Retirement, a daughter on the way, his rivals. Valentino Rossi covered all these subjects during an interview with 'Le Iene' following the Emilia Romagna GP, his last race on Italian soil.

His final Misano and a future racing cars

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“It was an emotionally charged weekend, with a great atmosphere”, explains the Doctor. “There were so many people, so many fans. I’m pleased because I was also able to run a good race. I started further back and finished tenth and was quite fast. I made some passes and had fun, so it was the best way to sign off. And then when the race ended, I stopped under the grandstand and threw my helmet, it was great”.

In two races' time, his MotoGP adventure will come to an end: “My retirement? I’m sorry to be finishing up, but I’ll continue as a driver, behind the wheel of a car next year. I’ll still be on track, otherwise I’d get bored”. Rossi is already ready for his four-wheel future. In what category? “I’ll race with a GT, Endurance series, but we need to decide on a championship”.

As for his decision to hang up his helmet, Valentino explains that he made his decision after the Dutch GP, which he ended in the gravel after a complicated weekend. “I thought about continuing but then said to myself: ‘Let’s see how competitive I am, if I can win or reach the podium, if I can complete some good races’. But this year turned out to be tougher than expected, I thought I’d be a little stronger, and struggle less. After the Assen race, and after deciding to take my time to decide, I waited a week and said: 'OK, that's it' . I’m 42, the other riders are 25. If I were younger there would have been time to reconsider but it’s OK like this”.

The 2015 regret

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Rossi also looked back at his career, including the controversial 2015 season: “There are some very bad memories because Lorenzo and I were having a great battle and then we had issues with Marquez, who caused me to lose. We’d never seen a champion racing to cause another to lose the title rather than to win it himself. I’m sorry I couldn’t win ten titles, because at Valencia (in 2006), I made a mistake and crashed but this hurt more. It’s a real regret because I didn’t expect it and it was never the same after that. My biggest rivals over the years? Biaggi, Stoner, Lorenzo”.

Awaiting his daughter

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He can now look forward to life as a father: “Knowing I’ll become a dad is very emotional, while winning a title is more of an adrenaline rush. Have we chosen a name? We have two or three ideas. We’ve already vetoed Valentina and Sofia, we liked Vittoria. We’ll see”.

Translated by Heather Watson

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