Valentino Rossi was off to a good start this season before arriving in Europe. A step which, generally, is favorable to him. But this time, it didn't happen. Three successive retirements, due to a fall, and a final performance at the Sachsenring, timid. The Doctor was picked up by his teammate Viñales who went the opposite way. But it is not the only indicator of a degraded performance rate…
The other indicator is fabio quartararo. The Frenchman begins this year with the Yamaha satellite of the equally new Petronas team, but with particularly seasoned personnel. And the mid-term assessment is that the young Frenchman has as many podiums as Valentino Rossi, or two. On the other hand, he made the difference in qualifying, by far, with three pole positions…
On this situation, Valentino Rossi speaks clearly: Fabio Quartararo drives very well. I followed him on the tracks during the last Grand Prix, during testing Says Red. " It takes excellent trajectories, it uses the strengths of the M1 in the right way. He does it well. When I watch Quartararo closely on the circuit, I always have the impression that he has more grip than me. But we don't know why. He's just fast ».
That being said, seeing a satellite Yamaha cut corners with a rookie on it is nothing new for Rossi. In 2017, Johann zarco et Jonas Folger of the Tech3 team dominated him more often than not. zarco even fought for the title during the first third of the season in 2018. Even Academy protégé VR46, Franco Morbidelli, sometimes rides in front of the 40-year-old Italian who has won 115 victories and 9 world titles.
