Austrian GP: Second place on grid
Rossi takes second place on the Austrian GP grid, 0.147s behind Andrea Iannone, and ahead of Andrea Dovizioso and Jorge Lorenzo.
I’m very happy to start on the front row and also because I was able to split the two Ducatis. It’s important to start from the front row, but now we have to wait for tomorrow – the conditions, the temperature and especially the tyre choice will be very important, because it’s open, especially for the rear, soft or hard. We have to put one eye on the front, I hope, to try to stay with [the Ducatis], but also one eye on the second row, because on the second row we have Lorenzo, Marquez and Vinales, all three have the pace to fight for the victory. The strongest six riders of the season are all in the first two rows, so it can be a good battle.
FP3 crash
Marquez crashes in FP3 for the Austrian GP. He dislocates his shoulder and is taken to hospital by helicopter.
A huge crash for @marcmarquez93 in FP3 leaves the #MotoGP championship leader holding his collarbone… #AustrianGP https://t.co/ZshwsNvlVX
— MotoGP on BT Sport (@btsportmotogp) August 13, 2016
Austria MotoGP Test
Rossi improves from ninth to fifth on the final day of MotoGP testing at the Red Bull Ring, in Austria. The race will take place August 12-14.
I raced here in ’96-’97 – a lifetime ago! – but the track was the same and it’s a great feeling [to be back]…It is a particular type of track. Very, very fast and you stay a lot of time at full throttle. There are just nine corners but sincerely speaking I like the track and it’s good to ride. But unfortunately on the performance side it is not our track, because usually we suffer a bit with top speed and in the straight we lose quite a lot. We were able to improve the lap times and our position today and we’re a little bit closer to the top guys. But it will be a very difficult race, especially with some of our factory rivals; they are faster than us.
Wins German GP
Marquez wins the German GP, with a 20 second lead over Cal Crutchlow in second place. After a poor start, Marquez settles in 7th place. As the track dries out, on Lap 17 he is the first rider to change types to slicks, giving him the advantage over the rest of the field, who delay changing tyres until closer to the end of the race.
At a certain point today, I thought my run at this circuit was going to come to an end. But in the end we succeeded and earned a very good result, especially considering how Valentino and Jorge finished the race. It’s always very difficult to decide when to change bikes, and perhaps we made our switch very early…but I decided to take a chance and it went well.
German GP: Pole position
Marquez takes pole position on the grid for the German GP, leading Hector Barbera and Valentino Rossi.
I’m happy to have set the fastest time today, because we’re better here than at other circuits. I have a fairly good pace and am riding comfortably. We’ll see what happens tomorrow, because the weather forecast is for conditions to be quite unstable. In any case, we’ll try to finish on the podium, which is our goal. It seems that Valentino [Rossi] is very strong, and we’ll also have to keep Dani [Pedrosa] in mind; I don’t know what happened to him in qualifying, but his pace is very close to ours and he’s very strong here.
Third place on grid
Rossi takes third place on the grid for the German GP, behind Marc Marquez in pole and Hector Barbera in second place.
I’m very lucky to remain in the front row because unfortunately I wasn’t able to improve with the second tyre because I was stuck in traffic. Usually one or two people improve with the second tyre and you finish [the session] seventh. But fortunately I was able to stay on the front row, it’s a good place to start the race.
‘All the Yamahas are struggling’
Rossi begins the German MotoGP weekend in 14th place after Friday practice. Unexpectedly cold conditions seemed to hit all of the Yamaha riders, with his team-mate Jorge Lorenzo down in 16th after being one of five riders to fall at Turn 11. Rossi:
It was a difficult day because the weather was very bad. This made everything more difficult, and also more dangerous, because also the soft option for the front [tyre] is a bit too hard for this temperature. This morning, I had a quite good feeling, but after it started to rain. In the afternoon, we tried something different and also I have to work only with used tyres, rear and front. But anyway, our potential is nothing special. Looks like today, all the Yamahas are struggling with the front. We don’t have enough feeling with the front, especially on the right, especially at Turn 11, but also on the other right corners. At the end, I wasn’t able to make a lap pushing at 100%. So I am in a bad position…This track is a particular track because it’s very tight, especially the first part and it is the only place where you stay 25 seconds on the left. And sincerely, it is physically very demanding, because staying for a long time on the left is difficult. Also the track is short and you have to do 30 laps in the race. But for me Assen, or other big and fast tracks, are more difficult. In the end, this track is not so bad, the bigger problem is it goes left, left, left… and then right. So every lap we arrive [at turn 11] is very scary. Apart from that, the rest is good, I like the track.
GoPro sponsorship
GoPro announces that it will sponsor Rossi. Fans will be able to witness never-before-seen content of Vale’s life outside of MotoGP. Rossi will don the GoPro logo for the first time at the GoPro Grand Prix of Deutschland. GoPro:
It’s an honor to welcome Valentino to the GoPro family. He is a racing icon and we are very excited to help him share more of his world to both the GoPro audience and his adoring fans.
Rossi:
I am excited to partner with GoPro, not only because of the strength of their brand, but also because it will help me capture all of the things I love to do both on and off the track.
Master Camp Day 3: Dirt track racing
After two days cardio and strength training, the Master Camp youth rider race on The Ranch’s flat track/ Rossi:
We are only at the halfway point of the first Yamaha VR46 Master Camp and already I see the guys are very happy. They are having fun and are interested in whatever is being taught to them and this allows them to learn everything very quickly. They are doing different exercises to gain experience during this Master Camp…They are really good with the flat track bikes and they go very fast! I did several laps with them and I like how they ride! They also had a race and I enjoyed watching them on track, fighting for the glory to be the champions of the first Master Camp race at the Motor Ranch.
