Valentino Rossi Birthday Special: Quick Facts to Know About the Legendary MotoGP Racer

Arguably the greatest motorcycle racer ever, Valentino Rossi celebrates his 43rd birthday on Tuesday (February 16) and wishes are pouring in for her from all over the world. Hailing from Italy, Rossi has been ruling the MotoGP world since the last two decades and still continues to participate in pro racing. With nine Grand Prix World Championships to his name – seven of which are in the premier class, the Italian is the most successful MotoGP racers of all time. Rossi is also the world champion at the f1. Below, we'll look at some quick facts about the legendary racer. Lewis Hamilton Birthday Special: A Look at Achievements of the Seven-Time Formula One World Champion.

Following his father, Graziano Rossi, Valentino started racing in Grand Prix in 1996 for Aprilia in the 125cc category and won his first World Championship in the next year. He didn't look back since then and emerged as the greatest of all time. After graduating to the premier class in 2000, Rossi won the 500cc World Championship and it was just a start for the nine-time world champion. As wishes continue to pour in for the Italian talisman, let's look at some quick facts about him.

# Valentino Rossi was born on February 16, 1979, the year his father Graziano registered his first 250cc GP win.

# Valentino's first proper bike was a Cagiva Mito 125cc he raced in the 1993 125cc Italian Sport Production Championship.

# Rossi has an honorary Doctorate in Communications from the University of Urbino.

# The Italian racer sported 46 jersey number throughout his illustrious career, as his father Graziano ran with the same number during his GP career.

# His first Grand Prix win was in the 125cc race in the Cezch GP of '96.

# He is the youngest ever to have won World Championships in all three classes 125GP, 250GP, and the 500GP/Moto GP.

# The veteran has 96 race wins, and 189 podium finishes so far in his career.

# Rossi has won the Grand Prix World Championship nine times – most for any MotoGP racer.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 16, 2021 11:53 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).