Legend does not want to say farewell. After 24 seasons in the paddock, nine world titles and a thousand unforgettable battles, Valentino Rossi does not want to say goodbye without the taste of competition. If you were already thinking about withdrawing by the end of the 2020 season , the coronavirus has caused a change of plans: "My first option is to try to continue."

This was confirmed in an interview with his partner in Yamaha Maverick Viñales , aware of the complexity of the matter. "I am in a difficult situation because, as I said, my first option is to try to continue. I have enough motivation and I want to continue," says Il Dottore. "It is not the best way to stop, because the situation is that we may not run in 2020. So it is fairer to do another championship and stop at the end of the next one, so I hope to continue in 2021," he said. He would be 42 years old when he finally left MotoGP.

"I don't want to leave it running. I think it would be fairer to do another championship and stop at the end of the next one, so I hope to continue until 2021," he says.

"I will have to decide before competing because, in the most optimistic scenario, we can compete in the second half of the season, in August or September. But I have to make my decision sooner. Anyway, I want to continue , but I had to make this decision without making any career, "he continued.

Rossi also referred to the past and recalled that they suffered "a lot" in the second part of the year 2019, where "too many times" he was "slow" and had "to fight outside the 'Top 5' ". "In my mind I had another year with the factory team and I needed time to decide, like 5 or 6 races with the new chief mechanic and some modifications to the team to understand if I can be strong. The problem is that there are no races because we can't run with the virus, "he said.

Start in September

Il Dottore assured that he is in contact with Carmelo Ezpeleta , with whom he spoke of starting the championship "in August or September and trying to do 10 or 12 races on the best circuits in the world, where they have the best conditions." "We can start in September and end in December, perhaps going to Australia or Thailand where it is also hot in December," he said.

"I hope there aren't multiple races on the same circuit and I personally don't like two races on a weekend like at WorldSBK . I think it's better to have 8 real weekends, or 10 or 12, but on the best circuits If it is behind closed doors it would be a shame for everyone because we run for the fans, but it is better to run behind closed doors than not to run, "he continued.

Finally, Rossi confessed that he has "a lot of good ideas" for when he retires. "We have our own team in Moto3 and Moto2, where we really enjoy ourselves and want to try to continue, especially to support young Italian riders," he said, assuring that he also wants to "try to compete with cars." "I want to race cars in some championships and do as a 7 or 8 race program every year. This is the plan for the future," he concluded.

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