Carlo Pernat explains why he had to reject the chance to manage Valentino Rossi, ‘I told him no’

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Valentino Rossi really burst onto the premier class motorcycle scene in 2000, but it came after years of development in both 125cc and 250cc racing.

The Italian rider went on to claim seven 500cc titles, including four with Honda and three with Yamaha, all before he reached the age of 30.

Rossi was a nightmare on the track, and he remained a force to be reckoned with throughout his 30s, coming close to achieving a special eighth title multiple times.

Of the current MotoGP manufacturers, the only one whose bike he hasn’t ridden in a competitive setting is KTM, which shows what a wealth of experience he accumulated through the years.

Rossi once said he’d rather ‘stay home’ than race on Ducati’s poor bike in 2012, which shows that his career wasn’t all highs.

But the same Rossi that was branded a ‘maniac’ remained, returning to Yamaha not long after, where he would lose a title in 2015 by just five points.

READ MORE: Valentino Rossi shares the ‘biggest regret’ of his MotoGP career after epic Marc Marquez battle

Carlo Pernat once rejected the chance to manage Valentino Rossi in 1997

Back in 1997, Rossi had just become a world champion for the first time at the 125cc level and wanted to progress to 250cc.

Back then, Carlo Pernat, who worked at Aprilia with him, helped to make his contract, but wasn’t his manager.

The Italian rider asked Pernat to work with him at the end of 1997, but due to his commitments with Aprilia, he refused. It’s something he just admitted that he regrets a touch.

“In 97, I had made Valentino a three-year contract, right? 97, 98 and 99. At the end of 97, I wanted him to still be at 125cc. He said: ‘No, no. I want to do 250cc’. Actually, why don’t you be my manager?” he said.

“And I told him, ‘No, I can’t Vale, because I’m responsible for sports activities at Aprilia. I have to go away [leave] to get you.’ He insisted too, huh? And I didn’t. Wouldn’t you eat your fingers [in frustration] today? I would say yes, maybe even the hands.”

READ MORE: Jorge Lorenzo once admitted he had to ‘risk crashing’ to beat Valentino Rossi in intense MotoGP battle

Why Valentino Rossi finds watching MotoGP races ‘a disaster’

Rossi retired at the end of the 2021 season, after one year at Yamaha’s satellite SRT team. He finished 18th, marking his worst campaign, and rounded off his career on a rather sad note.

Rossi took one final ‘risk’ before retirement and was prepared to go until he felt that he could no longer perform at the highest level.

Since then, he has turned his attention to four-wheeled endurance racing and overseeing his VR46 Racing Team.

Rossi finds watching MotoGP races ‘a disaster’ and claims that it’s a lot more difficult to deal with than when on the bike itself.

Maybe he finds it slightly easier to watch back some of his old victories, of which there are plenty (89) to go through.