Valentino Rossi to take on Marquez brothers in second #StayAtHome race

The second round of the #StayAtHome virtual MotoGP racing series will take place on Sunday 12 April… and this time Valentino Rossi will be going head-to-head with some big rivals.

The Italian was originally announced to be taking part in the inaugural race on ‘home soil’ at Mugello but eventually withdrew. However, he will be on the virtual grid for the second race, this time held at the Red Bull Ring in Austria.

The events are occurring in place of physical racing as MotoGP sits on the sidelines until it gets the go-ahead to race again in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

The titular hashtag is in reference to the message being urged globally in attempts to flatten the curve of cases and deaths attributed to the COVID-19 virus.

The opening round featured 10 of the current field and proved typically chaotic with only winner Alex Marquez managing to finish the six-lap sprint without chucking himself into the scenery.

Indeed, the race was certainly entertaining but arguably more for the frequency of the rather spectacular crashes that would befall the majority of the field, not least the opening turn accident that wiped out both Fabio Quartararo and Maverick Vinales.

They will be hoping for better fortune on the Spielberg track as they line up as two of five returning racers alongside both Alex and Marc Marquez and Pecco Bagnaia.

Together with Rossi, Ducati riders Andrea Dovizioso and Danilo Petrucci will join the fray this time, together with Avintia Ducati’s Tito Rabat and LCR Honda’s Takaaki Nakagami.

The race will be shown on multiple MotoGP platforms, including the website and YouTube, at 15.00CET (14.00 GMT)