Valentino Rossi: The first time…

The Doctor remembers some of his firsts...

With his first victory of the season at the recent Chinese MotoGP at the Shanghai circuit, Rossi is finally happy, and after a long time, hopeful of doing well in the championship this year. Speaking to Gazzetta, the five-time MotoGP world champ recently recounted some of his ‘firsts,’ which we found on Motoblog. Here are some of those:

The first victory
Brno, 1996. Beautiful! On the last lap, I beat Jorge Martinez, the grandfather of the 125cc class, and a magician. That year, I had struggled a lot, because I wanted to be that magician. I was a little envious….

The first purchase with the money earned from racing
A car – a red Honda Civic VTEC, in 1997, when I got a licence!

The first time with Yamaha
Very good, because it was a great bet. I was impressed when I started, and I enjoyed the first lap on the M1. Then, when I stopped, I remember the questioning faces of all the engineers at Yamaha. There were some forty people, and they all watched. A beautiful emotion…

The first fall
The first time I came to the track for a race! It was 1993, in Magione, with the Cagiva 125. I arrived at the first curve, turned, and fell, probably because the tyres were cold.

The first time Stoner passed him on the Ducati, in 2007
I was worried. I have always had very fast bikes – the fastest was probably the Honda – but I've never seen such a great difference between one motorcycle and all the others.

The first time when he thought about leaving Michelin
Portugal, 2006.

The first time he cried
I don’t remember exactly. I don’t cry much, an issue of character. But as a child, I did cry a lot of times… and I cried while seeing the Gladiator movie.

The first real defeat on the track
Valencia, 2006. [When Vale fell off his bike, and the title went to Hayden]

The first betrayal
From a woman, certainly. Usually they are the ones who betray you. It is not a nice feeling…

Also see:
James Toseland is rich...
Tata Group to pick up stake in MV Agusta?
Big CC Racing's 450bhp B-King Turbo!
Honda CB1000R: First ride video
Aprilia SMV750 Dorsoduro: First pics and details...
Memorable: The Moriwaki Dream Fighter MotoGP bike...
Memorable: Gilera SP01 and SP02!
Unveiled: The Aprilia RSV 4 Race Machine...
When Lamborghini made a motorcycle...
A bunch of very interesting trikes on Faster and Faster

External links:
Hot bikes and babes, on Flickr