At the Japanese race, another retirement came for Rossi. He crashed out of a lowly eleventh place at Turn 1 with four laps to go. This was Rossi's fourth DNF of the season, equalling his 1998 season and the highest amount in his MotoGP career. [390] [391] Rossi ended the season only being able to score points: he finished in eighth place in Australia, fourth place in Malaysia – narrowly losing out on the podium but taking the fastest lap of the race – and eighth again in Valencia.

Rossi finished sixth in the championship with 163 points, 187 points behind champion Jorge Lorenzo. [268] Return to Yamaha (2013–2020) [ edit ] 2013 [ edit ] Rossi with Cal Crutchlow at the 2013 French Grand Prix, where he finished 12th Rossi finished seventh in the championship with 174 points, 246 points behind champion Marc Márquez. This was Rossi's lowest championship position since 2011 when he raced for Ducati and marked his second winless season. The five of them drove the BMW M4 GT3, according to the class they participated in, namely the GT3. The GT3 class is attended by 20 cars which is the most from all classes. [426] The 1996 championship season marks the debut of Rossi in grand prix motorcycle racing. He had some success in his first year, scoring consistent points and sometimes finishing just off the podium from his first race at Malaysia to Italy, but retired in both the French and Dutch rounds. He scored more points by finishing fifth at the German race but suffered another retirement at the British round. Rossi competed in the GT World Challenge Europe in 2022 for Team WRT, driving an Audi R8 LMS in the endurance and sprint categories, and will sport the number 46, the same number he raced with in MotoGP. [418] 24H Series [ edit ]In January 2010, Rossi has said that once he retires from motorcycle racing, he hopes to move into rallying. "There are not many changes in a man's body between 22 and 34 so I still have some time left. I would consider shifting to cars, probably rallying, after that before I finally decide to take it easy ... I know F1 would've been easier but by the time I finish MotoGP, I will be too old for F1." [494] Stefano Domenicali, Ferrari's Formula One Team principal, however, reasserted his wish to have a third Ferrari on the F1 grid driven by Rossi, whilst confirming that Rossi would test an older Ferrari F1 car on 21 and 22 January 2010. [495] At the aforementioned test at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Rossi once again drove a Ferrari F2008 on GP2 tyres, setting a best laptime within 0.1 seconds of Kimi Räikkönen's 2008 pole time. [496]

At round four in Italy, things took a turn for the worse for Rossi. He highsided his YZR-M1 in one of the fast right-left combinations – the Biondetti corner – during the second free practice at around 120mph (190km/h). He suffered a displaced compound fracture of his right tibia. This crushed any hopes of him winning the 2010 title, and after post-surgical care close to his home in the hospital at Cattolica, it was clear that he was out of contention for the next two or three months. [218] [219] [220] It was the first time that Rossi had missed a race in his Grand Prix career, and allowed his title rivals – Lorenzo, Pedrosa and Stoner – to gain points, podiums and wins while he was absent for the Italian, British, Dutch and Catalan rounds. [221] On 5 August 2021, during the pre-event press conference of the 2021 Styrian motorcycle Grand Prix weekend, he announced that he would retire from MotoGP after the 2021 season. [11] His last race was the 2021 Valencian Community motorcycle Grand Prix, and he was congratulated for a successful career by various celebrities and prominent racing figures such as Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen, as well as former rival Casey Stoner. Rossi's number 46 was retired with a ceremony at the 2022 Italian motorcycle Grand Prix. [416] Sportscar racing [ edit ] In 2009, Rossi and Lorenzo resumed hostilities with Rossi emerging as champion again. Over the course of the season, Rossi defeated Lorenzo in several tight battles – such as Assen, Sachsenring, Valencia and, most memorably, Lorenzo's home race in Catalunya. Both were battling hard on the Catalan circuit, with Lorenzo taking the lead on the final lap. Rossi tried to overtake him in the usual spots but failed, with many assuming Lorenzo was going to win the race. However, Rossi managed to pass him going into the final corner, where many assumed overtaking was impossible, to take an unlikely victory. The team competes in the CIV Italian Championships Series in collaboration with Bardahl as the main sponsor. In the 2021 season the team got a wildcard to race in two Moto3 series, at Mugello and Misano. This team races using KTM bikes. [516] Yamaha VR46 MasterCamp Team [ edit ]After Rossi moved to the Factory Ducati team and Stoner to the Factory Honda team in 2011, tensions would once again rise at the 2011 Spanish round when Rossi collided with Stoner, causing him to crash out of the race while Rossi got going again and finished fifth. After the race, Rossi went to Stoner to apologise for the incident, who smiled and accepted Rossi's handshake. However, Stoner told Rossi "your ambition outweighs your talent" during the brief exchange, in which he also asked about Rossi's shoulder. [449] [450] [451] Stoner later apologised for this comment. [452] After this, tensions between both riders would ease once more when Stoner won his 2011 World Championship title whilst Rossi struggled on an underperforming Ducati for the rest of the season.

Biaggi (500) and Katoh (250) Victorious at French GP". Motorcycledaily.com. 20 May 2001. Archived from the original on 16 April 2019 . Retrieved 16 April 2019.a b "Rossi jumps bikes to Yamaha". The Age. 1 February 2004. Archived from the original on 23 January 2022 . Retrieved 21 August 2020. a b "Valentino Rossi to leave Yamaha for Ducati in 2011". BBC Sport. 15 August 2010. Archived from the original on 2 September 2017 . Retrieved 15 August 2010. Roberts (500) and Katoh (250) Win at Motegi GP". Motorcycledaily.com. 15 October 2000. Archived from the original on 15 April 2019 . Retrieved 15 April 2019.

Best of 2010s: MotoGP's superstars of the decade". Crash. 18 December 2019. Archived from the original on 29 September 2021 . Retrieved 29 September 2021. Before the first race of the 2001 season even started, Rossi and Biaggi had already had a heated argument when Biaggi encountered Rossi at a restaurant in Suzuka and told him to "wash your mouth out before saying my name". At the first round of the season in Japan, one of the most famous episodes in their rivalry took place when Biaggi seemed to have tried to push Rossi into the dirt at high speed and a few laps later Rossi overtook Biaggi and showed, on live television, his middle finger to him. [430] Their rivalry reached its peak two months later at the 2001 Catalan round when at the end of the 500cc race, Rossi and Biaggi came to blows (involving members of their entourage and circuit employees) in the moments before the podium ceremony. Neither rider admitted that they got into a fist fight, but Biaggi appeared in the post-race press conference with red marks and scratches on his face, which he said "must have been caused by a mosquito bite". Rossi claimed that the incident happened because Biaggi bumped into his manager as both riders prepared to go up to the podium with third-place finisher Loris Capirossi. [431] Is Rossi the greatest of all time? | GRR". Archived from the original on 7 October 2022 . Retrieved 4 August 2022.

Rossi wins at Suzuka, Ducati on podium". Crash. 6 April 2003. Archived from the original on 30 April 2019 . Retrieved 18 August 2019.