Valentino Rossi

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lentino RossiItalian

Grand Prix World Championships

to his name – seven of which are in the premier class.

The early years

Valentino Rossi was born in Urbino, Marche, and he was still a child when the family moved to Tavullia. Son of Graziano Rossi, a former motorcycle racer, he first began riding at a very young age. Rossi's first racing love was karting. Fuelled by his mother, Stefania's, concern for her son's safety, Graziano purchased a kart as substitute for the bike. However, the Rossi family trait of perpetually wanting to go faster prompted a redesign; Graziano replaced the 60cc motor with a 100cc national kart motor for his then 5-year-old son.

=== 125 cc, 250 cc and 500 cc World Championships The Aprilia RS 125 (left) and 250 (right) with which Rossi won the 125cc World Championship in 1997 and the 250cc World Championship in 1999.

In 1994, Aprilia by way of Peppino Sandroni, used Rossi to improve its RS125R and in turn allowed him to learn how to handle the fast new pace of 125 cc racing. At first he found himself on a Sandroni, with a Rotax-Aprilia engine in the 1994 Italian championship and continued to ride it through the 1995 European and Italian championships.

Rossi had some success in the

Brno in the Czech Republic on an AGV Aprilia RS125R. He finished the season in ninth position and proceeded to dominate the 125 cc World Championship in the following 1997

season, winning 11 of the 15 races.

Return to Yamaha

2013

On 10 August, it was confirmed that Rossi would leave the factory Ducati team at the end of the 2012 season, after two seasons with the team. Later that day, it was also announced that Rossi would rejoin the Yamaha factory team until the end of the 2014 season, resuming his partnership with Jorge Lorenzo. Rossi was reacquainted with the Yamaha, when he tested the bike over 13–14 November 2012 at a post season test at Valencian Community motorcycle Grand Prix|Valencia. However, rain prevented him from posting an accurate lap time, until he next tested the 2013 machine over 5–7 February 2013, in Sepang International Circuit|Sepang]], where he posted a 3rd fastest time of 2:00.542 out of 28 riders, clocking 0.442 seconds from pace setter Dani Pedrosa and just 0.113 seconds off team mate Jorge Lorenzo.