The Cairns Post reports that 'Holloways Beach was abuzz this weeඣk after numerous sightings of a man who appeared to be the international motorbike racing champion.

'The man even signed autographs and took a female cafe worker for a ride on his black🐻 motorcycle.

'He and three taller men who ♛appeared to be his "minders" made a number of visits to [a] cafe during ♐the week with their final visit on Tuesday morning.

'He signed autographs 🧸as "the Doctor", posed for photos and took 23-year-old cafe worker Mel🍨issa Taifalos for a spin on his bike.'

When asked by staff at the caf? if he wa𝕴s indeed the MotoGP star, the lookalike is said to have replied "Yeah, the Doctor".

The newspaper soon established that it wasn't the Italian superstar, although 'even after The Cairns Post told cafe staff pictures they had taken of the man did not look like Rossi, sev🦹eral🅰 were still convinced'.

The story of the fake Rossi was subsequently published and the lookalike in qu📖estion, Cairns waiter Stefano Zanzottera, came clean shortly after.

"The gue༺sts and staff [where I work] call me Valentino all the time, as a joke," he said. "They [the st𝔉aff at the cafe] said 'Valentino?', I said 'Yeah, the Doctor' [sarcastically]."

"In the past two w🎃eeks I have probably been [to the cafe] four times," he said. "I don't know why on the last time they thought I was Valentino."

The waiter, who - like R🌠ossi - rides a Yamaha motorcycle, said he signed the autograph as a joke but claimed that he isn't even a Valentino fan.

"I don't e🤪ven watch MotoGP," he said. "Sure, I'd like to be him [Rossi] and have lots of money, but no."

"I am so sorry. I feel so bad," he claimed. "Fro🐻m now if anyone says 'Valentino Rossi?' I say 'No, I am🍸 not him!"

The real Valentino Rossi will be back on trac🦩k at next weekend's Chinese Grand Prix.