Valentino Rossi makes hilarious admission about daughter and Marc Marquez
Rossi was left praying over his daughter's birth date (Credit: Apex Agency)
Connor Andrews is Formula 1 and MotoGP writer for GPblog and various outlets. Having worked in motorsport for 15 years for leading companies, he has interviewed the sports biggest names and attended multiple Grands Prix.
Valentino Rossi has made sure his Marc Marquez rivalry remains in the headlines with some eyebrow-raising comments about his daughter.
The Italian legend has been on a publicity tour for his new autobiography, and, unsurprisingly, interviews have picked his 2015 squabble with Marquez as the main topic of conversation.
Rossi has already spoken about how the tangle that ended his title chances still hurts him, but was in a more light-hearted mood when discussing it with Radio Deejay in Italy.
Rossi spoke about former rival Casey Stoner, and when the pair realised that his daughter was born on the same day as the Italian.
He said: “Casey Stoner and I are friends now. He also came to the Ranch and we filmed together.
ADVERTISEMENT
“He told me, 'Damn, every time I see her I think she was born on the same day as you and I have to remember you!’”
Rossi reveals unusual request over Marquez's birthday
However, Rossi then revealed an interesting detail, that his own daughter’s due date was Marquez’s birthday.
He continued: “There was a risk, at one point, that Giulietta could be born on the same day as Marquez...
ADVERTISEMENT
“I told her [his partner]: 'Don't play a trick on me, stay still, don't move, keep your legs closed, because we have to hold out for 24 hours!'"
Luckily for him, she was ultimately born on March 4, 2022, rather than February 17
As for his legacy, Rossi doesn’t want Giulietta following it.
Rossi hopes daughter avoids following him into racing
“I hope Giulietta doesn't race motorcycles,” he said. “Yes, we've gone out together a few times, and there's a Women's World Championship.
ADVERTISEMENT
“I'd like her to practice some other sport, but if she wants to race motorcycles, why not?
“What I wouldn't like is for her to constantly hear that she's 'Valentino's daughter.' That would be a major problem.”
Despite the light-hearted nature of the interview, Rossi did again admit he’s still bothered by his Marquez conflict 11 years on.
Rossi admits Marquez rivalry still hurts 11 years later
ADVERTISEMENT
The Spaniard is set to leapfrog Rossi in the all-time championship standings next time out in Portugal, where he will likely clinch his 10th world title.
But Rossi still believes Marquez prevented him from winning a 10th world title, too.
Rossi can't let go of his anger towards Marquez (Credit: Red Bull Content Pool)
He explained: "The feelings I have about the end of 2015 are exactly the same as they were ten years ago. I haven't gotten over it, so to speak.
“If anyone wants to understand the story, it's there. It starts several years earlier, and what happened wasn't a coincidence.
ADVERTISEMENT
“He says that I attacked him at a certain moment, for no reason, during a press conference, and that from then on he decided to make me lose.
“But that's a lie; it's not true, because in reality he had already started sabotaging me before, in the Australian Grand Prix.”
Don’t miss GPblog in Google
Mark us as a preferred source and our articles will appear more often at the top of Top Stories.
Add as a preferred / source on Google