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
Friday Free Practice: 5th place
Rossi comes fifth overall after the two sessions of Friday’s Free Practice, 0.334 behind leader Marc Marquez.
The first feeling was not so bad: this morning and also this afternoon I was quite fast, we worked a lot. We have some different options and some different settings and also some different tyre choices on the front and the rear. I‘m not so bad, I‘m fifth but I‘m not so far from pole position. All the top riders are fast so we have a lot to do, a lot of work on the bike, but the first impression is positive. The lean angles changed a lot compared to last year‘s tyres, because last year we were able to lean more, with Michelin a little bit less because it‘s a different shape of tyre. It‘s just a feeling that you have to understand, usually it‘s the bike that tells to you how much you can do, that‘s always the limit. The best riders are able to go close to limit but not too much.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
Vinales joins Yamaha
Vinales will join Yamaha after the 2016 season ends, replacing Jorge Lorenzo. He will become Rossi’s teammate. Andrea Iannone will replace Vinales at Suzuki.
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.
Wins Spanish GP
Rossi dominates the Spanish GP, maintaining his pole position throughout the race, and sets the fastest laps of the race. Rossi uses winglets. He finishes over three seconds faster than teammate Jorge Lorenzo. Marc Marquez comes third.
This was the perfect weekend, because we start to go faster. I had good pace, I had a good start, and I led from the beginning.