It was a very disappointed Valentino Rossi who recovered from a crash in a Barcelona Grand Prix where there were only 9 laps to go. Until then, he seemed to have perfectly mastered his journey to the 200rd podium in the premier category. But he said to himself that second was worse than first and he tried to go after the leader Fabio Quartararo. It was bad for him and he readily admits it...
A 41 well-grossed, we can still sin through gluttony. Valentini Rossi gave in to temptation, much to his disappointment. Because his feeling after his fall to Barcelona was very different from this Misano 2, where he knew he could gain nothing. In Catalonia, on the other hand… “ After such a weekend, it's a shame » regrets the Doctor. “ I had been fast since Friday and then continued to improve. I would definitely have been on the podium, I might even have been able to finish in front of Quartararo, because I saw that, in the last laps, he slowed down a lot ».
And Vale sensed in the Frenchman a possible prey… “ I pushed to stay close to Fabio, but I arrived at the second corner, it takes a left, the tire on this side is colder, the temperatures were low and I lost the front. I needed a podium after such a weekend ».
“I wanted to win”
« We all knew that today we had to drive hard but above all well, so as not to put the tires in difficulty. Until then, I had done it, but I wanted to win and for that, you have to push hard. That's what motivated me. If I look at the data it is similar to the previous round, it was a crash like Bagnaia in Misano, you find it hard to explain it. Of course the temperatures were low, the left side of the tire is the coldest and I was over the limit. But it's still stupidity » recognizes the one who signed his contract with Petronas on Saturday for the 2021 season.
« I was driving well because I knew that at the end of the race we would have problems with the tires, I had good pace but I wasn't pushing very hard. Then Morbidelli made a mistake in the first corner and at that point I pushed because I didn't want Quartararo to gain too much advantage. Also, the Suzuki and Ducati were close and I knew they would be fast in the final race. Unfortunately I made a mistake ».
« When you feel comfortable with the bike, you should stay up front. I certainly could have gotten on the podium, probably in 2nd position, but also won. I was tempted. It was really fast, I felt it was a big chance for me, anything could have happened, but I didn't expect to fall. It would have been my second podium of the year, but above all I would have brought back important points for the championship and now I would still be in the game » recognizes the teammate Casa Particular in Viñales, only ninth.
He finishes : " in order not to throw yourself out of the window this evening, you have to think that it was a good weekend, in which I rode well. I could have fought for victory and we are following a very interesting path for the settings. For me, the championship is over, but I still have great motivation to be fast by the end of the season ».
Valentino Rossi counts now 58 points behind in the championship. This is certainly not mathematically prohibitive. But the man from Tavullia didn't make it easy for himself.
MotoGP Barcelona J3: classification
