The Italian is looking for the formula that allows him to change the drift that has led him to star in the worst start to the season of his life. In that sense, he left the test day that he carried out ten days ago, the Monday after the Spanish Grand Prix, in Jerez , very happy.
Waiting for this step forward to materialize this Sunday at Le Mans, the ninth place achieved this Friday is a most hopeful sign and the best news in recent weeks for Il Dottore , who has provisionally secured a direct pass to the second screen of the timed one (Q2).
In Jerez, the Yamaha technicians turned the M1 upside down to try to provide the rider from Tavullia with a comfort that until then had been conspicuous by its absence. After some tweaks in the set-up – “suspensions, weight distribution, swingarm”, as he said this Friday – the #46 was able to enter the corners faster and brake with more conviction, and thus leave the bottom of the table of times in which it had recently been installed.
“Already this morning, with the rain, I felt good on the bike. But I needed a dry test to see if the work done in the test had gone well. During training I rode better, more constantly, with more rhythm. I can get into the corners faster, I’ve gotten into the top ten and I’m somewhat more competitive”, summed up Rossi, who revealed some of the tricks he has followed lately to not lose motivation when things don’t go as expected.
“The first few races were bad, and staying motivated like that is not easy. You become pessimistic and do not see the light at the end of the tunnel. When that happens I think of those times when I won 11 races a year, those memories keep me company. I have people around me who encourage me not to give up”, added the Petronas team driver.
In 2022, its structure, the VR46 , will land in MotoGP thanks to the sponsorship of Aramco , although it is not yet known if the pair of pilots of the Italian team, presumably Luca Marini and Marco Bezzecchi, will get on a Yamaha or a Ducati .
“We are talking to Ducati and Yamaha, and things are 50/50. The situation will be unblocked after Mugello – in two weeks. I am half involved, but not only I decide. I’ve already said I don’t want to work too hard on this project. I like to drive, but working has never been one of my passions”, the multi-champion joked.
The photos of Valentino Rossi at the 2021 MotoGP French Grand Prix
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