Valentino Rossi says he was wary of making a Michael Schumacher-style comeback if he was to retire from MotoGP at the end of the 2018 season.
Rossi was set to enter the final year of his Yamaha contract in 2018, though revealed during the pre-season Qatar test that he was likely to continue for two more years.
On Thursday, Yamaha confirmed the Italian had agreed a two-year deal to remain with the Japanese marque through to the end of 2020, alongside current team-mate Maverick Vinales, who signed a new contract in January.
39-year-old Rossi conceded racing for three more seasons could damage his reputation, but said he did not want retire while he was still competitive and return several years later, just as seven-times Formula 1 champion Schumacher did in 2010 after quitting the sport in '06.
“Yeah, it's possible,” he said when asked if he was worried racing for three more seasons could tarnish his legacy.
“But I saw a lot of great riders and drivers stop at the maximum of their career, like Schumacher, [Max] Biaggi, Troy Bayliss, but I think they were not happy about this.
“Schumacher and Bayliss came back on the track, so I decided to race to the end, because in the future I don't want to think I can do another two seasons or not.
“It can be a risk, yes, but if I follow this [worry of potentially hurting my legacy] I have to stop maybe six or seven years ago.”
Rossi revealed towards the end of last year that he would make a decision on his future after the first handful of races, but admitted that this later changed to once pre-season testing had concluded.
"At the end of last season I spoke with Yamaha, I said I will decide during the winter tests,” he explained.
“If I'm able to survive the winter tests I can sign. At the end of the winter test, it was quite good, even if everybody is quite close [on the timesheets].
“In some days we suffer, but I like the bike, I feel quite comfortable, I feel quite fast. We still have a lot of work to do, but I decided after the test.”
When asked if a one-year deal was considered, Rossi responded: “Yes, we spoke about a one-by-one [deal] with Yamaha.
“But now you always think about two, also for the balance of the contract with the other riders. So, if you sign you need to be able to do two years and stay in line with all the other top riders.”
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