Not just one of Rossi’s greatest moments, but one of the greatest moments in motorsport full stop. Vale tussled with teammate and title rival Jorge Lorenzo throughout, but their battle came to a head in the final lap. Stick ‘Catalunya 2009’ into your favourite search engine and enjoy it for yourself, witnessing the polar opposite of F1 team orders keeping teammates a safe distance apart.
Jorge and Vale didn’t have the greatest of relationships as teammates, with the Yamaha garage split in two and data sharing halted at the worst of it, but the pair embraced at the end of this tussle and the Spaniard served up a classy tribute as Rossi announced his retirement. “In terms of charisma and transcendence, Rossi is at the level of Jordan, Woods, Ali or Senna,” Lorenzo posted on his social media channels. “Enjoy this new chapter, legend!”