Crashes out of Dutch GP
Rossi crashes out from his lead in the second lap of the restarted Dutch GP. Despite trying to restart the bike, he cannot re-enter the race.
I was a dunce, maybe even something worse … but I think that word will do. It’s a real pity. I had a good chance of bringing home some heavy points. On the dry I had a good pace, but I was doing well even in the wet. I had gotten off to a good start. I could have won. In the second lap I had widened the gap a bit and I wanted to keep pushing for another lap, but instead I made a rookie mistake. With the soft tyre I was able to be fast from turn 9 and I arrived at the braking point on turn 10 4 or 5 kph too fast. It’s one of the worst mistakes of my career, because the one in Austin could be expected after a lot of races. This one, on the other hand, is a rookie mistake. It’s disappointing to make a mistake when you have a chance of winning, when you’re up front with a gap, because it would have been enough just to be a bit more careful, to go a bit slower.
On the restart:
The bike switched off. It has a safety system to prevent the engine from being ruined. Then the race marshals didn’t help me, but I was in a bit of a dangerous spot and they were right. In any case, it wouldn’t have changed much. I would have finished with very few points.
Second place on grid
Rossi takes second place on the grid in Assen, trailing Dovizioso by half a second. Scott Redding is third.
I stopped at the pit box four minutes before the end of the session, because my rear tyre was already getting too hot, because there were some places of the track that were starting to dry. For me it was too early to change to the intermediate tyre because three or four corners were still completely wet, so we put in another rain tyre and it was the right choice. It’s a shame for me that I’m not in pole position, but above all I’m happy for the second place and starting from the first line tomorrow.
Assen: Friday Practice
Marquez places third in Friday Free Practice at Assen, for the Netherlands GP.
The 2014 chassis is the one that last year I came back to in this race and still I’m using this one. It gives me a lot of confidence with the front tyre. Confidence and warning, which is important. For example, when I tried the new chassis in Montmelo [test] it was in some parts better, but in other parts – like corner entry – it was worse. So we are trying to find the best compromise to adjust the back of the new chassis to this 2014 chassis, because I think it can be a good solution.
Assen: Friday Free Practice
Rossi comes second in Friday’s second Free Practice session in Assen, Netherlands, behind Andrea Iannone, and in front of Marc Marquez. Rossi tested two versions of his M1 bike. In the earlier practice session he had come seventh.
It was a good day and I’m quite satisfied. This morning I had a small problem but in the afternoon we improved the setting of the bike and we improved my speed. In the end Iannone just beat me by 0.004s, but I’m in second place so I’m quite happy. We compared the chassis we have tried during the Barcelona test another time. The difference is not so big but in the end I prefer my standard frame.
Bulls trade Rose
In a multiplayer deal, the Bulls trade point guard Rose, to the Knicks. Bulls chairman Reinsdorf:
Knowing Derrick as I do makes this trade a hard one. Everyone knows him as the local kid who became MVP for his hometown team, but not everyone got to know him like I did. While he is a terrific basketball player, he is an even better person with a tremendous heart. I wish him the best of health for the remainder of his career, and I want to personally thank him for everything that he did on the court and in the community during his time with the Chicago Bulls.
Yamaha sends five riders to VR46 Academy
Yamaha Racing sends five riders to train with Rossi, at his VR46 Academy, in Tavullia from July 4th – 8th. The first intake of riders, for ‘The Master Camp’, will be: Peerapong Loiboonpeng (21, Thailand), Galang Hendra Pratama (17, Indonesia), Soichiro Minamimoto (16, Japan), Kasma Daniel Bin Kasmayudin (16, Malaysia) and Imanuel Putra Pratna (19, Indonesia). The five were chosen based on their current AP250 class points standings, age and other factors. The riders will learn dirt track riding at Rossi’s Motor Ranch, plus track riding at the nearby Misano circuit. Rossi:
Only a few months ago the partnership between Yamaha and VR46 began and it brought the guys of the Academy some fantastic bikes for their training, on track and at the Ranch. This was already a great step towards helping young talent, but today I am even happier when thinking about the start of the first edition of ‘The Master Camp’, which is only a few weeks away…They will spend an entire week with us, train with us, following the same programme every day, on track and at the gym. It won’t be easy for them, but I’m sure we’ll have fun! It will be a beautiful and busy week!
Wins Catalunya GP
Rossi wins the Catalunya GP. With 20 laps to go, Rossi moves from fifth place on the grid to take the lead. Marquez takes the lead with five laps to go, but Rossi comes back in the second last lap, to win.
It’s a great, great victory. One of the best my career. And it was for [Luis] Salom.
Leads warm up
Rossi leads the warm up at Catalunya, with a time of 1’45.318. He is followed by Marc Marquez and Jorge Lorenzo.
Takes Catalunya pole
Marquez takes pole position in the Catalunya GP. He is followed on the grid by Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa.
Fifth on grid
Rossi will start the Catalunya GP in fifth place on the grid, 0.735s behind Marc Marquez in pole. Jorge Lorenzo, Dani Pedrosa and Hector Barbera follow.
A difficult day today. Yesterday was not so bad. Usually our bike is very competitive on this track, but with the modifying of the layout we suffered a lot – more than what we expected. The bigger problem for us is the medium tyre gives us quite good pace, like the other guys, but after seven or eight laps the tyre is very damaged and the tyre gives up. The hard tyre can resist for all the race, but unfortunately it’s very tough to ride and it’s impossible to go fast. We are a 1.5 seconds minimum slower.
Friday Free practice: 3rd, 6th places
Rossi comes third in Catalunya GP Friday Free Practice, behind Maverick Vinales and Jorge Lorenzo. In the afternoon session, Rossi comes sixth, 0.471 behind Lorenzo.