MotoGP, Rossi: I'm having a... rookie season

Valentino continues his pursuit at Aragón, not his favourite track, but when you have 43 points to make up on Marquez, you cannot afford to be too choosy. Rossi’s trend in recent races is positive, “but the gap is still big” he is forced to admit. Big, however, does not mean impossible to bridge.

“Until the maths say that it’s over, I will keep trying. Even if the chances are minimal” the Doctor takes on a fighting spirit.

In the last four races you finished ahead of Marquez…
“That is positive because I kept that little light burning. However, at the end of the day, in four GP races I was unable to recover the points I lost in just one.”

Marc is managing his lead. Do you believe him when he says he would rather win the championship than another race?
“Yes, I believe him. He is racing with the title in mind and he is moving forward with this strategy. Then, if he were to have a chance at winning, I’m sure he would try.”

You are fast, but you have not reaped as much as your potential could have allowed you to. Can you remember another season like this one?
“Maybe my first in 250: I was fast but I made a lot of mistakes. Let’s say that this is my rookie year in MotoGP (he laughs). At the beginning of the season, as I have already said, the end of last season really weighed on me a lot. I took too long to focus and I made some mistakes. Then there was the blown engine at Mugello. Those are 25 points that I can’t get back from anyone.”

The second part of the season is going better…
“Yes, although I have not managed to win. I tried to recover from the mistakes I made. I earned some points and I need to keep that up.”

Where could you aim for the win?
“It is always difficult to make certain predictions and even more so this year, especially with the Michelins. The first goal is to finish on the podium in all of these last 5 races. The second is to win.”

This year Spain has been good to you…
“Yes, but Jerez and Barcelona are two of my favourite tracks, whereas I have never brought home great results from Aragón and Valencia. In 2014 I was doing well before the crash, though and last year I think I rode my best race at this circuit. We need to pick up from there.”

Also because the competition is fierce…
“On paper, Honda is more competitive than Yamaha, plus the Spaniards do well here. Just finishing on the podium would be an excellent result, so we will need to try to do a bit more than usual.”

Photo © Fermino Fraternali