MOTO GP

Rossi: quarantine has left me more relaxed to think about retirement 

MotoGP Legend still evaluates possibility of staying in the biggest motovelocity championship with the Petronas team
Valentino Rossi admits that the quarantine caused by the coronavirus pandemic over the past two months has given him a more relaxed perspective on retirement, as he continues to decide on his future at MotoGP after 2020.
The 41-year-old driver lost his place on Yamaha's official team in 2021 to last year's sensation rookie Fabio Quartararo, and is arguing with Iwata's brand about a move to the Petronas SRT satellite team. Rossi's comments in recent weeks indicate that he should remain at MotoGP for at least another year, although the Italian insists that he does not have a "clear deadline" for making his decision.
Although he admits that the day he decides to stop will be "a very sad day," Rossi admits that his time at home with his family during the quarantine period and living without the "constant pressure" of the races made him realize that he will be able to "enjoy" retirement when he makes that decision.
Speaking to BT Sport, Rossi said: "I have to be honest, I had a great quarantine period. I had fun, because I stayed at my house and relaxed with my mom, with my girlfriend, with my animals, and I had fun.”
“For me, it was very strange, because since 1995 my life is traveling the world for circuits. It's a strange feeling at first, but I really like being in my house and mostly living without constant pressure for the result of the races.”
"That's the good feeling: I can discover a bit of my future life when I stop racing my bike. So I think I can enjoy it too when it stops. This is good and I can make my decision more easily.”
Last weekend marked the original date of the Italian GP in Mugello, when Rossi had planned to make his decision on the future, evaluating his performance in the first races of the now postponed 2020 season.
Commenting on his potential future at Petronas, Rossi insists his 2021 will not be a "farewell tour" should he decide to continue.
“I'm very happy with my chance with Petronas, because it's definitely not a factory team, but it's a great team, a very high technical and personal level, it has a lot of young people working there and they went well with Quartararo and [Franco] Morbidelli, " he added.
"I do not want to do a farewell tour. I'll only go to Petronas if I think I can be competitive, win races, try to fight for the podium.”
"So for sure, if I keep going, I want to try to be competitive and I want to do some good races.'

by Lewis Duncan