Valentino Rossi took a pill from the tablet placed on his helmet at Misano 1 with success, then he did the same for Misano 2. But the effect was zero. It seems, in fact, that its influence could only be effective after a certain period of time, like a week. Because here is the Doctor in great shape again and third on the starting grid in Barcelona, a performance he has not achieved since Silverstone, 13 months ago. His racing pace is good, so much so that on a track where he has often won, we start to dream of a success that has eluded him since Assen 2017...
It would be a way to celebrate his new Petronas contract in the most beautiful way. His last podium dates from Jerez, on July 26. But Valentino Rossi can hope for better given its outfit during the FP4 ... " this Saturday went well » says the Doctor. “ We started the weekend well yesterday Friday. The bike was competitive from the first practice session, that gave me a good feeling. Tenth place on Friday looked promising. We did another good job for Saturday and came up with some changes that paid off. I improved my line and my driving style. I also improved my running pace, as highlighted by fourth place in FP4 with worn tires ».
« Position on the front rows is very valuable here because the first corner is very far from the start line. We have to give our best from the start and have a decent race ". The essential parameter will be the choice of tires: “ we haven't made our decision yet, because we have the warm up tomorrow morning. We will compare the rubbers again ».
The difficult choice of tires
« It will also depend on the night to come, because the weather forecast doesn't look very good. We hope it stays dry, as the condition of the track is improving day by day. The choice of tires will be decisive. Sure, the software is better at the beginning, but you suffer in the end. With the medium rear tire we have a little less grip, but it could be more stable over the 24 laps of the race. We will think about it carefully on Sunday ».
Then he reveals the secret of his latest performances in Montmélo: “ I knew I was competitive, but in qualifying it's always difficult to do the fastest lap, I didn't make any mistakes and I'm happy. Gran Turismo training in Barcelona helped me a lot because I got used to driving with little grip »...
MotoGP Barcelona J2: qualifying
