MotoGP, Rossi: "Alex Marquez with Marc in Honda? He wouldn't steal anything from anyone"

"I would have expected more Zarco, than Alex, as a companion of Marc, so I'm curious. Alex is the Moto2 champion so why not, if he went to HRC he would not steal anything from anyone. "

Immediately after, however, he returned to talk about the last Grand Prix of the season where Valentino, after the excellent FP3 closed on the top floors of the ranking, he qualified only in 12th position . The explanation of this result is simple, and concerns (once again) the strategy.

"This morning the FP3 went well despite the cold, I finished fourth and hit the Q2 target. In FP4 I worked on the tires for the race – explains – while in qualifying we missed the strategy, as I found myself on the track with the second tire at the wrong time, there was so much traffic and I couldn't improve ”.

All that remains is that mull over what happened, also recognizing the mistakes made.

"The strategy sometimes works and others don't, today I was also unlucky as I met Pol Espargarò on the track with used tires, but anyway it seems that we are not fantastic in developing strategies (laughs ed). Too bad because without mistakes like this I could have been one or two rows ahead, and it would have been another race ”.

The race however is still to be run and with a bit of irony we can say that Valentino is an expert on comebacks in Valencia, given that in the famous 2015 he closed fourth by shooting from the last box.

"Our potential was better but starting 12th will be difficult, both because it is not easy to overcome here and because my pace is not exceptional. Departure will be essential as often happens, then we'll see how the race develops. In 2015 I was faster, so tomorrow it will be harder ”.

Beyond what will happen tomorrow you can already to take stock of the season of Rossi and Yamaha, and Valentino tells what he thinks with sincerity.

"Personally it was a difficult season and below expectations: we had a hard time, the situation improved but I was unable to replicate the podiums at the start of the season. For Yamaha it was an important season, as this year the work has improved and can be optimistic for the future, having raised the level of the bike ".

Changing the topic another theme is that of the calendar, primarily due to the low temperatures that are partly disturbing the Valencia weekend.

"It's not a great idea to come to Valencia in mid-November, but those who organize the championship have an interest in closing the season in Spain. It is true that in the past we have found higher temperatures, but in recent years we have clashed with winter. Another sin is to go to Phillip Island in winter, given the place and the track, we talked about it for many years but nothing could be done ".

Another connected point is that of the continuous addition of races, on which Rossi jokes. "For me, the line that is now being followed is the American one, that is to say 43 races or matches in a season but shortening the weekend, starting for example from Saturday. Now every weekend is a long journey, so it may be an idea to make the weekend shorter, maybe two days. "

Audio collected by Paolo Scalera