Before this 15th round of the MotoGP world championship represented by the Thai Grand Prix, Valentino Rossi spoke during the press conference which also brought together Marc Márquez, Andrea Dovizioso, fabio quartararo and Aleix Espargaro.
As usual, we report here the raw words of Valentino Rossi, without the slightest journalistic interpretation.
Valentino, apart from Marc Márquez, the tests seem to have been rather good for the Yamahas and the four bikes struggled a little on Sunday. What were the reasons?
Valentino Rossi : "I think the biggest problem for us, for the Yamahas, because as you say, the times weren't too bad during testing, but unfortunately we had to use the hard rear tire in the race, because the softer one us worried a lot. But unfortunately the hard rear tire at Aragón had a strange compound, a bit difficult to predict, and unfortunately all the Yamahas had problems with the rear tire in the race. And for me, personally, it was a very difficult race because I was struggling after six or seven laps and I was relatively slow. So we're going to try here where it was a good weekend last year. Especially on Saturday and Sunday I was pretty fast and started from the front row. Sunday's race was very good for us because Maverick and I were able to stay very close to Marc and Dovi throughout the race. Unfortunately, in the end I was last in the group and didn't make the podium, but regardless it was a positive weekend. »
Last year, the Yamahas improved at the end of the season, and this year, they are already better than last year. This should make you optimistic for the remaining races…
" Yes. Last year we came here and we changed the settings on the bike. And as you said, from that race until the end of the season it was better and we improved our results. So we'll see this year. Many times it's the same thing, but sometimes you come back after a year and everything has changed. So we have to wait until tomorrow and see what happens, because it also looks like the weather forecast for the weekend is tough. Last year we had three very warm and sunny days, and everyone is hoping for a race and a dry weekend, but we will see. »
Can you tell us about a possible change regarding your team next year?
" Yes, it's true ! I will change chief engineer next year. It was good and we spoke together with Silvano after the race in Misano, because we want to try to do something to be stronger. Different factors came together because Silvano also wanted to continue working for Yamaha, but he also wanted to try something with a little less stress and with fewer days outside of Italy. At the same time, Yamaha wanted to make the Test Team stronger next year, to advance the work in Europe. So, honestly, at first I didn't expect it, but talking together we decided to change. So Silvano will go to the Test Team next year and I will have another chief mechanic who comes from our Moto2 team and who will be David (Muñoz). Last year he worked with Pecco (Bagnaia) and he won the championship. This year he is with Bulega. So I'm excited because it's a new experience. He has no experience in MotoGP but he is very young and he has very good ideas. And in the end, everyone is happy, and even Silvano is happy to go to the Test Team. So we try and we will see if we become stronger. »
Why did you choose David Muñoz specifically?
“Unfortunately, it seems like we were a bit stuck, together with Silvano and Yamaha, in understanding the direction to progress. Honestly, it's the first name because I know him very well, I follow the team very well and he did a very good job last year with Pecco. I like the way he handled the end of the season, when there was a lot of pressure and Pecco was a little nervous being afraid of losing the championship to Oliveira. I like how he handled the situation. So I asked him, and unfortunately it's something negative for our team (Moto2) because he was very important there. But we decided to give it a try and we'll see. »
Valentino, does this mean that you are preparing a new contract with Yamaha?
“(Laughs) no… well, I don’t know! I have a contract for next year, then, for the future, it will depend a lot on the results of next year. »
How do you explain the superiority of Marc Márquez this year?
“In my opinion, there are different factors. As Marc said, I think this is his best season in MotoGP with 2014. He was already very fast in his first season, but now he is at a point in his career where he is still very young but has lots of experience. He has therefore reached the highest level. The other thing is that marriage... the feeling with your motorcycle. Because sometimes the bike is better and sometimes it's worse. Sometimes you have more problems and sometimes less. And it appears that now he wins a lot of races but he always comes in the top two, except once in Austin where he made a mistake because of a problem on the bike. So I think this is very close to a perfect season. »
Are you going to congratulate Marc Márquez on his title this year?
" Yes ! I think so (laughs)! ".
Social media question: which athlete would you go on vacation with?
“I think with Ronaldo. But not Christiano, the real one (laughs)! The Brazilian! Because above all he is one of my heroes, of sport and in general, and also I think that he is very good for evenings (laughs), therefore very good for holidays. »
Photo credit : MotoGP.com
