Valentino Rossi, Revised and Updated
From the day he was born into a racing family on February 16, 1979, Valentino Rossi seemed destined for racing greatness. Racing karts and minimotos as a child, he progressed to international motorcycle competition in 1996, riding for Aprilia in the 125cc class; Rossi won his first World Championship the following year. Advancing to MotoGP’s premier class in 2000, Rossi would go on to win nine Grand Prix World Championships and score 89 victories in 371 starts.
In this richly illustrated review of the most successful MotoGP career of the twenty-first century, relive Rossi’s incredible battles against the likes of Max Biaggi, Sete Gibernau, Dani Pedrosa, and more and how they inspired three films (Faster, Fastest, and Hitting the Apex). Long-time motojournalist and author Michael Scott was at the circuit for nearly all of Rossi's 432 grand prix races and every one of his 115 grand prix wins.
Rossi’s incredible charm, wit, and irreverence earned him a huge fan base and his indomitable will to win cemented his racing legend. Valentino Rossi: Life of a Legend recounts it all.
A leading MotoGP commentator for more than 30 years, Michael Scott’s reports highlight not only the technical and sporting but also the extraordinary people – including highly commended biographies of World Champions Barry Sheene and Wayne Rainey. As well as a major history of the sport, the magazine highlights include regular reports and columns for Cycle News in the USA and Australian Motorcycle News, as well as major UK publications including Motorcycle News. Since 1990 Scott has edited the prestigious Motocourse annual, the bible of motorcycle racing. He also played a leading role as expert commentator in several motorcycle racing films, including the popular series “Hitting the Apex”, “Faster” and “Fastest”, as well as “The Unrideables” and the official 75th anniversary Dorna film and book Racing Together 1949-2016.