AGV ‘Che Spettacolo!’ Helmet (Australia 2004)
Location: Grand Prix of Australia, Phillip Island
Date: Sunday, October 17th, 2004
Race position: 1st
On the penultimate round of the 2004 MotoGP season at Phillip Island in Australia, Rossi only needed a 2nd place finish to seal his first world championship with Yamaha (in his first season with them). The pressure was on Sete Gibernau, who was closest to Rossi in terms of points, making it a must-win race for him. Gibernau started from Pole position, but it was Capirossi who snatched the lead when the race started. Gibernau fought back and eventually took the lead, whilst Rossi was content to sit back and start trailing him. Rossi waited until lap 22 to make his move and took the lead, where he remained to take the race, and his 6th World Championship – his first with Yamaha.
Valentino Rossi (Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha) said:
“Today was a fantastic finish to a fantastic championship. This track is great and today there was a hard battle up until the last lap. In some parts I was faster than Gibernau and some other places slower. I was sure of my feeling on the bike though. I made a bit of a bad start but wanted to stick with Sete. I managed to pass him early on in the race but he came back, and then at the end it became a great battle again. The last lap was a lot of fun for everybody watching it. I want to say thanks to everyone who has worked so hard, to Yamaha and all my team. It was fantastic, thank you. I think this year has been my best championship winning year.”
On the cool-down lap Valentino Rossi stopped to change into a specially designed helmet to celebrate his achievement. The helmet was plain white, and had the words ‘Che Spettacolo’ written in bold black lettering around the helmet and featured the number ‘46′ on the top. ‘Che Spettacolo’ means ‘The Special One’ in Italian.
Image Gallery of AGV ‘Che Spettacolo’ Helmet:
