MotoGP | GP Austria Qualifying: Rossi, “Michelin? You have to be lucky to get the right tire"

MotoGP GP Austria Red Bull Ring Spielberg Yamaha Petronas SRT 2021 – Valentino Rossi achieved the eighteenth time in qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix, where the eleventh stage of the 2021 MotoGP is scheduled for tomorrow.

The "Doctor" who will therefore start from the sixth row will try to reach the points zone in the second consecutive race at the Red Bull Ring.

The Pesaro native also spoke about Petronas (sponsor of the team for which he races, ed.) which will leave the MotoGP at the end of the season, the Yamaha Vinales case and Michelin, which does not always manage to make tires from the same compound and always perform well.

Statements Valentino Rossi Austrian GP Red Bull Ring Spielberg Day 1

“I'm not happy with qualifying, because we had better potential. I didn't have any grip on my fastest lap and I'm disappointed, because we could have started a little further ahead. Apart from that I have good pace and I was quite fast. For tomorrow the target is to fight with the group that has more or less my pace, get to the finish line and score points."

Statements Valentino Rossi on Petronas leaving the MotoGP World Championship Austria Red Bull Ring Spielberg Qualifying

“The news from Petronas is very bad, because a Top Team is leaving and because Petronas is an important name, also present in F1. It is a grave loss for everyone. Darryn Binder is very supported by Team Petronas. He should have gone to Moto2, then given that Petronas is leaving and the Moto2 and Moto3 teams are closing, he will make the jump to MotoGP. He already has the physique for a MotoGP. Of course it's not easy to move from Moto3 to MotoGP (a move made in the past by Jack Miller, ed.) but he could also do it."

Valentino Rossi statements on Vinales behavior suspended from Yamaha GP Austria Red Bull Ring Spielberg Qualifying

“Maverick (Vinales) was good today, he said what he had to say. He said that he was frustrated, that the results were not coming and that his vein closed. He apologized to Yamaha and I hope he can return to racing, a good solution for everyone."

Valentino Rossi statements on the Yamaha situation GP Austria Red Bull Ring Spielberg Qualifying

“The official team is going very well, they have Fabio (Quartararo) leading the world championship and next year they will also have Franco (Morbidelli). They will have two great drivers. I don't see Yamaha that badly, also because, as mentioned, they are leading the Championship."

Statements Valentino Rossi on Michelin tires GP Austria Red Bull Ring Spielberg Qualifying

“It's obviously difficult for Michelin to make tires that always work well. I spoke many times with Michelin and Taramasso and they explained to me that they have high-precision machinery for making tires. She told me that as soon as they see that a tire is a 'hair' worse than the others they don't even take it to the GPs. Despite this, sometimes tires don't perform well. I say that making tires for MotoGP is not easy because it requires a lot of performance and then the motorcycle tire must have a lot of grip with little footprint on the ground. I think it's very complicated. Today I used 4 softs, three were good, while the fourth was worse. The situation is this, every now and then we get tires that perform a 'bit' worse, but we're talking about tenths, not seconds, but as MotoGP is now it makes the difference. This is the situation, Michelin is doing its best, but you also have to be lucky to get the right tyre."