Valentino Rossi will be staying with Yamaha’s MotoGP factory team for another two years.
The announcement means Yamaha’s lineup is now set through the end of 2020, as his teammate Maverick Vinales has also signed for the next two years.
Rossi just turned 39, already a dinosaur by the standards of MotoGP, and he’ll be 41 when the contract expires. Although his chances of winning another championship get lower every year, he’ll likely be the last rider to stretch his career into his 40s for a long, long time. Last year, he finished fifth overall in the championship, with 208 points. As of the start of this season, Rossi has 227 podiums, 64 poles and nine championships in a GP career that stretches all the way back to his start on 125 cc two-strokes in 1996.
Rossi still has the will and drive, I look to see him on the podium on many events this year! A true ambassador for the sport.