title: Valentino Rossi

text: There was much anticipation for the first race of the season; Rossi on an Italian bike turned quite some heads, but he started the season on a disappointing note, only finishing seventh in Qatar. At the second round in Spain, he had moved up from twelfth on the grid to third when he collided with the Honda of Casey Stoner with 20 laps to go. As Rossi edged past on the inside of Stoner, his bike slipped from under him in the wet conditions, causing both riders to slide off the track. Rossi resumed and eventually finished fifth but Stoner retired from the race. Rossi later apologised for the incident. Another fifth place followed in Portugal where he rose from ninth to fourth, battling with the Honda of Andrea Dovizioso who snatched fourth place from him at the line.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: Rossi's best result of the year came in France, where he took his first and only podium of the season. He battled hard with the Yamaha of Jorge Lorenzo and the Honda of Andrea Dovizioso, overtaking both for fifth place, when Dani Pedrosa and Marco Simoncelli at the front collided. Pedrosa crashed and retired from the race whilst Simoncelli was given a ride-through penalty.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: Rossi then finished the next four races inside the top six; fifth at Catalunya, sixth in Great Britain, fourth at the Dutch round and sixth again in Italy.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: At round nine in Germany, Rossi disappointingly finished in ninth place. At the next two races in the United States and the Czech Republic, he picked up two sixth places but once again scored a disappointing result when he crossed the line in tenth at Indianapolis after he encountered gearbox problems in the race. On lap nine, Rossi ran last and considered retiring, but climbed his way back up to tenth place in the end.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: Poor results continued at his "home grand prix" in San Marino and Aragón when Rossi only managed to finish seventh and tenth, battling with the Tech 3 Yamaha of Cal Crutchlow before he got the better of Rossi to cross the line 0.180 seconds ahead of him.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: Rossi ended the year on a low. At the Japanese round, he crashed out of the race on the first lap after a couple of corners. He collided with Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies and left Rossi with a blow to his finger. Another retirement followed in Australia when Rossi tried to overtake Álvaro Bautista for fifth on lap 14, lost the front of his Ducati and slid out of the race.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: In Malaysia, Rossi qualified ninth but was involved in a collision with Marco Simoncelli and Colin Edwards on the second lap of the race. Simoncelli fell while running fourth, landing in the path of Edwards and Rossi who both hit his Honda. Simoncelli's helmet also came off in the incident. The blow resulted in the Italian suffering critical injuries, where he later died in hospital. At the Valencian Community race, Rossi retired at the first corner after Álvaro Bautista fell from his bike and took down Rossi, teammate Hayden and Randy de Puniet in the process.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: Rossi finished seventh in the championship with 139 points, 211 points behind champion Casey Stoner. He also finished a season winless for the first time in his Grand Prix career.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: After a frustrating first season with the Ducati, 2012 was a little better for Rossi. He started poorly in Qatar, starting from twelfth and only mustered tenth at the line. In Spain and Portugal, he finished in ninth and seventh positions, respectively.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: One of his best results of the year came at the French round. He started from seventh on the grid but moved to fourth on the opening lap and overtook the fading Pedrosa for third on lap three. Rossi then was caught by the Tech 3 Yamaha's of Cal Crutchlow and Andrea Dovizioso who battled with him over the bottom step of the podium from laps 4 to 18 until Crutchlow lost the front end of his M1 at the first corner. He remounted and continued the race as did Dovizioso, who suffered the same fate with four laps to go. After breaking free of both the Tech 3 riders, Rossi slashed the advantage Stoner had built up during the fighting and reeled him in over the remaining ten laps. On the penultimate lap, Rossi tried to overtake Stoner on the fast left-right combination at the beginning of the track but ran wide and Stoner retook the position. On the final lap, Rossi retried the move, this time successfully, and built a small gap over the remainder of the lap to cross the line in second place: the best finish Rossi has on a Ducati to date.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: Over the next couple of races, the Ducati continued to perform poorly, allowing Rossi to score points only. He finished seventh in Catalunya while in Great Britain, Rossi was fastest in the first free-practice session but finished the race in ninth. After a thirteenth-place finish at the Dutch round Rossi finished sixth in Germany, his best dry result of the season so far. In Italy, he improved upon his German result and finished fifth. His first and only DNF of the season came at the United States GP. Rossi was going to come home in eighth position when he fell at the corkscrew corner whilst trying to brake. He was also unhappy with the bike setup for the race, preventing him from riding quick enough all weekend. Rossi finished seventh at the Indianapolis and Czech Republic rounds.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: Rossi equalled his best Ducati result in Le Mans by finishing second for the second consecutive time this season in San Marino. His Ducati bike got a new frame and swingarm, which improved the performance of the motorcycle. Rossi ended his final year with Ducati with lackluster performances. In Aragón he finished eighth, in Japan seventh, at the Malaysian round fifth, in Australia seventh again and at the Valencian Community round tenth.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: On 10 August, it was confirmed that Rossi was going to leave the factory Ducati team at the end of the 2012 season. Later that day, it was also announced that Rossi were to 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 Valencia. However, rain prevented him from posting an accurate lap time until he tested the 2013 machine later on 5–7 February 2013 in Sepang, where he posted the third-fastest time of 2:00.542 out of 28 riders. He clocked 0.442 seconds off from pace-setter Dani Pedrosa and just 0.113 seconds off teammate Jorge Lorenzo.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: He kicked off the season well. At the opening round in Qatar he had a competitive pace all weekend but lost out badly with the new qualifying format, demoting him to seventh place on race day. He quickly fought himself back to fourth on the opening lap, but ran wide when he tried to overtake Ducati replacement rider Andrea Dovizioso, once again dropping him back to seventh place. His podium chances continued to worsen when he got stuck behind Stefan Bradl but once he passed him, he defied the odds by bridging a three-second gap to Cal Crutchlow, Dani Pedrosa and rookie Marc Márquez who were fighting for second place. Rossi passed both Crutchlow and Pedrosa, but Márquez' aggressive riding style and determination led to a battle between the two. Márquez overtook Rossi on the penultimate lap, with Rossi repassing him on the final lap to stay in front and cross the line ahead of the Spanish rookie with 0.211 seconds. At the next two races at the Americas and Spain, Rossi finished in sixth and fourth position. At the French round, he finished a disappointing twelfth. He started the race from eighth on the grid and moved up to third to grab another podium but lost the position to Cal Crutchlow and then slid out of contention with ten laps to go. Rossi continued to finish in twelfth position, albeit on a damaged bike and hampered by a misting visor.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: At round five in Italy, Rossi registered his only retirement of the year. He was involved with a first-lap collision with the Gresini Honda of Álvaro Bautista at the left-right chicane that forms turns two and three. Rossi rode around the outside of Bautista, but he failed to notice Rossi and clipped his bike on the approach to the right-hander, making him fall and collecting Rossi in the process. In Catalunya, Rossi finished just off the podium for the second consecutive time by finishing fourth after starting from seventh on the grid.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: On 29 June 2013 at the Dutch round, Rossi recorded his first MotoGP win since Malaysia in 2010 – a 46-race winless streak. He started from fourth on the grid but overtook the Honda of Dani Pedrosa for the lead on lap six, a lead he held to the line despite a late charge by the other Honda of Márquez, who crossed the line 2.170 seconds behind the Italian. After his first win of the season in Assen, Rossi continued to score good results by scoring two more podiums in the form of third places at the German and United States, in which Márquez overtook Rossi at the corkscrew corner in similar fashion to what Rossi did to Casey Stoner in 2008 to win the race.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: From Indianapolis to San Marino, Rossi scored four consecutive fourth places before scoring yet another third-place podium at Aragón after a three-way battle for the spot with Álvaro Bautista, Stefan Bradl and Cal Crutchlow. Rossi again finished just off the podium at the Malaysian round, finishing fourth but scored a final podium in the form of third place at the Australian round, once more battling Crutchlow and Bautista. At the last two rounds in Japan and at the Valencian Community, he finished sixth and fourth respectively.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: Rossi finished fourth in the championship with 237 points – his best result since 2010 – 97 points behind champion Marc Márquez. He scored six podiums, including one win at Assen.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: At the end of the 2013 season, Rossi announced the conclusion of his long collaboration with crew chief Jeremy Burgess, who was replaced by Silvano Galbusera, the former crew chief of Marco Melandri in the Superbike World Championship.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: Rossi's first year since his return to Yamaha went well, and hopes for 2014 were even higher: more podiums, wins or even the illustrious tenth title all were mentioned by people. He started the season well with a second-place finish in Qatar, storming from tenth on the grid to battle with the Honda of Márquez for the win, only to miss out on the victory on the last lap with 0.259 seconds at the line. At the next two races, the 2014 Motorcycle Grand Prix of the Americas and the new venue in Argentina, Rossi only scored points by finishing in eighth and fourth.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: A better result was achieved in the fourth round of the championship in Spain, where he chose to use an extra-hard rear tyre that allowed him to move up to second from fourth on the grid and overtake Márquez at the end of the back straight on the first lap. Both swapped places over the remainder of the first and second laps, but Márquez pulled away at the Dry Sack corner and Rossi had to settle for second place. Another second place came in France after Rossi ran wide halfway through the race, allowing Márquez to win. On 1 June 2014, Rossi appeared in his 300th Grand Prix race at the Italian round, where he finished in third. His fourth second place came at the Catalan GP, leading for much of the race but ultimately losing first place to Márquez at a late stage of the race. Lackluster performances followed at the Dutch and German rounds – fifth and fourth – until a string of third places followed at the Indianapolis, Czech and British races.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: At his "home race" in San Marino, Rossi won his first race since the 2013 Dutch TT round. He started third on the grid before moving up and battling with Márquez for the lead. On lap 10, Márquez fell, which allowed Rossi to pull a gap and finish first at the line, ahead of teammate Jorge Lorenzo. The victory pushed him past 5000 total career points, making him the first, and so far only, rider to achieve this.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: At round 14 in Aragón, Rossi qualified in sixth place and had been making progress up the order when he ran wide onto the grass – damp due to the wet conditions – and crashed heavily. He lost consciousness briefly after the crash (or as Rossi put it: "I had a little nap") and was transferred to a hospital in Alcañiz for a precautionary CT scan.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: In Australia Rossi took his second victory of the year. He benefitted from an accident of Marc Márquez who had been leading the race. It was Rossi's sixth win at the circuit after five consecutive wins he took from 2001 to 2005. In Malaysia, another second-place finish followed when he initially took the lead halfway in the race after passing Lorenzo. Márquez passed both Lorenzo and Rossi, pulling a gap and finishing 2.445 seconds ahead of the Italian. Rossi took his first pole position since the 2010 French Grand Prix at the Valencian Community race, his 60th pole position in Grand Prix racing. He finished in second place behind Márquez in the race.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: With a season of consistent podium finishes – including two wins in San Marino and Australia – there were once more hopes that Rossi might be able to win his tenth title this year. He started the 2015 season – his 20th at World Championship level – by taking victory in the opening race in Qatar; it was his first win in a season-opening race since the 2010 Qatar race. Rossi held off Ducati's Andrea Dovizioso to cross the line 0.174 seconds ahead and complete his 109th Grand Prix victory while Dovizioso's teammate Andrea Iannone finished third, completing an all-Italian podium – the first since the 2006 Japanese Grand Prix. At the second race at the Americas, Rossi scored his first third-place podium. He moved up into second place but couldn't match the pace of polesitter and eventual winner Marc Márquez and lost second position to Dovizioso in the late stages of the race. His second victory of the season came in Argentina where Rossi and polesitter Márquez had a clash after a battle for the lead, causing Márquez to crash out of the penultimate lap and handing Rossi the race victory. This win consolidated his championship lead, becoming the first rider to win a race using an extra-hard Bridgestone rear tyre.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: He recorded his fourth podium finish of the year, eighth successive podium finish – and the 200th of his Grand Prix career – with a third place in Spain, then kept the run going with a second place in France and a third place on home soil in Italy. In Catalunya, Rossi finished second after a late charge on teammate and race winner Jorge Lorenzo to maintain the championship lead over his teammate by one point.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: Rossi took his first pole position of the season at the Dutch race – his first pole since the 2014 Valencian Community round and 61st pole position in Grand Prix racing – and achieved his third victory of the season after a race-long battle with Márquez where the pair once again collided on the final corner on the last lap. It was his first win from pole position since the 2009 San Marino Grand Prix and his twelfth successive podium. He also extended his championship lead to ten points over Lorenzo, who finished third.