Valentino Rossi

Who is the most popular MotoGP racer - the most popular motorcycle racer in the world? Valentino Rossi.

Valentino Rossi is a legend in Grand Prix motorcycle racing. Fans around the globe cheer for the charismatic Italian and he responds with flamboyant post-race celebrations and a riding style that always attracts attention. The Doctor became a Champion of all three GP series, 125, 250, as well as the final year of classic 500cc racing. Rossi joined Mike Hailwood and Phil Read as the only men to have accomplished this task.

Valentino has been going by the motto of "one year to learn, one year to win" throughout his GP career. Rossi began racing GP in the 125 class in 1996. The following year he became the youngest ever GP champion at age 16, winning 11 rounds along the way. He was moved up to the 250 class in 1998 where he finished second with five wins. In 1999 he once again become a champion (the youngest 250 champ to date), dominating the series with nine victories. Next up: 500GP aboard the venerable Honda NSR. In 2000 young Rossi finished behind Kenny Roberts Jr. and returned in 2001 with a mission: to become a 500 GP champion. He did just that. After a year-long battle with rival, Max Biaggi, he wrapped up the championship with 11 victories and established himself as one of the greatest GP racers of all time.

After his first title in the premier class, Rossi rattled off four more with five straight wins from 2001-2005. During that five-year span, The Doctor’s position as GP champion was challenged but never bested by his lead rivals: Max Biaggi and Sete Gibernau. Rossi also made an unexpected move during that timespan, switching from the long dominant Honda to Yamaha, which he promptly developed into a title-winning machine.

The most dominating rider in the modern era, the unthinkable happened when Rossi lost his title to Nicky Hayden in 2006. Rossi's failure came when he crashed during the season finale at Valencia, losing his points lead to Hayden. Sporting the Excalibur motif on his 2007 preseason factory Yamaha, the unspoken message from Rossi was loud and clear: The once and future king is dead set on recovering his crown. The Doctor fell short in 2007, however, losing his supremacy to Ducati's Casey Stoner and finishing the season third in the championship.

In 2008 Rossi took Fiat Yamaha and switched to Bridgestone rubber, the same slicks as Stoner. The result was a return to form and a dominating season from Rossi, with another MotoGP crown. The following year Rossi repeated the feat, scoring yet another world title. The Doctor had to work for it, however, with his greatest competition coming from across the garage in teammate, Jorge Lorenzo.

2010 proved a difficult year for Rossi. While Lorenzo was on a powerful winning streak, Rossi suffered a broken leg during a practice crash at Mugello. The incident left The Doctor on the injured list for multiple rounds, and when he returned Lorenzo had a sizeable lead in the championship. Rossi eventually finished third in the '10 season behind Lorenzo and Stoner.

In a much anticipated move Rossi severed his long relationship with Yamaha to sign with Ducati for 2011, and there the Italian will seek his eighth MotoGP title.