It is March 1996 and a young Italian makes his appearance in the 125cc: it is the then 17-year-old Valentino Rossi. A cheeky boy who immediately speaks for himself in his first race, because he finishes sixth. It is the start of an unprecedentedly successful career.
Although it is of course difficult to predict how someone’s career will progress, in the world of the World Championship road racing it is soon clear. This is one. Jurgen van den Goorbergh also sees this, who then rides a class higher, in the 250cc. “And then you see all that capacity. Who is this kid? Oh, Valentino Rossi. Well, that’s going to be a really big one.” The paddock is buzzing. A year later he already won his first world title. His first of a total of nine championships. Rossi also often wins on the TT Circuit in Assen. Ten times in total.
What made him such a successful driver and why did the track in Assen suit him so well? And what made him so popular on the Drenthe circuit? In the podcast ValenTTino RTV Drenthe is looking for the answer to those questions. The upcoming episodes will feature all kinds of people, from ex-drivers to commentators and from fans to Rossi’s former mechanic. In the first episode we go back to the early years of Rossi’s career.
Listen to the first episode of the ValenTTino podcast below.