As with each of his last contract renewals, Valentino Rossi prefers to let the first Grands Prix pass before deciding whether to continue. In any case, this cannot be done within the official Yamaha team, which will welcome Fabio Quartararo and Maverick Viñales from 2021.
At the start of the year, due to the absence of races caused by the pandemic, Valentino Rossi's decision to continue his career in MotoGP was also delayed. If Rossi wanted to continue, he would still receive factory equipment and could potentially be placed with the Petronas team.
Before the health crisis, it was estimated that Rossi could make an announcement at his home race at Mugello at the end of May. But with the pandemic still present, the date of the first MotoGP race is uncertain. Few people think it is likely that May will see the start of the MotoGP season.
“It disrupted my plans,” Rossi said to Sky Sport Italia. " We have to wait and see when we can race. It still seems to take a long time because the European Football Championship has also been canceled. I think it will be difficult to start before July. “
“I had hoped to be able to make a decision after the first part of the season, but now everything is postponed. I would like to do a few races to see if I am competitive. Because it would be important,” declared the nine-time World Champion driver. Because Rossi has always insisted that he will only continue if he can fight for top places.
The last time Rossi was on the podium was a year ago at Termas de Rio Hondo (Argentina) and Austin (United States). His last victory was almost three years ago. At Assen 2017, Rossi won for the last time so far. It was his 89th victory in the premier category and his 115th overall, if we add the 125 cc and 3 cc categories.
“This year it will be important that we organize as many races as possible,” Vale said, looking towards the currently uncertain future. “Having 19 races is not fundamental. The Superbike format with two races would be interesting. There must be at least 13 races for it to be a championship. »
“Maybe it will be enough if we do these races well and keep the normal format. Let's wait and see what Ezpeleta decides. But first we have to see what the virus decides. »
Source: Motorsport-total.com
Photos © Yamaha
