MotoGP: Valentino Rossi tests positive for coronavirus

Italian MotoGP racer Valentino Rossi is the latest high profile athlete to test positive for COVID-19. He is experiencing symptoms and is self-isolating in his home in Tavullia, Italy. Due to his unfortunate diagnosis, Rossi will be missing the Aragon MotoGP in Spain, which is scheduled to take place this weekend. Rossi tested positive following a weekend in Le Mans, France.

The Yamaha team will now be scrambling to find a suitable replacement for their top rider. Rossi took to social media to share his experience. In the statement, he said that he woke up with a slight fever and pain in his bones."Unfortunately, this morning I woke up and I was not feeling good," he said.

"I immediately called the doctor who tested me twice," he said, and explained that his initial rapid tests gave false negative results. "The 'quick PCR test' result was negative, just like the test I underwent on Tuesday."

In the end, because of his symptoms, the doctor gave him another test, which is presumably the more accurate RT-PCR swab test. "The second one, of which the result was sent to me at 16:00 this afternoon, was unfortunately positive," Rossi said on Thursday.

He went on to speak about the upcoming MotoGP race in Spain, which he will no longer take part in. "I am so disappointed that I will have to miss the race at Aragon. I'd like to be optimistic and confident, but I expect the second round in Aragon to be a 'no go' for me as well," he said.

The MotoGP superstar expressed his feelings about contracting the disease that is now ravaging the entire world. "I am sad and angry because I did my best to respect the protocol and although the test I had on Tuesday was negative, I self-isolated since my arrival from le Mans."

Incidentally, Rossi is one of the few athletes who tested positive and exhibited symptoms. Because they are in optimum health, most athletes who became infected remained asymptomatic. Nevertheless, Rossi remains optimistic. "Anyways, this is the way it is, and I can't do anything to change the situation. I will now follow the medical advice, and I just hope I will be feeling well soon," he said.