Fiat Yamaha Team
2009 Grand Prix of Malaysia
Race review and a chat with Valentino Rossi
27 October 2009

Rossi, "I still feel great emotion and great satisfaction from success"

"It was historic!" was what a fan said. Valentino "The Doctor" Rossi's podium finish at the recently concluded Grand Prix of Malaysia was enough to seal his ninth career championship title. We review the race at Sepang and take a look back at the 2009 season thus far with Rossi.

The 2009 season kicked off relatively well for the pair from the Fiat Yamaha Team with Rossi taking his first win of the season at Jerez in early May. Perhaps the most memorable for us was Valentino's win at the Assen circuit in the Netherlands for round 7 that saw Rossi become the first of his generation to take the century in race wins. As if that was not enough, barely six weeks after that momentous event, at the Grand Prix of the Czech Republic Rossi went one better recording this 160th podium across the different classes he had ever competed in, surpassing the great Giacomo Agostini's record to sit atop the all-time podium list.

Five rounds later at the hot and humid Sepang circuit, the man from Urbino in Italy re-wrote the record books once again. Going into the round with a healthy 38-point lead over the rest of the field, the MotoGP pundits had already declared that Rossi only needed to finish fourth to clinch the 2009 MotoGP Championship title. With everyone using the free practice sessions to adjust and acclimatise to the oppressive oven-like heat, the man also let everyone else take the limelight as he instead focused on how to capitalise on the conditions.

Clearly that strategy paid off as come Saturday afternoon, Rossi mounted on his No. 46 Yamaha YZR-M1 bike, took a couple of laps and towards the end of the qualifying session, smashed the record lap time to smithereens. Slashing almost nine hundreths of a second off the time he himself had set three years earlier (see qualifying report), Rossi noted, "I thought it was possible to go faster but not by that much!"

Sunday's race day was all about nature. Whatever setting and expected pace the teams had dialled into proved completely and utterly useless as the heavens opened up, soaking not just the track but also the 60,000-odd wet and bewildered spectators. After a delay of over 30 minutes, the man in pole led the field off as the race finally got underway. Unfortunately, the proceedings did not go as scripted as a rare mistake dropped The Doctor down the order.

Talking about the weather that seemed to conspire against the 17-riders, Rossi said, "Today without the rain it could have been a brilliant race, with the four top riders fighting together, but the rain changed it, all our work was thrown away and we had to start with a bike we didn't know so well. I made a good start but I made a mistake in braking, it felt like I was braking for one year and I went wide!"

Mr. Rossi is not one to give up on a good fight easily and as expected, he recovered and started to pick the riders ahead of him one by one with almost an assassin like precision. Lapping considerably faster than those ahead of him, Rossi and his Spanish teammate Jorge Lorenzo put on a scintilating display of overtaking in the wet and slippery conditions to move up the order. Masterfully managing his bikes and tyres even with a huge slide while overtaking Lorenzo, he moved up to fourth on lap 8. The subsequent 7 laps saw Rossi close the gap to then third-place man Andrea Dovizioso on the Honda, before the younger Italian slid off handing the position to Rossi.

While others might have taken the gamble to slug it out and attempt to take second place away from Dani Pedrosa, Rossi instead re-calculated and judged the conditions. Though he was still lapping considerably quicker than the Honda man, he also knew the drying track and tyre degradation might just be too pricey of a gamble.

A point Rossi stresses, "After Dovizioso unfortunately crashed I tried to go with Dani but then he started to push and I already had the podium, so I decided to take it a bit easier. I was happy to risk a little for the podium, but it wasn't sensible to keep taking risks for second when the championship was safe."

Content to just see the back of the orange Honda ahead of him, the mass of yellow in the packed grandstands had already risen to greet the new 2009 MotoGP champion on the penultimate round. "Of course I wanted to win but after the first corner it was difficult with Casey so strong so I went for the podium. I really enjoyed the race and I think it was great to watch."
 

It was indeed and the appreciative crowd certainly made it known with the raptuous applause for race winner Casey Stoner as he parked his Ducati at park ferme. Naturally, after everyone had taken the chequered flag, Rossi was still somewhere out on track with his infamous band of fans. With the world anxiously waiting for the widely speculated post-race celebrations, two of his fans and a dressed-up chicken entered the frame of the Dorna cameras.

