MotoGP – Motegi Day 1 – Valentino Rossi: "We have to work a lot"

The Japanese GP certainly didn't start off on the right foot for Valentino Rossi. The Yamaha rider in fact closed the first day of testing with the fourteenth time and in the afternoon session he also suffered the engine failure of his M1 which returned to the pits after heavy smoke. The high temperature certainly didn't help him find the right setup, especially on the "number 2" bike. Even from a tire point of view, Rossi hasn't found the right feeling but given that a Michelin tire (Dani Pedrosa) is in the lead, he remains confident. He has the microphone.

“It was very, very hot today, much hotter than we expected. We're a little behind because unfortunately we had two bikes with different settings and the one I was comfortable with had a technical problem. On my second bike I wasn't able to improve and so now I'm in fourteenth position. The tire situation is not very good: we have to work a lot, even if we know that the Michelins can work well here, given that they are leading with another rider. Our situation isn't great at the moment and we need to find a way to turn things around. It's the first day and I know that if we can improve some things, our position can improve. Tomorrow we have to give our best and see where we can get to."