Valentino Rossi, one of the all-time greats of motorcycle racing history, shocked the racing world when the news broke in 2021 that he was retiring. Everyone knew that it had to happen at some point, of course, but the news was still bittersweet. The median age of top-level racers keeps getting younger, not just because society has it in for everyone over the age of 30, but also because general reflexes, reaction times, and speed demonstrably decline as humans get older.
Still, watching that era come to an end was difficult. While the VR46 team is a presence, and indeed the man himself is still extremely active behind the scenes and racing GT cars, change and adaptation to that change can be tough. After all, we, as humans, don’t usually like to be reminded that we’re getting older, too.
