As after each Grand Prix, the former American World Champion gives his impressions to Mat Oxley for motorsportmagazine.com. Fast Freddie found himself during his career in the same convalescent situation as Vale, but he also experienced unforeseen problems like Andrea Dovizioso in Aragon. Here is the perspective of the citizen of Shreveport, Louisiana.
“Valentino Rossi put in an excellent performance. There is no doubt that medical technology is much less invasive than before and that's a lot less suffering. They can do such a small job to repair now, which has definitely had an effect on his recovery.
“Similarly, it is the case of his will and determination, which are the key that separates the best athletes, or anyone capable of going beyond. This mentality helps you recover. Valentino, as we know, has incredible will and determination and this is a perfect example of that.
“He also showed that he was able to get around the problem and change his driving style. I know what is needed: I won the Spanish Grand Prix after crashing in practice and breaking my hand and ankle.
« Marc Marquez fell during qualifying, so he was unable to achieve pole. He fell several times, but without hurting himself. He pushed it to the limit and mentioned this weekend that he was never really comfortable on the bike, something we've seen before.
“But, and this is the sign of a great champion, he managed to get around these problems and perform well when he needed to. I understand that mentality – he's able to attack and fall, but then stay on Sunday inside the boundary because he knows exactly where it is.
“At Ducati, there was for Jorge Lorenzo a good third position, and he didn't really tend to fade away when falling behind. We will see what happens in the last four races.
"I don't want to forget Andrea Dovizioso, he certainly struggled in seventh place. He chose the soft tire, which didn't suit, but it would easily have been with Lorenzo. It struggled at first and overloaded the tire a bit, but it was still there. As he said after the race, there are so many things that can happen, we know that the tires, the riders and the bikes work on a particular weekend and can then decide whether to be competitive or not. I can't wait to see how this all turns out. »
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