Valentino Rossi 2022 MotoGP decision after six or seven races

VETERAN MotoGP racer and global star Valentino Rossi has stated that a decision will be made on riding on in 2022 as this season reaches its midway point.

Speaking to SkySport.it, Sky Racing Team VR46 director Alessio 'Uccio' Salucci said: "It will depend a lot on the races, after 6-7 GPs we will see if [Rossi] is having fun and how competitive he is, at which point we will make a choice,"

That choice may not be totally clear cut, with a couple of options facing the Italian rider. For now, Rossi is only signed to the Petronas SRT team on satellite machinery for one year. Whether he continue with them, or look for other options remains to be seen.

The other question mark hangs over the VR46 brand stepping into the MotoGP arena as a full time squad running multiple bikes. This year will be the first that a VR46 branded machine will be racing in the top-flight of motorcycle grand prix racing, although it isn’t the Doctor behind the bars, it’s his half brother Luca Marini that is flying the flag on that occasion.

That deal came about after the VR46 squad agreed to help manage the young Italian in his first year of GP racing, could Rossi himself see the option of his own team as a potential avenue to winding down for retirement?

Will Valentino Rossi set up his own MotoGP team?

Salucci seems to think a full-time VR46 squad could be the answer. "Our [VR46] guys have grown faster than expected, the time has come to think about making a team in MotoGP," he said.

"The road is long, the step to take is also important from an economic point of view , we are facing important months.

"We don't know which bike to go to MotoGP with, for sure we all know that our heart is with Yamaha."