On this Friday, April 2, 2021, Valentino Rossi answered questions from journalists from the Losail circuit at the end of the first day of the Doha Grand Prix in Qatar, which he finished in fourteenth position.
We went to listen (via software) to the words of the Italian pilot.
As usual, we report here the words of Valentino Rossi without the slightest formatting.
Valentino Rossi : " It was a difficult day for me. We have tried to improve the stress and life of the tire. We actually found something better because my pace is more consistent, but we are suffering. I'm not fast enough yet because today I suffered a lot with the rear grip, also in the Time Attack. I was not able to achieve the same times as last week when I was able to do 53.8. It's a shame because it would have been enough to be in the top 10, but unfortunately I was a little slower today. Right now I'm not in Q2 and that's a problem. We will have to try tomorrow and we will have to try to find more grip at the rear to try to be stronger. »
Do you know the problem that Franco Morbidelli encountered?
« I saw that Franco had problems in FP1, right? There was smoke coming from the engine. I don't know exactly what happened but I think it's not a big problem for the engine. But I'm not sure, I haven't spoken with Franco. »
Why did you choose to help Franco Morbidelli in 2013?
« Franco's father moved from Rome and came to Tavullia, in fact it was not Tavullia but Babbucce which is another small village close to Tavullia, because in this area there are many circuits and facilities for young people pilots. And Franco's father spoke to Graziano telling him that his son was a good driver and wanted to join the Cava team (?) because at that time he had the Cava team (?). So Franco arrived at the Academy in 2013 because the Academy started in 2013. But he was already training with us before, since 2009 or 2010, I think, because Marco Simoncelli was still with us! From there he started training and that's why we chose him. We chose him because he was a good guy who was very young and very strong when we trained together. After what happened to Marco, at SIC we tried to help him because unfortunately, well not unfortunately, he was already on the path to Superbike with Supersport. But we tried to bet on him, especially with Carlo and Uccio, saying we wanted to take Franco to the world championship because he was too young for Superbike. And too loud too (laughs). »
What happened in your quick tour, sector by sector?
« I did a good first sector. Well, let's not say that bad. In the second sector I am always fast because it suits me well and suits the Yamaha well. Afterwards, in the third sector, there is a big left turn where you need more traction at the rear, so we suffer there and that is why this sector is always the most difficult for Me. »
After all the laps completed here since the start of testing, what is the point or objective of a session like FP3 tomorrow afternoon?
« I think it will be very difficult tomorrow to improve in FP3 to try to move into Q2 but we have to concentrate on our pace, because today it was more consistent but not yet fast enough. So we have to understand the pace of the other drivers with the hot conditions, and try to be stronger in this area, since I think it will be very difficult to be in Q2. »
Are you worried about tomorrow and Sunday?
« What do you mean by worried? »
Concerned?
« I know what worried means! You mean worried about not being able to get back up? Yes, because today the pace is not fantastic. We have to work on the bike and especially try to improve the pace, and for that we can also work in FP3, to try to understand. Afterwards, there will be Q1. I'm not very fast to be in the top 10 so we have to try to be in the first two in Q1 to go to Q2. »
FP2 standings of the MotoGP Doha Grand Prix:
Classification credit: MotoGP.com
