Welcome to the beta version of the new Women & Golf website. Our web monkeys are still hard at work and welcome your feedback.  

Advertisement

MotoGP Austria: Rossi pushing for Yamaha response

Valentino Rossi has pushed for Yamaha to respond to his worst MotoGP qualifying position since Phillip Island in 2016 after qualifying in fourteenth position at the Red Bull Ring.

Over a year since their last win, Yamaha are enduring their leanest spell since the Italian joined them and things look like they’re getting worse rather than better. After qualifying down in the middle of the fifth row, Rossi has pushed for Yamaha to respond to the issues like they did back in 2004 when he first joined them.

“I do not know [if it’s the worst it’s been since he joined Yamaha], when I arrived, a long time ago, in 2004, Yamaha was much worse than now,” said the nine-time World Champion.

Advertisement

“But in a year they reacted very strongly, they put in a different organisation. More money, more people, and in one year we were able to have the M1 of 2005, which, for me, is the best M1 that I have ridden.

“We have to try to do the same. The situation is similar to August of last year, it’s true that in some circuits we suffer less, but in others, we suffer more.”

Rossi looks back to the winter when Yamaha failed to move in the right direction. After complaining about acceleration issues but Yamaha instead worked and perfected the chassis and weight distribution issues.

“In 2017, our rivals, Ducati and Honda, had much worse performance and I didn’t feel good with the chassis, or with the mechanical part,” he said.

“This year, with the chassis and the weight distribution, I feel better. They took an incredible step, this is the step that we can’t do with Yamaha, that is the key, to understand which way to improve, because, for me, the rest of the bike is good.”

Before Rossi’s debrief on Saturday afternoon Yamaha MotoGP project leader Kouji Tsuya issued a public apology to both Rossi and his Movistar Yamaha team mate Maverick Vinales for the current state of the M1. Rossi acknowledged and thanked Tsuya for the apology, but said he just wants to get to work and improve the bike.

“I view this apology very positively and thank Tsuya for having done that, but, rather than apologies, we need to sort our bike. We need results, and quickly, because we’re behind compared to Honda and Ducati,” said Rossi.

Articles you may like

Advertisement

More MotoGP

Advertisement
linkedin facebook pinterest youtube rss twitter instagram facebook-blank rss-blank linkedin-blank pinterest youtube twitter instagram