page_title: Valentino Rossi
section_title: Honda (2000–2001)
hierarchical_section_title: Valentino Rossi / Career / 500cc World Championship / Honda (2000–2001)
caption_attribution_description: English: Honda NSR500 (Valentino Rossi, 2001) 日本語: ホンダNSR500（2001年のV.ロッシ車）ホンダ・コレクションホールにて撮影。
context_page_description: Valentino Rossi is an Italian professional motorcycle road racer and multiple MotoGP World Champion.
  Rossi is widely considered one of the greatest motorcycle racers of all time, with nine Grand Prix World Championships to his name – seven of which are in the premier class. Rossi is also the only road racer to have competed in 400 or more Grands Prix. He has ridden with number 46 his entire career, including the years when he was defending his title.
  After graduating to the premier class in 2000, Rossi won the 500cc World Championship and 8 Hours of Suzuka with Honda in 2001, the MotoGP World Championships in 2002 and 2003 and continued his streak of back-to-back championships by winning the 2004 and 2005 titles after leaving Honda to join Yamaha. All of those titles were won in a dominant manner, being decided before the final round on all occasions. He lost the 2006 title with a crash in the final round at Valencia, ceding the title to his former Honda teammate Nicky Hayden. In 2007 Rossi and Yamaha were of no match to a dominant Casey Stoner on a Ducati, and Rossi ultimately finished a then career-low third overall.
context_section_description: 2000
  After achieving the 250cc World Championship in 1999, Rossi was given a seat with Honda in what was then the highest class in World Championship motorcycle racing, the 500cc. Retired five-time 500cc World Champion Mick Doohan, who had also had Jeremy Burgess as chief engineer, worked with Rossi as his personal mentor in his first year at Honda. It was also the first time Rossi raced against Max Biaggi.
  Rossi started his first year in the 500cc class off with two retirements in the first two rounds: he crashed out of the South African and Malaysian rounds. He scored points at the third round in Japan and picked up two third-place finishes in Spain and France. Rossi picked up additional points in Italy and another third place podium finish at the Catalan round. He picked up additional points by finishing in sixth position at the 2000 Dutch TT.
  It took nine races before Rossi won on the Honda, but his first 500cc victory came after a fierce battle with the Suzuki of Kenny Roberts Jr. and the Aprilia of Jeremy McWilliams. On a track which was affected by ever changing weather conditions and despite only qualifying in seventh position on Saturday, the Italian chose the right tyres and stormed through the field to battle with Roberts Jr. and McWilliams and win his first race in the 500cc class.
  After his victory in Donington Park, Rossi went on to score consecutive podium places in the next three races: two second-place finishes in Germany and the Czech Republic and one third-place finish in Portugal. He retired from the Valencian Community round after crashing out of the race.
  Rossi won the Rio round. However, it was Kenny Roberts Jr. who clinched the 2000 title after finishing in sixth position, which gave him an unassailable lead in the championship. After his second win, he eventually went on to finish second at the Pacific race and third at the Australian races. He finished second in his rookie season in the 500cc class with 209 points.
  2001
  Rossi dominated his second season in the 500cc class, scoring 11 wins and only finishing off the podium three times. He started the year off with a victory in Japan after battling with Max Biaggi and back-to-back poles and race wins at the South African and Spanish rounds. He finished the French race in third place but crashed out of the Italian round whilst leading the wet race after taking another another pole on Saturday.
  Rossi bounced back by taking pole position and winning the following race in Catalunya, despite making a poor start which dropped him to 15th place at the end of the first lap. He scored a second place after narrowly losing out on the race victory with Biaggi at the Dutch round and once again won another race: this time the British GP.
  Rossi finished a disappointing seventh in Germany but took back-to-back wins in the Czech Republic (gaining a 29-point advantage over Biaggi) and Portugal. He scored another disappointing result at the Valencian Community round when he finished in 11th place, but eventually scored a string of race wins from the Pacific to the Rio rounds.
  Rossi won his first 500cc title with 325 points and third title overall, 106 points ahead of Biaggi, who became Rossi's main rival during the season. As of 2020, Rossi is the last satellite rider to clinch the title in the premier class. During the season, Rossi also teamed up with American rider Colin Edwards for the Suzuka 8 Hours endurance race aboard a Honda VTR1000SPW, becoming the first Italian rider to win the race. The pair won the race despite Rossi's lack of experience racing superbikes. In 2002, 500cc two-strokes were still allowed, but saw the beginning of the 990cc four-stroke MotoGP class, after which the 500cc machines essentially became obsolete.
caption: Honda NSR500 used by Rossi in the 2001 season
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