Valentino Rossi fears ‘Dragon’ MotoGP rider who battled injury at Catalan Grand Prix

The Italian rider started the race despite the injury and took his second victory in the premier class after winning the 2023 Qatar GP after passing Pedro Acosta.

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Valentino Rossi’s ‘Incredible Race’ by Fabio Di Giannantonio

Speaking directly Sky Sports Italy After the race, Rossi praised Di Giantantonio’s endurance. The 27-year-old put down one of his gloves after the race, even on stage, showing his discomfort.

He decided to skip Monday’s Barcelona test to allow his hand to recover before the race at Mugello later in the month.

Rossi He said: “My God, what a horror, it was hard, it was horrible, I was there and I saw it, ‘Digia’ could have been hurt, but he was a dragon, an animal, he was really strong when he came back, he had an unbelievable race, he was very fast.”

“He made all the improvements he needed, didn’t make a single mistake, and in the last two laps he was seven to eight-tenths of a second faster than the other.

“For me, he was able to do 1:40.0 seconds even though the race was 30 laps long. We are very proud of the whole team ‘Digi’. This is a great victory and it’s really exciting.”

Di Giannantonio has opened the gap to Aprilia’s Marco Bezecchi to 26 points and has emerged as a contender for the 2026 title. This is a bitter development for Rossi VR46But as he is believed to join KTM for 2027.

Rossi plans to sign an Italian rider to replace him, with Spaniard Fermin Aldeguer joining from Gresini. Incumbent Franco Morbidelli remains in contention, but his results this year have been poor.

‘You really don’t have much choice’ – Valentino Rossi on MotoGP riders after red flags

The decision to restart Sunday’s race after two red flags left opinion divided in the paddock.

After anxiously waiting for updates on Marquez, who was confirmed to be conscious, LCR’s Johannes Zarco was injured on the first restart. Francesco Bagnaia and Luca Marini, who were involved in the incident, were quick to help.

Pedro Acosta says it wasn’t ‘necessary’ to resume. After the incident of Zarco and George Martin agree. The riders could theoretically refuse to compete, but Rossi said that was not an option.

“At the end of the day you don’t have that much of a choice, you can’t go into the pits and say, ‘I’m scared, I’m not going to race anymore, I’m going home,'” he said.