Valentino Rossi is keen to continue racing in MotoGP next year but admits the coronavirus is complicating the situation.
2020 is supposed to be the Italian’s last season with the factory Yamaha team before he is replaced by Fabio Quartararo, who impressed everyone during his debut season last year.
It has been speculated Rossi could move to a satellite team such as Tech 3 or the Petronas Yahama SRT outfit, where Quartararo currently rides.
However, talking the official MotoGP website, the legendary nine-time world champion spoke optimistically about his future.
“I am in a difficult situation because, like I said, my first option is to try to continue. I have enough motivation and I want to continue,” said Rossi.
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“The problem is that there’s no racing. So with the virus, we cannot race.
“So I will have to decide before racing because in the most optimistic situation we can race in the second half of the season, so August or September we hope, but we have to make my decision before,” he added.
Asked whether he will retire if there is no racing at all in 2020, the Italian expressed his intention to continue racing for at least another year.
“It’s not the best way to stop because the situation is that maybe we don’t race in 2020. So it’s fairer for me to do another championship and stop at the end of the next, so I hope to continue in 2021,” Rossi concluded.
This year was set to mark two decades since Valentino made his premier class debut in 2000, when he finished runner up to Kenny Roberts Jr.