Valentino Rossi's 10 closest wins!

0.210 seconds may seem like a tiny amount of time, but it’s a comparative lifetime by Rossi’s terms. Rossi took pole at Welkom and led the early part of the race entering a wheel-to-wheel battle with Max Biaggi. The pair scrapped right to the flag, with Rossi pulling a fraction clear to win the season-opener. It also marked a debut win for Rossi with Yamaha, immediately justifying the gamble he took in ditching Honda for a team that had scored just one podium the season before.

After qualifying eighth in Qatar, Rossi’s chances of a win to kick off the 2015 season looked slim - and even more so when he slipped back to 10th on the opening lap. From there, he launched one of MotoGP’s finest fightbacks, picking his way through the order before nabbing the lead from Andrea Dovizioso with three laps to go. Rossi held off the Ducati in the charge to the line to record a memorable victory.

Much like his win in South Africa, Rossi’s win two months later in Catalunya came after a race-long battle against one of his biggest rivals. This time around it was Sete Gibernau who posed a threat, leading the majority of the race before falling behind Rossi - who had never been less than a second adrift - with 10 laps to go. The lead swapped hands twice more before the chequered flag, with Rossi ultimately prevailing by just 0.159 seconds.

Rossi had to pull off another fightback for Yamaha at the Sachsenring in 2006, starting from 11th on the grid. A rapid getaway lifted him to sixth at the end of the first lap, and by Lap 13 he had battled into the lead. But Rossi wasn’t to have it all his own way. Unable to ditch the chasing Dani Pedrosa and Marco Melandri, he was under pressure at the front, and dropped to second with two laps to go. Rossi kept his cool and battled back past Melandri, holding off his compatriot to nick the win, with Pedrosa and Hayden also finishing within three-tenths to mark a new closest top-four finish in premier class history.

Rossi already had the 2001 title in his pocket by the time the paddock arrived in Rio de Janeiro for the final round of the year, but that didn’t stop him adding another win to his collection - even if the weather Gods had other plans! Heavy rain meant the race had to be run in two parts, with an aggregate result being formulated. Carlos Checa had been poised to win, only for a lapped rider to cause him to slow, allowing Rossi to close and take victory by 0.143 seconds.

Rossi’s run to his 75th premier class victory saw him fight tooth-and-nail with championship rivals Casey Stoner and Jorge Lorenzo at the Sachsenring, eventually winning by less than one-tenth of a second. Rossi started from pole and looked in control early on before slipping behind Stoner, only to reclaim the lead. Lorenzo got a charge with five laps to go to move ahead, forcing Rossi to dig deep - and boy did he. Rossi wrestled the lead back with two to go and held on, finishing a mere 0.099 seconds clear of his teammate.

Philip Island offered another classic between Gibernau and Rossi in 2004, the pair finishing over 10 seconds clear of the chasing pack. Gibernau started from pole and dominated the early part of the race, but Rossi never let the Spaniard out of his sight. The pair traded blows through the closing stages, each having a stint in the lead, but it was Rossi who managed to get through on the last lap. 0.097 seconds was the minimal - yet crucial - difference.

The 2009 race in Barcelona is one of the most memorable in MotoGP’s recent history. Rossi and young upstart Lorenzo duelled for the second half of the race, going wheel-to-wheel through the last few laps. Entering the final corner, Rossi managed to get a better run down the hill and dived down the inside of Lorenzo before blocking off his response, leaving him to clinch the most dramatic of wins. A defining battle in the Rossi-Lorenzo rivalry.

Another race, another Gibernau-Rossi classic. This time it was Brno that played host to their battle, with Troy Bayliss also getting in the mix at the front. Bayliss led early on before the ‘Sete and Valentino Show’ played out, with the lead going back and forth right the way to the line. A mistake from Gibernau on the final lap gave Rossi a run, with the Italian diving down the inside at the fifth-to-last corner. Gibernau was able to close when Rossi made a mistake, but it wasn’t enough: victory belonged to The Doctor.

Top of the tree for close Rossi wins is Philip Island 2001. This time it was Max Biaggi that pushed him all the way, the pair having started on the front row together. After seeing Alex Barros and Noriyuki Haga take stints up front, Rossi and Biaggi entered a duel that would ultimately settle the championship. Having already seen three changes for the lead, Rossi made the fourth and final move on the last lap ahead of a sprint to the line. 0.013 seconds was the difference, and Rossi was premier class world champion for the first time. It also saw Rossi become the last 500cc world champion before the four-stroke MotoGP class began the following year.