16/2/1979
Record updated
The man who sorted a Yamaha M1 on his first day, the only four division two wheel world champion, the man who will become the greatest motorcycle racer in history, the Doctor himself.
Following his father, Graziano Rossi, Rossi started racing in Grands Prix in 1996 for Aprilia in the 125 cc category and won his first World Championship the following year. From there, he moved up to the 250cc category, again with Aprilia, and won the World Championship in 1999. He won the 500cc World Championship with Honda in 2001, the MotoGP World Championships (also with Honda) in 2002 and 2003, and continued his streak of back-to-back championships by winning the 2004 and 2005 MotoGP World Championship after leaving Honda to join Yamaha.
He is the reigning World Champion and won his seventh World Championship in the 2005 MotoGP series.
There are rumors that Ferrari has given Rossi a six month period until mid-2006 to decide if he wants to pick-up Formula One racing. He is confirmed to have more frequent testing opportunities throughout 2006. If Rossi makes the switch to four wheels and should win the World Championship, he would be the second man in history to accomplish the feat behind British racer John Surtees.