MotoGP | GP Barcelona Day 1: Valentino Rossi, “Slow entering the corner”

MotoGP GP Catalunya Barcelona Yamaha Petronas SRT 2021 – Difficult start on the Montmelò circuit in Barcelona for Valentino Rossi.

The "Doctor" did not go beyond the 19th time on the first day of testing for the Catalan Grand Prix, seventh race of the 2021 MotoGP.

In the morning session the Pesaro driver achieved the 15th fastest time, while in the afternoon, despite changes to the setting, the situation worsened. The problem is corner entry, here's what Yamaha's #46 had to say.

Statements Valentino Rossi GP Catalunya Barcelona Day 1

“This morning I wasn't in a fantastic position but I had a better feeling on the bike, while this afternoon we tried a different setting to improve braking but I didn't feel good, I was slower, especially when entering corners. I'm very behind and I was also slow in the time-attack. The FP1 bike is very similar to the one used at Mugello and tomorrow we will return to a similar set-up to that of this morning and we will see our potential. Compared to last year, a lot has changed both in terms of settings and tyres, because we raced in October and the tires are also different.”

Valentino Rossi statements on FP2 GP Catalunya Barcelona Day 1 problems

“As I said this morning I had a good feeling, I was 15th but I hadn't changed the tyre. This afternoon, however, with the changes I braked hard but then I was slow when entering corners and I didn't have the feeling of FP1. On this track there is always little grip and then the tires suffer a lot because there are many fast and long corners, where you are leaning a lot. On Sunday, those who are good at riding with little grip will go strong."

Valentino Rossi statements on Curva 10 GP Catalunya Barcellona Day 1

“The new turn 10 is very technical, it is difficult to tackle it and find the ideal line. However, I prefer it compared to the one used until last year, also because this one is very reminiscent of the 'classic' one on the Catalan circuit.”

Valentino Rossi statements on heartbeats GP Catalunya Barcelona Day 1

“They asked me to measure my heartbeat, it was done a long time ago together with Dr. Costa and then he told me that I had the heartbeat of a child, since he is always very poetic. I saw that I was between 150 and 170 and therefore when one trains one should work around these, but it depends a lot from athlete to athlete, there are those who have higher heart rates and are in perfect shape."