The iconic Italian legend is often synonymous with Yamaha, and even years after his retirement, the effects of Rossi's historic MotoGP career are still being felt today.

In addition to being the owner of the VR46 team, Rossi also continues to compete and make headlines in GT racing. The breadth of respect for "The Doctor" certainly transcends MotoGP as a discipline, and Slovenia's 4x MXGP World Champion Tim Gajser is the latest to pay tribute to Valentino:

The Trentino circuit is one of the most spectacular and historic on the MXGP calendar, and one that is a particular favourite for Gajser. Over the course of his career, he has picked up no less than six wins and thirteen podiums here, so it would certainly be fitting to add a seventh while wearing the colours of Valentino Rossi.

However, Gajser certainly has his work cut out for him after a relatively lackluster start to the year, trailing the likes of Jeffrey Herlings and Lucas Coenen, who the Dutchman tipped as being the current best rider in the world.

Lecuona, who currently competes in WSBK, was a feature of the MotoGP grid from 2019 - 2023 where he raced for KTM and briefly for Honda as a wildcard.

During his time in MotoGP, Lecuona says that he was startled by the difference between the top class riders and himself, who considers to be more ordinary.