Rossi expecting tough weekend

World championship leader Valentino Rossi expects this weekend’s French Grand Prix to be very difficult with the Italian expecting to see lots of competition at the front of the field. When asked about his chances this weekend Rossi said that while Le Mans isn’t one of his favourite circuits he still enjoys racing in France.

“It’s not one of my best three of four tracks during the season but I like it here,” said Rossi. “It’s always a difficult track. The weather is always an issue because in the morning it’s always very cold. The afternoon is a little bit better but the temperature is very low. So it’s difficult to ride the bike and also you have to use soft tyres for have good grip.

“Last year was a great weekend, there was always the sun and in every practice we work to arrive ready for the race. We hope also this year the weather will be good. Jorge started the season with some difficult race but his performance in Jerez was fantastic because he was always faster from Friday to Sunday. 

“This means it will be very hard to arrive in front of him for the championship. Usually Jorge is always very fast in this track that is historically a good track for the Yamaha. We have to understand the level. Last year was a good weekend. But last year Marc was always the faster, always very strong in braking and entry, and was able to do better lap times.”

For this weekend Rossi said that he expects it be to very competitive at the front with Marquez and Lorenzo both expected to be very strong this weekend.

“I imagine that Marc will also be strong this year, but I like this circuit, I like to ride here and our bike seems to go very well, especially on Sunday afternoon. This is a good thing, because we have to fight for the championship. In Jerez we didn’t have a perfect weekend. Third place was positive, but we can do better. Jorge did a great race, so the YZR-M1 is doing really well. At Le Mans we have to work well and fix the bike better. I’m confident.”