The sixth round of the 2019 vintage MotoGP championship is over and with it, the strong trends of this season have been identified. A step which is bad news for Yamaha. Despite the encouraging speeches heard at the start of the campaign, despite the hopes of an internal reorganization followed by the establishment of a European test structure with Jonas Folger, nothing has really changed on an M1 still suffering. After a weekend that he himself rated as one of the worst of his long career, Valentino Rossi drops the mask...
Bitterness and disappointment with a hint of veiled resignation. This is the Doctor's state of health after leaving the much-loved Mugello with his head down. A weekend of those to forget for the 46, who had to go through Q1 after missing the opportunity to enter Q2 during an FP3 where everything came together. Forced to leave from an anonymous 18e place which was his worst performance since Assen 2006, while he was injured, he suffered the horrors of the merciless race from the back of the peloton to find himself on the ground.
After drawing conclusions from this ordeal, Vale focused on the situation at Yamaha… “ In the last two races I thought I was competitive. We were actually very late. On Friday we tried solutions to improve the bike, especially the acceleration, because we would like to fight to win races and get on the podium. Basically, we are the Factory team and this is our job. Unfortunately, here and at Le Mans, we have not solved anything ».
He adds : " the competition advances while Yamaha is forced to chase. Unfortunately, in recent years we have never been able to improve, the fact is that we are taking some small steps. We need something more serious, given that in some respects the gap is really huge compared to other motorcycles ».
« It's not that we're looking for a miracle. We are trying to work on electronics and accelerations. After the Jerez tests we tried some things. The fact is that during the weekend you only focus on what you have ».
Thereupon, he drives the point home: “ until the first half of 2016, our bike was the strongest. In fact, in 2015, with the Bridgestones, I fought with Jorge for the title. The fact is that since the second half of 2016, the other teams have made significant progress in confirming the following season and they have not lagged along the way. I think that's the problem. In Japan they continue to work, but honestly I don't know what to expect development-wise, although I remain confident. Regarding the speed and the engine, this is the situation, since we cannot carry out particular interventions ».
He ends on GP One : " In Austin I was very happy and close to victory. But now it's more difficult, like I said, you have to stay focused, avoid giving up and working. But in this situation it becomes very difficult to imagine fighting for the podium in Catalonia ". Who will be the next MotoGP meeting in two weeks…