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: Rossi further extended his championship lead in Germany with third and continued his podium streak with third-place finishes at Indianapolis and the Czech Republic. Lorenzo's win in Brno gave him the championship lead over Rossi, by virtue of more wins at that point.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: Rossi regained the championship lead with his fourth victory of the year in Great Britain after Márquez – who had been chasing him for the majority of the race – crashed out in wet conditions on lap 13 while Lorenzo finished fourth. The podium streak of 16 races ended with a fifth-place finish in San Marino, but Rossi extended his championship lead to 23 points after Lorenzo crashed out. Lorenzo won the Aragón round with Rossi finishing in third to cut the gap to fourteen points with four races remaining. The pair's results were enough for the team to clinch their respective title, their first since 2010.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: In Japan, Rossi extended his championship lead to eighteen points with a second-place finish to Dani Pedrosa – his first win of the season – in drying conditions. Lorenzo had started on pole but faded to third with tyre issues. Lorenzo then cut the lead to eleven points in Australia by finishing second to Rossi's fourth.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: Lorenzo further cut the lead to seven points after a second-place finish in Malaysia; Rossi finished third after a controversial collision with Márquez, in which he accrued three penalty points – enough to enforce a start from the back of the grid for the final race at the Valencian Community. Rossi accused Márquez of deliberately trying to harm his championship, something Márquez repeatedly denied. Rossi made it up to fourth in the race but with Lorenzo winning it, he took the championship by only five points.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: The controversial rivalries between Rossi and Márquez appeared to end at the 2016 Catalan Grand Prix, when Rossi and Márquez shook hands at the parc ferme. However, during the 2018 Argentine Grand Prix, controversies reared up again following some disputed maneuvers carried out by Marc Márquez before and during the race, where he tried a very risky overtake on Rossi that resulted in a crash for the latter.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: Before the 2016 season even began, Rossi announced that he will continue his career by keeping his contract with the Factory Yamaha team until 2018. Yamaha announced that Rossi will ride a 2016 YZR-M1 which also includes ECU Michelin tyres new to MotoGP and all riders. Expecting a difficult start to the season due to the new tyres, Rossi was able to adjust as he stated to the media at Sepang during the tests.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: Rossi began the 2016 season with fourth place in Qatar, albeit just two seconds from victory. In the next race in Argentina, Rossi returned to the podium with a second place behind Marc Márquez after a collision between Ducati riders Andrea Iannone and Andrea Dovizioso on the last lap allowed Rossi and Dani Pedrosa to move up, for which Iannone was penalised. The race was split into two parts similar to the 2013 Australian Grand Prix after concerns over Michelin rear tyres forced riders to make a pitstop to change bikes. Rossi had fought with Márquez for the lead in the first half of the race but fell back to fourth on his second bike before the last lap incident between the Ducatis. At the third round in the Americas, Rossi suffered his first DNF since the 2014 Aragon Grand Prix, bringing an end to a run of 24 consecutive top-five finishes after crashing at the start of the third lap at turn 2 when he lost the front of his M1 mid-corner.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: In Spain, Rossi took pole position – his first since the Dutch round last year and his 52nd pole position overall – on Saturday, then led the race from start-to-finish with the exception of one corner to win. The race marked the first time in his MotoGP career that Rossi led every lap of a race from pole position. At the French round, Rossi started a lowly seventh on the grid but recovered in the race, overtaking both Márquez and Dovizioso in the process to finish second with the fastest lap of the race, the race being won by Yamaha teammate Lorenzo. Rossi suffered an engine failure on his home race in Italy when battling Lorenzo for the lead after starting from pole position. It was Rossi's first technical failure since the 2007 San Marino Grand Prix.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: Rossi bounced back in Catalunya by winning from seventh on the first lap after a late-race battle with Márquez. Rossi dedicated the victory to the family of former Moto2 rider Luis Salom, who had been killed following a crash during Friday practice. The first race held on Sunday at the Dutch race saw disappointment for Rossi as wet conditions saw him fall from a comfortable lead in a restarted race following a red flag in torrential conditions. Assuming the lead in the second race, Rossi set the fastest lap and continued to push before crashing due to what he called a "stupid mistake". More rain at the German round saw Rossi in contention for victory again. However, a delayed decision to change bikes in the drying conditions, combined with using intermediate tyres instead of slicks like Márquez, saw him come home eighth.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: After the summer break, MotoGP's return to Austria for the first time since 1997 saw the Factory Ducati riders dominate for a 1–2 finish, Rossi coming home a close fourth behind Jorge Lorenzo. Another wet race in the Czech Republic saw Rossi go against the majority of the field in choosing the harder rear wet tyre. Initially it seemed an error as he fell from 6th to 12th but he recovered throughout the race to finish second to Cal Crutchlow. Great Britain saw Rossi line up second on the grid behind pole-sitter Crutchlow and following an intense battle with Márquez, eventually finishing third behind Crutchlow and first-time race winner Maverick Viñales. A week later Rossi finished second at his "home race" in San Marino. After leading for the majority of the race he was overhauled by Dani Pedrosa in the closing laps. Rossi again led for a period in Aragón before eventually finishing third.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: The flyaway races began badly for Rossi after he crashed out of second place in Japan, having started from pole. Victory for Márquez saw the Spaniard crowned champion with three races remaining. Rossi started in fifteenth spot at the Australian race after a rain affected qualifying but recovered to finish second in the race. Rossi secured second place once more in wet conditions in Malaysia behind Andrea Dovizioso having again led for periods of the race, the result securing second place in the championship for the third year in a row. The season concluded in the same fashion as 2015 did, with fourth place in Valencia after a long battle with Iannone.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: Rossi suffered a difficult winter testing period for the 2017 season, often lagging behind new teammate Maverick Viñales after suffering with a new, softer construction Michelin front tyre.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: For the season opener in Qatar however, he appeared to make a breakthrough, moving from tenth on the grid to finish third. Rossi continued his improvement by taking back-to-back second place podiums in Argentina after a battle with Cal Crutchlow for second place and the Americas to take the lead of the championship after three races by six points.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: The European season began disappointingly with a lowly tenth position at the Spanish round whilst Honda rider Dani Pedrosa won the race from pole. At the next race in France, Rossi crashed out of the race on the last lap while battling with teammate Viñales for the win. Rossi also lost the championship lead after the race. Following the French round, Rossi suffered a motocross training crash and had mild thoracic and abdominal trauma, but no fractures were detected in any part of the body and no serious traumatic pathologies were found. This crash initially threatened his participation at Mugello, but ultimately he passed a late fitness test and was deemed fit to race. At his home race in Italy, Rossi finished just off the podium in fourth, blaming his lack of energy due to his motocross training crash a week earlier which prevented him from scoring said podium. A week later in Catalunya, both Yamaha riders struggled as they did in Jerez in the hot conditions with Rossi and Viñales only able to finish eighth and tenth.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: Tests of a new chassis after the Catalan race were positive and saw Rossi take his first and only win of the season at the Dutch round after a late-race battle with the Pramac Ducati of Danilo Petrucci, who ran slick tyres on a damp track, the older Italian prevailing by just 0.063 seconds. The result also made Rossi the oldest race winner in the MotoGP era, surpassing Troy Bayliss. After his win in Assen, Rossi underperformed at the next three rounds in Germany, the Czech Republic and Austria, finishing in fifth, fourth and seventh positions.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: Rossi returned on the podium in Great Britain, leading for much of the race but ultimately having to concede the win to Dovizioso and second to Viñales with three laps to go. After the race at Silverstone, Rossi suffered another motocross crash in late August where he suffered displaced fractures of the tibia and fibula of his right leg. He suffered these injuries on the same leg that he previously broke in his high-speed crash at Mugello in 2010 and put him out of contention, requiring surgery and missing his "home race" in San Marino.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: After missing out on the race in Misano, Rossi returned in Aragón to finish an impressive fifth after lining up at the front row of the grid on Saturday. In Japan, he went on to record his second retirement of the season when he crashed out of the wet early on in the race. At the Australian GP, Rossi scored his final podium of the season by finishing in second place, fighting hard with Tech 3 Yamaha rider Johann Zarco and finishing ahead of teammate Viñales by just 0.016 seconds. Rossi finished the season with disappointing results at the Malaysian and Valencian Community rounds, only being able to score seventh and fifth.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: Rossi finished fifth in the championship with 208 points – his lowest position since his final season with Ducati in 2012 – 90 points behind champion Marc Márquez.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: Before the start of the season-opening race in Qatar, Rossi announced he had extended his contract at the Factory Yamaha team until 2020, when he will be 41 years old.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: During the pre-season tests, Rossi and Viñales once again struggled with their 2018 Yamaha YZR-M1 competitor. Both riders were concerned about corner-entry and corner-exit issues as well as the lack of traction and tyre temperature.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: At the first round in Qatar, Rossi started off well by getting a first podium of the season in the form of third place. He had a good start from eighth on the grid to move up to fourth on the opening lap, overtook the Honda of Dani Pedrosa on the second lap and made his move on the other Honda of Marc Márquez with 17 laps to go. However, he went wide at turn one on lap 11 and allowed Márquez and Andrea Dovizioso past. With five laps to go, Rossi muscled his way past the Tech 3 Yamaha of Johann Zarco but eventually couldn't get close enough and crossed the line 0.797 seconds behind eventual race winner Dovizioso. In Argentina, Rossi finished outside of the points in nineteenth place after a collision with the Honda of Márquez, who was storming through the field after starting from the back, when his bike stalled as a result of the crash. Márquez went up the inside of multiple riders, clashing with the Aprilia of Aleix Espargaró first and later with Rossi. When the Spaniard misjudged the braking point, he forced Rossi to go wide, making him clip the grass and fall in the process. Rossi eventually got going again, but failed to score any points afterwards. After the race, Rossi accused Márquez of "destroying our sport" because he "doesn't have any respect for his rivals" and Márquez received a 30-second penalty for the action. At the following rounds at the Americas and Spain, Rossi finished off the podium twice in fourth and fifth place, but he bounced back by scoring three consecutive third-place podiums at the French, Italian and Catalan rounds. At Mugello, he scored his first and only pole position of the season – his first since the 2016 Japanese GP and his 51st MotoGP pole position overall.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: Rossi only finished fifth at the Dutch round but managed to score his first and only second place of the season in Germany, 2.196 seconds behind winner Márquez, claiming he finished so high on a track that usually doesn't suit the Yamaha's because he "studied everything" from the then-absent Jonas Folger. After his podium finish at the Sachsenring, Rossi finished off the podium again at the Czech Republic and Austria races in fourth and sixth place.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: With the race in Great Britain cancelled due to heavy rain which failed to drain properly on the newly repaved Silverstone surface, Rossi failed to finish on the podium for five consecutive races. He finished the San Marino race in seventh, the Aragón race in eighth, the Thai and Japanese races in fourth and the Australian race in sixth.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: Rossi's best chance at a victory came at the penultimate round of the season in Malaysia. He took the lead going into the first corner from P2 after poleman Zarco made a poor start and built up a gap, but Márquez stormed up through the field and the gap between them was 1.1 seconds with ten laps to go. Rossi pushed hard to keep the gap above 1 second but Márquez dipped below to 0.7 seconds with five laps to go. Many were preparing for a Rossi-Márquez battle when Rossi lost the front of his M1 bike with four laps to go at turn 1. Márquez won the race, with Rossi remounting and finishing nineteenth, outside the points. At the Valencian Community round, Rossi moved up the order from sixteenth on the grid in the wet conditions, being helped by some of the front runners crashing out in the ever-worsening conditions. When the race was stopped, Rossi was forced to use a used rear tyre, which he claimed "made the difference" as he was "more in trouble with the rear". As the race restarted, Rossi crashed out of second place.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: Rossi finished third in the championship with 198 points, 123 points behind champion Marc Márquez. This was Rossi's first winless season since 2012 when he raced with Ducati and his first ever winless season with the Factory Yamaha team.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: During the pre-season tests, both Yamaha riders had mixed feelings of the 2019 YZR-M1. There were signs that showed that some of the problems, such as the lack of traction and degradation of the tyres, were less of an issue this year. However, at the Sepang tests, Rossi said he was only "half-happy" with the results, claiming, "some things worked well and we improved our performance, other things from which we expected a lot unfortunately didn't bring us what we need."


