Valentino Rossi to Miss the Misano Grand Prix
The Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Team have announced Valentino Rossi will be unable to take part in the Gran Premio Tribul Mastercard di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini this weekend, after breaking his right leg last week in a training accident.
The Italian was riding an Enduro bike last week when he fell, breaking the tibia and fibia bones in his right leg in the process. While he was quickly seen to by medical services and underwent surgery soon thereafter, there was never any real chance the paddock favourite would make the race in Rimini this weekend.
The Factory Yamaha team will compete in round 13 of the 2017 MotoGP World Championship with Maverick Viñales as its sole rider. Viñales, who currently sits at third in the championship, may now be Yamaha’s last hope at a championship for this season now Rossi, who was sitting just behind his teammate in fourth, will lose any chance he had at the title in points missed by not racing.
When it comes to the rider set to take Rossi’s place on the grid, MotoGP rules stipulate a team can only replace a rider with 10 days notice, and with the injury to Rossi giving Yamaha less than seven days before this weekend’s race the team had no choice but to run a single rider. With the severity of Rossi’s injury likely to see him sitting out round 14 as well, Yamaha are likely to announce a replacement to ride in his place at Aragon, with Japanese rider Katsuyuki Nakasuga a likely candidate to step up.
