The Grand Prix of the Americas had been more than encouraging and it seemed to mark the end of the mistakes with the new Yamaha, magnificently managed with two podiums in the first two races. Jerez was in fact expected to be the solid assault base which would allow Valentino Rossi to launch into the offensive with a view to conquering his tenth title. The field left excellent memories for the Doctor, who dominated last year's Spanish Grand Prix. The idea was to win and consolidate its leading position in the championship. The ace ! Quite the opposite happened. And it doesn't seem to be an accident.
Valentino Rossi finished tenth and in agony his Spanish Grand Prix after problematic testing and modest qualifications. The Yamaha official recognized it, by dint of struggling with insoluble problems of general grip, a risk on the settings was taken as a horse remedy. But more than invigorating, the solution was worse than the problems. An incident along the way? Even!
Because the day after this painful procession was dedicated to testing. The opportunity to start from scratch and get back on the right path. Alas, for Valentino Rossi, the same causes produced the same effects. And yet with different material: the famous rigid carcass tire known as 2016 was there with a modified Yamaha chassis. Result ? a 21rd time 1.8 s from the leader of the exercise. Who is none other than a Maverick Vinales who has found color again.
To be honest, a waking nightmare. “ We returned to more conventional settings than during the Grand Prix where we took a risk. We also used an advanced chassis. But the results were identical »Insists Valentino Rossi. " However, we tried different things which will enlighten us on corner entry for the future. During this Spanish Grand Prix, our bike and the tires were not in harmony. That was our big problem. If, during these tests, we learned certain things, the fact remains that the sensations remain the same. We can only hope that at Le Mans, the bike adapts better to the tires ».
A cold shower because from Austin, the slope seemed to be ascending while the tests on the new Bugatti coating in cool temperatures had delighted the official Yamaha riders. Jerez should be the light for the rest of the season. On the contrary, it is as if Valentino Rossi had been caught by a black hole. And there is concern for the next meeting at Le Mans: “ In the short term, we can try to find things with the settings. But we fundamentally need something else. And I honestly don't know what exactly. But it would be something that is located inside the motorcycle itself ».
Or something fundamental. Which will be difficult to access. Casa Particular in Viñales, for his part, to find form in Jerez while regretting a race where he was not kind with the evaluation of his hard tires. During this time, Johann zarco behaved on Sunday could not be better with a Yamaha equipped with a medium pair while the officials had opted for a hard front and a medium rear. But the Frenchman, too, had a 2016 chassis…