title: Valentino Rossi

text: At the opening round in Qatar, Rossi lined up fourteenth on the grid on Saturday but stormed through the field to finish in fifth at the line, +0.600 seconds behind race winner Andrea Dovizioso. At the next race in Argentina, he rode a strong race where he battled with the Ducati of Dovizioso, overtaking him on the last lap to finish second, his first podium since the 2018 German round. At the third round in the Americas, Rossi again finished second after Marc Márquez crashed out of the race and Rossi was overtaken by the Suzuki of Álex Rins with four laps to go. Eventually, Rins crossed the line 0.462 seconds ahead of Rossi to win his first ever MotoGP race. After the good results in Argentina and the U.S., Rossi only managed to finish in sixth and fifth place in Spain and France.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: In the next three rounds, Rossi registered three consecutive retirements – the first time in his career. In Italy, he crashed out after clipping the back of Joan Mir's Suzuki and ran across the gravel at Turn 4. He recovered and tried to regain the lost ground but eventually slid off again at the high-speed Arrabiata 2 corner to register his first DNF since the 2017 Japanese race. In Catalunya, Rossi – despite qualifying well on Saturday in fifth – was again forced to retire after an error by Jorge Lorenzo on lap 2 led to a freak accident in which Lorenzo, Rossi, teammate Viñales and Andrea Dovizioso were all involved. When Lorenzo tried to dive down the inside of Dovizioso at Turn 10, he lost the bike and collected Dovizioso, which in turn took out Viñales. Rossi was forced to go wide and initially survived a minor hit of Lorenzo's stricken bike, only to hit it again and fall onto the tarmac this time. The bike was damaged as a result and Rossi was unable to continue. In the Netherlands, Rossi registered his third DNF when he crashed and took out Takaaki Nakagami at Turn 8 on lap 4, the race being won by his teammate Viñales.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: After these disastrous results, the next races went better for him. At the German and Czech rounds, Rossi managed to score an eighth and sixth place. He then scored three consecutive fourth places in Austria, which was the scene of the dramatic last-lap battle between Dovizioso and Màrquez, Great Britain and his home race in San Marino. Two eighth-place finishes followed for the Italian in Aragón and Thailand.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: At the Japanese race, another retirement came for Rossi. He crashed out of a lowly eleventh place at Turn 1 with four laps to go. This was Rossi's fourth DNF of the season, equalling his 1998 season and the highest amount in his MotoGP career. Rossi ended the season only being able to score points: he finished in eighth place in Australia, fourth place in Malaysia – narrowly losing out on the podium but taking the fastest lap of the race – and eighth again in Valencia.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: Rossi finished seventh in the championship with 174 points, 246 points behind champion Marc Márquez. This was Rossi's lowest championship position since 2011 when he raced for Ducati and marked his second winless season.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: In October 2019, Rossi announced he would be changing his crew chief. Silvano Galbusera, who has been Rossi's crew chief since 2014, will be replaced by David Muñoz for the 2020 season. The reason stated for this change was because of the poor results Rossi obtained during the 2019 season.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: Rossi's future at the factory Yamaha team was uncertain after the rather poor results he had obtained the previous year. His initial plan was to wait for a handful of races in 2020 to see how competitive he still is because he has not won a race since 2017 and because of his lackluster 2019 season. However, because of the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent delay of the start of the season, Rossi did not get the five or six races he hoped for. The team had asked him at the beginning of the year to make a decision regarding his future for reasons dictated by the riders' market, but ended the negotiations after his decision and chose Fabio Quartararo to line up beside Viñales for the 2021 season. This has left Rossi with a vacant seat but Yamaha's Lin Jarvis has already said that the team wants to supply him with a full factory bike and support. In July 2020, Rossi said that he is "99% certain" he will ride for the SIC Racing Team even though no contract has been signed yet, and that he'll make the decision either in August or September 2020. Rossi has also said he wants to continue racing in 2021, but that both he and SIC team boss Razlan Razali had doubts after the poor weekend in Spain. However, after Rossi's podium at the second race in Andalucia, these doubts were put to rest.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: At the pre-season tests, the 2020 Yamaha YZR-M1 had improved considerably compared to the 2019 counterpart. The new engine had fixed most of the deficit that the riders suffered from in 2018 and 2019 and the handling was improved as well thanks to an updated chassis. Both the Factory as well as the SIC satellite riders were happy with the feeling of this year's bike and Rossi said that the bike has "a very good feeling" but that he personally worries he'll struggle with the tyres after around five to six laps and is disappointed the Yamaha is still losing out to the competitors on the straights. He also commented that the updated Michelin tyres suit the bike, as well as his riding style, a lot more compared to last year.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: Rossi's first race was supposed to start in Qatar but was cancelled due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus. After a three-month delay, the season finally got underway in Spain. At this race, Rossi ran in tenth position before retiring with technical problems. The race was won by satellite rider Quartararo for the first time in his MotoGP career. At the same venue one week later in Andalucia, the Italian took his first podium since Austin. After qualifying in a strong fourth on Saturday, Rossi found himself in a fierce battle for second place with teammate Maverick Viñales after multiple riders either crashed out or had technical issues. Eventually, after outbraking himself, he lost second to Viñales but came home third to pick up his 199th podium in his motorcycle racing career. At the following two rounds in the Czech Republic and Austria, he came home in fifth place but only managed to come home ninth in the Styrian GP. Following a fourth place in the first race at his home Grand Prix in Misano, Rossi had three consecutive retirements, crashing out in the early stages of the second race at Misano and Le Mans, and while challenging Quartararo for a potential race win in Barcelona.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: On 15 October 2020, he tested positive for COVID-19, which forced him to miss the Aragon and Teruel GP's. Six members of the factory Yamaha team were quarantined as one member had already tested positive earlier in October 2020. Having recovered from COVID-19, Rossi raced at the European GP but retired, on 12 November, Rossi tested positive for COVID-19 for a second time. However, further tests confirmed that the previous test was a false positive and he was allowed to participate in the final two races of the season.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: In September 2020, after six months of speculation, Rossi confirmed that he would be joining Petronas Yamaha SRT for the 2021 season alongside his VR46 Academy protégé Franco Morbidelli. This is the first time that Rossi raced with a satellite team since 2001 – which was when he clinched his first-ever premier class world title. Despite being a non-factory rider, Rossi still received factory-supported machinery for his season at Petronas Yamaha SRT. In this team he had five different teammates in a season, namely Franco Morbidelli, Garrett Gerloff, Cal Crutchlow, Jake Dixon, and Andrea Dovizioso.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: On 5 August 2021, during the pre-event press conference of the 2021 Styrian motorcycle Grand Prix weekend, he announced that he would retire from MotoGP after the 2021 season. That would mark the end of Valentino Rossi's career era in MotoGP. His last race was the 2021 Valencian Community motorcycle Grand Prix, and he was congratulated for a successful career by various celebrities and prominent racing figures such as Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen, as well as former rival Casey Stoner. Rossi's number 46 was retired with a ceremony at the 2022 Italian motorcycle Grand Prix.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: During his MotoGP career, Rossi had participated in some car racing events like the Gulf 12 Hours in 2019 and 2020, usually driving a Ferrari. On 13 January 2022, it was announced that Rossi would be racing for Team WRT in the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup in 2022, driving an Audi R8 LMS.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: In January 2022, Team WRT announced that Rossi would join its driver line-up in the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS for the 2022 season. Rossi started his professional career on four wheels with the Belgian squad, which is the reigning champion team in the Fanatec GTWCE Powered by AWS (overall, Endurance and Sprint). Rossi will be competing in both the Endurance and the Sprint Cups, driving an Audi R8 LMS sporting the emblematic #46 in the Pro Cup class. He has been paired with Audi factory drivers Nico Müller and Frédéric Vervisch for his first full-time foray in sportscar racing, the former being an endurance co-driver for the team.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: In his first race at Imola, Rossi finished in 17th place overall due to a miscommunication causing him to overshoot his pit box; despite this issue Rossi stated he "enjoyed every moment". At the next round in Brands Hatch, the first Sprint round of the championship, he finished Race 1 and Race 2 in 13th and 8th places respectively. In the following 6 rounds of the championship, Rossi and his teammates achieved 4 overall top ten finishes, three of them being 5th place finishes. His WRT Team currently sits 2nd in the teams' championship in GTWCE, with 181.5 points.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: After being with Audi for 13 years, starting the 2023 season WRT switched to BMW. This Belgian team will use the BMW M4 GT3.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: WRT has confirmed the switch to BMW for the GT3 program in 2023. The squad started testing by compiling a list of drivers, including Valentino Rossi. Rossi himself confirmed that he will continue to race in 2023 with WRT. He continued his sportscar career by staying at WRT which now uses a BMW in its pursuit of Le Mans 24 Hours.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: In the late 1990s and early 2000s, especially during his 250cc career, Rossi's main rival was fellow Italian Loris Capirossi. They often fought hard between each other during the races – with 1999 Assen, 2003 Catalunya and 2006 Mugello as examples – they always maintained a level of fairness on and off the track.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: At the early stages of his 500cc career, Max Biaggi was considered Rossi's main rival. Rossi often found himself battling on the track with Capirossi and Biaggi, dubbing them "the three musketeers" by the Italian press. While the rivalry with Capirossi never escalated and the two always were on good terms with each other, the rivalry with Biaggi had been growing since the mid-1990s, even though both didn't race against each other until the 2000 season when Rossi first joined the 500cc class.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: Rossi's closest rival in the 2003 and 2004 seasons was Sete Gibernau, riding for the Gresini Team Movistar Honda on a satellite RC211V in 2004 and then on an all but in name factory RC211V, which Gibernau helped to develop, in 2005. Initially they were quite friendly in the paddock and off – Gibernau partied on occasions with Rossi at the Italian's Ibiza villa – but a souring in their relationship began in the 2004 season and culminated in the "Qatar Incident" that same season when Rossi's team was penalized for "cleaning" his grid position to aid in traction, along with Honda Pons' Max Biaggi, and both riders were subsequently forced to start from the back of the grid. A number of teams, including Gibernau's Team Gresini and the official Repsol Honda factory team, appealed successfully to race direction for Rossi to be sanctioned. Rossi and his chief engineer, Jeremy Burgess, insisted that they were doing nothing more than what many others had done before when faced with a dirty track and Rossi accused Gibernau of being behind the move to appeal for a sanction, something the Spaniard categorically denied. Rossi accused Gibernau in 2015 that he was "playing a dirty game".


