Valentino Rossi once crashed out of three straight MotoGP races in the worst run of his career

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The 2011 MotoGP season was a miserable one for Valentino Rossi, as a move to Ducati backfired and he was taken out of championship contention.

After being in contention for the title in virtually every season of his career so far, arriving at an Italian manufacturer and being stuck in the midfield will have been a culture shock.

In 18 races with Ducati in 2011, he reached the podium just once, with a third place at Le Mans. Even then, he was still 15 seconds behind eventual winner Casey Stoner.

Rossi trundled to a seventh-place finish in the riders’ standings and would remain with the team for another year, but not before suffering one of his worst runs of form ever at the end of the season.

Rossi makes Marc Marquez’s dream MotoGP grid and is considered to be one of, if not, the greatest rider of all time.

However, Rossi’s relationship with Jorge Lorenzo was ‘total tension’, as were many of his rivalries over the course of his career. He loved to get involved.

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Valentino Rossi crashed out of three consecutive MotoGP races in worst run to date

After Aragon and with four rounds of the season to go in 2011, Rossi still had a chance of finishing in the top five of the championship, trailing Ben Spies by seven points.

Years later, Rossi admitted he was ‘destroyed’ by Ducati’s bike and couldn’t believe some of the things that Casey Stoner achieved on it.

In the final four rounds in 2011, the Italian would score no points, going on a dismal run of form and crashing out of three straight races.

His idea that joining a new team to seek a new challenge had failed in its first season, but he was willing to accept that it might take time, and he remained there for 2012.

For the first time in his career in 2011, he went an entire racing season without winning a Grand Prix. It was a shock for the big star.

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How did Valentino Rossi’s 2012 season with Ducati go?

Rossi’s best result in the following season ended up being second place, which he managed twice. It was enough to lift him one place higher, to sixth in the standings.

Although there had been a minor improvement, it wasn’t enough to convince the nine-time champion to remain with the team.

In August 2012, he subsequently announced a return to Yamaha’s factory team alongside Jorge Lorenzo for two seasons.

In 2013, he got back to winning ways just the once, and by 2014, he reached the top step twice and finished runner-up in the championship. It was a return to form and an escape from a Ducati outfit that took years just to contend.