#QatarGP Valentino Rossi “I'm happy, because I saw Maverick throughout the Grand Prix”

The Losail race did not look entirely positive for Vale, because the qualifying practices canceled due to the weather forced him to only start from tenth position on the grid, that is to say from fourth line. For an event which officially risked being definitively interrupted from the third round in the event of rain, this was not ideal.

But Valentino had a very good start and found himself seventh in the first corner, where he was hit at the right rear, fortunately without consequences. He completed the first lap seventh, 1.8 behind. Johann zarco. With 18 laps remaining, the Italian was fastest on track in 1'56.562, trying to pass Dani Pedrosa behind him. Seeing the group in front breaking away, he accelerated and got back behind his teammate Maverick Vinales.

Fifth at the halfway point after crashes Johann Zarco and Andrea Iannone, Rossi went a little wide in turn 1, which he quickly recovered. He then launched himself behind Vinales to attack Marc Marquez whose tires could no longer take it, and went from fourth place on the eleventh lap at 1.5, to third at 1.4 on the twelfth.

During the final loops, he followed Viñales and Dovizioso who were fighting in the lead. From 0.3 behind his teammate on the sixteenth lap, this gap increased to 1.1 on the nineteenth. With four laps remaining he set his personal best time of 1'56.398 and looked threatening, but due to tire wear he could not join the fight for victory and had to settle for third place, crossing the line 1.928 behind his teammate.

Valentino then declared that “ my secret is my team, it’s Yamaha. We never give up and we always maintain our focus. I still feel the support and confidence from all the guys around me, which is great. We know our potential and we know we have excellent bikes and riders.

“Honestly, when I was in the top five, I said to myself " it's OK ”, but the podium is something even better. I'm very happy to start the season like this, because the podium is always better and, as we said, it comes after a difficult period.

“We must continue like this. This result is very good for us, both for our sensitivity and for the technical side, because we now understand a lot of things.

“I wouldn't have bet on myself, nor on my podium today. Maybe 10 euros? We never gave up and we always tried to give our best. We tried three or four adjustments on the bike on Sunday morning during warm-up, which turned out to be bad.

“During the day, I wore out my tire in three turns. The night conditions were therefore better for me. We have once again made changes to the bike for the race. I felt comfortable and had a good start. I hope this test will give us enough information to continue in this direction. I'm happy, because I saw Maverick throughout the Grand Prix even though it never happened during testing. »