title: Valentino Rossi

text: Casey Stoner emerged as a rival for Rossi when he moved from the LCR team in 2006 to the official Factory Ducati team in 2007. Over the course of the season, Rossi and Stoner frequently battled for wins – particularly in Catalunya and China – but the young Australian had the better of Rossi in many of the races thanks to the strong Ducati and Bridgestone combination and the underperforming Yamaha Rossi had, resulting in his claiming of the 2007 MotoGP World Championship title.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: In 2008, Jorge Lorenzo joined Rossi in the Factory Yamaha team which started a new rivalry. Initially, relationships were friendly; Rossi won the 2008 title while Lorenzo suffered two serious crashes at Shanghai and Laguna Seca which prevented any serious rivalries from ever starting to begin with, Rossi concentrated more on his rivalry with Casey Stoner at the time.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: In more recent times, Rossi has been involved in an, at times, heated rivalry with Spanish rider Marc Márquez. Márquez moved up to the MotoGP category in 2013 and initially the two had a good relationship, with Márquez stating that Rossi had been his childhood idol and that it was a pleasure to battle with him. Their respect for each other took a turn during the 2015 season, starting with a late race collision whilst battling for the lead at the third round in Argentina. Márquez started from pole and created a gap at the opening stages of the race, but Rossi closed him down and a battle commenced. At turn 5, Márquez made contact with Rossi, which resulted in Márquez's bike hitting Rossi's rear tyre, causing him to fall. Márquez could not rejoin, and as a result, Rossi took his second win of the season. Both riders shrugged it off as a racing incident. A similar incident occurred at Assen several months later; Márquez lunged up the inside of Rossi at the final chicane on the final lap, Rossi picked the bike up and rode through the gravel, rejoined the track and won the race. Post-race Márquez seemed fairly unbothered by the incident, although his team did appeal the result.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: Since his early racing days Rossi has had numerous nicknames. In the beginning of his career he was known as "Rossifumi" because he was a big fan of Japanese riders, most notably Norifumi Abe, who made a spectacular debut in the 500cc class as a wildcard rider in Japan. Rossi saw the race when he was only 14 years old and became a fan of him, which led to him also wanting to become a grand prix motorcycle racing rider in the future. As such, the nickname is a tribute to him.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: Another nickname Rossi had earlier on in his career, albeit not as known or popular, was "Valentinik". This name appeared around the days when he raced in the 250cc championship. The nickname comes from the comic of Donald Duck, in Italian called "Paperino". In the comics, he transforms into an alter ego called Super Donald which in Italian translates to "Paperinik". This version of Donald Duck sports a mask and a cape and looks just like a super hero, but unlike actual super heroes does not have any luck and wreaks destruction everywhere he goes. However, he also is a funny and likeable character. The nickname is a reference to this Italian superhero, which can also be translated to "Super Valentino".


title: Valentino Rossi

text: Since Rossi started to dominate in the 500cc, later known as MotoGP, "The Doctor" has become the nickname of choice for Rossi. Although not common in English-speaking countries, the nickname is given to those as a sign of respect. Two theories prevail as to why Rossi uses this name. One is that Rossi adopted the nickname upon having earned a degree, which in Italy entitles one to use the title "Doctor". Another, as spoken by Graziano Rossi himself, "The Doctor because, I don't think there is a particular reason, but it's beautiful, and is important, The Doctor. And in Italy, The Doctor is a name you give to someone for respect, it's very important, The Doctor... important." Rossi often jokes, however, that the name arrived because in Italy, Rossi is a common surname for doctors.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: He has always raced with the number 46 in his motorcycle grand prix career, the number his father had raced with in the first of his three grand prix career wins in 1979, in Yugoslavia, on a 250c Morbidelli. Typically, a World Championship winner is awarded the No. 1 sticker for the next season. However, in a homage to Britain's Barry Sheene, who was the first rider of the modern era to keep the same number (#7), Rossi has stayed with the now-famous No. 46 throughout his career, though as the world champion he has worn the No. 1 on the shoulder of his racing leathers.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: The text on his helmet's visors refers to the name of his group of friends: "The Tribe of the Chihuahua", in Italian "Tribu Dei Chihuahua". This is also a reference to a tribe of natives found in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. The letters WLF on his leathers stand for "Viva La Figa", Italian for "Long Live Pussy". He has so far escaped any sanctions or ultimatums that he remove the letters because the "W" in "WLF" represents the two "V"s in "ViVa". Equally obvious is his success at escaping any disciplinary action from the FIM or Dorna Sports for having the letters so brazenly on the front neck area of his leathers. He traditionally also incorporates his favorite color (fluorescent yellow) into his leather designs. This has also earned him the nickname "Highlighter Pen".


title: Valentino Rossi

text: Fellow motorcycle racer and former teammate Colin Edwards, as well as many well known riders, commentators and journalists have often referred to him as 'the GOAT' (Greatest of all Time).


