Valentino Rossi assures that the impressive accident in which he found himself on Sunday, when he came close to being the collateral victim of a collision in which he was not involved, does not change his plans for future in MotoGP.
Under contract until the end of the season with Yamaha, it is no secret that he intends to accept an additional season commitment, coupled with an option for 2022, with the Iwata manufacturer’s satellite team. . Since the start of the championship last month, the Italian star assures that his decision has been made and that all that is missing is the definition of his technical team so that he can sign this new agreement.
“Non”, he replies when asked if this crash can make him change his mind with the contract being signed. “Anyway if I stop MotoGP, I think I’ll do something else dangerous, because I want to race in a car, to do the 24 Hours of Le Mans… It’s dangerous anyway! Or so I go home and stay on my farm, with my horses, or in my bed! If you’re a pilot, motorbike or car, it’s a risk, so it doesn’t change my state of mind and I want to continue next year.”
The nine-time World Champion, however, admits that the accident, one of the most impressive he has been involved in during his career, shocked him. “It was a very difficult, scary time”, He testifies, his face still closed in evoking it, despite a few days of rest. “Fortunately, at the time I only saw Zarco’s motorcycle pass over Maverick [Viñales], but frankly I did not see Franco’s motorcycle [Morbidelli] because it went too close and too fast. We were really lucky that the bikes didn’t hit us. The situation was difficult, the restart was too. “
Before the drivers made a new start, 20 minutes after the interruption of the race, everyone returned to the pits, where the television screens broadcast the images in a loop that left the paddock petrified. While from the track Rossi had especially become aware of the risk incurred by his teammate, who was just in front of him, it was when he saw these images that he realized that he himself had been brushed against by a machine. which crossed the track like a rocket.
However, # 46 believes it is fair to show these images. “I think you shouldn’t exaggerate and show the pictures too many times, but it’s good to know what happened and see them. You can be more careful next time,” he emphasizes. “And then it’s good to see the reality. We must not forget that motorsport is dangerous and the drivers on the track must, of course, drive aggressively but with their heads because it is something that can happen. “
Conversely, Fabio Quartararo tried to protect himself by avoiding seeing what had happened until the race, which was to resume as soon as the track cleared, was not over. “Whenever there is a red flag, I never look at the TV screen, because there is always an accident that is not beautiful”, considers the French. “Better not to watch. I think it’s something better not to see as a driver, or maybe at the end of the race, when it’s all over.”
“In a moment like that, if I think for example of Valentino who saw the bike go by very quickly, then we take the track differently, so I think that for everyone it is better not to see the accident when there is has a big problem like this “, adds Quartararo, who in this sense agrees with the point of view of Cal Crutchlow. “We showed the footage 15 times. It’s ridiculous for the drivers who were at the pit, for the fans at home. Everyone wants to know what happened, yes, but show it after the race! “ the Englishman urged on Sunday, hot.
–
