 100% everything would be fine and I would be fighting to win again, so it has been disappointing to find that this has not been the case.

You will all have seen that I have not been strong in the last few races and this isn’t because of my leg, which is really back to its best now, but because of the shoulder that I hurt back in April. We thought with time the shoulder would be okay but unfortunately it can’t heal by itself and it now seems likely that I will need an operation after the end of the season. I prefer to do everything possible to avoid surgery and it’s still not 100% sure, but it’s looking more probable as time goes on. My team are doing the best they can to set the bike up in a way that helps me but I am lacking half the strength in my shoulder so I really can’t ride in the way that’s needed to fight at the front. Motegi for sure will be hard but I hope that Malaysia and Phillip Island will be gentler on the shoulder. I really hope so because they are two of my favourite tracks in the world!
The routine
The routine

As you will all know by now, at the end of this season I will be saying goodbye to Yamaha and moving on to a new place in the paddock. This was not an easy decision to make and I want to take this opportunity to thank you, all of the fans, for making it such a special seven years with Yamaha. I have won four world championships and many races and it has been a truly beautiful partnership. I will never forget falling in love with my M1 for the first time in Welkom when I won the first race with Yamaha; memories like that will stay with me forever.

Next week I will travel to the Yamaha headquarters in Japan to say goodbye to everyone at the factory and I am sure it will be a very emotional day for me!

Recently we had a very sad day when we lost Shoya Tomizawa, a fanstastic talent and a truly nice guy – simpatico, as we say in Italy. Unfortunately, despite the very best safety gear, we are always at risk from fluke accidents like this and there really was nothing to be done. The safety commission meets at every race to discuss how to constantly keep improving the safety of our sport so of course we had a big discussion in Aragon, but we know that everything that could have been done, was. All of our thoughts are with Shoya’s family and friends and we will miss him a lot in our MotoGP family.

Even if the end of the season isn’t going to be exactly how I imagined it, because of the problems with the shoulder, I still want to do the best I can for Yamaha until I leave. Jorge has done an amazing job this season, he’s been so strong and consistent and he really deserves this title, so if there is anything I can do to help of course I will be happy.

I look forward to seeing you all in Motegi!

Ciao,
Vale 46