Valentino Rossi, at the finish of a Qatar Grand Prix finished in fifth place, did not delay before throwing himself into the data and timesheets to analyze his journey. And assess your level. The outcome? The Suzuki has entered the big leagues and will cause headaches for many this year…
In a tactical race preserving tire life, the Doctor was closer to the winner Andrea Dovizioso on Ducati this year than last season in Qatar. 0.600s in 2019 compared to 0.797s in 2018. But he finished behind the Honda of Cal Crutchlow, and, it was also beaten by the Suzuki ofAlex Rins. The Yamaha official therefore had the legitimate feeling that he was at the same level as the Englishman from the LCR team, but that the pace of the Suzuki riders had prevented him from competing for the podium.
If Honda and Ducati remain at a good distance for the moment, Yamaha's direct opponent is now Suzuki. Valentino Rossi will often have to face Alex Rins, riding a simple but very competitive GSX-RR, equipped with a more powerful engine since the winter break, which could even, on certain circuits, aspire to victory.
The teammate of Casa Particular in Viñales Explain : " the Suzuki team is the one that has progressed the most since last year. I am certainly happy because the race was good, but the problem is that we are behind Ducati, Honda, an unofficial Honda and also behind Suzuki. The problem is that the Suzuki is strong. Cal was very strong here last year. I was able to beat him in combat, I wasted less time, so more or less Cal is on the same level. But the biggest improvement is Suzuki ».
If the Yamaha M1 has remained more or less at the level of last season, with some minor improvements, the usual problems with grip during acceleration persist, which puts it in the clutches of the Suzuki GSX-RR. The next step for the Doctor will be to improve performance on the timed lap, then during qualifying: “ if you start from closer, it's easier ", said Valentino RossiOn crash.net. " At the end of the race, I more or less did the same performance as last year, I started further away, but I managed to come back. The problem is that, more or less, the level of our performance is very similar to that of 2018, for the moment ».
And we will remember that the Losail route can be considered as a friendly circuit for Iwata's men.
