MotoGP, Rossi: We had to try but we made a mistake

Not every doughnut comes out round, and Valentino and his team messed up the batter today. After the Jerez warm up, in Rossi’s garage they realized that what they found was not enough, so they decided to play a card face down. Unfortunately, it did not work.

“Now it is easy to say we made a mistake, that with the old setup we could have done a bit better, but that was not enough. We had to try - the Doctor explained - Logically we expected more on this track after the results last year, but it went differently.”

The weekend had started badly and the problems remained substantially the same.

“I lost a lot in acceleration. The tyre slid and we tried to change the bike’s balance to see if we could limit tyre wear - he continued - Not only did we not solve anything, but I also lost confidence in the front. Then, 6 or 7 laps from the end, a lot of vibration at the rear began, as if the tyre had overheated. On the straight it seemed like the bike was falling apart. I was lucky to make it to the end.”

Just a few weeks ago, the Michelin tyres and the Yamaha M1 seemed to be a perfect pair. Now everything has changed.

“I battled with the tyres throughout the weekend - he admitted - I can’t even talk about deterioration because even the newly mounted soft tyres slid. I never had good sensations. There is always a bit of spin on this track but this time there was more.”

Yesterday Valentino had already explained how the tyres are the needle on the scales of the championship.

“Here things change from one day to the next - he said wryly - Even Maverick struggled. In fact, after his nice warm up, what happened to him is astonishing. The 20°C higher on the asphalt made a huge difference.”

The only good news is that he is still leading in the championship standings.

“It is positive after a race like that - he reflected - Viñales also struggled. The Hondas made the true recovery and that is worrying. Pedrosa is in grand form and he is not just fast here. I have always placed him among the contenders for the title. Lorenzo also rode very well. He is one of the strongest riders and he was ahead on a track that is difficult for the Ducati. This teaches us just how difficult it is to get the predictions right” he smiled.

If we have to find more good news, it is the fact that there will be tests tomorrow.

“At least after a race like this one you really want to do them. Tomorrow we will have to figure out what happened, but we will not go back to the 2016 tyres even if they worked better here because they are already in the museum - Valentino joked - It makes sense that the old M1 was fast because last year both Lorenzo and I were very fast.”

VIÑALES: I HAVE NO EXPLANATION FOR THE DISASTER - If Rossi is crying, Viñales is certainly not laughing. The Spaniard had set out to battle with the Hondas, but he came up against a less than rosy reality.

“The worst race was in Austin because I crashed. Here at least I earned 10 points - he sighed – In the warm up I had really felt good. I set out to battle for the win, but instead I had problems with the front on the right side from the start. I was not even able to brake. In fact, I need to apologize to Iannone for the close call, but I completely lost the front.”

The worst part is that Maverick is unable to explain what happened.

“It is truly strange. The bike’s setup was optimal and this morning everything went well - he continued – Instead, in the race I had no speed on corners, which is usually our strong point. I cannot say way. I don’t understand. I had tried the hard tyre in FP4 and it did well even after 20 laps. This afternoon was a disaster. I had to brake 30 metres earlier than usual.”

The Spaniard does not want to point the finger at anyone, but he cannot get past what happened.

“We lost important points and I do not think it was our fault - he said - To assess the Michelins you need to look at the overall picture. In the first two races we did well, whereas both in Austin and Jerez, I had problems in the race, the only difference being that I did not crash and I took points home. But it is difficult to find an explanation.”