Last Editor: Jason_McCreary				Valentino Rossi Biography -   Name : Valentino Rossi Date of Birth : February 16, 1979 Place of Birth : Urbino, Pesaro e Urbino Italy Claim to Fame : 2008 Championship position 1st Current team : Fiat Yamaha Team Bike number : 46 Championship Points : 3494

Valentino Rossi Trivia -

Rossi is second in all time world championship wins with 5 world championships along with Michael Doohan, behind Giacomo Agostini with 8 world championships. Rossi is second in consecutive world championship wins with 5 consecutive world championships in 2001-2005 along with Michael Doohan with 5 consecutive world championships in 1994-1998, behind Giacomo Agostini with 7 consecutive world championships in 1966-1972. Rossi is second in all time race wins standings with 67 race wins, behind Giacomo Agostini with 68 race wins. Rossi is first in all time podium standings with 104 podiums in premier class. Rossi is second in all time pole positions standings with 39 pole positions, behind Michael Doohan with 58 pole positions. Rossi is second in all time race fastest laps standings with 51 race fastest laps, behind Giacomo Agostini with 69 race fastest laps. Rossi is second in most race wins in a season with 11 race wins in 2001, 2002 and 2005 along with Giacomo Agostini, behind Michael Doohan with 12 race wins in 1997. Rossi is first in most podiums in a season with 16 podiums in 2003 and 2005.

Valentino Rossi Detailed Biography -

Valentino Rossi (born February 16, 1979 in Urbino) is an Italian professional motorcycle racer and multiple MotoGP World Champion. He is one of the most successful motorcycle racers of all time, with 7 Grand Prix World Championships to his name. According to Sports Illustrated, Valentino Rossi is one of the highest earning sports personalities in the world, having earned an estimated $34 million in 2007. Following his father, Graziano Rossi, Rossi started racing in Grand Prix in 1996 for Aprilia in the 125cc category and won his first World Championship the following year. From there, he moved up to the 250 cc category, again with Aprilia, and won the World Championship in 1999. He won the 500 cc 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. 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 to 2004. The officials said 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 is not domiciled there." 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.[16] In February 2008, Rossi announced that he has reached a settlement with the Italian tax authorities: He will pay 35 million Euros to close the tax case.[17] Beyond tax scandals, Rossi tries to keep his personal life out of the public eye as much as possible, although he makes no secret of his fondness for Italian Football Club Internazionale di Milano Inter Milan.