Valentino Rossi, 7th on the grid tomorrow, was therefore not invited to the official press conference, and consequently held his own, at the end of the afternoon, in the calm of his hospitality.
For the record, this was delayed so that the Yamaha rider could follow the FIM CEV race in which his colt, Dennis Foggia, was able to obtain 5th place after starting from 10th position.
For the Italian, the objective is obvious, “We need to improve our pace, that's the most important thing,” says Rossi. “We lose a lot of time on braking phases and on the straights. During qualifying, I was blocked by the traffic on the track and Dani's crash, but I think I have the pace to be in the top 5. Our race pace is not that bad, but it's starting from the 3rd row will be difficult especially with the Ducati in front. We have to find a solution tomorrow during the warm up.”
Asked about a possible arrival of Maverick Vinales at his side, Rossi responds “knowing nothing about the contractual or financial aspects, staying at Suzuki would be somewhat of a romantic affair; a bit of Schwantz's adventure with Suzuki. But the challenge remains difficult to meet. Coming to Yamaha? The bike is superior, but either way, the choice is Maverick’s.”
