Rossi may skip Japan GP over radiation concerns
Sunday, August 14, 2011
ROME (AP) -- Nine-time motorcycle world champion Valentino Rossi is considering skipping the Japanese Grand Prix because of radiation concerns after the earthquake and tsunami earlier this year.
Rossi tells Italian media "I really don't think I'll go to Japan. ... I was hoping that the championship organizers would make the right decision, but that hasn't been the case and now we've got a serious problem."
The Oct. 2 race is scheduled for Motegi, which lies north of Tokyo but several hundred miles south of the worst-affected radiation zones in northeastern Japan.
Rossi suggested moving the race further south to the Suzuka circuit.
The March earthquake and tsunami left more than 20,000 people dead or missing and set off a nuclear crisis.
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