Donning a t-shirt over his race suit and a quick helmet switch, Rossi explains, "The t-shirt and the celebration is called the ‘Gallina Vecchia!' In Italian we say that the old chicken makes good soup, but it's no use for laying eggs. I am old now, 30, but this old hen has made another egg today and now we have nine! As usual I thought it up at home in Tavullia, together with my fan club, and we had great fun designing the t-shirt and the helmet."

After a lengthy celebration out on track, Mr. Rossi eventually made his way to park ferme. Clearly overjoyed with the result, the long line of journalists waiting to ask the newly crowned world champion suggested a long post-race press conference, which would have relegated Messrs. Stoner and Pedrosa to the wings.

So, Dorna arranged three press conferences: one for TV, one for the top three finishers and one for The Doctor himself - expected, seeing as Rossi had just matched Mike Hailwood and Carlo Ubbiali with nine titles in all classes. Only Signore Agostini has more with 15.

When asked about title "numero nove", as he had chanted to the on-track cameraman earlier, he said, "Nine world championships is a great achievement, I'm so happy! I would need one hour to thank everyone! Starting with everyone at Yamaha - Furusawa-san,  Lin Jarvis, Davide Brivio and all my guys, especially Jeremy. I couldn't have done it without Jeremy and he is like my motorcycle father! I also have to thank my family and friends - Stefania, Graziano, Uccio, Albi...so many!"

He went on to add, "All the team, Yamaha and Bridgestone; together we've done a great, great job and it's always a huge enjoyment to ride and work with these people. In order to stay at this level through a whole season you have to be calm and have the right people around you and this is what I have. We've stayed concentrated and focused even in the bad moments, so we can congratulate ourselves with this ninth title."

Although there is the balance of one round, how has this season fared overall? "It's been a great season, for sure one of the hardest at times. It's been harder than last year, when we won after two difficult years, but we've had some troubles this year at times and I have had a very hard rival in my team-mate Lorenzo. He has pushed me to new levels and I think it's been a great duel to the end. There have been some bad moments, like Portugal when we weren't at 100%, but we have worked well. Lorenzo has done a great job to put this pressure on us so I have to say well done to him."


Gracious in defeat, Lorenzo congratulates Rossi after the Sepang race

What about the highest and lowest points of 2009? "The best moment of the season for me, the best emotion, was the last pass in the last corner at Barcelona. This was the most exciting moment of the championship for me, one of the best for many years I think! The worst moment was probably the stupid error and crash in Indianapolis, but this led to the perfect win in Misano in front of all the fans so in the end it was okay!"

Meanwhile, the debates in the public foras about whether Valentino would still want to compete on two-wheels continues with the pundits still suggesting a move to a series with more wheels. That drew a frightening parallel to a certain German multiple Formula One champion who while at the pinnacle of his career  was asked something similar.

Responding to that, the Italian stuck to his guns, "I still feel just as motivated as ever. I still have a great passion to ride better and better, to be on my bike and to win. I enjoy always trying to improve and to work with my team to do this. I am 30 but I still feel great emotion and great satisfaction from success. My passion for motorcycles is what keeps me enjoying every race and helps me to keep pushing even though I am the oldest of these first top guys. I have to train harder and work harder to stay focused now, but I still enjoy the challenge as much as ever."

What will 2010 hold for Valentino Rossi and the title hopefuls lining up behind him? "I think next year will be very, very hard. We're all on the same bikes and I think it will be between me, Lorenzo, Stoner and Pedrosa again. On Tuesday in Valencia we will try the new model and I am looking forward to working on the new M1, but I have the greatest rival in my team so it won't be easy!"

In recognising the rising talent of his own teammate Jorge Lorenzo, the adage that humility comes with age was what some seasoned journalists were saying, especially after watching Rossi grow since his debut, ironically in Malaysia 13 years ago.

226 GP starts later and since his first win at the Czech Republic the year of his debut; the man has bagged 9 championship titles (7 in the MotoGP/500cc class), 103 GP wins, 163 career podiums and 58 pole positions. The achievements of this 30-year old seasoned campaigner has not just placed him in the MotoGP hall of fame, but also earned himself the recognition as indeed being a phenomenon.

To the question if there were one championship that meant the most, he responded: "Every championship is special for different reasons, it's unforgettable every time and this day is no different. I'm World Champion once again and now I want to go and party!"

Vai Vale!

For information on the Fiat Yamaha team visit the team's new website at www.FiatYamahaTeam.it or the official website at http://www.yamaha-racing.com/Racing/
For information on the MotoGP, visit the official website at www.motogp.com