title: Valentino Rossi

text: Rossi tested the Ferrari Formula One car in 2006 on 31 January 1 February, and 2 February at Valencia. The first test saw Rossi spin out on the damp track into the gravel trap, ending his day. On the second day, he posted the ninth fastest time of fifteen drivers, approximately one second behind Michael Schumacher, who himself was third fastest. Rossi lapped faster than seasoned drivers Red Bull Racing's Mark Webber and David Coulthard and Toyota F1's Jarno Trulli. On the final day of testing, Rossi was just a little more than a half second behind Schumacher's best time. Schumacher hailed Rossi as having immense talent and said he would be perfectly capable of moving to Formula One and being competitive immediately.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: In May 2006, Rossi announced that he would be staying in MotoGP until he felt his work on the motorbike was "finished". Ferrari driver Schumacher said that he felt "saddened" by Rossi's decision but supported it. Rossi subsequently signed a new contract with Yamaha for the 2007 and 2008 seasons, then for 2009 and 2010.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: In 2008, Rossi tested a Ferrari F2008 at Mugello Circuit on 20 and 21 November 2008, as a gift from Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali to celebrate his eighth world title. On the first day Rossi completed over 20 laps, and set a best time of 1:22.5, only 1.5 seconds off Kimi Räikkönen's best time set at Ferrari's previous Mugello test. The second day was interrupted by rain, but Rossi still managed to set a best time of 1:24.04.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: In January 2010, Rossi has said that once he retires from motorcycle racing, he hopes to move into rallying. "There are not many changes in a man's body between 22 and 34 so I still have some time left. I would consider shifting to cars, probably rallying, after that before I finally decide to take it easy ... I know F1 would've been easier but by the time I finish MotoGP, I will be too old for F1." Stefano Domenicali, Ferrari's Formula One Team principal, however, reasserted his wish to have a third Ferrari on the F1 grid driven by Rossi, whilst confirming that Rossi would test an older Ferrari F1 car on 21 and 22 January 2010. At the aforementioned test at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Rossi once again drove a Ferrari F2008 on GP2 tyres, setting a best laptime within 0.1 seconds of Kimi Räikkönen's 2008 pole time.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: In December 2019, Rossi got the chance to swap rides with six-time F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton at Circuit Ricardo Tormo, as part of a sponsor event. He completed several laps in a 2017 Mercedes AMG F1 W08 EQ Power+, while Hamilton rode a Yamaha YZR-M1, identical to the one Rossi rode in the 2019 MotoGP season. Press were locked out of the event, so laptimes weren't made public.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: Beyond his interest in F1, Rossi's strong passion is for rallying. In Rossi's youth one of his heroes was WRC Champion Colin McRae. Rally legend McRae taught Rossi the basics of driving a rally car. The two competed against each other at the 2005 Monza Rally Show, with McRae driving a Skoda Fabia WRC and Rossi winning in a Subaru Impreza WRC. His first official foray into rallying came in 2002 at WRC Rally Great Britain in a Peugeot 206 WRC, in which he crashed out on the second stage (first non-superspecial stage). Rossi had competed in the Monza Rally Show several times in a Toyota Corolla WRC.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: In October 2006 it was announced that Rossi would enter that year's Rally New Zealand, a WRC event, which was to run from 17 to 19 November. He competed in a Subaru Impreza WRC04 finishing 11th out of 39. In 2006 Rossi also won the Monza Rally Show driving a Ford Focus RS WRC 04. He beat the 2005 winner Rinaldo Capello by 24 seconds, winning five of the seven stages on his way. He also managed to outpace former WRC champion Didier Auriol by seven seconds in the head-to-head Master Show final. Rossi also announced at the 2006 Monza Rally Show, that he would be entering the 2007 Rally of Great Britain, however, he later opted out. At the 2007 Monza Rally, Rossi again took first place.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: Rossi had been linked with a move to both Formula One and the World Rally Championship in 2007, having tested for Ferrari and competed in a number of rally events.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: But Rossi decided to remain in MotoGP; "I have a contract with Yamaha until 2008," said Rossi. "When that finishes then we will see. What I am sure about is that I will ride until I'm 31 or 32 at most. I will look for new stimuli in the next few seasons, but for now I am fully motivated". Rossi signed a new two-year contract confirming he will be at Yamaha until 2010. He originally planned to use the Impreza WRC2008 during his participation in the Rally GB in December 2008, but decided to drive a Ford Focus RS WRC 07 instead. He finished the rally in 12th place, 13 minutes and 20.4 seconds behind eventual winner Sébastien Loeb.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: In March 2010, the Italian minister Franco Frattini government awarded Rossi the first Winning Italy Award for the image he portrays of his country on an international level.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: In 2012, Rossi participated in the Blancpain Endurance Series Pro-Am Cup with the Kessel Racing Team, driving Ferrari 458 Italia GT3. In that season he had only two races, the first series in Monza and the fifth series in the Nürburgring.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: In 2013, Rossi was given a special test of Kyle Busch's NASCAR Nationwide Series stock car at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Charlotte, North Carolina. Rossi achieved a top speed of 185 miles per hour, a speed which would have put him in the top fifteen of a Nationwide Series race.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: Later in the same week after Rossi got the chance to swap rides with six-time F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton at Circuit Ricardo Tormo in a 2017 Mercedes AMG F1 W08 EQ Power+, Rossi competed in the 2019 Gulf 12 Hour at Yas Marina Circuit, behind the wheel of a Ferrari 488 GT3 ran by Kessel Racing. His co-drivers were his half-brother and Moto2 rider, Luca Marini, and Alessio Salucci. Rossi set the team's fastest laptime in qualifying, securing seventh place overall on the grid. Despite a shaky start with some lost positions, the team were in the lead of the Pro-Am class at the halfway point. A few technical issues in the Pro-class left the VR46 car in a battle for the final overall podium place with Spirit Race Team's Audi R8 LMS Evo. Rossi got into the car for the final stint and drove the car to an overall third place and a win in the Pro-Am class, despite picking up a five-second time penalty.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: In January 2021, he and his co-drivers Luca Marini and Alessio Salucci competed in the 2020 Gulf 12 Hours, behind the wheel of a Ferrari 488 GT3 run by Kessel Racing which was held at the Bahrain International Circuit and won the third podium.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: Rossi will be competing in the GT World Challenge Europe in 2022 for Team WRT, driving an Audi R8 LMS in the endurance and sprint categories, and will sport the number 46, the same number he raced with in MotoGP.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: Valentino Rossi is expected to feature at the Bathurst 12-Hour endurance race at Mount Panorama in Australia.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: Rossi founded a racing school with the name VR46 Racing Academy. This academy is a place for training and growth of young Italian drivers which was founded in 2014 in Tavullia, Italy. The VR46 provides the experience and knowledge that Valentino Rossi has gained over the years of his career. VR46 Riders Academy has an experienced team. Alessio Salucci managed relations with the team, Alberto Tebaldi was responsible for logistics and external relations, Luca Brivio for the operational management of the drivers, Carlo Casabianca for physical preparation, Claudio Sanchioni for contractual aspects and Barbara Mazzoni for secretarial and administrative services.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: Rossi is the owner of the junior-class team Sky Racing Team by VR46, which debuted in the Moto3 category of Grand Prix motorcycle racing in 2014 with riders Romano Fenati and Francesco Bagnaia with his former Cagiva teammate Vittoriano Guareschi as team manager. In 2015, Andrea Migno replaced Francesco Bagnaia and Guareschi was replaced by Alessio 'Uccio' Salucci and Carlo Alberto Tebaldi. The team also races in Moto2. In 2020, it was announced that Rossi's brand VR46 would back one machine from the Esponsorama Avintia team in the 2021 MotoGP season, to be ridden by his half-brother, Luca Marini.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: VR46 Riders Academy began to reap the "investment" results through several academy drivers, including Franco Morbidelli who became the 2017 world champion and then finished as the 2020 MotoGP runner-up. This achievement was then repeated by Francesco Bagnaia who became the 2018 Moto2 world champion and then finished second in the 2021 MotoGP final standings. Until finally , Bagnaia ended the long wait for VR46 Academy by becoming the 2022 MotoGP world champion.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: In addition, there are several other names who have managed to compete at the top of the standings, such as Luca Marini who was runner-up in Moto2 2020, Marco Bezzecchi who managed to get third in the final Moto2 2021 standings, and several other riders in academy.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: In addition to having their own team, Rossi also collaborates with several teams to attract young racers with several programs, including the following:


title: Valentino Rossi

text: The team competes in the CIV Italian Championships Series in collaboration with Bardahl as the main sponsor. In the 2021 season the team got a wildcard to race in two Moto3 series, at Mugello and Misano. This team races using KTM bikes.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: He also has a program for nurturing young riders called VR46 MasterCamp. The team collaborated with Yamaha under the name Yamaha VR46 MasterCamp and competed in the CEV Moto2 Championships for several years before. Starting 2022 season, this team will debuted in Moto2.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: Starting from the 2022 season, the VR46 Racing Team will also return to Moto3 and work closely with Esponsorama Racing. Then the Avintia Racing team changed its name to Avintia VR46 Riders Academy, the result of a collaboration between Avintia Racing and VR46 Riders Academy which is likely to place several VR46 racers in the team.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: This team is the result of a collaboration between VR46 Riders Academy and RMU Moto from Italy. Compete in CIV PreMoto3 with young riders educated in VR46 Riders Academy.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: Rossi has gone through numerous helmet designs throughout his career, most featuring the Sun & Moon motif, signifying (according to Rossi) the two sides of his personality. His helmets are manufactured by AGV. Aldo Drudi was associated with Rossi's helmet graphics in 2010. Nearly every year, Rossi works with Aldo Drudi to design a unique helmet to use while racing at the Italian and San Marino Grand Prix.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: Since commencing his Grand Prix career, Rossi has worn leathers from Dainese. In and , Alpinestars was a sponsor on his bike, but did not supply Rossi with leathers. Alpinestars just supplied racing boots for Rossi. After Rossi joined the Yamaha Factory Team, the team wore shirts from Alpinestars, while Rossi maintained his association with Dainese. In and , Rossi was a member of the Ducati factory team, where the team wore shirts from Puma, while Rossi still maintained his association with Dainese. In 2016, Rossi has a new jacket from Dainese. His jacket has a different graphic compared with Alpinestars Movistar Yamaha jacket.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: In March 2022 Rossi has announced a multi-year partnership with Racing Force Group, which would see Rossi use OMP race suit and Bell helmets in his car racing career.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: Rossi is superstitious and renowned for his pre-ride rituals. On a race day, he will always watch the beginning of the Moto3 race to see how long the starting lights remain lit before going out at the start of the race. Prior to riding (whether racing, qualifying, or practice), he will start his personal ritual by stopping about two metres from his bike, bending over and reaching for his boots. Then, when arriving at his bike, he will crouch down and hold the right-side foot-peg, with his head bowed. In an interview, Rossi said "It's just a moment to focus and 'talk' to my bike, like moving from one place to the next." He adjusts the fit of his leathers by standing straight up on the foot-pegs, whilst riding down the pit-lane before the start of race or practice. He also revealed in an interview with MotoGP.com that he always puts one particular boot on before the other, as well as one particular glove on before the other, and that he always gets on the bike the same way. He also gets off the bike in the same way, swinging his right leg over the front of the bike.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: After leaving the family home in Tavullia, he moved to Milan, before taking up residency in London, England during his period with Honda. During this time he acquired a villa in Ibiza which he still owns, and following the tax case returned to his main residence to live close to his family in Italy. Rossi is a practising Catholic.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: In 2002 he received threats from an Italian-Spanish anarchist movement, which in those days sent parcel bombs to people it considered targets in either of the two countries. The anarchists considered Rossi "guilty" because at the time he rode for Honda's MotoGP factory team, it had been sponsored by the oil company Repsol since 1994, (for which he filmed a commercial in Spain.) with their logo displayed on both the motorcycle and on his race suits.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: On 31 May 2005 he received an honorary degree in Communications and Advertising for Organizations. In March 2010, the Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini delivered to Rossi the first Winning Italy Award for his contribution to the promotion of Italy's image in the world.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: Rossi has a maternal half-brother, Luca Marini, 2020 Moto2 season runner-up who was racing for the Sky Racing Team by VR46. In 2021, Marini moved to the MotoGP class joining the Esponsorama Racing team using the Sky VR46 livery on his bike, before moving over to Rossi's VR46 Racing Team for the 2022 season.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: Besides having a racing team, Rossi also has other businesses such as merchandise, apparel, and many other things with the VR46 brand. In Tavullia he also has a place of business with the name Tavullia 46. Tavullia 46 owns various entities such as pizza restaurants and ice cream shops.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: According to "Sports Illustrated", Rossi is one of the highest-earning sports personalities in the world, having earned an estimated $34 million in 2007. In 2009 "Forbes" ranked Rossi as number nine among the world's highest-paid athletes having earned an estimated $35 million in the past year.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: In 2007, the Italian tax authorities declared Rossi was being investigated for suspected tax evasion. Having previously unsuccessfully investigated Rossi for tax evasion in 2002, the authorities announced they were investigating Rossi for undeclared revenues of 112 million euros ($160 million) between 2000 and 2004. The officials said, against the European Taxes Agreements among European countries, Rossi's London residency has enabled him to take advantage of favourable tax conditions, such as only declaring earnings made in Britain and avoiding taxes on his lucrative merchandising and sponsorship contracts, commenting that Rossi had residency in London but his "centre of interests" wasn't there, as shown by a thorough investigation. It noted that in 2002, Rossi's Italian tax form declared earnings of 500 euros, while sponsorship contracts were all reported to be made out to foreign companies, but with his affairs controlled mainly from Italy. In February 2008, Rossi announced that he had reached a settlement with the Italian tax authorities: he paid 35 million euros to close the tax case. He also plea-bargained a suspended sentence of six months' imprisonment for non-declaration of income.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: In November 2015, Milestone srl announced the development of "", to be released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, with Rossi officially endorsing the game. It was then released on 16 June 2016, and it is also the official video game of the 2016 MotoGP season.


