This Saturday 23 October 2021, Valentino Rossi answered questions from journalists from the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, following qualifying for the Gran Premio Nolan del Made in Italy e dell'Emilia-Romagna.
We went to listen (via teleconference software) to the words of the Italian driver, author of the 23rd and final time trial.
As usual, we report here the words of Valentino Rossi without the slightest formatting.
Valentino, it was a day made difficult by the weather conditions. How did it go for you?
" That was really difficult for us, especially this morning, because the conditions were really tricky: It was wet, but it evolved as it dried out, not to mention the really very low temperatures, especially in the afternoon when we We rode slicks. But the conditions were really difficult, because the dry trajectory was really very narrow, and you really couldn't make any deviations. »
" Personally I never had a good feeling either with the bike or the tires. In the end our position for tomorrow is far from fantastic, but at least the weather forecast tends to improve, with a little sunshine, so I hope that during the race we will be able to benefit from slightly more normal conditions. , as well as a better result at the finish. »
From a human point of view, what are your feelings before your last race in Italy?
“From a On the other hand, it's really difficult for me because tomorrow will be a really emotional moment. But at the same time you have to stay focused for the race. »
“Demain, ce sera un moment vraiment empli d’émotion”
How satisfied are you with Luca Marini's first line today?
“Luca was fantastic today, I'm very proud and very happy for him. He drove very well, and from Friday morning he was constantly at the front. Today he was able to do a fantastic lap despite these difficult conditions. »
" The The first row of the grid is always a very good result for a rookie, but it must be added that he really finished very close to pole position. This is a very important result for him, for his future and his career. Next year he will have a good bike and a good team behind him, and in his second season he will need all that support to get good results. I think he clearly has the speed and the talent to do great things. »
Do you think your performance issues with Yamaha in recent years are related to a lack of mechanical grip, or more to the electronics?
"Our bike was fantastic until we received the electronics from Yamaha. The M1 comes from an essentially Japanese program, all the engineers come from there, and in my opinion we are not managing to make the best use of the Magneti Marelli electronics. The bike took quite a step backwards when we changed that. But on the drivers' side, what I can tell you is that it's always very difficult when the conditions are mixed like today. It is clear that we are losing a lot of performance from this point of view. »
Today marks ten years since Marco Simoncelli left us. How do you view the mark he left on the discipline, particularly regarding the Academy that you subsequently set up?
" That It’s been ten years already… The moment after the race in Malaysia in 2011 will always be the worst memory of my life. I was really desperate, it's one of those times when you don't know what you have to do to try to keep moving forward. We then lost a great pilot who could have had a great career, and fought great battles. »
"But more than that, I lost a good friend, because we had spent a lot of time together, especially in the years preceding the tragedy, from 2006 to 2011. It is a big void that remains. For me, Marco will remain the first pilot to come from the Academy, even if it did not yet exist as such at the time. »
What can you tell us about your helmet, which sports a special livery for your farewell to the Italian public? Furthermore, will there be another specific decoration during the last round in Valencia?
" I I think this helmet is very beautiful. It aims to thank everyone for all the support given to me throughout my career. On the other hand, I think it will be the last helmet with special patterns. »
MotoGP Misano 2 – The grid:
Classification credit: MotoGP.com
