This pre-Catalunian Grand Prix press conference brought together Jorge Lorenzo, Marc Marquez, Valentino Rossi, Andrea Iannone and the two Espargaro brothers.
The questions naturally focused on the news of the new contracts of Pol Espargaro and Marc Marquez, but also on the Yamaha engine failure at Mugello, despite the full explanations provided by Iwata's men.
In order to avoid any abusive journalistic interpretation, we offer here a “raw” translation of the entirety of Valentino Rossi's remarks.
The breakdown of your engine was due to an electronic problem…
" Yes. In motorsports, when an engine breaks, it's always like that; an electronic problem or a dollar coin (laughs).
I think Mugello is always 'special', with the jump at the end of the straight with a lot of rpm. It seems the rev limiter isn't as precise as last year's and, with the little hop the bike makes over the bump, maybe the revs went too high and broke the engine. It was really a shame.
But I think and hope that this won't happen again for the rest of the season. »
Barcelona is a magnificent circuit…
" Yes. I really like this circuit, I really like racing here because it is one of the best weekends, one of the best Grands Prix of the season, above all because the track layout is fantastic. In past years, it has always been a little more difficult because the grip level of the asphalt is quite low. But it remains a very nice track where you can also skid a lot in the long turns. And you are also in Barcelona; the place is fantastic and there are lots of people and all that. So we have to try to be fast, to be competitive for Sunday. »
After what we saw at Mugello, qualifying will also be important…
“You know, at Mugello, it was a real shame for me because I think we could have seen a fantastic race until the end. I was very disappointed because they had a very good fight at the end, and I would have liked to have been there, because, obviously, if there had been all three of us, it would have been very good in terms of the fight and the follow the fight. And also for all the fans. But it's like that.
It was nevertheless a good weekend, where I was competitive and fast, so we will try to do the same here. »
You congratulated Max Verstappen and the next GP will take place in Assen…
" Yes. Normally I always follow Formula1 and a lot of people talk about Verstappen because he is followed by people in the 4 wheel world from karting where he won many world championships, with gears and without gears. So he is very strong. He is incredible because he is very young. He is incredibly fast and what he did in the race in Barcelona (editor's note: victory) was fantastic because he drove like a very experienced driver in his first race. He was a bit lucky thanks to the incident between the two Mercedes, but he is very fast. I don't know very well, but if he comes to Assen we are happy. »
Are you worried about the engine and will you get the same power?
“I was worried because we had the same problem with Lorenzo at the same race. This year we have 7 engines, two more than last year, but we should be worried. But, at Yamaha, they are calm and I think the bike will be more or less the same.
Maybe we lose a few rpm. Maybe. But I'm not sure. I think the performance will be the same, also because the other engines that have already been used have many kilometers and are ok. So it was something like bad luck. »
Photo credit: MotoGP.com