title: Valentino Rossi

text: Rossi keeps his personal life private, though he makes no secret of his fondness for Italian football club Inter Milan. After he won world titles in 2008 and 2009, Inter congratulated him via their website. At the 2015 Argentine Grand Prix, Rossi wore a replica Diego Maradona football shirt on the podium in tribute to Maradona after Rossi won the race. Maradona congratulated him via his Facebook.


title: Hanna-Barbera

text: Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ) was an American animation studio and production company which was active from 1957 to 2001. It was founded on July 7, 1957, by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera following the decision of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to close its in-house cartoon studio.


title: Hanna-Barbera

text: Headquartered in Cahuenga Blvd. until 1998 and then Sherman Oaks, both in Los Angeles, California, until going defunct, it created many television shows, theatrical films, specials and shorts, including "Huckleberry Hound", "Quick Draw McGraw", "The Flintstones", "Yogi Bear", "The Jetsons", "Jonny Quest", "Wacky Races", "Scooby-Doo" and "The Smurfs". Its productions have won a record-breaking 8 Emmy Awards.


title: Hanna-Barbera

text: Its fortunes declined by the 1980s as the profitability of Saturday-morning cartoons was eclipsed by weekday afternoon syndication. Taft Broadcasting acquired Hanna-Barbera in 1966 and retained ownership until 1991 when Turner Broadcasting System took over and used its back catalog as programming for its then-newly-created Cartoon Network which was launched the following year. Turner later merged in 1996 with Time Warner, which rebranded as WarnerMedia in 2018 and is now part of Warner Bros. Discovery since April 8, 2022.


title: Hanna-Barbera

text: After Hanna died on March 22, 2001, Hanna-Barbera as a standalone company was dissolved and merged into Warner Bros. Animation and later Cartoon Network Studios. Although defunct, Warner Bros. continues to produce new programming and material based on the studio's classic properties and using with their logo occasionally in select projects.


title: Hanna-Barbera

text: William Denby Hanna (Bill), native of Melrose, New Mexico and Joseph Roland Barbera (Joe), born of Italian heritage in New York City, first met at the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) studio in 1937, while working at its animation division. Having worked at other studios since the early 1930s, they solidified an "eight-decade" partnership. "Puss Gets the Boot", released in 1940, served as the first entry in the theatrical film series "Tom and Jerry". Hanna supervised the animation, while Barbera did the stories and pre-production.


title: Hanna-Barbera

text: Seven of the cartoons won 7 Oscars for Best Short Subject (Cartoons) between 1943 and 1953, and five additional shorts were nominated for 12 awards during this period. However, they were awarded to producer Fred Quimby, who was not involved in the development of the shorts. Sequences were done for "Anchors Aweigh", "Dangerous When Wet" and "Invitation to the Dance", one-shot shorts "Gallopin' Gals", "The Goose Goes South", "Officer Pooch", "War Dogs" and "Good Will to Men" made and supervised "The Bear and the Bean".


title: Hanna-Barbera

text: With Quimby's retirement in May 1955, Hanna and Barbera became the producers in charge of the MGM animation studio's output. In addition to continuing to write and direct new "Tom & Jerry" shorts, now in CinemaScope, Hanna and Barbera supervised the last seven shorts of Tex Avery's "Droopy" series and produced and directed the short-lived "Spike and Tyke", which ran for two entries.


title: Hanna-Barbera

text: In addition to their work on the cartoons, the two men moonlighted on outside projects, including the original title sequences and commercials for "I Love Lucy". MGM decided in mid-1957 to close its cartoon studio, as it felt it had acquired a reasonable backlog of shorts for re-release. While contemplating their future, Hanna and Barbera began producing additional animated television commercials. During their last year at MGM, they had developed a concept for a new animated TV program about a dog and cat duo in various misadventures.


title: Hanna-Barbera

text: After they failed to convince the studio to back their venture, live-action director George Sidney, who had worked with Hanna and Barbera on several of his theatrical features for MGM, offered to serve as their business partner and convinced to make a deal with the producers. A coin toss gave Hanna precedence in naming the new studio. Harry Cohn, president and head of Columbia Pictures, took an 18% ownership in their new company, H-B Enterprises, and provided working capital.


title: Hanna-Barbera

text: Screen Gems became the new distributor and its licensing agent, handling merchandizing of the characters from the animated programs as the cartoon firm officially opened for business in rented offices on the lot of Kling Studios (formerly Charlie Chaplin Studios) on July 7, 1957, one year after the MGM animation studio closed. Sidney and several Screen Gems alumni became members of the studio's board of directors and much of the former MGM animation staff—including animators Carlo Vinci, Kenneth Muse, Lewis Marshall, Michael Lah and Ed Barge and layout artists Ed Benedict and Richard Bickenbach—became the new production staff.


title: Hanna-Barbera

text: Hoyt Curtin was in charge of providing the music while voice performers, such as Penny Singleton, Paul Winchell, Janet Waldo, Alan Reed, Henry Corden, Jean Vander Pyl, Frank Welker, Arnold Stang, Marvin Kaplan, Allen Melvin, Bea Benaderet, June Foray, Gerry Johnson, Lucille Bliss, Casey Kasem, Gary Owens, Scatman Crothers, George O' Hanlon, Daws Butler, Don Messick, Julie Bennett, Mel Blanc, Howard Morris, John Stephenson, Hal Smith, Tim Matheson, Doug Young and Danny Goldman came on board.


title: Hanna-Barbera

text: "The Ruff and Reddy Show", its very first televised cartoon, premiered on NBC on December 14, 1957. "The Huckleberry Hound Show", which came on September 29, 1958, and aired in most markets just before prime time, was the first animated series to win an Emmy. Beginning to expand rapidly following its initial success, several animation industry alumni – in particular former Warner Bros. Cartoons storymen Michael Maltese and Warren Foster, became new head writers and joined the staff at this time, along with Joe Ruby and Ken Spears as film editors and Iwao Takamoto as character designer.


title: Hanna-Barbera

text: H-B Enterprises was reincorporated as Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. by 1959, and slowly became a leader in TV animation production from then on. "The Quick Draw McGraw Show" and "Loopy De Loop", its only theatrical short film series, followed that same year. In August 1960, the company moved into a window-less, cinder block building at 3501 Cahuenga Boulevard West, though the building was too small to house the growing staff and some of its employees worked from home.


title: Hanna-Barbera

text: "The Flintstones" premiered in prime time on ABC in 1960, loosely based on "The Honeymooners" and set in a fictionalized Stone Age of cavemen and dinosaurs. Jackie Gleason considered suing Hanna-Barbera for copyright infringement, but decided not to because he did not want to be known as "the man who yanked Fred Flintstone off the air". The series ran for six seasons, becoming the longest-running animated show in American prime time at the time (until "The Simpsons" beat it in 1997), a ratings and merchandising success and the top-ranking animated program in syndication history. It initially received mixed reviews from critics, but its reputation eventually improved and it is now considered a classic.


title: Hanna-Barbera

text: "The Yogi Bear Show", "Top Cat", "Wally Gator", "Touché Turtle and Dum Dum", "Lippy the Lion & Hardy Har Har" and "The Jetsons" soon followed in 1961 and 1962. Several animated TV commercials were produced as well, often starring their own characters (probably the best known is a series of Pebbles cereal commercials for Post featuring Barney tricking Fred into giving him his Pebbles cereal) and H-B also produced the opening credits for "Bewitched", in which animated caricatures of Samantha and Darrin appeared. These characterizations were reused in the sixth season "Flintstones" episode "Samantha".


title: Hanna-Barbera

text: In 1963, Hanna-Barbera's operations moved to 3400 Cahuenga Boulevard West in Hollywood Hills/Studio City. This contemporary office building was designed by architect Arthur Froehlich. Its ultra-modern design included a sculpted latticework exterior, moat, fountains, and a "Jetsons"-like tower. In 1964 and 1965, "The Magilla Gorilla Show", "The Peter Potamus Show", "Jonny Quest", "Atom Ant, Secret Squirrel" and "Sinbad Jr. and his Magic Belt" came on air. Screen Gems and Hanna-Barbera's partnership lasted until 1965 when Hanna and Barbera announced the sale of their studio to Taft Broadcasting.


