In the old days, Valentino Rossi started calling himself Rossifumi as a cryptic homage to a favourite Japanese rider. The moniker changed to Valentinik in 1999, a reference to a cartoon duck-cum-superhero called Paparinik. It was only when he graduated to the elite class that he decided that he needed to add gravitas to a persona that involved neon hair, Robin Hood costumes and pink leather trousers. So he became Dr Rossi.

His latest reinvention has been his best yet. After two barren years in which he not only saw two riders take the crown he had monopolised but started making untypical mistakes, Rossi is again top of the tree as he prepares for tomorrow's bwin.com British Grand Prix at Donington Park, in Derbyshire. The man who famously gave the finger to Max Biaggi, his rival, at Suzuka in Japan in 2001, while travelling at 130mph, is thumbing his nose at those who wrote him off.

You should never take anything for granted with Rossi. He is arguably the most famous sportsman in Italy and, according to Sports Illustrated, the best-paid outside the United States. Yet many have been wondering whether the thrill had gone for Rossi. He is only 29, but, given that Casey Stoner, the world champion, and Dani Pedrosa, who trails Rossi by only seven points, are 22, Rossi is the elder statesman. Add Jorge Lorenzo, a precocious 21-year-old team-mate at Fiat Yamaha, to the mix and the days of domination appeared to be over.

There have been distractions, too. Formula One has coveted him - he has said that he turned down the offer of a drive with Ferrari - and the taxman was just as persistent. In February, Rossi was forced to agree to pay £26 million in unpaid taxes. Initially he was defensive. “Today I'm the target of astronomical tax investigations and tomorrow, who knows, I could be a spaceman on Mars,” he said. However, he said that he was serene after his compromise, although he still sacked his long-term manager, Gibo Baldi, and his PR company.

That clouded the start to the season and the early signs were that Rossi was struggling. His decision to insist on Bridgestone tyres looked doomed as Lorenzo, riding the Michelin-clad Fiat Yamaha, made a stunning start to his rookie season. Rossi was only fifth in the opening race in Qatar and followed that with a second and a third. It meant that, going back to 2007, he had failed to win in seven races, the longest losing run of his MotoGP career.

Those close to him say that the defeats have hurt, none more so than the crash in the final round of 2006 in Valencia that enabled Nicky Hayden to snatch his title. “With him, there is not the polemic and s*** there is with other riders,” Rossi said. “He won, so he is the best.”

Rossi is a good loser but a great winner and Colin Edwards, his team-mate last season, gave an insight into why he is the best. Recalling the rainsoaked British Grand Prix of 2005, Edwards said in Mat Oxley's book, The Fast Stuff: “I looked at his data and it was scary. That guy was locking the front in the rain on a s***ty track that was slicker than snot. This guy's crazy. I don't think he has got any weaknesses.”

Jerry Burgess, his long-term crew chief, says that Rossi has heightened sensory powers that enable him to react to things a nanosecond before the rest. Not one for false platitudes, Burgess says that Rossi would be a world-class tennis player had his father been a Wimbledon champion rather than Graziano Rossi, a maverick GP racer who shuns the high life to sleep in the back of his beat-up car at meetings.

Giacomo Agostini, the greatest of all in many eyes, who has 68 premier class wins to Rossi's 65, put it best of all when he spoke of their shared talent. “It's difficult to find the reason, but, in Italian, we say un regalo della natura - a gift from nature,” he said.

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