Valentino Rossi (21st): “It’s not about tires” / MotoGP



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Valentino Rossi had already complained about problems with the rear wheel in Qatar in practice on Friday. The Italian did not start in qualifying either. He has to face the Doha GP from 21st on the grid.

Valentino Rossi already suspected after the second practice session for the Doha GP that he would not have an easy match in qualifying. However, the nine-time world champion was waiting for Q2. But instead of advancing, he finally had to settle for 21st on the grid. For comparison: his teammate Franco Morbidelli made the 10th fastest lap in Q2.

“We tried to improve the sensations at the rear, but we suffered a lot again. I had no grip when accelerating, ”the 115 GP winner complained later in their media discussion. “I had a lot of problems and my pace was not good either. Even with the new tires, I never felt like I was fast enough in qualifying. Last week I was still fast on the new tires, ”he wondered.

“We’ll try to find something to keep them alive longer, of course, but I’m not fast enough anyway,” Rossi added with a sigh. You know: “The race will be difficult, I have to start from far back and we have to analyze everything now and try something different tomorrow. Then we will see where we will land. “

Despite all concerns, the 42-year-old did not want to rate the final practice session of the Doha GP as the worst qualifying of his MotoGP career. “It was not the worst quality for me, I think I had seen it worse with Ducati,” he laughed.

“I just had a lot of problems with the rear wheel, in the third practice session I was only a little slower on hard tires in difficult conditions, but my pace was similar to that of the afternoon. When I put the soft tire on, for some reason the rear tire was being pushed too hard. After that I didn’t push because it also had a lot of vibrations. I had the impression that the tire was overheating and I just wasn’t fast enough, ”said Rossi.

The Petronas Yamaha star did not want to confirm that he would get along better with a harder tire: “I don’t think I need a harder tire. The mix is ​​the same for everyone, and if the other guys can handle it, we have to too. So it’s not about the tires. “

Doha-GP, MotoGP, Q2:

1. Martin, Ducati, 1: 53,106 min
2. Zarco, Ducati, 1: 53.263 min, + 0.157 s
3. Viñales, Yamaha, 1: 53,267, + 0,161
4. Miller, Ducati, 1: 53.303, + 0.197
5. Quartararo, Yamaha, 1: 53.469, + 0.363
6. Bagnaia, Ducati, 1: 53.654, + 0.548
7. Aleix Espargaró, Aprilia, 1: 53.705, + 0.599
8. Rins, Suzuki, 1: 53.754, + 0.639
9. Mir, Suzuki, 1: 53.785, + 0.679
10. Morbidelli, Yamaha, 1: 53.794, + 0.688
11. Bradl, Honda, 1: 54,224, + 1,118
12. Oliveira, KTM, 1: 55.096, + 1.990

The rest of the starting grid:
13. Marini, Ducati, 1: 54.228 min
14. Alex Marquez, Honda, 1: 54,261
15. Pol Espargaró, Honda, 1: 54,402
16. Nakagami, Honda, 1:54, 481
17. Petrucci, KTM, 1: 54.528
18. Folder, KTM, 1: 54,555
19. Bastianini, Ducati, 1: 54,632
20. Lecuona, KTM, 1: 54,731
21. Rossi, Yamaha, 1: 54,881
22. Savadori, Aprilia, 1: 55,823

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