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Valentino's patience seems to have worn thin at Jerez. The Yamaha is not making progress and, once again, the two factory riders were simply extras in the Spanish Grand Prix.
“In the end, a 5th place isn't such a bad result after such a weekend, I can consider myself lucky - comments the Doctor - The problem is being happy with a 5th place, that would have been 8th if Dovizioso, Lorenzo and Pedrosa hadn't crashed. This says a lot about our technical situation right now”.
In reality, we also need to consider the crashes of Crutchlow and Rins, “but let's say that there are always a couple of crashes in a race” he jokes. In truth, Rossi is not in the mood for jokes.
“We're suffering. I've always tried to talk to Yamaha and tell them what we need to improve, but unfortunately time is ticking on and we still haven't solved anything. I hope there's more of an effort in coming months so that we can take a step forward in the near future”.
Looking at the standings today, there is one positive but it's not enough.
“Last year we finished 38 seconds from the winner, today it was 8. On the one hand, 30 seconds is huge, but I would have been 8th anyway. We need a hand in order to be competitive".
Rossi's doubts have been confirmed and he wants answers.
“Rather than angry, I'm frustrated. I think it's clear what we need to do to improve. The worst thing is that we're not reactive enough when it comes to solving our problems. Races, weeks and months go by, I'm not saying that we have the same problems a year on, as the bike has improved, but the others have taken a bigger step forward than we have. I'm sure we have the potential to do it, but we need to be quick or another year will go by”.
Valentino is not tearing the M1 to pieces though.
“I don't think we need a radical change. We just need to sort two or three things. We're testing today and will have some new material but these won't solve things. If Yamaha commits 100% then we can do it in half the time. I'll talk to them again, it's clear what's needed”.
In the meantime, Zarco celebrated on the podium, causing further embarrassment to the factory squad.
“Johann is one of the top riders, as I said over the weekend, his riding style and build mean he can make the difference at certain tracks, like here or Valencia. But it also means that the development of recent years has not brought results and so we need to improve something”.
The Doctor's final words regard the accident that also involved Dovi.
“If they had to do an accident report, I'd say that Lorenzo and Pedrosa should both pay for the damages - he jokes - Both were to blame, Jorge couldn't see Dani and the same goes for Pedrosa”.
