"It's 25-26 years in the World Championship, so it was great. "It was great, I've enjoyed it very much, it's been a long, long journey and it was really fun," he said. Rossi said he has enjoyed a career of "unforgettable moments". The highest he has finished in nine races this season, however, is 10th. Remarkably, he has earned a podium place on 235 occasions since making his debut in 1996. He is the only rider to have started 400 or more races in the sports' history, and has amassed a total of 115 victories, with 89 coming in MotoGP. Rossi, who moved from Yamaha's factory team to satellite team Petronas Yamaha SRT for the 2021 campaign, is 19th in the riders' standings after nine races - his worst start to a season. Since his last title win, he finished runner-up in the championship to Marc Marquez in 20, and Jorge Lorenzo in 2015. Last week’s decision to raise the minimum age limits across motorcycle racing was a start, but it should only be the beginning of a change of philosophy. Rossi won the last of his nine titles in 2009, but has remained one of MotoGP's most prominent riders and has long been regarded one of the world's most iconic sportspeople. MotoGP: it’s time to end the juvenilisation of motorcycle racing. Championship leader Fabio Quartararo secures comfortable win in Assen.Six reasons why fans love Valentino Rossi - from 2019.
News of Rossi's announcement also came with confirmation he will be "concentrating his efforts" on his new MotoGP team, Sky Racing Team VR46, in 2022.
"It's difficult to say and know that next year I will not race with a motorcycle," Rossi said. Rossi, whose Grand Prix career has spanned 25 years, is the only rider in history to win World Championships in 125cc, 250cc, 500cc and MotoGP.