Sixth place on grid
Rossi places sixth on the grid for the Czech Republic GP, 0.913s behind Marc Marquez in pole position.
Outstanding lap from @marcmarquez93
All the more impressive considering the final sector #VR46 overtake!😳#CzechGP https://t.co/np7AkCie4t
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) August 20, 2016
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.
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.
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.
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.
Takes Italian GP pole position
For the first time since 2008, Rossi takes pole position in Mugello, with a time of 1’46.750. Yamaha teammate Maverick Viñales comes second, with Andrea Iannone in third. Marc Marquez and Jorge Lorenzo place fourth and fifth.
I‘m very, very happy because it has been a long time since I last had pole here in Mugello, in the last years I was always struggling a lot. From Free Practice this afternoon we made a good step with the bike and I had a good pace. Qualifying is always difficult, but we followed the right strategy in the right moment of qualifying and I am very happy to start from first position, first of all for all the fans, but especially here it‘s so important that I ride in front.
7th on grid
Rossi places seventh on the grid at Le Mans. Rossi’s initial strategy was thwarted when he has to take evasive action to avoid Dani Pedrosa, who had crashed at Turn 4.
We did a wrong strategy and unfortunately I was stuck in the traffic. I lost a lot of time. But at the end, I had another chance to make one good lap and it was not so bad, but I made a mistake in section three and I lost a lot. My potential was to start with the top five. I have to start from the third row, from seventh, so it’s more difficult. The pace is not so bad, but from the third row everything is more difficult, but we can try to make a not so bad race. If we are able to improve two or three points, two tenths per lap, I can be also more competitive.