How strange it was, learning after the fact
that "the Doctor," aka Valentino Rossi, arguably one of MotoGP's
greatest riders ever, was temporarily sidelined after breaking his leg during
training.
As I've just come to expect that the ageless Rossi
will be on the grid week in, week out, going Mano e Mano with the Young Bucks
who are nearly half his age!
Thus I was surprised to learn, since we DON'T
have any TV access to MotoGP Stateside NO more; but I digress...
that Valentino was forced to miss his home
Grand Prix after his training accident, and has been set to be replaced by 24yr
old Dutch Yamaha World Superbike rider Michael van der Mark, originally "Penciled in" to make his
MotoGP debut in Portugal, as Valentino's substitute for this past weekend's Aragon
GP.
As NO pressure
Son, you're just deputizing for one of the sport's greatest on one of the top
three bikes!
Yet apparently Valentino didn't want anybody
carving up la Competizione on his Yamahopper', as incredibly, Rossi went back
to training on a Yamaha Superbike at Missano just a scant 18-days after having
surgery upon his broken leg! In order to prepare for racing his Movistar Yamaha
YZR M1 in Portugal.
Although he still needed to be medically
cleared by MotoGP to compete at Aragon, with van der Mark on Stand-by in case "The
Doctor" cannot go the full distance in his earlier than planned return to
competition...