Rossi insists he will return after Mugello crash
Added on Friday, June 11th, 2010 by Carole Nash Editor
Rossi insists he will return after Mugello crash
Valentino Rossi has insisted that retirement from MotoGP racing has not even crossed his mind following his crash at Mugello, claiming that he already has plans for next season.
The world champion will miss around six months with a broken shin following a crash at Mugello last week, with some fearing that his career in MotoGP may be coming to an end. Those concerns intensified when the Ferrari F1 team hinted that there was a seat being prepared for him should he decide to quit two wheels in preference of four.
But Rossi, who is 18 race wins short of Giacomo Agostini’s record of 122 victories, insisted that any dealings he has with Ferrari will continue to be on an “guest driver” basis and that, despite being out of contract at the end of the season, he already has a ride secured for 2011.
“Sincerely, I haven’t felt any fear,” the 31-year-old claimed in his first interview since the crash. “I was a bit horrified when I saw the leg, yes…but the thing I dislike the most is to miss so many races! I will take all the time I need and be sure not to do anything stupid because I want to return quickly, but only if my condition allows it. I know I have a bike for next year and I don’t need to rush my return to demonstrate anything.
“I could miss just four races, but I still wouldn’t come back to win the championship. It’s better to be careful, finish the rehabilitation in the best way and come back to race for many more years. I’ve heard of many other sportsmen – a lot in fact – who have had the same problem as me. One example for everyone – Mark Webber called me, and he has had an exposed fracture of the right leg. He told me to be very patient and that I would have some moments of discomfort, but that in the end recovery is guaranteed.
“Now I have a lot of time at home to rest, to recover and to think. Firstly, I want to use this time to improve some things. I want to improve my English, learn something new, read a lot. Basically, I want to improve and learn. This I will do for sure. This incident will not influence my choices for next year in any way. Last Saturday hasn’t changed anything – I just have one broken leg extra! The result of 2010 has never been relevant to my decisions for the future.”
