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MotoGP, Rossi: "Aragon can be demanding for grip, especially on the rear"

Valentino had to miss the 2 GPs at Motorland last year: "you have to be smooth to be strong at the end of the race". Beside him he will once again find Jake Dixon

MotoGP: Rossi: "Aragon can be demanding for grip, especially on the rear"

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Another weekend begins for the Petronas team and in the garage, like at Silverstone, alongside Valentino Rossi there will once again be Jake Dixon. The Doctor will return to Aragon for the first time in two years because he did not race the two GPs at Motorland last season after contracting Covid.

Valentino comes off the back of a good British GP weekend, in which he had been competitive in both practice and qualifying, but then things took a turn for the worse in the race due to problems with the rear tyre and he ended up out of the points.

“I felt good with the bike throughout all of the BritishGP, especially as in the free practices we had one of the best pace of our season – he recalls - We also had a good start to the race, where I was in a place that I could fight with the fastest riders. I am hopeful that we can feel the same this weekend, but Aragon can be really demanding in terms of grip level during the whole race – especially on the rear.”

MotorLand is one of the few tracks where Valentino has never won.

“Although I have been on the podium a few times, I have never won there. The layout of the track is good and it’s fast, but riding it is tricky; you have to be especially smooth in this circuit to be strong at the end of the race. We will see what happens though and I’m looking forward to being back there after missing it last year.”

For Jake Dixon it will be another weekend to remember. After making his MotoGP debut at Silverstone without even being able to do a test, he now knows what to expect. For the Briton, the only goal is to improve and enjoy the opportunity on the M1.

“I’m really looking forward to Aragon this weekend and to have another chance to ride the Yamaha YZR-M1 again is just awesome - he declared - It has made me really happy. I want to thank the team for giving me the opportunity to ride the bike again and to see what I can do. I want to see how I can improve throughout the weekend again and try to close that gap to the front guys. Obviously they are the best in the world but I have a great team around me and I think it’s possible. I feel like I’m working well with the bike and I think we’ll take another step closer towards the front this weekend.”

 

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