The Qatar Grand Prix ended for Valentino Rossi with a good fifth position which was not obvious at the start. And for good reason. The Doctor started fourteenth in this first race of the year. This after a disappointing end to Friday and a depressing Saturday punctuated by a qualifying session bordering on disaster. The cause, in Vale's comments, is a front tire with uncontrollable behavior and wear. But Michelin gives its analysis…
All's well that doesn't end too badly for one Valentino Rossi who started from the fifth row only for the race on the Losail track. The Doctor thus confirmed that he was still a “racing beast” and the general pace, based on a fine strategy of tire management, allowed him to recover, as often, on Sunday.
The fact remains that the opprobrium thrown at the front tire during the previous days did not escape Michelin, which was keen to resolve a problem arising from... tuning.
Piero Taramasso, Michelin Motorsport Manager for motorcycles, declared: “ It seems that his problems are related to the settings of his bike. Valentino's driving style means he brakes very hard and late. Not as much as Marc Márquez, but pretty close to Marc. He is therefore rather aggressive and needs very good balance on his bike to preserve the front brake. ».
« And especially on this track there are problems because of sand on the surface, humidity and low temperatures. Everyone has problems getting the front tire to work if the settings aren't perfect. You then experience “graining” and the tire deteriorates more quickly. So it's not the only one. All the other drivers also suffer from it. If you go to the side of the track, you can see that sometimes the tires have this “graining”. You then have to do more laps and normally the tires clean themselves. But in some cases, if the settings are not right, they never clean ". It’s up to the Yamaha rider, therefore, to learn the lessons…
