Valentino Rossi Quotes

“The most important thing is to have a good relationship with the bike ... you have to understand what she wants. I think of a motorcycle as a woman, and I know that sounds silly, but it's true.”

— Valentino Rossi

“To be a great motorbike racer, the most important thing is passion for the bike.”

— Valentino Rossi

“Maybe the bike is more dangerous, but the passion for the car for me is second to the bike.”

— Valentino Rossi

“Also, when I started racing he knew a lot of people and it was more easy for me to find the first bike, so I have a good chance for sure.”

— Valentino Rossi

“If I test the car for a year I can be quite competitive the next season.”

— Valentino Rossi

“Once the races begin it's more difficult and there is never that much time for testing.”

— Valentino Rossi

“Fortunately during my career I have won more or less everything, so I need to enjoy it to have the right motivation.”

— Valentino Rossi

“My father raced bikes. He gave me the passion very early. I had my first bike when I was three or four years old.”

— Valentino Rossi

I'm Valentino Rossi. And I want to be a person, not an icon.

— Valentino Rossi

“Riding a race bike is an art - a thing that you do because you feel something inside.”

— Valentino Rossi

“The great fights with your strongest rivals are always the biggest motivation. When you win easily it's not the same taste.”

— Valentino Rossi

I never race for records. The motivation to try to beat the record is not enough to continue. You have to enjoy it.

— Valentino Rossi

“My normal life is like being on holiday.”

— Valentino Rossi

“I am able to ride the bike and think clearly about strategy and tyres. I also have positive thinking. I am very constructively critical.”

— Valentino Rossi

“I race to win. If I am on the bike or in a car it will always be the same.”

— Valentino Rossi

I would have probably stolen cars - it would have given me the same adrenaline rush as racing.

— Valentino Rossi

You look at Moto3, the races are very exciting. Moto2 is fantastic, and then MotoGP is boring.

— Valentino Rossi

“It is a big problem and so I don't know for sure if I say yes or no to Ferrari.”

— Valentino Rossi

“I don't like being famous - it is like a prison. And driving for Ferrari would make it far worse.”

— Valentino Rossi

“I always enjoyed myself a lot in pre-school.”

— Valentino Rossi

“I have a lot of energy after 2 A.M. I like to sleep in the morning. I have some problems at the start of the day.”

— Valentino Rossi

“How do Ferrari know what I'm doing next year when I don't know what I'm doing next week?”

— Valentino Rossi

“I have won on Honda and Yamaha so maybe it is interesting to win with a third team, Ducati, who are Italian.”

— Valentino Rossi

“As for the level of spectacle of the two disciplines, I leave it to the people who watch the races to comment.”

— Valentino Rossi

“Maybe if Graziano make another work or another sport I wouldn't have had this passion to be a rider.”

— Valentino Rossi

To win the Championship in the first year will be hard. We need time to become competitive and win races.

— Valentino Rossi

“In my opinion we are at the limit now, and 17 races is really too much. With all the testing that we do now, it means we're always on the bike and it's quite difficult.”

— Valentino Rossi

“It's a big, big advantage because understanding what changes we might make takes time and it takes time to work out settings and to understand everything about the new machine.”

— Valentino Rossi

“In 2002 the Yamaha was at more or less the same level as the Honda, better in some ways, worse in others. But in the winter of last year between 2002 and 2003, Honda made a big step forward and it seemed as if Yamaha couldn't quite match that improvement.”

— Valentino Rossi

“We have the 2004 M1 here for reference, which is useful. It worked well here last year; we won the race and always did fast lap times so it will be interesting to compare it to the new bike and it will help us to understand which parts have improved.”

— Valentino Rossi

“But I could also start F1 or rallying. I love rallying much more.”

— Valentino Rossi

“The work that we do during the winter is very important; we have a new bike and it's important to develop it during this time, and we start with this test.”

— Valentino Rossi

“I try to have a different relationship with the bike. I don't give it a name, but I always speak with it. I don't know if the other riders do the same. This is not only a piece of metal - there is a soul. The bike talks back too. But not with a voice, with the components”

— Valentino Rossi

“The speed is something dangerous but very exciting.”

— Valentino Rossi

“I think the secret is to understand that you still want to be part of the game. To do so, you have to forget all the victories you've managed to get in the previous years and have a great humility. You also need to realise that, if you want to go on, you have to work hard. If you dwell too much on your past successes and say "well, I have won nine world titles and more than 100 races", you'd rather stay home.”

— Valentino Rossi

“Giving yourself threads doesn't mean you don't believe in yourself in my opinion.”

— Valentino Rossi

“I feel 100% a Yamaha rider in my heart. I had a long career and raced with several factory bikes, but the highlight of my career is undoubtedly with Yamaha.”

— Valentino Rossi

“Our sport is dangerous. We risk the life out there, so we need to stay calm and focused and leave all the rest out.”

— Valentino Rossi

I'm very happy because I won a lot. I've won races and lived in a world that just gave me joy, so I remember it very positively.

— Valentino Rossi

“I'm lucky because I don't feel too much pressure - it's only in the last hour before the race, and even then it's good, positive pressure.”

— Valentino Rossi

I have designs I like applied to my helmet, motorcycle, riding suits, gloves,and boots. I have a designer friend of mine put the designs on them for me. I think a livery on the helmet is significant in expressing a rider's personality.

— Valentino Rossi

“It is dangerous and unbelievably fast and entirely different from the kind of track I am used to racing on”

— Valentino Rossi

“I'm done with F1 unfortunately. I'm too old, the train has passed”

— Valentino Rossi

“However I am looking forward to the two new Grands Prixs both Shanghai and Laguna Seca are fantastic tracks and it will be good to race at them.”

— Valentino Rossi

“The tragic incident of Luis Salom reminds us that our sport, our passion, is dangerous. We know it but, in a way, we don't think about it.”

— Valentino Rossi

“We kept on racing, doing something that Luis [Salom] loved. Fortunately or unfortunately, life goes on.”

— Valentino Rossi

“You try to do a technical feature: in front of me I had a strong rider who brakes hard and it's difficult to pass.”

— Valentino Rossi

Barcelona is a special track. I have always loved the layout of the circuit, but also the atmosphere and the fans are special. It has always been good fun.

— Valentino Rossi

“I like physical exercise. I actually like sports in general. I really like snowboarding and playing soccer, too.”

— Valentino Rossi