JAKARTA - Valentino Rossi reported on Thursday that he was positive for COVID-19. He's going to miss the Aragon Grand Prix this weekend.
The Monster Energy Yamaha team through an official statement confirms this and explains the chronology before the nine-time world champion tested positive.
On Sunday, October 11, Rossi left the Le Mans circuit and returned to his home in Tavullia, Italy. Two days later, The Doctor underwent the usual PCR test, which became mandatory for those returning home between races. The test results were received the following day and showed negative.
Wednesday, October 14th, Rossi felt completely fit and trained at home without any symptoms or discomfort. A day later, he woke up in the morning and felt a little sick.
Vale felt a little feverish and immediately called the doctor. The doctor underwent two tests; the first was a rapid PCR test, which came back negative. Then the standard PCR test, which was received at 16:00 and was positive.
During his stay at home from Sunday night to Thursday, Rossi had no contact with anyone currently at the Aragon Grand Prix, including the VR46 Academy riders, VR46 staff, and members of the Monster Energy Yamaha team.
Rossi's condition will be monitored by medical staff in Tavullia. The situation will be monitored on a daily basis to see the possibility of Rossi's participation in the upcoming races.
- Valentino Rossi (@ ValeYellow46) October 15, 2020
"It's very bad news for Valentino and some very bad news for the team Monster Energy Yamaha and for all MotoGP fans around the world," said managing director Lin Jarvis told Antara on Friday.
"First and foremost we hope that Valentino will suffer less in the next few days and that he will fully recover in the shortest possible time.
Previously, project leader Sumi-san and five Yamaha engineers were absent at Le Mans after one team member tested positive for COVID-19, although he did not show symptoms.
"These two incidents remind us that no matter how careful you are, the risk is always there - as we are seeing with the increasing number of infections in Europe today."
"We have checked with the Italian health authorities and we have been told that any team member who has had contact with Valentino up to Monday is not at immediate risk.
Yamaha has yet to say who will replace the nine-time world champion at Aragon, but it has opened up opportunities for test rider Jorge Lorenzo to return to MotoGP.
Lorenzo is supposed to play at the Catalunya Grand Prix as a wildcard before the calendar season changes completely due to the pandemic impact and wildcard slots removed for this year.
The Spaniard rode the M1 2019 during the MotoGP test session in Portimao, Portugal last week, but has not tasted the 2020 version of the bike this year after undergoing only four days of testing on a MotoGP machine since February.
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