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MotoGP, Rossi: "Isolation made me appreciate racing even more"

Vinales: "It's going to be strange not having fans on the track." Meregalli: "The MotoGP will not be like before, but we're ready to start again."

MotoGP: Rossi: "Isolation made me appreciate racing even more"

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The wait is over, and the calendar of the 2020 MotoGP season is now a reality. This is the news that everyone was waiting for, especially the riders who were able to start training again the past few weeks. Now they can start the countdown for when they'll be able to get back on their bikes.

Certainly, Valentino Rossi is doing it, and he welcomed the calendar with joy.

"I think everyone is really emotional after seeing the updated 2020 calendar. It's a relief for everyone on the team and for the fans too," the Doctor said. "Isolation was a serious and strange situation, but it worked, and I think, in the end, it makes us appreciate the races even more. I really missed riding my M1. It'll be interesting to see where we are, because some time has passed since the last test. We'll certainly try our best to be in the lead again and give the fans a reason to tune in and cheer for us."

Even his teammate, Maverick Vinales, is really excited.

The announcement of the updated 2020 calendar is great news," the Spanish rider commented. "It's something that we've all been waiting for for a long time, especially the fans. I think they love this sport as much as we do, so they must have missed watching it. Of course, I'm very happy to be able to ride my M1 again and see my team. It's been a long time since we tested in Qatar. It'll be a strange year, and it'll be strange to ride without fans on the track, at least for the moment. But I'll do my best and make sure I offer a good show at each round to entertain the fans watching from home."

Not only are the riders excited, but team manager Maio Meregalli was also looking forward to the start of the championship.

"The wait is finally over, " he sighed."I think the announcement of an updated 2020 calendar is good news for all MotoGP fans, as it is for us, for the team members, and for our riders. The temporary standstill of sports activities was obviously crucial and the right thing to do, and we all had to do our part in the battle against Covid-19, but now we can hope for better times. But this doesn't mean that the MotoGP will be entirely the same as before. We've been preparing for the start of the 2020 season at the Yamaha Motor Racing headquarters for weeks, so we're ready to go, following all the new required health and safety standards. We'll have a smaller team and work with mandatory personal protective equipment, including masks and face shields. The races will be strange without fans on the track. We'll certainly miss them. But I think we can all agree that it'll be nice to finally be able to see the riders back in action."

Translated by Leila Myftija

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