And in that place, where it's so hot, humid and it's just miserable on the bike for him at his age, and for his condition, it shows he wants it.”. Rossi could finish in the top three of a championship classification for the 18th time and, potentially, as Yamaha’s top rider in a lean year for the Japanese firm. More than his freakishly enduring competitiveness in a series that runs from February to late November and involves numerous tests among the 19 rounds from Argentina to Asia, Rossi is still predominantly the most popular bike racer on the planet.
The evidence is clear by the sheer blanket coverage of his trademark yellow branding at almost all circuits, the enrapt media attention at every MotoGP (even after ‘only’ five podium finishes in 2018), six million followers of his (rather bland) Instagram channel – just two million less than Lewis Hamilton and almost double that of current MotoGP World Champion Marc Marquez. If you need further evidence, you should have heard the cry of anguish from the sold-out Sepang grandstands when he slipped out of the lead in Malaysia. His controversial title scuffle with Marquez in 2015 saw the international ‘Rossisisti’ rise en masse in their support, leading to almost two years of Marquez facing constant boos, jeers and farcical scenes of fan celebrations when the Spaniard – clearly the finest rider of his generation – crashed. Rossi’s cultivation of his image and business empire is perhaps unparalleled in motorsport and holds considerable stock in the wider sporting community. The sun-moon and animal logos, the race number 46, the livery, the eternally happy-go-lucky quirky TV demeanour, the licencing empire that sees copious Rossi merchandise present at each MotoGP (dwarfing those of his adversaries), his race teams in Moto3 and Moto2 support categories and the VR46 Academy have only helped to continually add to his appeal and profile even when the trophies have not flowed as they once did.