Mondadori promises book will reflect his personality (ANSA) – Rome, September 10 – An authorised biography of Italian motorcycling champion Valentino Rossi will be released in Italy in mid-October, publisher Mondadori announced on Saturday .

The book, Mondadori explained, will for the first time tell the full story of his life, his sports triumphs as well and his private life .

"But above all his story will be told with the same exuberance and joy, depth and humanity which have made him an icon of our times," Mondadori said .

"Although he is still young he has already won everything and then some, and all this without losing his natural charm and spontaneity," the publisher added .

"Not only has he won, but he has also changed the rules of the game. He has sparked renewed interest in motorcycling and helped make it a popular sport. And by entertaining the public with his gags and costumes he has won thousands of fans all over the world," Mondadori said .

At 26, Rossi has already won six world championships and is on the verge of picking up his fifth straight title in motorcycling flagship class, holding a 132-point lead over his closest rival, Italian Max Biaggi, with six races left in the season .

He also has 125cc and 250cc titles to his credit .

Rossi has won 9 out of 11 races so far this season .

Because of Rossi’s popularity, motorcycle Grand Prix racing is now rivaling Formula 1 for viewer preference and Ferrari has been actively courting the the six-time champion for a possible career change .

Rossi has already tested a Ferrari Formula 1 car on several occasions and the team said he will continue to do so every month over the winter. This has fueled speculation in the media that Ferrari and Rossi are seriously considering a future together .

Italian sports fans – along with sponsors and marketing people – are thrilled by the idea that Rossi might try to be the first Italian driver to win a title in a Ferrari since Alberto Ascari in 1953 .

Rossi, who has developed an appetite for records, is also believed to be attracted by the challenge of successfully making a switch which only one man, Britain’s John Surtees, has ever done before .

Surtees won four world motorcycling titles before switching to cars in 1960. In 1964, at the age of 30, he won a world title driving a Ferrari .

Working against Rossi, however, is his lack of experience on four wheels, his age and his height, he is almost six feet tall .

Rossi’s most recent comment on the possibility of switching to Formula 1 came at Assen on June 23, when he said he was "not interested" in such a move. But only three months earlier, in Paris, he said: "10 years riding bikes is to long."