Valentino Rossi has announced that the 2021 season will be his last as a rider in the MotoGP world championship. It wasn't an unexpected announcement, even though there were rumours that he would carry on in 2022 with his VR46 Aramco Ducati team. Now we know that this will not happen and we have the few remaining races of the 2021 season to enjoy watching him in action in the heat of competition.

Valentino Rossi To Retire At The End of the 2021 MotoGP Season

In the end, it took a statement of just one and a half minutes to bring down the curtain on one of the most remarkable sporting careers ever, a career that not only matches the greatest in motorcycle racing but stands shoulder to shoulder with those great careers in other sports.

It wasn't unexpected and therefore it wasn't a shock that Valentino Rossi has chosen to hang up his leathers. What can't be denied is that it will feel very different at the first race of 2022 to not have his name on the timing sheets during first practice, let alone during qualifying or the race.

The announcement at the special press conference on the eve of the Styrian MotoGP race at the red Bull Ring in Austria, and went as follows;

"As I said during the season, I would make my decision for next year after the summer break and I decided to stop at the end of the season. Unfortunately this will be the last half season as a MotoGP rider and it is a very sad moment. It is difficult to say and to know that next year I will not race with a motorcycle."

"I do this thing for 30 years so next year my life will change. But any way, it was great; I enjoyed it very much and it was a long journey and it was really, really fun and I had unforgettable moments with all my teams and all who worked for me."

He said that even last year he was not ready to leave racing, but that now, he has come to terms with it. It's easy to see why. Without the results that he is used to, it would be difficult for him to continue to put his life on the line, especially in the face of stiff competition from the young riders around him.

He went on to say that he will continue racing cars, although that he didn't go into any details.

And, with that, we have just a handful of races to watch the Maestro in action and we can only hope that we get to see him on the podium just one last time.