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Valentino Rossi begins his new racing season in Australia, where he'll be participating in the Bathurst 12 Hours this weekend on the GT3 team's BMW M4, followed by the WEC, and then the endurance championship, in which he'll again be racing in the GT3 class. The Doctor continues to have fun on the track, even though he doubled the number of wheels, and his instinct is still the same, as he confessed in an interview with Corriere della Sera.
"When I race, I look for and find the same concentration," he emphasized. "I miss the family, but I know I also need happiness. It's about getting better, about being competitive with cars, which are much safer than motorcycles. At the starting line, in MotoGP, you're really tense, you're dealing with fear. An incomparable adrenaline rush. And race car drivers are almost always rich people who pay to race, while motorcycle riders are runaways who might get rich racing."
But he's happy of one thing, after more than a quarter of a century spent in motorcycle racing.
"I waske up in the morning realizing I'm in one piece, safe and sound, and I'm happy," he said. "Credit goes to luck, but also to the attention you put into preserving your body, to reasoning. I remember a lot of precise moments, a prepared and successful overtake, the intention of a move without knowing if you'll come out of it, the instant that triggers an accident."
He's now a teacher and friend of the riders in his Riders Academy, and one of them, Bagnaia, will have to contend with Marquez this year, who's also Valentino's rival. What advice does he give Pecco?
"There are days when you have to win and days when you have to bring home points. He's never done that, otherwise, he would've even won the third World Championship," he stated. "Don't fall into traps, mind games, don't be conditioned by your teammate. In duels, have fun and attempt the impossible."
Rossi also talked about his old adversaries, from Biaggi onward, and the relationship he has with them. Stoner and Lorenzo have also been to his Ranch.
"Racing against someone involves a very strong sporting hatred. But, when you stop, a respect remains for those who shared emotions and tensions with you," he confessed. "The same with Stoner. When I see Gibernau or Lorenzo again, I enjoy it. Opponents who have never gone beyond a certain limit of aggression."
