Misano is his home race and accordingly he has no lack of expectation. Who are we talking about? It’s easy, of course it is Valentino Rossi, who came to us on the eve of the GP for an exclusive, brand new interview on our website.
“If I stop riding MotoGP, I would like to continue with motorcycles, albeit a little more calmly,” said the doctor – sit down as a tester for GPOne “.
With this joke the # 46 started his own interview and then immediately moved on to his future ambitions.
“During this time I have thought a lot about my career and the most important thing is that I still have a great desire to race and lead an athletic life, that is, to train, to ride a motorcycle and to compare myself with other drivers. to go to the races. That made all the difference. The complicated things are mainly represented by the very high level of our opponents, The top guys are very strong and being young is important. Additionally, Yamaha’s technical moment is not the best and there is a possibility that we will have to suffer as a result. At my age that could make a difference. “
Have you ever thought about continuing with other manufacturers or ending your career with Aprilia, for example?
“My career started there. I feel a bit like footballers who start from their home team, go around the world and return to their homeland as strikers. My heart is always with Yamaha, I’m a Yamaha rider, so I want to end my career with them. It’s very important to have a competitive bike, that’s the most important thing. I never seriously considered changing manufacturers, just ending my career at Yamaha.
What do you think of this World Cup without Marquez?
“The fact that Marc is not there mixed the cards a bit as he won a lot of titles and dominated the last. I believe there is a new generation of drivers besides Marquez like Binder, Oliveira and Quartararo, who come from Moto2 and can make it difficult for everyone, even Marc. In addition, the technical situation has changed from 2019, in fact there are always three KTMs in the top eight, which didn’t happen last year. All of this has resulted in a balance in the performance of the six manufacturers that is incredible and, as a result, everyone believes they can win.
Honda without Marquez is reminiscent of Honda without Rossi …
“That’s correct! In my opinion the Honda is a very fast motorcycle. Marc is undoubtedly his greatest interpreter, they are in trouble, also because the other drivers are not competitive. Honda and Yamaha are suffering while KTM and Suzuki are the surprises. So all the balances change, even if Marc will be the man to beat when he comes back. “
Many observers think that he will no longer be the same as before …
“In these cases you have to see how you feel. Such an injury leaves its mark on the body and mind. On the physical side you need to understand if you experience discomfort while cycling, on the mental level if you are scared. These injuries leave their mark on all drivers, including me. The injury in Mugello was more severe, but Marc suffered even more after the operation as his plate broke and this is even harder. “
Speaking of opponents, there are also young people like Bagnaia and Morbidelli who disturb you …
“I raised snakes in my bosom, I didn’t think of that when we started (smiles). Then it went very well and maybe others will come in MotoGP. I knew about the risk, but it’s nice to have Academy drivers so fast. As for the rivalry, we have to see how we treat each and every driver. I have a different relationship with Pecco than with Franco. I live better with Pecco, while with Franco I feel more of the rivalry on the track, even though he’s a friend of mine.
And Marini?
“Maybe it could happen that I will compete in MotoGP with Luca, at the moment he’s talking to Ducati, even if I don’t know anything about this possibility or not. I have to race for two more years (smiles) ”.
Back to the World Championship, what do you think of all of these highly competitive races?
“It’s a strange, very unusual world championship. You have to argue like this: either you race or you don’t drive. Drivers are never happy with triple races because there is so much stress and fatigue and the risks are greater. However, this year the situation is like that and I think they organized a good championship. Maybe it would have been nice to have more tracks, but it’s better than not racing ”.