Rossi: “I’ll be back soon!”

For the first time in 14 years Valentino Rossi took no part at all in a Grand Prix at Silverstone last weekend, but the injured 31 year-old was present in spirit as his Fiat Yamaha team garage displayed a signed t-shirt from the World Champion bearing the message “Torno Subito” (I’ll be back soon).

Along with his two Yamaha M1 prototypes, Rossi’s t-shirt ensured there was a typically light-hearted reminder in place and the recovering rider has now made a sincere gesture to Riders for Health, the official charity of MotoGP.

The t-shirt, which has a caricature of Rossi lying on his hospital bed with his injured leg in a cast, has been donated to Riders by Rossi for auction. The bidding will start on Sunday afternoon, and there will also be a jacket of Jorge Lorenzo’s on sale as well.

The auction will take place at www.riders.org, so make sure you log on and check it out!