Pilot Valentino Rossi spotted wearing a Rolex

Valentino Rossi, the most decorated motorcycle road racer in MotoGP history, was recently photographed wearing a stainless steel Rolex GMT-Master II reference 126710BLRO — the watch the collecting world simply calls the 'Pepsi' — on its five-link Jubilee bracelet. For a rider whose entire career was built around split-second timing, the GMT complication carries a certain poetic weight.

Introduced at Baselworld 2018, the Rolex GMT-Master II 126710BLRO represented the first time Rolex had produced a steel-cased 'Pepsi' since the transition away from aluminium bezels. The bi-directional rotatable bezel is now set with a CERACHROM insert in blue and red ceramic — vastly more scratch-resistant than its predecessors and retaining colour with no fading over time. Inside sits the Rolex Calibre 3285, a movement featuring the Chronergy escapement, a 70-hour power reserve, and a GMT hand independently adjustable in one-hour increments without stopping the seconds. The case measures 40mm and the Jubilee bracelet — previously reserved for the Day-Date and Datejust families — caused considerable debate at launch before being almost universally praised for its comfort and period-correct nod to the original 1955 GMT-Master.

From a collector standpoint, the 126710BLRO is one of the most coveted references in the current Rolex lineup. It sits at the intersection of nostalgia and technical modernity: the 'Pepsi' colorway has held totemic status since pilots and Pan Am crews wore earlier references in the 1950s and 60s, and the reintroduction on steel — after years of the combination being exclusive to white gold — caused waiting lists to stretch across years at authorised dealers globally.

Rossi's relationship with precision instruments is well documented. The 'Doctor,' as he is known in paddocks worldwide, competed at the elite level for over two decades and has long shown an appreciation for mechanical watchmaking. A GMT complication suits a man accustomed to crossing time zones between race rounds on multiple continents.

On the grey market, the Rolex GMT-Master II 126710BLRO commands a significant premium over its official retail price, reflecting sustained demand that authorised dealer allocations have never come close to satisfying. It remains one of the most liquid stainless steel sport Rolex references on the secondary market.