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MotoGP, Rossi: Racing at 4 can be dangerous

"It's too cold. Everyone agrees in Safety Commission". On the race tomorrow: "I'm hoping for sun but I don't have the pace to stay with the leaders"

MotoGP: Rossi: Racing at 4 can be dangerous

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Considering how things looked for him yesterday, a third row for Valentino is as good as gold at Phillip Island. The rain in the morning had kept him from going straight through to Q2 and Rossi had to earn his way in on the field.

The Q1 session is always a trap and I am happy that I was able to go through and earn a few spots on the grid - he says, satisfied - But I could have and wanted to do better. I was able to do a good time quickly, but then I plateaued. I just could not improve. I was at the limit going into turns.

This means that there is still much work to be done if he wants to stay with the protagonists in the race.

Last year I did a good race and I had fun, but today I am not as fast as I was then - the Doctor admits - Starting from the 7th spot is fine. I am not far from the best, but right now I don’t have to pace to keep up with them, to battle for the positions that count.”

So what do you do?

I am not happy with my pace. I still need to improve the setup on the M1 and then we know how much things can change from one day to the next with these bikes and these tyres. For the better, but also for the worse” he jokes.

The first row for Viñales should be a good sign in some ways.

Maverick was smart. He was behind me on his good lap and he managed to improve - Rossi points out - I don’t know how different the fine settings on our bikes are, but what I care about is managing to conserve the rear tyre.

The tyres are at the forefront of Valentino’s thoughts.

I think that the soft on the rear is an option for everyone. It has good potential, but I am concerned about whether it will hold up for 27 laps - he expresses his doubts - A lot will depend on the temperature that we find and we can say the same for the front. In Q1 I used the soft on the front, but it was already ruined in Q2.

Concerning Rossi’s hopes for the weather, there are no doubts.

Some nice sun, like today at 4 - he says - In the wet I felt better than in Motegi, but I think I am more competitive on a dry track. The worst situations are those with a damp track. We struggle a lot. One reason is that the M1 has changed in recent months and we have less experience in these conditions.

Racing so late in the day won’t help.

Indeed, we talked about it yesterday in Safety Commission and we all agree. We would like to race at 3 PM at the latest. The temperatures drop too low and it can become dangerous. Hopefully the time can be changed next year” he concludes.

Translated by Jonathan Blosser

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