Rossi hopes for Czech return

By John Hopkins

MotoGP World Champion Valentino Rossi has set a preliminary target of the Aug. 15 Czech Republic Grand Prix to make his return to racing after breaking his right leg in practice for last weekend's Italian round of the series.

The Italian suffered a compound fracture of his right tibia and also broke his right fibula in the 180 km/h crash at the Mugello circuit.

"I want to heal the injury; that is the only thing I am interested in," said Rossi in a Yamaha press release. "If I miss four races or six races, it doesn't make any difference. The right time to return could be Brno [Czech Republic], but it won't necessarily be like this."

In a separate Yamaha release Dr. Roberto Buzzi, who operated on Rossi's leg immediately following the accident, pegged his recovery time at six months and said the Fiat Yamaha rider could be back in action by August or September.

"Around 45 days after the accident we will have a clearer picture about his condition," Dr. Buzzi said. "At the moment we think it's unlikely that he will be back within the next two months."

The 31-year-old Rossi said he remembers everything about the dramatic highside crash and believes he was caught out when his tire cooled more than he had anticipated.

"I had a new tire and I'd done two laps, then I slowed down because I had [Hector] Barbera behind me," he explained. "When I came back onto the racing line [Dani] Pedrosa arrived and I didn't want to cause a problem for him so I moved again but then when I reopened the gas, it happened suddenly and unexpectedly. Seven seconds were enough to make the tire drop temperature dramatically. The error was mine.

"I don't have a single bruise. The problem was that I landed on my leg, and it was stuck under my body. If I had landed on my back it would have been different."

Under MotoGP rules the Fiat Yamaha team must field a replacement rider for Rossi by the Catalunya Grand Prix on July 4. In a press release Yamaha Motor Racing managing director Lin Jarvis would not comment on who might take Rossi's seat, but did confirm the team will not use another rider for the next two MotoGP events, the June 20 British Grand Prix and the Dutch TT six days later.

The enforced layoff will also give Rossi a chance to heal his shoulder, which he injured in a training incident after the opening round of the season at Qatar. The injury hadn't kept the seven-time premier class champion out of any races but had been giving him some discomfort.

"I am certain that when I return the shoulder will be completely recovered," he said. "When I come back I will be in perfect shape, although it won't mean that I can win straight away. When you return after an enforced break you not only have to think about the body, but also the mind. I won't be able to come back and win immediately."

Last weekend's Italian Grand Prix was the first race Rossi had missed due to injury since his World Championship career began in 1996.