Valentino Rossi, Out of Moto GP for Six Weeks
FIAT YAMAHA:
MotoGP boss Davide Brivio has said he would not replace Valentino Rossi with a second rider if it was not for a contractual obligation.
The nine-time World Champion will be out of action for the forseeable future after the Italian broke his right shin during practice at Mugello MotoGP.
“If it was up to us we wouldn’t replace Valentino, but the contracts force us to,” Brivio told Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport.
“We have two test riders, but they are a bit slow, and to see an excessive gap among riders isn’t nice. Unfortunately it’s difficult to find an available rider at MotoGP level.”
As you’d expect, the rumour mill is red hot with potential candidates to fill Rossi’s seat for the next few races; 2009 World Supersport Champion Cal Crutchlow, Tech 3 Yamaha rider Colin Edwards and Moto2 frontrunner Yuki Takahashi are all hot names for the most-prized seat in motorcycle racing
Rossi’s bid to retain his world title has been ended by the injury, which could see him sidelined for four to five months. However, the 31-year-old remains upbeat.
He said: “I’ll come back soon. I was afraid, now it’s a lot better. It will take time, the important thing is to return to 100%.
“It was a bad fall, a bad injury, but it’s going well.”
Ferrari suggested Valentino Rossi to test in Formula 1 before returning to MotoGP after the Doctor was involved in a bad crash during the Italian Grand Prix qualifications.
Even though Rossi will “wear” crutches in the following six weeks, the multiple MotoGP world champion was invited to test a Ferrari F1 car before coming back in the motorcycles competition, according to a statement made by Luca di Montezemolo, Scuderia President.
“Everyone at Ferrari is with you at this difficult time. We are sure that you will be back on track soon, even stronger than before. If during your convalescense you feel you would like to do some training on four wheels, then remember that the door to Maranello is always open to you,” wished Luca di Montezemolo to Rossi via Ferrari’s official site.
Rossi tested a lot of times for Ferrari an is heavily rumored that the Italian is wanted in Formula 1, if Scuderia’s proposal that top F1 teams to have three drivers is approved.