Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MXGP’s Tim Gajser will celebrate one of the most decorated icons of Yamaha Racing’s heritage this weekend by running a special Valentino Rossi tribute livery at the MXGP of Trentino. The one-off design, featuring custom graphics on his factory YZ450FM and matching Alpinestars gear, is a salute to “The Doctor’s” legendary career and the shared DNA of Yamaha’s champions.
The MXGP of Trentino, held at the spectacular Ciclamino circuit in Pietramurata, serves as the perfect stage for this collaboration. Situated just across the border from Slovenia, Gajser considers ‘Arco’ his home Grand Prix. Thousands of Slovenian fans—decked out in Tiga243 merch—traditionally descend on the track, creating an electric atmosphere that mirrors the fan-frenzy Rossi commanded throughout his career.
For Gajser, the livery is about more than just aesthetics; it is about a shared history of elite-level transition and triumph within the Yamaha family.
“The livery looks amazing. Both the bike and the gear. I always wanted to do a collab on a special occasion. Arco is a special race. It’s the closest GP to Slovenia, so it’s like a home GP for me and there are always a lot of Slovenian fans there,” he said. “Obviously when you think of something special in racing, and in Italy, you think of Valentino Rossi, and we have a similar story. We both won titles before going to Yamaha, and then Vale went on to win many races on the Yamaha too and I hope to do the same. He is also one of the biggest names in Motorsport, so I think it’s special, and it’s a nice story for Yamaha too. I like Valentino. He invited me to his Ranch a few years ago and I got to speak to him, he’s a good guy, so this is part of the motivation to run this livery.”
The tribute highlights the synergy between Rossi and Gajser—two athletes who reached the pinnacle of their respective disciplines before bringing their talents to Yamaha to chase further glory. By wearing Rossi’s iconic fluor yellow colours in front of his home crowd, Gajser aims to channel that championship spirit as he battles his way up the leaderboard in the 2026 FIM Motocross World Championship.
