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Rossi: I Can Continue for a Couple of Years; Things with Marquez - Irrecuperable

Ahead of the start of the 2016 MotoGP championship that, by the way, kicks off this weekend in Qatar, Valentino Rossi is one of the most sought-after guys to be interviewed. However, he starts to cut down the number of interviews because everybody is asking the same thing.
Rossi testing a MotoGP bike in the rain 1 photo
Photo: motogp.com
Obviously, the main question is what his plans are after the end of the 2016 season, but the answer is far from being a conclusive one. For starters, Rossi says that his reply has not changed since two years ago, and that he will simply continue to race for as long as he is competitive.

"My options are Yamaha or retirement," he tells Gazzetta Dello Sport, "but I never say never." "The first year back with Iwata started well and ended badly, while the last season had a modest start and ended well. I'd like to see that happen this year, too," he adds.

Again, Rossi says that the first 4 to 6 races should tell him whether it's worth continuing in MotoGP or he should switch sports. However, if he signs with Yamaha, he believes it's going to be for another two years, even though, after that, he hopes that Yamaha will also help him decide. "I am pretty convinced I can continue for a couple of years and then maybe Yamaha says something, because I get white hair," the nine-time world champion jokes.

"I did not want to intimidate anyone (at the Sepang press conference, red.), but only to draw the attention of the Race Direction"

Taking a trip down the memory lane, Rossi remembers that he pondered whether to speak out or not at the pre-race press conference in Sepang, ahead of the Malaysian round.

"I thought a lot about what happened. I also thought that perhaps it would have been better not to have done this, but I had to do it. I understand what it triggered, but I did not want to intimidate anyone, but only to draw the attention of the Race Direction. We had spoken to them, but they did not listen to us. The case could have been solved talking to all of us in Malaysia. I just did it all this because the situation was too obvious," Rossi adds in another interview with Motosprint.

As for his relationship with Lorenzo and Marquez, he says that things are beyond repair. Lorenzo remains his teammate, even though Rossi believes that the Spaniard considers him less than that. With Marc Marquez, the Doctor says that he understood that he and MM93 are adversaries and would rather see their relationship limited to the confines of the track. That is, without any false pretenses of trying to make up or attempting to make things look less serious. "I like to be true and avoid the silly "let's shake hands - no we won't" stuff."

Action gets underway this Thursday at the Losail Circuit in Qatar, for the season opener and the championship's only evening race.
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