Casey Stoner once recalled how Valentino Rossi had the media ‘wrapped around his finger’ during their MotoGP rivalry

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Valentino Rossi’s stature as a global MotoGP superstar earned him a lot of media attention as well as an avid fanbase, dubbed the Vale Yellow Army.

Their loyalty to the nine-time Grand Prix world champion went deeper than just results; fans were enamoured by his personality and riding style.

The ‘Doctor’s Dangle’ is attributed to Rossi, with the majority of the two-wheel racers now adopting his trademark approach into corners. The mass adoption of the move is just one example of his influence on the next generation of two-wheeled racers.

As part of the VR46 Riders Academy, Francesco Bagnaia has learnt a lot from Rossi, his mentor, in an attempt to one-up his Ducati Lenovo teammate Marc Marquez amid the Spaniard’s return to championship-winning form.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Valentino Rossi from stats to net worth

Casey Stoner recalled Valentino Rossi fans doing ‘everything’ to try and injure him before Grands Prix

Speaking on the Gypsy Tales podcast in 2022, Casey Stoner recalled the rivalry he shared with Rossi whilst the pair were teammates at Ducati and the lengths fans loyal to the Italian would go to in an attempt to distract the Australian from racing.

“For those couple of years with Valentino, he did make life difficult,” Stoner started. “He had the media absolutely wrapped around his finger, and the fans.

“Adriana was on the back of the scooter when we’d go into the box, and several times we had people try and rip us off the bike while we’re riding along the scooter. They would literally try and rip you in the arm and take you off the bike.

“They’d step out in front of you, they’d do everything to try and make you crash. They would do anything to basically injure you or do something to take you out of the race. The fans are something that Valentino never really put a stop to.

“When they’d boo, he was always just like ‘I’m just going to ride this wave’. As much as that’s okay, it’s also pretty bad. Some of the stuff they’re willing to do, and they write s— on my motor home.

“I’d have threats and all sorts of stuff, so in the early years, I went from nothing to all of that, and it was like, c—, this is a lot to take on.”

READ MORE: Casey Stoner once won the MotoGP championship despite riding a bike that was getting ‘eaten alive’

Casey Stoner and Valentino Rossi had some incredibly intense moments during their MotoGP careers

Stoner spent the whole of his seven-year career in MotoGP neck and neck with Rossi. The Australian went on to win two world titles in the premier class, with Rossi also accumulating two more titles in the same period of time.

The Italian ended up taking Stoner’s seat at Ducati, after the Australian departed from the team at the end of 2010 in favour of the factory Honda team.

The move was considered a success for Stoner, who won the 2011 MotoGP championship whilst Rossi suffered and moved back to Yamaha two seasons later.

Stoner believes the worst thing Rossi did in MotoGP was make enemies out of his rivals. He referenced the Italian’s relationship with Marquez, which ended up causing him a lot of problems down the line.