The Jerez Grand Prix added Valentino Rossi’s list of disappointments. For him it was another race in the sluggish table, without a few points as satisfaction. The problems are always the same and there doesn’t seem to be a solution.
“It was a difficult race after a difficult weekend – was his summary – I didn’t have a good pace, more or less the same pace as in training and it wasn’t enough. I tried to take at least a few points home, I was close to Petrucci and Lecuona, but when I tried to overtake Iker I went too far and also lost a position to my brother.
At the moment he has to come back to the top and hold on to some hopes, the next option is tomorrow’s tests …
“These are not the results that I expected – he admitted – I’ve struggled all weekend, but tomorrow we’ll try something and see if we can improve. I can’t go as hard as possible, we have to find a technical direction to follow. I hope to be successful tomorrow, we have to be optimistic and motivated ”.
The problem is that the compass cannot show a direction …
“In theory, the new bike should be better, but I was slower than a year ago – he went on – The tires should also be more or less the same, but I have less grip and that is a question mark for us too. Everything changes quickly in MotoGP, of course you always want to improve, but sometimes it is not possible ”.
But Jerez should have been a lifeline, remembering the podium a year ago …
“In the past I had won a lot on this track – Valentino recalled. From 2016 I had problems, but last year I was quick. The next track will be Le Mans and on paper it’s fine for us, as is Mugello, but let’s see how things go tomorrow first.
However, Rossi can count on one thing: the support of his team …
“Despite a difficult start, I can feel a lot of support from the team – he confirmed – that makes me very happy, I knew it would be difficult to be in the first places but I thought it would have gone better. I have to thank the team for their support ”.
At least his protégés, Bagnaia and Morbidelli, give a lot of satisfaction …
“There is a lot of Italy on the podium today, if not at the top,” he commented. Pecco is fantastic, he’s great, he’s leading the championship and the only thing he’s missing is a win. It’s been an important weekend for Franco, this is his first podium of the year and he is making a big improvement after a difficult start and from now on he will be very competitive. Having two riders from our Academy on the MotoGP podium is no small feat. “