No name test rider replaces Rossi

Yamaha factory test rider Wataru Yoshikawa will be riding in Valentino Rossi’s place starting at Catalunya on July 4. Rossi, who fractured his tibia and fibula in a gruesome highside at Mugello, is currently scheduled to return at Brno on August 15, but we’re skeptical that he’ll be racing at all for the remainder of the season. So why a 41-year old test rider and not an up and coming star like Ben Spies?
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