Rossi cleared to return for rest of European MotoGP at Valencia
Valentino Rossi has been cleared to return to MotoGP action at the European Grand Prix from Saturday after passing his second COVID-19 test in 24 hours.


The nine-time grand prix motorcycle world champion was forced to miss the Aragon double-header last month after testing positive for the virus at home in Italy ahead of the Aragon GP.
The Yamaha rider once again tested positive for the virus on Tuesday of this week, which prompted the Japanese manufacturer to put World Superbike rider Garrett Gerloff on standby as his replacement.
Rossi did pass a COVID-19 test in Italy on Thursday and could leave his quarantine to head to Valencia, where he underwent a second PCR test this morning.
Due to the time needed to process the result, Rossi was forced to sit on the sidelines for Friday's running at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit.
Yamaha has confirmed via its social media channels Rossi has been cleared to ride this weekend.
Gerloff did get to taste MotoGP machinery on Friday in place of Rossi, ending the wet FP1 session a respectable 16th, and was just 1.5 seconds off the pace in the drying FP2.
These sessions marked the first appearance for an American rider in MotoGP since the late Nicky Hayden stood in for the injured Dani Pedrosa at Phillip Island back in 2016.
Gerloff's impressive run in the afternoon session put him inside the top five at one stage before he was shuffled back down the order.

The American made his WSBK debut with Yamaha's satellite squad GRT in 2020 and managed three podium finishes at the Catalunya and Estoril rounds to end up 11th in the championship.
Rossi will return to action amidst a storm of controversy at Yamaha, after it was found guilty of running illegal engines at the Spanish Grand Prix.
Yamaha broke the engine freeze rule ahead of the first Jerez round to fit new valves to its some of its engines on reliability grounds.
But having not gained unanimous support from the manufacturers' association to make such a change - which Yamaha called an "internal oversight" - this contravened the rules and it was docked 50 constructors' championship points, while the factory squad and Petronas SRT were stripped of 20 and 37 teams' title points.
Yamaha insists it did not unseal its engines with any "malintent", and that the valves they swapped were of identical design to the ones homologated pre-season.
To add to this, Maverick Vinales will have to start from pitlane on Sunday at Valencia after Yamaha was forced to exceed his engine allocation and fit a sixth motor.

European MotoGP: Pramac Ducati's Miller continues to top the times in FP2
How Yamaha's engine debacle may cost it the 2020 MotoGP title

Latest news
Farfus says BMW could have reliability edge over LMDh rivals
Augusto Farfus has dismissed concerns about BMW's apparent lack of pace in the build-up to the Daytona 24 Hours, and feels it could have an edge when it comes reliability.
How Formula E's new emergency braking system will work
Formula E has introduced an emergency braking kit for the Diriyah E-Prix as a failsafe should the rear powertrain stop working over the course of a race weekend.
Friday favourite: The Kent happy hunting ground that demands drivers' respect
Martin Donnelly's 100% International Formula 3000 record at Brands Hatch is one reason for him picking the famous Grand Prix circuit as his favourite track. But the Ulsterman also relishes its fast and challenging corners, which rewards thinking drivers just as much as bravery
Ford: F1’s boom means it "requires consideration"
Ford’s motorsport boss says it would be remiss of the American car giant not to be considering a Formula 1 return amid the series' rapid growth in the United States.
The other Suzuki signing that could transform Honda's MotoGP form
Following Suzuki's decision to quit MotoGP, both of its former riders have landed at Honda for 2023. But perhaps its biggest signing from the now-defunct team could instead be a highly-rated technical manager. Is Ken Kawauchi the right man at the right time to steer HRC back to glory?
How the MotoGP paddock has offered refuge to Suzuki's former team
Suzuki's unexpected departure left more than 40 professionals virtually jobless for the 2023 MotoGP season. But that human drama has been successfully corrected by the paddock itself, with most former Suzuki crew-members absorbed into other operations
How one MotoGP team went from title fights to losing it all in four years
The Petronas Sepang Racing Team came into MotoGP with a bang in 2019 as regular front-runners, with wonder rookie Fabio Quartararo mounting a title challenge in 2020. But it all went wrong for the Razlan Razali-helmed squad as the team changed hands and tumbled down the order - and RNF Racing plans to right this in 2023
Is MotoGP's comeback king ready to reclaim his throne?
Marc Marquez’s sixth premier MotoGP title seems a long time ago given the injury woes he has faced in the three years since. At the end of a fraught 2022, in which he had a fourth major operation on his right arm, the Spaniard speaks exclusively to Autosport
How MotoGP’s underachiever is working to reverse its fortunes in 2023
As European manufacturers emerged as the strongest force in 2022 in a changing of the guard for MotoGP, one powerhouse couldn’t quite match the feats of Ducati and Aprilia. Its motorsport chief tells Autosport why this is and what it is doing to become a consistent frontrunner in the class of kings
How MotoGP riders are preparing for the physical stress of sprint races
With the expansion of the calendar to 21 grands prix and the introduction of sprint races, the 2023 MotoGP season will take the riders to almost 1,300 kilometres of competition more than this year, a factor that forces adjustments in their physical preparations.
The Ducati rider who is much more than just the brother of a MotoGP legend
Surname pressure is something many have had to deal with in their motorsport careers. And while Luca Marini doesn’t have that, his familial relation and the team he rides for in MotoGP have cast a brighter spotlight on his progress. But, as he has shown in 2022 – and as he reveals to Autosport – Marini is so much more than just the brother of a legend
Ranking the top 10 riders of MotoGP 2022
The 2022 MotoGP season was another hotly contested championship, with Francesco Bagnaia emerging as the title winner after the campaign went to the wire. Autosport picks out the 10 best performers of the season
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.