De Maria Vinas Lopez / Motosan.es
Valentino Rossi corrects a journalist who explained to Maverick Viñales that Lorenzo had accused him of braking earlier in turn 10, which would have caused the crash. In addition, the Italian comments on the improvements made during the test.
Last Sunday, the fall of Jorge Lorenzo caused many reactions in the paddock of the Gran Premio de Catalunya. The most notable, of course, are those of the riders involved in the accident, who lost any chance of victory and had a weekend to trash. That of Maverick Viñales was one of the most remarkable, the Yamaha rider, Rossi's teammate, showed his anger during the press conference at his hospitality, once the race was over. He even requested a disciplinary sanction for the Majorcan, wanting to set an example for the lower categories.
His anger was even greater when a journalist from Italian television, Sky Sports, told the Spaniard that Jorge Lorenzo had explained that the Yamaha's "early braking" had caused his crash in turn 10, in addition of all damages occurring after the action. “Did I brake earlier?” If I had to widen, how could I have slowed down soon? It's incredible. Instead of coming and apologizing like a champ, he says I braked early, perfect” said very annoyed and between two small laughs Maverick Vinales.
A few moments later, Valentino Rossi made his usual statements to the channel, but he did not hesitate to reproach the journalist's attitude towards Viñales. “ You told him he braked early and Jorge didn't say that." explained the Italian to the journalist's surprise. “ You are a controversy journalist. I didn't expect that from you." he commented with a laugh, defending his colleague's position in his home Grand Prix and in front of all his fans. The professional did not hesitate to apologize publicly on several occasions, apologizing for having misunderstood Lorenzo's words and for thus expressing them to Viñales during the press conference.
Good feelings during the test
Although the engine problems can no longer be resolved for this season, Yamaha and its official riders continue to try small things that will allow them to take a step forward in the rest of the calendar. This Monday in Barcelona they had a fruitful day of intense work, and even tested new parts for the 2020 prototype, which, according to Meregalli, can also be tried during the next test in Brno, after the summer.
“We spend most of our time testing various electronic things to improve traction and engine braking control, and other mechanical things on the bike. Some worked, others were not improvements” commented Valentino Rossi, satisfied with the work accomplished at the end of the day. “ We also worked a little bit thinking about next year, but also the next race, where we will have something different, especially in electronics, which I hope will allow us to be a little faster » he told the press.
On the improvements for next year, the Italian did not want to talk much, especially because of the Brno test: “ It's still a little early to tell, because we've only tried small things. Some slight differences in the engine to improve power delivery, but it's much like before. Different things improved, but we expected more from other things, but overall it was a good test.”
But one of the most notable new features of Monday was the new brake that Rossi tested for his Yamaha: “ I also tried the new exhaust, but it's only the first step and we're talking about something small, so you don't feel too much difference. I tried the thumb brake type and the scooter type. On our bikes the clutch is only used at the start of the ride, so it's not a big problem. The only difficulty is perhaps in terms of dimensions, but I think that having the rear brake in hand can help us in the middle of the curve, but in each situation there are positive and negative aspects.
Valentino Rossi also appreciated the work done by Michelle Gadda, an engineer who comes from WorldSBK and who helped improve the electronics. “ He's a good guy and with him, I think we've made a lot of progress. The problem is we need five like him and we only have one. We would need five Gadda” explains the Italian, who is still not satisfied with this part of the bike, where it is still inferior.
“The tires that Michelin brought are better than the ones we had before, because there is more grip, so you can open the throttle earlier. And times are getting better, so that’s positive” concluded Rossi, commenting on the new generation of tires that the French brand brought to Barcelona for testing.
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Classification credit: MotoGP.com