title: Hanna-Barbera

text: Taft's acquisition of Hanna-Barbera was delayed for a year by a lawsuit from Joan Perry, John Cohn, and Harrison Cohn – the wife and sons of former Columbia Pictures president Harry Cohn, who felt that the studio undervalued the Cohns' 18% share in the company when it was sold a few years previously. In 1966, "Laurel and Hardy", "Frankenstein Jr. and The Impossibles" and "Space Ghost" first aired and by December 1966, the litigation had been settled and the studio was finally acquired by Taft for $12 million. Taft folded the studio into its corporate structure in 1967 and 1968, becoming its distributor.


title: Hanna-Barbera

text: Hanna and Barbera stayed on with the studio while Screen Gems retained licensing and distribution rights to the previous Hanna-Barbera-produced cartoons, along with trademarks to the characters into the 1970s and 1980s. A number of new comedy and action cartoons followed in 1967, among them are "The Space Kidettes", "The Abbott and Costello Cartoon Show", "Birdman and the Galaxy Trio", "The Herculoids", "Shazzan", "Fantastic Four", "Moby Dick and Mighty Mightor" and "Samson & Goliath".


title: Hanna-Barbera

text: "The Banana Splits Adventure Hour", "The Adventures of Gulliver", and "The New Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" arose in 1968, while the successful "Wacky Races" and its spinoffs "The Perils of Penelope Pitstop" and "Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines" aired on CBS, followed by "Cattanooga Cats" for ABC. The studio had a record label, Hanna-Barbera Records, headed by Danny Hutton and distributed by Columbia Records. Previously, children's records featuring Hanna-Barbera characters were released by Colpix Records.


title: Hanna-Barbera

text: Ruby and Spears created "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!" for CBS Saturday mornings in 1969, a mystery-based program which blended comedy, action, and elements from "I Love a Mystery" and "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis". Running for two seasons, it centered on four teenagers and a dog solving supernatural mysteries, and became one of Hanna-Barbera's most successful creations and has spawned several new spin-offs, such as "The New Scooby-Doo Movies", "The Scooby-Doo Show", "Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo" and many others, which were regularly in production at Hanna-Barbera into the 1990s.


title: Hanna-Barbera

text: Referred to as "The General Motors of animation", Hanna-Barbera eventually went even further by producing nearly two-thirds of all Saturday-morning cartoons in a single year. Several Hanna-Barbera series from the 1970s, such as "Josie and the Pussycats", "The Funky Phantom", "The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan", "Speed Buggy", "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kids", "Goober and the Ghost Chasers", "Inch High, Private Eye", "Clue Club", "Jabberjaw", "Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels" and "The New Shmoo" built upon the mystery-solving template set by "Scooby-Doo", with further series built around teenagers solving mysteries with a comic relief pet of some sort.


title: Hanna-Barbera

text: "The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show" returned "The Flintstones" characters to television in 1971 with a new spin-off series based on their now teenaged children while "The Flintstone Comedy Hour" and "The New Fred and Barney Show" remained in production through the early 1980s. Meanwhile, "Josie" received her own spinoff "Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space". Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound and others returned in 1972 for brand new shows, such as "Yogi's Gang", "Laff-a-Lympics", "Yogi's Space Race", and "Galaxy Goof-Ups", while "Tom and Jerry" were also given a new series of televised cartoons in 1975.


title: Hanna-Barbera

text: "The Great Grape Ape Show" and "The Mumbly Cartoon Show" followed soon after. In 1972, Hanna-Barbera opened an animation studio in Australia, with the Hamlyn Group acquiring a 50% stake in 1974. Hamlyn was acquired by James Hardie Industries. In 1988, Hanna-Barbera Australia bought itself out from Hardie and Taft Broadcasting, with the studio changing its name to Southern Star Group. The studio has since become Endemol Shine Australia, a division of Banijay. In 1973, Hanna-Barbera produced the first of several iterations of "Super Friends", an action-adventure series adapted from DC Comics' "Justice League of America" superhero characters.


title: Hanna-Barbera

text: Following 1973's "Super Friends" on ABC, the show returned to production in 1976, remaining on ABC through 1986 with "The All-New Super Friends Hour", "Challenge of the Super Friends" and "The World's Greatest Super Friends". Other 1970s Hanna-Barbera series included "Harlem Globetrotters", "Wait Till Your Father Gets Home", "Help!... It's the Hair Bear Bunch!", "The Roman Holidays", "Sealab 2020", "Jeannie", "The Addams Family", "Partridge Family 2200 A.D.", "These Are The Days", "Valley of the Dinosaurs", "Wheelie and the Chopper Bunch", "Dynomutt, Dog Wonder", "CB Bears", "The Robonic Stooges", "The All New Popeye Hour", "Godzilla", "Buford and the Galloping Ghost" and "Jana of the Jungle".


title: Hanna-Barbera

text: "Charlotte's Web", an adaptation of E. B. White's children's novel and Hanna-Barbera's first feature film not based on one of their TV shows, was released in 1973 by Paramount Pictures. While the majority of American television animation during the second half of the 20th century was made by Hanna-Barbera, with major competition coming from Filmation and DePatie–Freleng, then-ABC president Fred Silverman gave its Saturday-morning cartoon time to them after dropping Filmation for its failure of "Uncle Croc's Block". Along with the rest of the American animation industry, it began moving away from producing all its cartoons in-house in the late 1970s and early 1980s.


title: Hanna-Barbera

text: Ruby and Spears worked with Hanna-Barbera in 1976 and 1977 as ABC network executives to create and develop new cartoons before leaving in 1977 to start their company, Ruby-Spears Enterprises, with Filmways as its parent division. In 1979, Taft bought Worldvision Enterprises, which became Hanna-Barbera's distributor. New live-action material was produced in the 1970s and early 1980s, as well as new live-action/animated projects since the mid-1960s. Their live-action unit spun off and became Solow Production Company in 1976.


title: Hanna-Barbera

text: "Super Friends", "Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo", "The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang", "Richie Rich", "The Flintstone Comedy Show", "Laverne and Shirley in the Army", "Space Stars", "The Kwicky Koala Show" and "Trollkins" debuted in 1980 and 1981. Taft purchased Ruby-Spears from Filmways (which was eventually absorbed into Orion the following year), making it a sister studio to Hanna-Barbera. As a result, several early-1980s series were shared between both studios, the animated version of "Mork & Mindy" and "The Scooby & Scrappy-Doo/Puppy Hour" among them.


title: Hanna-Barbera

text: Other of Hollywood's animation factories such as Filmation, Sunbow Entertainment, Marvel Productions, Rankin/Bass, DIC and Saban Entertainment introduced successful syndicated shows based on licensed properties. While Hanna-Barbera continued to produce for Saturday mornings and weekday afternoons, it no longer dominated the TV animation market and its control over children's programming went down from 80% to 20%.


title: Hanna-Barbera

text: "The Smurfs", adapted from the Belgian comic of the same name by Pierre Culliford (known as Peyo) and centering on a group of tiny blue creatures led by Papa Smurf, premiered on NBC and aired for nine seasons, becoming the longest-running Saturday-morning cartoon series in broadcast history, a significant ratings success, the top-rated program in eight years and the highest for an NBC show since 1970. "Jokebook", "The Gary Coleman Show", "Shirt Tales", "Pac-Man", "The Little Rascals", "The Dukes", "Monchhichis", "The New Scooby and Scrappy-Doo Show" and "The Biskitts" were aired in 1982 and 1983.


title: Hanna-Barbera

text: Following an animation strike in 1982, more of Hanna and Barbera's shows were outsourced to studios outside of the United States. Cuckoo's Nest Studios, Mr. Big Cartoons, Toei Animation and Fil-Cartoons in Australia and Asia provided production services to Hanna-Barbera from 1982 through to the end of its existence. "The New Scooby-Doo Mysteries", "Snorks", "Challenge of the GoBots", "Pink Panther and Sons", "", "", "The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo", "Yogi's Treasure Hunt", "Galtar and the Golden Lance", "Paw Paws" and new episodes of "The Jetsons" premiered in 1984 and 1985.


title: Hanna-Barbera

text: "" debuted while in 1986 and 1987, new episodes of "Jonny Quest", "Pound Puppies", "The Flintstone Kids", "Foofur", "Wildfire", "Sky Commanders" and "Popeye and Son" premiered. Taft's financial troubles were affecting Hanna-Barbera, leading to its acquirement by the American Financial Corporation in 1987 and renamed Taft to Great American Broadcasting the next year. "A Pup Named Scooby-Doo", "The Completely Mental Misadventures of Ed Grimley", new episodes of "Yogi Bear", "Fantastic Max", "The Further Adventures of SuperTed" and "Paddington Bear" followed in 1988 and 1989.


title: Hanna-Barbera

text: Great American sold Worldvision to Aaron Spelling Productions, while Hanna-Barbera and its library remained with them. In January 1989, while working on "A Pup Named Scooby-Doo", Tom Ruegger got a call from Warner Bros. to resurrect its animation department. Ruegger, along with several of his colleagues, left Hanna-Barbera at that time to develop new programs such as "Tiny Toon Adventures" and "Animaniacs" at Warner Bros. David Kirschner, known for "An American Tail" and "Child's Play", was later appointed as the new CEO of Hanna-Barbera.


title: Hanna-Barbera

text: In 1990, while Kirschner and the studio formed Bedrock Productions, Great American put Hanna-Barbera and Ruby-Spears, up for sale after being less successful and burdened in debt. New shows "", "Rick Moranis in Gravedale High", "Tom & Jerry Kids", "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventures", "Captain Planet and the Planeteers", "The Adventures of Don Coyote and Sancho Panda" and "Wake, Rattle, and Roll" first aired that year. "Young Robin Hood", "The Pirates of Dark Water" and "Yo Yogi!" would follow in 1991.


title: Hanna-Barbera

text: Turner Broadcasting System outbid MCA (then-parent company of Universal Pictures), Hallmark Cards and other major companies in acquiring Hanna-Barbera while also purchasing Ruby-Spears as well. The two studios were acquired in a 50-50 joint venture between Turner Broadcasting System and Apollo Investment Fund for $320 million. Turner purchased these assets to launch a then-new all-animation network aimed at children and younger audiences which would be called Cartoon Network.


