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Getting some points was Valentino Rossi’s goal at the end of the 2020 MotoGP season in Portimao. At the end of 25 laps, the Yamaha rider had four points on his records in his last race for the official team.
Starting from 17th place, the Italian crossed the finish line in twelfth place directly behind his teammate Maverick Vinales. Rossi was almost 19 seconds behind local winner Miguel Oliveira (Tech-3-KTM). But he says: “It was a very close race because, apart from Oliveira and the top 3, we were a fourth / fifth place group.”
“The pace was very similar. There were a lot of fights and I honestly enjoyed the race,” sums up Rossi. “It was a great challenge from start to finish.”
Rossi: “In constant motion until the end”
However, due to its poor starting position, it was no longer possible: “Unfortunately, I started from way back. It just took too long to adapt to the track. We also tried something for Yamaha on Friday and lost the feeling a bit.” That’s why we were late. ”
“But today in the race I was quite fast, I achieved some good lap times. And above all, I was constantly on the road until the end,” says Rossi with satisfaction. “Of course the final result is not fantastic, but it was a better race compared to Valencia, also because the difference with the best guys is smaller.”
In Valencia 2 Rossi was also twelfth. He was 19.717 seconds behind the winner of the race at the time. However, the field was a bit closer in general, the top 3 did not have as much advantage as in Portimao.
Emotional farewell from the factory team
“Thanks for 15 wonderful years”, says goodbye on Rossi’s pit board
Photo: Motorsport Images
When the Yamaha rider returned to the pits after crossing the finish line, things got emotional again. Rossi said goodbye to some of the crew, because after a total of 15 years in factory colors, he will move on to the Petronas satellite team by 2021. When asked what he will miss the most, the answer is clear.
“The people! I think the technical requirements are not going to change too much. But I have spent 15 years of my career, my life here and I have made many friends in the team, many good relationships,” says the 41-year-old.
In this sense, above all he will miss “the human side”: “It was an emotional moment today when I returned to the box. Especially since the chapter closes not only with the team, but also with some very important people. It was a pleasure share this moment with you again. ”
2021: Working on yourself and challenging Yamaha
Next year, Rossi will have to do without his longtime mechanics Alex Briggs and Brent Stephens, among others. He takes with him team leader David Munoz, riding trainer Idalio Gavira and data engineer Matteo Flamigni.
Alex Briggs and Rossi hug again before parting ways
Photo: Yamaha
Together with them, he hopes to reconnect with the top at Petronas. Heading into winter, the 41-year-old says: “I have to work a lot on myself. We have to improve in some areas, for example qualifying, which is very important these days.” At the same time, they will continue to pressure Yamaha.
The harvest in Portimao, where only Franco Morbidelli was able to fight for the podium with the 2019 Yamaha, once again revealed the construction sites for the current bike.
Strong at the start of the season, then with problems
“In recent years and this year as well, we were always strong at the beginning of the season,” said Rossi, recalling the triple success in Jerez, when Yamaha took the podium. “But after that we had problems compared to our competitors, especially in the second half of the season.”
“The rivals were able to continue developing, while the end of the season once again was not easy for us. Next year will be a great challenge. We have to be prepared from the first race,” said Rossi.
With Yamaha images.
