MotoGP Misano: Valentino Rossi, “Difficult start, I have to improve in the fast part”

MotoGP GP San Marino and Rimini Riviera Yamaha Movistar – Valentino Rossi achieved the fifth fastest time on the first day of testing at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli. The Yamaha champion, after a difficult first session, managed to improve the feeling with his M1, even if at the moment the Spaniards Lorenzo, Marquez and Pedrosa seem far away.

Valentino, talks about this first day of testing on his home circuit.

“It's been quite a difficult day, especially this morning. I thought I'd get a better start, but instead we encountered some difficulties, especially because I can't brake and enter the corners strongly. We're at the limit up front, but I know other riders have had the same problem; this is a difficult track from this point of view. In the afternoon the situation improved, we continued to progress during the session and in the end we also tried the hard tyres. I had a good run with these, even if I still don't feel 100%, I can't push hard, there's still work to do.”

Here too, as at Silverstone, Lorenzo and Marquez started very well, do you think you can reach their level before the race?

“I expected Marquez to go so fast, because they (the Honda Repsol riders, ed.) were here to test, in fact Pedrosa also went fast, both on the lap and on the pace. However, I didn't expect such a strong Lorenzo, he did a great job and was fast from the start. He confirms his form and also a lot of competitiveness on this track where he has always gone fast. It will be difficult to beat him, but we still have many things to prove. I'm not fast in the fast part, where I usually go very fast, I don't have a great feeling with the bike in the last part. We will then need to understand which tires to use, because the hard ones are an option for the race."

Ducati style fins were seen on Lorenzo's bike, what do you think and why haven't you tried them?

“The Japanese have been pushing to try them for some time. They should give something more on the front grip, but I concentrated on the setting, while Lorenzo wanted to try them. In my opinion there is a lot of talk about them, but they don't give a great advantage on the track. I'll probably try them tomorrow too, but at the moment the work on balancing the bike is much more important."

Do you have better feelings compared to Friday at Silverstone?

“It will be important to progress and do a Brno-style or Silverstone-style qualifying. There are many here who are going fast, the two Yamahas and the two Hondas, with Dovizioso slightly further behind on the pace and Pol Espargarò also going very fast."

Some drivers have complained about tire wear problems due to the new asphalt, do you think it could also be a problem for the race?

“The new asphalt is very aggressive, but today the feeling was that the track was dirty. We hope that the weather will remain nice, so that we can rubberize the track during the next sessions and that this will have a positive impact on the life of the tyres."

The Milan - Inter Derby is on Sunday, can you make a comparison with the duel with Lorenzo?

“Here we are already 2/3 of the way through the championship and the levels are quite defined. The championship, however, has just started and even if Inter started quite well, anything can happen in a Derby."