MotoGP: Rossi admits higher than sixth unlikely

Valentino Rossi has admitted that he thinks even finishing higher than sixth in Sunday’s MotoGP race at Sachsenring, where he eventually finished eighth, was unlikely, after struggling in the second half of the race.

Leaving it too late to pit for dry tyres, he says that despite the delay, he doesn’t think he could have made it much further up the order in any case.

“It‘s a great shame for us, because I was competitive on the dry and under normal conditions I could have done a good race. I was also competitive in the wet, so also in a normal wet race I could have fought for the victory, but unfortunately it was a half-and-half race.

TOP STORIES

• This week’s issue of MCN: BMW Scrambler first test
• Poll: After Crutchlow and Redding were so strong at the Sachsensring, can a Brit win at Silverstone?
• MotoGP: Ducati dominate Red Bull Ring test as KTM impress
• Product Review: Shark Helmet racing bag (￡39.99)

“If I had stopped two or three laps earlier it would have been a bit better and I could have arrived in sixth place instead of eighth, but the bigger problem was when I restarted I was very slow.”

That slowness came from the intermediates he chose after the flag-to-flag pit stop – but, suffering like all the Yamaha riders to find feeling from the slicks chose by race winner Marc Marquez on colder track conditions, he admitted that he didn’t think they would have made any difference either.

“I had no feeling with the bike and I wasn‘t strong enough. Dovizioso and Crutchlow were with me and we stopped on the same lap, but they were able to arrive on the podium. It‘s a very big question mark if it would have been better if I had ridden on slicks.

“I had a very bad feeling on the intermediates, but nobody knows if I could have been faster with slicks, it also could have been worse. Maybe our bike in those conditions, when the track is really damp, is a little bit more difficult and gives less feeling.”

Looking for the perfect two-wheeled companion? Visit MCN Bikes For Sale website or use Bikes For Sale App.