Valentino Rossi has enough fuel left in his tank

The 2017 MotoGP season, which has gone into the summer break, has been one of the most exciting and unpredictable in recent times, with five different winners in nine races and just 10 points separating the top four. But one thing that remains constant in the paddock is the aura surrounding Valentino Rossi.

It has been more than two decades since the Italian first stood on the grid and much has changed since he won his first race in the 125cc category at the Czech Grand Prix in Brno as a dashing 17-year-old.

New riders emerged, new machines came, tyres and engine specifications changed. All the while Rossi has been busy accumulating nine world titles in different categories, and despite being in the autumn of his career, he still has not lost his charm.

The Movistar Yamaha rider had briefly led the championship this season and his victory in the eighth round at the Dutch Grand Prix in Assen showed that he still has enough fuel left in his tank to mount a title challenge.
Though it has been seven years since the 38-year-old won the championship, he has always been in the scheme of things, with runner-up finishes in the last three seasons bearing testimony to his credentials.

Young Spaniards - three-time world champion Marc Marquez and rising star Maverick Vinales - have raised the bar with their dare-devilry on the track, but Rossi has never really allowed them to outshine him.
"I think all of us who're fighting for the World Championship at this time are on the same level. There's no favourite," was all 'The Doctor', as he is called by his peers, would say when asked about the prospects of a record 10th world title.
He came agonisingly close to ending his title jinx in 2015, a season more remembered for his feud with Marquez which cost him the title.

The two have buried the hatchets and moved on since then and Rossi was candid while admitting that the reason behind Marquez leading the championship this season is because of his cleverness.

"He won when he needed to, but when he struggled he limited the damage very well. That's why he's in the lead."

As the MotoGP resumes after the summer break on August 6 at Brno, the same circuit where he won his first race, Rossi knows that he could fancy his title chances in a season in which the lead has changed four times.

"After a two-week break, I've recharged my batteries. When I arrive in Brno I should be able to give my 100 per cent. I'm just ten points away from the top. So I think the championship is still very much open."

As 23 riders from six different manufacturers lined up at the grid in the season opener in Qatar on March 26, not many had given Rossi much of a chance, especially after his pre-season struggles. But after nine races, Rossi is very much in the hunt. Seeing him compete with riders, some of whom are just half of his age, one should praise his mental toughness in a truly demanding sport like MotoGP.

The fact that his charisma extends beyond the two wheels can be gauged from Formula One driver Daniel Ricciardo saying Rossi was his idol, after his victory at the recent Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

"For me, he is a source of inspiration for his fitness. Don't you let the influence of what happens off the track, by other commitments. He has a huge mental strength. I know the effort it takes to reconcile all these factors and what surprises me is that he manages to do so defying a generation of young boys."

These 'so-called' young boys include his now Yamaha mate Vinales who was just a toddler when Rossi won his first race 21 years back.

But Rossi has no qualms whatsoever in competing with them, "The feeling of being the No.1 is fantastic. Sincerely, I race with motorcycles for this feeling: for what I feel in the five or six final laps of the race," he said.

It is that 'feeling' that has helped Rossi win 115 Grand Prix across classes, second only to compatriot Giacomo Agostini's 122 and it is that feeling that should keep the evergreen star vroomimg along.

OneIndia News