Dark Angel
Still kickin' it!
It’s been a tough decade for Rossi fans like myself.
Things went “wrong” when Valentino left Yamaha for Ducati in 2011, and they’ve never been quite right since then. The last time he was world champion was 2009, and the nearest he’s come to winning his tenth world championship title was in 2015, the year of the Malaysian debacle when his own lack of self-discipline caused Marquez to crash and, as a result, the imposition of a grid penalty that cost him the title at the last round in Valencia.
This year, with the announcement that Maverick Vinales has committed to Yamaha until 2022, we could be seeing the last competitive racing year of the man who has come to be known as “The GOAT”, and, love him or hate him, it won’t be the same when he’s not there.
For all that he’s achieved; for the sport, for himself and for his fans, it’s time to say: “Thanks, Vale”.
It’s been emotional.
Things went “wrong” when Valentino left Yamaha for Ducati in 2011, and they’ve never been quite right since then. The last time he was world champion was 2009, and the nearest he’s come to winning his tenth world championship title was in 2015, the year of the Malaysian debacle when his own lack of self-discipline caused Marquez to crash and, as a result, the imposition of a grid penalty that cost him the title at the last round in Valencia.
This year, with the announcement that Maverick Vinales has committed to Yamaha until 2022, we could be seeing the last competitive racing year of the man who has come to be known as “The GOAT”, and, love him or hate him, it won’t be the same when he’s not there.
For all that he’s achieved; for the sport, for himself and for his fans, it’s time to say: “Thanks, Vale”.
It’s been emotional.