MotoGP: 5 Talking points from Dutch TT 2019

#5 Has father time finally caught up with Valentino Rossi?

Valentino Rossi suffered his third DNF in 3 races

Valentino Rossi is going through a torrid time of late. He had an off weekend in Italy which he himself claimed to be one of his worst in a while. Rossi was caught in the melee at the start of the race in Barcelona and he yet again qualified poorly at Assen and crashed out during the race.

This could just be a midseason slump that any rider goes through and if there is anyone that can come back from it you have to bank on The Doctor.

But you have to question whether father time is finally catching up with Valentino. Has it become too much for him to ride an uncompetitive Yamaha to places where it doesn't deserve to be. Is he finally losing the motivation to really push forward for those extra tenths?

With a bleak possibility of another championship campaign, you have to wonder whether Rossi's heart is just not in it anymore.

Just to point out the facts, Rossi has crashed in his last 3 races and has crashed out of 5 of his last 10 races.

These are not the stats you associate with The Doctor. The picture will become clear in the next few races and knowing Valentino it won't surprise anyone if he just gets back into the groove.

But after doing everything that could be done in the sport you have to ask, does he still want to?