MotoGP Jerez 2 Yamaha: but what political problem did Valentino Rossi want to talk about?

It is a Valentino Rossi transformed from one weekend to the next which we were given the opportunity to observe in two successive meetings in Jerez. During the Spanish Grand Prix, we saw him heading towards retirement, head down and a defeated look, carrying disappointing results punctuated by a technical retirement. For that of Andalusia, here he is on the podium after a qualification which put him at the head of the second row, hugging a winning Fabio Quartararo who could be his son. The result of long development work between two meetings? Not only. And this is where politics comes in…

When we bring politics into the management of a problem, it doesn't bode well. We immediately imagine struggles for influence, decisions taken in the name of convictions rather than on the basis of objectively analyzed facts. What would this policy do in the development of a Yamaha ? Valentino Rossi makes us discover that in fact, she is everything.

The little sentence had its effect during the debriefing: “ sometimes you have political problems and he adds: with my team we had to work hard to change my setting, because the bike I was using until last Sunday was not mine. I didn't feel good, especially in the turns ».

A partir de là, Valentino Rossi could no longer hide anything. He had too much or not enough. So he enlightened us: “ Over the past few years, Yamaha has suffered from serious rear tire degradation with the Michelins », Explains the Doctor. “ At the end of 2018, they changed the balance of the bike to better protect the tire. It only worked for me at first, I finished on the podium twice. But the tire problem persisted. I also couldn't be fast with the bike because it was completely different, especially entering the corner ».

Once the diagnosis has been made, the crux of the problem arrives: “ if you ride the same bike and there are riders like Fabio and Maverick who are so fast, Yamaha thinks I must ride like them ", Explain Red. " But they also have to support me, because I'm driving in the factory team and next year with Petronas. So they have to trust me. Maybe I'm not the fastest on the track, but I can run good races », underlines the 41-year-old pilot who, in passing, confirms his future…

A future that was not so obvious until this podium. This is therefore another revelation that gives us Valentino Rossi : " after races like last week or Valencia or Aragon, where I was very bad, we looked at each other and had no words. We thought maybe we should go home and stay there ". This explains why Vale wanted to run before deciding. Not to reassure himself about his level, but to see if he could still make himself heard.

“Last week we thought about going back and staying home” 

With this podium, Valentino Rossi warns Yamaha that from now on, he would not let go of the matter… “ We have changed the settings of the bike a lot since Friday,” explains Rossi and he criticizes Yamaha: “unfortunately we had to put a lot of pressure on Yamaha because they didn't want to do that. But starting Friday morning, I felt better. Of course, it's very difficult because there are a lot of riders who are strong, but I rode my bike this weekend ».

He finishes : " this year we are stronger in the pits and don't give up. We put pressure on David Munoz, team leader and the whole team ". But he does not want to be too critical: “ we have good relations. I am a Yamaha rider at heart and I have a great history with this manufacturer. I just wanted to put pressure on this good result ».

Despite the smiles and successes recorded over the last two Grands Prix in Jerez, it is clear that there are pockets of firedamp everywhere in the mine Yamaha . Because to this concern “ policy », we must add the very technical weakness of the engine... This season has definitely only just begun...