Valentino Rossi Although he may claim the most solid track record that a motorcycle rider can boast of, he continues to play in the big leagues, at 38 years old. His three hundred and fiftieth start in Argentina showed at the finish that he would not give up anything to the young leaders, however gifted he may be. Although he has won everything, he remains motivated and focused while being aware of the passing of time which is not his ally. The fact remains that after two Grands Prix, he is second in the championnat, 14 points behind the tornado Viñales, his teammate, and 23 lengths ahead of Márquez.
Two podiums acquired with style, because after returning from the devil vauvert. This is the fact of this start of the campaign, the Doctor worries a lot during testing and qualifying before transforming into the race. On AS, He recongnizes : " I really like to use all my time to prepare the bike for the race. It is certainly a risk not to be strong during the tests and I would like to be a little more. But with this bike, it's more difficult to set a good entry time. At least for me ».
A humility that always impresses: “ to be honest, after Qatar, I would have thought I would have less difficulty during the testing sessions in Argentina. But in fact, I suffered a lot. My ranking wasn't good, my pace wasn't exceptionally fast, but I was consistent. And in the race, I was better than in Qatar. I was faster in the race and I was faster until the end ».
A detail that is not one: “ I was always there and, in the end, Maverick didn't let me go, I didn't lose him and that's important when you want to play for victory. We must continue like this. This maintains confidence. I suffer in testing, I am strong in the race. And it encourages me to work again and again ».
A method adapted to his condition that Vale describes as follows: “ the motivation in the team is very high. We are really into technique, we work very hard to find the rhythm. At my age, I like to know what I'm doing and where I'm going. I work hard, I'm in good shape, but it's obviously harder at my age. All this asks me more ».
See you in Austin next weekend. Last year, Valentino Rossi had qualified third before experiencing the pangs of retirement. The Doctor brought 55 MotoGP victories to a Yamaha firm which could, during this Grand Prix of the Americas, reach the milestone of 500 achievements.
