The Italian took third place – his 84th Yamaha rostrum finish – in his last race with the Fiat Yamaha team.

Valentino Rossi’s final race for Fiat Yamaha produced one last podium as the Italian took third place at Valencia on Sunday, sealing the same position in the Championship in the process.

Starting from the second row Rossi dropped to ninth going into turn one, but recovered swiftly to join the front pack where he eventually settled into third position and crossed the finish line for an 84th and last podium with Yamaha, thus bringing the curtain down on a seven-year spell which has yielded 46 wins and four World Championships.


"Honestly I'm happy with this final result with Yamaha, because we had a difficult weekend here. I didn't get a good start but I realised straight away that I was much faster today and that my bike felt good. At one point I thought I might be able to win but in the later part of the race I just didn't have enough strength to stay with Lorenzo and Stoner, this is a very hard track when you're not completely fit,” said Rossi. “Arriving on the podium was my way to say thank you to my bike, to Yamaha and to all the people who have worked with me in these seven seasons.”

“It's been a great experience and I have enjoyed it so much. 46 is a great number of wins - of course I wanted more but I think I can be happy with what I have done here. We have finished the season strongly with five podiums in a row and after such a difficult season we can feel happy about how we have ended. It's been a wonderful seven years, great fun with a special atmosphere, many fantastic victories and four World Championships. I stopped with my bike after the race today just like I did at Welkom when this story began, it was the right way to say goodbye to ‘her'. Thank you to everyone, we have wonderful memories."