Valentino Rossi saying goodbye to Fiat Yamaha in 2010
Valentino Rossi on Ducati Team GP13
Valentino Rossi on Ducati Team GP13
Valentino Rossi on Yamaha Factory Racing YZR-M1
Valentino Rossi NewsIf there had to be one spokesperson chosen for MotoGP, or all of World Championship motorcycle racing, there’s no doubt who would get picked – Valentino Rossi.
Since joining World Championship racing in 1996 (former 125cc class), Rossi took nine world titles, including seven in the premier class. At 34-years old, Rossi is the only rider to have raced in the entire modern MotoGP class.Throughout his racing years, the Italian has helped promote the sport to a worldwide audience through his PR-savvy attitude. Even when the Italian dream team of Rossi and Ducati went sour following two years of un-Rossi-like results, he remained a crowd pleaser.Besides his natural talent, Rossi works hard at promoting the sport. And his compensation reflects this. In the latest Forbes top 10 list for highest-paid people in motorsports, VR46 was fifth on the list, earning a reported $22 million ($10 million salary; $12 million endorsements).Rossi ranked ahead of NASCAR stars Tony Stewart ($18.5million), Jeff Gordon ($18.2 million) and Danica Patrick ($15 million). Topping the Forbest Top 10 list was Formula 1 star Fernando Alonso (Ferrari), who earned $28 million ($28 million salary; $2 million endorsements).Rossi has 80 premier-class wins (MotoGP/500cc), and 106 across all World Championship classes. This places him second in the all-time win list behind Giacomo Agostini, who has 122. Rossi, who returned to the factory Yamaha team for 2013 following the Ducati debacle, is currently fourth in MotoGP points with six rounds remaining.Following is Forbes’ Top 10 List, which was compiled from June 2012-June 2013 earnings from salaries, bonuses, endorsements, as well as the drivers’ shares of winnings and licensing.Forbes’ Top 10 People Paid in Motorsports: 1. Fernando Alonso, Formula 1: $30million ($28m salary/$2m endorsements) 2. Lewis Hamilton, Formula 1: $27.5million ($26m salary/$1.5m endorsements) 3. Dale Earnhardt Jr., NASCAR: $26million ($13m salary/$13m endorsements) 4. Jimmie Johnson, NASCAR: $24million ($17.3m salary/$6.7m endorsements) 5. Valentino Rossi, MotoGP: $22million ($12m salary/$10m endorsements) 6. Tony Stewart, NASCAR: $18.5million ($12.5m salary/$6m endorsements) 7. Jeff Gordon, NASCAR: $18.2million ($12.7m salary/$5.5m endorsements) 8. Sebastian Vettel, Formula 1: $18million ($17m salary/$1m endorsements) 9. Danica Patrick, NASCAR: $15million ($6m salary/$9m endorsements) 10. Jenson Button, Formula 1: $14million ($14m salary/$0m endorsements)
Hello everyone and welcome once again to Ultimate Motorcycling’s weekly Podcast—Motos and Friends.
My name is Arthur Coldwells.
This week’s Podcast is brought to you by Yamaha motorcycles. Discover how the YZF-R7 provides the perfect balance of rider comfort and true supersport performance by checking it out at YamahaMotorsports.com, or see it for yourself at your local dealer.
This week’s episode features Senior Editor Nic de Sena’s impressions of the beautiful new Harley-Davidson Low Rider ST that is loosely based around the original FXRT Sport Glide from the 1980s. Hailing from The Golden State, these cult-status performance machines became known as West Coast style, with sportier suspension, increased horsepower, and niceties including creature comforts such as a tidy fairing and sporty luggage.
In past episodes you might have heard us mention my best friend, Daniel Schoenewald, and in the second segment I chat with him about some of the really special machines in his 170 or so—and growing—motorcycle collection. He’s always said to me that he doesn’t consider himself the owner, merely the curator of the motorcycles for the next generation.
Yet Daniel is not just a collector, but I can attest a really skilled rider. His bikes are not trailer queens, they’re ridden, and they’re ridden pretty hard. Actually, we have had many, many memorable rides on pretty much all of the machines in the collection at one time or another.
From all of us here at Ultimate Motorcycling, we hope you enjoy this episode!
