MotoGP, Rossi: I want to beat Lorenzo at Le Mans

His last win on French soil was back in 2008. Rossi wants to put an end to this drought at Le Mans this time around, confirming his recent performance in Jerez. A ‘reborn’ Valentino and one who scored pole, the fastest lap, and the win. He couldn’t have asked for more.

But now it’s time to turn the page, because as well as the competition, he’ll also be facing a new rival in France, and one which could change everything. “We’ve normally got on well with the M1 at this track – stated the Doctor –  the negative aspect is undoubtedly the weather, because sometimes it rains and it’s often cold, so we’ll have to take these factors into consideration”.

Weather aside, Rossi dreams of making up for last season, when it was his teammate who took the win: “In 2015 I think I ran a positive race – he commented – but I wasn’t able to beat Lorenzo. But I’ll try to do it this time”. For #46 the path is already laid out: “We’ll need to start the weekend as we did at Jerez – he concluded – right from Friday we were able to make a good step in order to be competitive. So we must also do our best at Le Mans”.  

Last year Jorge Lorenzo was on the highest step of the podium, taking his second win of the season. This season the Spaniard knows things might be different: “We come to this race after the second place scored at Jerez – he stated – perhaps it wasn’t an exceptional result, but we were nevertheless on the podium. This season it will be key to take as many points as possible without losing any – he continued – so we need to repeat what we did in Spain also in France”.

The Majorcan also realises that the weather should not be underestimated: “This race is a difficult one because of the weather – he commented – so we’ll need to be prepared in case of rain”. While Rossi’s aim is to beat his teammate, the Spaniard has other goals: “I want to obtain another podium and remain in the front positions – he concluded – we’ll also need to understand how to manage the new tyres. Every race is different, so we have to make the most of every solution provided by Yamaha”.