“Assen is heaven for every MotoGP rider,” is Valentino’s definition of the track, which, given the uncertainty that prevails in the premier class, could also become hell. If you add the vagaries of the weather and the choice of tires, the result of tomorrow’s race could be anything but clear. This is the heart’s hope for Rossi, who has had a good weekend so far and will get direct entry into Q2, although he will start 12th.
“Today was a very positive day for me, I’ve felt comfortable on the bike since the morning and had good pace in the afternoon in warmer weather. I was hoping to improve my qualifying time by 2 or 3 tenths, but I was alone and didn’t make it – was his regret – now we have to wait, because we were lucky that it was dry all day, we hope that tomorrow it will be too much ”.
Do you have an idea of the level on the track?
“Quartararo and Vinales are the strongest on the eye, but from third place to me we have a similar pace, we are all in 3 tenths. I would be happy to have the same feelings on the bike as I do today and to be with the group of good guys.
You mentioned Vinales, how do you explain his change from last place on the Sachsenring to today’s pole?
“Now it’s very, very difficult for everyone. Every bike and every rider is competitive and the track makes a big difference, but how the weekend goes is also important. There can even be 12 positions between bad luck or a mistake and the right tire at the right time, which also makes everything very complicated psychologically. At Assen, Maverick has always had something special, I think this track helped him to do his best.
You talked about the tires, is the choice open?
“The asphalt is very good here, which means that the differences between the three options are less pronounced than usual. Tomorrow we will see different options at the rear depending on riding style and bike. I can hardly say what kind of race it will be. in MotoGP it can even change a lot from day to day and it will also depend a lot on the weather. “
Michelin didn’t expect anyone to use the hard on the stern, but many did use it in the FP4.
“You don’t know which tire works either. They always ask us a lot of questions about tires and it seems like we don’t want to answer them or we are stupid, but the truth is that it always comes as a total surprise to us too. Taramasso didn’t expect anyone to use the hard rear end, but in FP4 I had a pace that was 6 tenths better than the average, which means 20 seconds in the race: for a lifetime! But that applies to today, I don’t know what will happen in the race tomorrow. In Barcelona on Saturday with the Hard I was 7th in FP4 and I drove a lap time of 1:40.3. The next day, under the same conditions, my pace was 1’41.2 and I crashed too. It is like that, the cards are always shuffled ”.
Before you said you did one lap without a lead in qualifying, did you see what happened in Q1 when so many drivers were waiting for a good tow?
“We all hope to have someone in front of us, but then everyone decides how long they want to wait, they have their own way of thinking. For me it’s okay if I find a benchmark, otherwise I’ll do it alone, so I won’t wait. In Q1 it seems to me that someone has been doing it for a long time.
And there was another bad accident in Moto3 …
“The risks are very high and not just in the race because they are always linked from the first session and when you slip, there is always someone right behind. The race is an exciting 20 laps, but now the practice sessions are like that too and it’s a big risk. “