Valentino Rossi has confirmed he will retire from MotoGP before he is 40 years old and intends to turn his hand to Le Mans or the Dakar Rally.

The Doctor is currently in negotiations to renew his deal with Yamaha and says that he will make his mind up whether to carry on in the first few races of this season but wants to stay for a couple more seasons.

“I’ll take part in five or six races but I’m fairly convinced I’ll spend the next few years with Yamaha. Then that will be enough as I am getting white hair. However at 39 I could take part in a few auto races like the 24 Hours of Le Mans or the Dakar Rally,” said Rossi in an interview with Italian newspaper Gazzetta.