The number 46 of Italian motorcycle legend Valentino Rossi, multi-world champion in MotoGP and retired since the end of 2021, was officially retired on Saturday during a ceremony at the Mugello circuit in Tuscany, on the eve of the Grand Italy prices.
The nine-time world champion was welcomed on the track, at the level of the starting grid, by yellow smoke bombs, his favorite color, and banners to the glory of the "Doctor" waved in the stands by the tifosi orphans of their superstar.
“Thank you for the wonderful support and the emotions during all these years at Mugello,” he told them after being presented by the governing bodies of the speed motorcycle championship with a trophy bearing his favorite number.
"The first lap on the circuit, on Sunday in the warm up, is one of the greatest emotions for a motorcycle rider," added Rossi, 43, wearing a black cap with the same 46 on his head.
"But the back and the knees hurt, I understood that I was old," concluded the young retired motorcyclist (432 Grand Prix contested, all world categories combined), who began a new chapter in his career in early April. career, in car racing, in the GT category.
The "Doctor" is also dedicated to his academy training Italian riders and his team, the VR46, entered for the first time this season in MotoGP with two satellite motorcycles supplied by Ducati.
Before him, other numbers have already been withdrawn, such as the number 69 of the American Nicky Hayden, who died in 2017 at the age of 35 in a traffic accident.