title: Hanna-Barbera

text: Scott Sassa hired Fred Seibert to head Hanna-Barbera, who filled the gap left by Great American's production crew with new animators, directors, producers and writers, including Craig McCracken, Donovan Cook, Genndy Tartakovsky, David Feiss, Seth MacFarlane, Van Partible and Butch Hartman. Following its new name H-B Production Company and "Fish Police", "Capitol Critters" and new episodes of "The Addams Family" for broadcast, Cartoon Network launched in 1992 and became the first 24-hour all-animation channel, to air its library of cartoon classics, of which Hanna-Barbera was the core contributor.


title: Hanna-Barbera

text: In 1993, the studio again renamed itself to Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. (though the Hanna-Barbera Productions name was still used in regards to the pre-1992 properties) and while Turner acquired its remaining interests from Apollo Investment Fund for $255 million, "Droopy, Master Detective", "The New Adventures of Captain Planet", "" and "2 Stupid Dogs" emerged that year and in 1994.


title: Hanna-Barbera

text: Turner refocused the studio to produce new shows exclusively for its networks. In 1995, while Bruce Johnson left Hanna-Barbera as executive vice president to start out PorchLight Entertainment, ABC aired "Dumb and Dumber" while Seibert launched "What a Cartoon!" for Cartoon Network. During 1996, "Dexter's Laboratory", "The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest" and "Cave Kids" premiered while Turner merged with Time Warner (then WarnerMedia, now Warner Bros. Discovery). "Johnny Bravo", "Cow and Chicken" and "The Powerpuff Girls" made their debuts in 1997 and 1998.


title: Hanna-Barbera

text: After 35 years of being headquartered at Cahuenga Boulevard since 1963, Hanna-Barbera moved to Sherman Oaks Galleria in Sherman Oaks, California where Warner Bros. Animation was located and operated alongside it until its absorption in 2001. Cartoon Network Studios, led by former DiC and Nickelodeon production executives Brian A. Miller and Jennifer Pelphrey, was revived and took over production of programming, after moving to an abandoned telephone exchange in Burbank.


title: Hanna-Barbera

text: Hanna died on March 22, 2001, at the age of 90 years old. The Cahuenga Blvd. studio faced demolition after many of the Hanna-Barbera staff and performers vacated the facilities in 1997, despite the efforts of Barbera and the others to preserve it. In May 2004, the Los Angeles City Council approved a plan to preserve the headquarters, while allowing retail and residential development on the site.


title: Hanna-Barbera

text: Barbera continued to be involved in the production of new Hanna-Barbera material until his death on December 18, 2006 at the age of 95 years old. Warner Bros. Animation continues to produce new productions based on the legacy properties of Hanna-Barbera since then.


title: Hanna-Barbera

text: Warner Bros. has released several theatrical films based on Hanna-Barbera properties since 2002. Most recently, "Scoob!" came out on May 15, 2020, which is intended to be the first installment of a Hanna-Barbera cinematic universe. Warner Animation Group also has an animated "The Jetsons" film, an animated "The Flintstones" film and an animated "Wacky Races" film in development, along with more new content.


title: Hanna-Barbera

text: On April 7, 2021, Cartoon Network Studios Europe rebranded as Hanna-Barbera Studios Europe to revive the name. After Warner Bros. Discovery was established through the spin-off of WarnerMedia by AT&T and merge with Discovery, Inc., Cartoon Network Studios and Warner Bros. Animation consolidated their development and production teams as part of a restructuring by Warner Bros. Television, with Audrey Diehl overseeing kids and family, Peter Girardi overseeing adult animation and Sammy Perlmutter overseeing animated long-form productions.


title: Hanna-Barbera

text: Among the legacy Hanna-Barbera properties, the merger does not impact their output as labels, with Cartoon Network Studios continuing to focus on original content and Warner Bros. Animation used for classic franchises.


title: Hanna-Barbera

text: The small budgets that television animation producers had to work within prevented Hanna-Barbera from working with the full theatrical-quality animation that Hanna and Barbera had been known for at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. While the budget for MGM's seven-minute "Tom and Jerry" shorts was about $35,000, the Hanna-Barbera studios were required to produce five-minute "Ruff and Reddy" episodes for no more than $3,000 apiece. To keep within these tighter budgets, Hanna-Barbera furthered the concept of limited animation (also called "planned animation") practiced and popularized by the United Productions of America (UPA) studio, which also once had a partnership with Columbia Pictures. Character designs were simplified, and backgrounds and animation cycles (walks, runs, etc.) were regularly re-purposed.


title: Hanna-Barbera

text: Characters were often broken up into a handful of levels so that only the parts of the body that needed to be moved at a given time (i.e. a mouth, an arm, a head) were animated. The rest of the figure remained on a held animation cel. This allowed a typical seven-minute short to be done with only nearly 2,000 drawings instead of the usual 14,000. Dialogue, music, and sound effects were emphasized over action, leading Chuck Jones—a contemporary who worked for Warner Bros. Cartoons and whose short "The Dover Boys" practically invented many of the concepts in limited animation—to disparagingly refer to the limited television cartoons produced by Hanna-Barbera and others as "illustrated radio".


title: Hanna-Barbera

text: In a story published by "The Saturday Evening Post" in 1961, critics stated that Hanna-Barbera was taking on more work than it could handle and was resorting to shortcuts only a television audience would tolerate. An executive who worked for Walt Disney Productions said, "We don't even consider [them] competition". Animation historian Christopher P. Lehman argues that Hanna-Barbera attempted to maximize their bottom line by recycling story formulas and characterization instead of introducing new ones. Once a formula for an original series was deemed successful, the studio reused it in subsequent series. Besides copying their own works, Hanna-Barbera drew inspiration from the works of other people and studios.


title: Hanna-Barbera

text: Lehman considers that the studio served as the main example of how animation studios that focused on TV animation differed from those that focused on theatrical animation. Theatrical animation studios tried to maintain full and fluid animation and consequently struggled with the rising expenses associated with producing it. Limited animation as practiced by Hanna-Barbera kept production costs at a minimum. The cost in quality of using this technique was that Hanna-Barbera's characters only moved when necessary.


title: Hanna-Barbera

text: Its solution to the criticism over its quality was to go into films. It produced six theatrical feature films, among them are higher-quality versions of its television cartoons and adaptations of other material. It was also one of the first animation studios to have their work produced overseas. One of these companies was a subsidiary began by Hanna-Barbera in November 1987 called Fil-Cartoons in the Philippines, with Jerry Smith as a consultant for the subsidiary. Wang Film Productions got its start as an overseas facility for the studio in 1978.


title: Hanna-Barbera

text: Hanna-Barbera was among the first animation studios to incorporate digital tools into their pipeline. As early as the 1970s, they experimented with using Scanimate, a video synthesizer, to create an early form of digital cutout style or Flash animation. A clip of artists using the machine to manipulate scanned images of "Scooby-Doo" characters, scaling and warping the artwork to simulate animation, is available at the Internet Archive. Likewise, Hanna-Barbera was perhaps the first proponent of digital ink and paint, a process wherein animators' drawings were scanned into computers and colored using software. Led by Marc Levoy, Hanna-Barbera began developing a computerized digital ink and paint system in 1979 to help bypass much of the time-consuming labor of painting and photographing cels. The process was implemented on a third of Hanna-Barbera's animated programs, televised feature films and specials from 1984 through 1996.


title: Hanna-Barbera

text: Hanna-Barbera was known for its large library of sound effects, which have been featured in exhibitions at the Norman Rockwell Museum.


title: Hanna-Barbera

text: After Hanna-Barbera's partnership with Screen Gems ended in 1966, it was sold to Taft Broadcasting where it remained its owner until 1991 when Turner Broadcasting System acquired the studio and its library for its flagship network, Cartoon Network. In 1996, Turner merged with Time Warner, then WarnerMedia, now Warner Bros. Discovery. The studio was separated from Cartoon Network Studios and absorbed into Warner Bros. Animation in 2001. Since its closure, Warner Bros. has continued to produce new material and programming based on its classic intellectual property and the classic Hanna-Barbera logo occasionally appears.


title: 2020 Beirut explosion

text: On 4 August 2020, a large amount of ammonium nitrate stored at the Port of Beirut in the capital city of Lebanon exploded, causing at least 218 deaths, 7,000 injuries, and US$15 billion in property damage, as well as leaving an estimated 300,000 people homeless. A cargo of 2,750 tonnes of the substance (equivalent to around 1.1 kilotons of TNT) had been stored in a warehouse without proper safety measures for the previous six years after having been confiscated by the Lebanese authorities from the abandoned ship . The explosion was preceded by a fire in the same warehouse. As of , an investigation by the Lebanese government is ongoing.


title: 2020 Beirut explosion

text: The blast was so powerful that it physically shook the whole country of Lebanon. It was felt in Turkey, Syria, Palestine, Jordan, and Israel, as well as parts of Europe, and was heard in Cyprus, more than away. It was detected by the United States Geological Survey as a seismic event of magnitude 3.3 and is considered one of the most powerful accidental artificial non-nuclear explosions in history.


title: 2020 Beirut explosion

text: The Lebanese government declared a two-week state of emergency in response to the disaster. In its aftermath, protests erupted across Lebanon against the government for their failure to prevent the disaster, joining a larger series of protests which had been taking place across the country since 2019. On 10 August 2020, Prime Minister Hassan Diab and the Lebanese cabinet resigned.


title: 2020 Beirut explosion

text: The adjacent grain silos were badly damaged. In July and August 2022, part of the silos collapsed following a weeks-long fire in the remaining grain.


title: 2020 Beirut explosion

text: The economy of Lebanon was in a state of crisis before the explosion, with the government having defaulted on debt, the Lebanese pound plunging, and a poverty rate that had risen past 50%. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic had overwhelmed many of the country's hospitals, several of which were already short of medical supplies and unable to pay staff due to the financial crisis. The morning before the explosion, the head of the Rafik Hariri University Hospital, which served as the main COVID-19 medical facility in Lebanon, warned that it was approaching full capacity.


title: 2020 Beirut explosion

text: The government-owned Port of Beirut serves as the main maritime entry point into Lebanon and a vital piece of infrastructure for the importation of scarce goods. The Beirut Naval Base is a part of the port. The port included four basins, sixteen quays, twelve warehouses, a large container terminal, and a grain elevator with a total capacity of 120,000 tonnes that served as a strategic reserve of cereals for the country. The grain elevator was built in the 1960s as part of an expansion plan advanced by Palestinian banker Yousef Beidas.