Monster Energy Yamaha rider Valentino Rossi has tested positive for Covid-19 yet again just a week after he tested negative.
All this is following his layoff from the MotoGP track for two rounds after he tested positive for the virus back in October, he missed the Aragon double header as he caught the virus between the French and Aragon MotoGP.
The 41-year-old rider had tested positive for the virus on Tuesday last week at home, but another test on Thursday turned out negative as he was cleared to head for the Valencia MotoGP where he still underwent another PCR test. After passing the PCR on the Friday of the European MotoGP, Rossi was able to continue racing from Saturday onwards.
Rossi had been replaced by American WorldSBK rider Garett Gerloff for the Friday’s FP1 and FP2. Rossi’s race however did not last for more than five laps as he experienced a mechanical issue meaning the 41-year-old has not seen a chequered flag since the Emilia Romagna GP.
This means that Rossi’s participation in this weekend’s Valencia MotoGP is in doubt after the positive Covid-19 test back in Tuesday. He will need to undergo another test which will determine if he will participate in this weekend’s race. With the final round of the 2020 MotoGP season coming in just over a weeks time in Portugal, Rossi could as well miss the race as the Yamaha rider.
There are a lot of questions about Rossi’s latest Covid-19 results and the PCR tests he tested negative last Friday before he was allowed to enter the Ricardo Tormo Circuit and whether he was still positive without knowing it or was re-infected after the Sunday’s race.
Scientists are still trying to discover how the virus works as there are several cases of re-infection worldwide in the recent months. The pandemic has affected the Yamaha factory team as five crew members were forced into quarantine since one of Maverick Vinales’ crew tested positive for the virus. This was also after six Yamaha team members who were forced to isolate ahead of the French MotoGP.
Yamaha named Gerloff as Rossi’s his official standby replacement for the European GP, and the American will remain ready to take over should Rossi test positive once more. However, if Rossi has tested positive a second time, then more members of Yamaha may be forced into isolation, depleting its track numbers further
