Valentino Rossi was undoubtedly hoping for another outcome than this tenth place at the end of this rainy Saturday at Motegi. Especially since the other three Yamahas are ranked among the top four. A harsh verdict when we know that the Doctor is working on a new driving style and on solutions for 2020 on the M1. But the 40-year-old driver is holding on and will be motivated as always, on Sunday, for the race...
Within the official team Yamaha , the smiles were a little tense. We couldn't make a face with three M1s in the first four rows, but we couldn't boast either because two satellite M1s were on the first row while the official Casa Particular in Viñales was on the second. As for Valentino Rossi, it is from the fourth row that he will start…
During this weekend, the Doctor worked on a new braking technique using only two fingers of his right hand to operate the lever. As a reminder, Motegi is the only place where MotoGP carbon brake discs must measure 340 mm (instead of the usual 320 mm) because the Japanese circuit includes many strong braking areas.
The number 46 also returned to a more traditional configuration of its M1 and used neither the carbon swingarm, nor the dual exhaust, nor the covers on the front wheel.
« We tried and changed the settings slightly. When braking, I'm still not fantastic. But we are all close. I was well into FP4 and I therefore expected more from this Q2 than tenth place. But we have to go on and deal with this now. I'm curious what the conditions will be like on Sunday. It is expected to be completely dry all day. And since it wasn't as difficult yesterday in the dry, we expect a lot » declares the Doctor.
« We are very close to the 6th place times. And the pace on Friday was good. Today Saturday, conditions were difficult for everyone. Now we need to make sure we improve a little bit between now and the race » adds Vale.
He ends with the fact that the
Yamaha petronas are in front: “ from a technical point of view it is good that the other Yamahas are fast because you can understand more things.
It's a big challenge, because all the Yamaha riders are fast, and so the internal challenge is interesting. With Quartararo's performance as a rookie, we are all doing our best, but it's complicatedé. »
Qualification 2 standings for the Japanese MotoGP Grand Prix:
Qualification 1 standings for the Japanese MotoGP Grand Prix:
Credit rankings: MotoGP.com
