When MotoGP testing gets underway at Sepang in just over three weeks, it will be the first preparation for a motorcycle Grand Prix season without Valentino Rossi since 1995.
Exactly what effect the retirement of the most famous motorcycle racer in history will have on MotoGP remains to be seen.
Perhaps Rossi’s millions of followers will continue to tune in every race weekend and find new riders to support them. Or maybe they lose interest and find something else to do. Nobody really knows.
In any case, it’s a defining moment for the sport, which has grown exponentially during the Rossi era but must now try to continue the momentum without him.
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Many, including Rossi’s longtime boss Lin Jarvis of Yamaha, take solace in the example of Formula One, which has lost several all-time greats since Rossi’s debut in 1996 but has eventually seen new heroes emerge.
“Obviously we’ve spent 16 years with Valentino and we’ve seen the value of him to the sport, we’ve all seen that, but also to our brand,” Jarvis said. “He has truly been a valued icon and asset to our brand and we hope to carry that forward and maintain our relationship with Valentino.
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“As for the sport, we have all benefited from the popularity it has brought to the sport over the years. But all sports evolve and you’ve seen it before, whether it’s skiing, tennis or Formula 1.
“After the sad death of Ayrton Senna, Formula 1 continued with Schumacher. They have legends, but at the end of the day the sport just keeps going and there are always young people following.
“In Formula 1 you now have the existing icon (Lewis Hamilton) and you also have the next generation coming up too. There are some great young drivers coming into Formula 1. We went through the Senna years, then the Schumacher years, Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton dominate.
“But look now at the young guns that are emerging. They’re fun, young and fast. We’ve got this crazy orange Verstappen movement at the moment and that’s probably going to take this sport forward.”
“I think that’s probably going to happen in MotoGP as well, we have great racing, incredibly exciting in all three classes and I think the sport will continue to grow in the future.”
Ducati sporting director Paolo Ciabatti also believes action-packed racing can keep Valentino Rossi fans from drifting, but warned the sport will have to work harder to attract the same level of attention.
“I agree with Lin but I think Valentino is irreplaceable in the sense that he was a legendary driver. I can only imagine that Giacomo Agostini was also so famous outside of the racing fan community in his day,” explained Ciabatti.
“So it certainly won’t be easy to get the same kind of attention from viewers who liked the sport because they were willing to see what Valentino was doing. [especially] when Valentino won.
“On the other hand, I find the competition on the track so exciting. We have a lot of young riders who are super fast, every race is so much fun.
“Hopefully the people who came to MotoGP because they wanted to support Valentino will also realize that it’s a beautiful show, either on track or on TV. It’s a very good format, 45 minutes of action, no pit stops or strategy and it’s very enjoyable.
“As such, we hope that with the new up and coming drivers we can maintain a similar level of support from the fans. But we will miss Valentino.”
Repsol Honda’s Alberto Puig believes the quality of the race is the most important thing and that “life goes on”.
“There have been many great drivers in the history of this sport. Valentino is one of them, but there have been many great drivers and life goes on. Generations come on,” he said.
“I think all the people who were important in racing will always be remembered, but the time we live in is now.
“I don’t think racing will be affected whether this guy or anyone else is here or not. The most important thing is the racing itself. The way this championship is organized now is so exciting that people will follow.
“But of course Valentino Rossi will be one of those guys in the history of motorsport who will be remembered as one of the best. That’s for sure.”
Hopes are high that MotoGP’s new Amazon series can reach new fans in the same way Drive to Survive boosted F1, but MotoGP’s concerns after Rossi’s departure are being amplified by the impact of ongoing Covid regulations Puig’s driver Marc Marquez, the sport’s second-biggest star, is reinforced on track participation and uncertainty about raceworthiness.
Using Instagram as a rough guide to “fame” or “influence”, Rossi currently has 12.7 million followers, literally more than MotoGP itself at 11.9 million (a similar situation occurs in F1 with Lewis Hamilton). Marquez has 5.6 million, Quartararo 1.7 million, Dovizioso 1.4 million, Vinales 1.3 million, Bagnaia 725,000, Miller 637,000 and Mir 497,000 etc.
Just one of Rossi’s nine world championships away, the stage is set for MotoGP fans to witness some epic battles between Marquez – who will be a seasoned veteran by the age of 29 – and the new breed of racing heroes like recent world champions Joan Mir and Fabio Quartararo , plus Francesco Bagnaia from Ducati.
A similar situation unfolded in Rossi’s career as, after his most dominant seasons, he went from bar to bar with the next generation of Casey Stoner, Dani Pedrosa, Jorge Lorenzo and finally Marquez, producing some of the sport’s most memorable fights and controversial moments.
In other words, Marquez vs the rising stars could be just the kind of dramatic title fight that Jarvis, Ciabatti and Puig think can glue MotoGP fans to their seats on a Sunday afternoon.
But it has already been punctuated by injuries in the last two seasons for Marquez, who is currently sidelined with double vision, raising doubts about his fitness for the start of 2022…
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