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MotoGP, Rossi: improvements? I hope by mid-season

"I have faith in Yamaha, but I don't think there'll be anything big before Barcelona. The Jerez test? The best thing was the new tyre"

MotoGP: Rossi: improvements? I hope by mid-season

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Yesterday, after the Jerez race, Valentino Rossi sent Yamaha a clear message: they need to react and soon. “Also because they will race for another hundred years but I'll not be here that long so I'm in a hurry” he jokes at the end of the day. The Doctor concludes the test in 10th place, a result he expected.

We couldn't solve much between last night and this morning. We had some new things in terms of the chassis, but the tests had been planned for a while and I didn't expect anything special. We worked well, many laps, some things have improved, others no. I really like the soft tyre that Michelin brought, the best thing about today. Let's say all this work is being done in preparation for the future”.

Have the Yamaha bosses reacted to your warnings?
I had a good meeting with them, but I wasn't saying anything new, only things they already knew. Why haven't they reacted sooner? I don't know but I have faith in Yamaha”.

When do you expect to see a turnaround?
I hope we'll have some significant new elements for the tests after the Barcelona race, though I'm not certain. I hope we can be more competitive in the second half of the season”.

Are the electronics the only priority or do you also need to work to adapt the M1 to the Michelin tyres?
I think the Yamaha is able to get the tyres working well, it's easy to ride. The problem is transferring the horsepower to the ground”.

You'll be back on track on Thursday, at Mugello…
It's a smart test, something that hasn't been happening a lot recently (he laughs). I hope it doesn't rain, because it would be good to make the most of the opportunity”.

And then there's Le Mans…
A track at which, on paper at least, we should be more competitive, but it's difficult to say by how much. We won't know if we can fight for the win, or for top five, until we get there. Right now, we can only hope in those tracks that are more favourable to us".

Yamaha hasn't yet decided which team will run with satellite M1 bikes next year, what do you think?
I hope there are another two bikes on track, in addition to ours, and that they are ridden by two fast guys. The situation isn't clear right now, but I'm not the one who can answer this”.

Translated by Heather Watson
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