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Petronas Yamaha rider Valentino Rossi has not ruled out a return to MotoGP in a wildcard entry after he retires at the end of this season, saying that he has learned to “never say never”.
Since the nine-time world champion announced eight days ago that the current season would be his final one in MotoGP, many fans have wondered whether there would be any prospect of seeing the Italian back on track in the future.
That’s become especially pertinent thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, which has limited or even prevented fan attendance to many of the races since, denying thousands of fans the chance to see Rossi racing in person one last time.
However, when asked about the prospect, he admitted that it might be wishful thinking given that he will be in his mid-40s when the 2022 season gets underway.
“What I’ve learned in my career is to never say never,” he told the media today at the Austrian Grand Prix.
“At this moment I’ll say that I don’t think so.
“Compared to Dani [Pedrosa] and to Cal [Crutchlow], my problem is that I am older!
“But why not? I think that I will miss riding a MotoGP bike, and maybe I can have a chance to try something that I will miss deeply.
“But at the same time, we don’t have any plans. One story is to try the MotoGP bike, in a test or at some private day, but it’s another story to make a race like Dani did or like Cal.
“To make a race weekend is difficult, but if I did, I would prefer somewhere good for me like Mugello, Misano, Barcelona or Assen.”
The matter isn’t just complicated by Rossi’s age, however, with the need to find a manufacturer to provide him with a bike also a complication.
Rossi is set to become the boss of a two-bike satellite Ducati team for next season and MotoGP’s rules say only factory teams can enter wildcards, so he wouldn’t be able to race in a one-off for his own team.
Given his long association with Yamaha – one that is likely to continue after retirement even as he runs a Ducati team – the most likely scenario would be that he would appear on one of its M1 machines.
But with rumours of the long-fabled Yamaha European-based test team finally starting to firm up for 2022, there’s more chance that we will see test rider Crutchlow making appearances as part of its R&D programme than there are of Rossi being allowed a chance to make something of a farewell tour.
