The world's greatest motorcycle racer makes his maiden Indian appearance at the 10th Auto Expo at New Delhi.
Bike lovers seemed somewhat disappointed with the lack of action on two-wheels at the 2010 Auto Expo - but all it took to set the record straight and whip up a massive crowd frenzy was one quaint Italian from the small town of Tavullia. Who, of course, happens to be fourth highest paid sportsperson of 2009, one of the best known entertainers from the world of motorsport and the greatest motorcycle racer currently in business, and arguably in history. Valentino Rossi, nine-time conqueror of the MotoGP world championship crown made his first appearance in India, to the screaming delight of his fans and followers.
Carrying his usual, casual demeanour, the acclaimed 'Doctor' opened the backstage doors to meet a cheering sea of people at the India Yamaha stall, and managed to win the hearts of his fans once again with easy smile. Promoting Yamaha's motorcycles - the team that he races for in MotoGP, the flamboyant racer's time on stage was cut short owing to crowd control issues. The interaction with Rossi was conducted by Pune's own Adil Jal Darukhanawala, Editor-in-chief, ZigWheels in the presence of India Yamaha Motor CEO Yukimine Tsuji and Pankaj Dubey, the company's national business head.
To put the man's achievements in perspective, Valentino Rossi has annexed world championships at the highest level of motorcycle racing on 125, 250, 500, 990 and 800cc race machines through three different eras of grand prix motorcycle racing. He also managed to tame vastly differing two-stroke and four-stroke machineries on his way to his world titles. At the peak of his career with the then dominant factory Honda racing team, he also made a switch to Yamaha racing and then gave the team its first championship on debut, bringing it back to the top step of the sport.
When asked about the importance of safety, Vale, as he is known by his fans, was forthcoming and urged his audience to always ride safe and wear a helmet while riding. As for the closing statements, the man stayed true to the sport that made him and asked the crowd to watch and support the beautiful sport of MotoGP.
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