German MotoGP: Valentino Rossi sad to see Sete Gibernau depart

Valentino Rossi has spoken of his sadness at seeing former great foe Sete Gibernau forced out of MotoGP by the sudden departure of the Grupo Francisco Hernando Ducati team.

Gibernau’s squad withdrew last weekend, citing the impact of the global financial crisis for its decision to leave the veteran Spaniard out of a ride and MotoGP fans the prospect of watching only 17 bikes on track for the remainder of the season.

Gibernau had only stepped out of retirement after a two-year absence from MotoGP to try and resurrect his career with the Grupo Francisco Hernando squad, run by former 125GP racer Pablo Nieto.

Rossi and Gibernau were bitter rivals with each other in 2003, ’04 and ’05, but the pair called a truce to their long running feud at this season’s opening race in Qatar.

Speaking ahead of the German GP today, which Rossi will start holding a nine-point lead over Fiat Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo, the Italian said:

“It is a great pity because I spoke with Sete after Laguna and he was not very happy about his results. But he gave no indication that the team was going to stop. It is bad because it one less bike on a poor grid for MotoGP. It is bad for him and also bad for the guys that organised the team.”

 

• Do you think Rossi will win this weekend? Have a free £25 bet with Betfair