Rossi’s Long Series of Race Day Rituals

You may have seen many top athletes performing various kinds of rituals before the start of a competition. Usually athletes perform these rituals for good luck, so they can perform well in the contest. However, every athlete hashis or her own routine of performing such rituals, as some perform them out of superstition. Others carry out such activities as a religious duty, which could be kissing a cross or saying a prayer. In short, today ritual and superstition have a very important role in sports and Motorsport is no exception. The nine-time MotoGP World Champion, Valentino Rossi is quite famous in this regard, as he devotedly performs a series of rituals before every race.

The first ritual that Rossi performs on a race day is watching the Moto3 race. This particular ritual does not seem odd to many, but for their knowledge Valentino do not watch the race. He just counts how many seconds green lights take to turn on to start the race. Then, before every practice, qualifying and race Rossi head towards his bike and stops just two meter away from it to bend down and reach out for his boots. Only after that Rossi approaches his motorbike. Once he gets close to the machine, Valentino bends down by holding his legs for a short time. Before, he holds the right footpeg of his bike and bow down his head as if he is praying.

According to Rossi, he performs this ritual so he could focus and talk to his machine. Valentino’s long series of ritual just does not end here, as after that he performs a bizarre ritual which perhaps no other athlete has ever performed. The veteran rider when exists the pits he stands on the foot paddle of his bike and pulls off the leather between his buttocks, before sitting on the seat again and heading to his position. Every time Rossi does that the TV director captures this moment from the camera on the back of Valentino’s bike and then plays it on air.

Thus far, Rossi has not described the purpose of performing this specific ritual. Some predicted that perhaps he may have some problems with his leathers, but this guess is wrong because Rossi uses custom made clothing. That are extremely comfortable and offer great protection just alike RiderWear’s motorcycle clothing which are high in demand among bikers whether they are from UK or any other part of the world. 

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