Valentino Rossi
is without doubt the greatest Motor Cycle rider of the modern era. His exploits
over the past decade, and more, have placed him alongside the legends of the
sport, such as Giacomo Agostini and Mike Hailwood. Rossi's record-breaking
deeds on the track have been accompanied by his fun-loving persona that has
endeared him to a whole new raft of fans across the globe. They have been thrilled
by the Italian's audacious skills and fearsome competitiveness that has seen
him conquer almost before him, in a career that thus far seen him win almost 100
races in just over 200 starts.
Still only 30
years old, Rossi had already secured World Championships in both the 125cc and
250cc categories, before claiming his first senior category win in the fearsome
500cc class with Honda in 2001.
Rossi's
dominance continued when the MotoGP four-stroke machines were introduced, and
two more Championship titles were added to his dizzying list of successes by
the end of 2003. Needing a fresh challenge, Valentino joined the
underperforming Yamaha team in 2004 and, with the help of his trusted crew, led
by Jerry Burgess, overcame all-comers to become only the second rider to win
back-to back titles with different manufacturers.
In 2005 Rossi
passed the milestone of fifty 500cc/MotoGP victories, as he won his fifth
successive in the premier class, but the true measure of Valentino's greatness
came in 2008. After two seasons fighting to regain his crown, 'The Doctor"
re-established himself back at the top, taking nine victories on his way to a
sixth senior title to record his eighth
Championship in
total. During the year he outstripped the records of both Angel Nieto's Grand
Prix 90 victories and Giacomo Agostini's 68 wins in the premier class.
Produced by the
publishers of MOTOCOURSE, this lavishly illustrated book celebrates the
extraordinary career of Valentino Rossi with an array of fantastic photographs,
illustrating, not only his many on-track battles, but also his crowd-pleasing
victory celebrations. It is simply a must for his legion of fans worldwide.