This year, as far as possible, that is to say if the videoconference schedule allows it, we have decided to follow as closely as possible Valentino Rossi in his new adventure within the Petronas SRT team, as we were already doing for Johann Zarco (see here) et Fabio Quartararo (see here) in previous seasons.
Concretely, this should result in a maximum of debriefings reported in their entirety so that you can experience the thoughts of the pilot concerned as closely as possible, as usual without any journalistic formatting, and therefore despite each person's own phrasing in a non-native language.
On this Sunday, April 4, 2021, Valentino Rossi answered questions from journalists from the Losail circuit at the end of a disappointing Doha Grand Prix.
We went to listen (via teleconferencing software) to the Italian pilot's words.
Valentino Rossi : " Certainly, this is not a great result. Starting from far away is very difficult because in the end my pace was not a disaster, but it was not enough to stay with the first group. I was losing a little too much, especially during the first rounds. With the new tire, I wasn't strong enough. Afterwards, we weren't very far; I mean… Everyone is very fast, everyone is on the right line, all the riders are strong, all the bikes are fast. I was expecting a little better because this morning we found something that didn't work too badly but we made progress. So I hoped to have enough pace to be able to stay in the group in front of me, but ultimately it wasn't enough and I didn't score any points. It was difficult, a difficult race, and we need to improve the rear grip with the soft tire. Everyone raced on the soft tire and we suffered a bit.
I was much much faster, compared to last year, last week, but it was not enough.
»
You rode with the aluminum swingarm. Did this help?
« We used the aluminum swingarm because I suffer a lot from vibration at the rear. After a few laps, the tire suffers too much and starts to vibrate a lot. So it's a little better with aluminum. I still have vibrations, but they are a little more controllable. »
Are your difficulties linked to the new chassis?
« No, I don't think it's chassis related. The chassis isn't much different. It helps a little to turn but it's not enough. »
Usually, Qatar is one of your most favorable tours. Are you worried about the European tour?
« I don't know, because it changes a lot every year. Anyway, there are a lot of good circuits for me in Europe, so we hope we can be stronger when we return to Europe. »
What did you learn in Qatar that could be useful to you in Portugal?
« Today we found some different electronic settings that allow me to have a more consistent rhythm. Unfortunately we only found them this morning and my initial position was very poor. Now it's difficult because all the riders are strong and all the bikes are strong, and there are 15 riders in 10 seconds. We will see ! We will see on the other circuits, starting with Portimao where we will try to see if we are more competitive. »
Were you surprised by the races of Fabio Quartararo and Maverick Viñales?
« I think Quartararo had a fantastic race. It’s his first victory in MotoGP, right? No no no ! It was last year ! He was also strong in the first race and, you know, when everything is so tight it can fluctuate a lot. This time, it's Maverick who suffered a bit like Quartararo last week, and Quartararo who was faster than Maverick this week. But why ? Sincerely, I do not know. »
Doha MotoGP Grand Prix standings:
Credit ranking: MotoGP.com
