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176 postsValentino Rossi is a professional motorbike racer, born in Urbino, Italy in 1979. He has won the World Championship nine times.
In the eight lap of the Italian GP at Mugello, Rossi retires with engine trouble. Jorge Lorenzo wins the race, just ahead of Marc Marquez.
I was unlucky. It hurts so much because I was very fast and in the race I felt good.
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.
Following tradition, Rossi wears a new helmet design for the Italian GP.
Due to wet conditions Rossi completes a series of practice starts at pit exit, but does not set a time in the morning session. He comes sixth in afternoon practice, 0.644 seconds behind Ducati’s Andrea Iannone, but within two tenths of team-mate Jorge Lorenzo.
Unfortunately this morning we had wet conditions and for going on the track it was quite useless because it was half and half, so not enough for the wet tyres but too damp for the slicks. For the afternoon, we had quite good conditions but it was quite cold and the track didn’t provide fantastic grip after yesterday’s rain. But at the end of practice it was not so bad…But at the same time the first 10 people are very close so for tomorrow we need to try and improve, especially in the second part of the track where I am not very fast…We need to improve and improve the feeling. I don’t have enough rear grip and I have to wait too long to open the throttle and especially with the exit from the last corner, I lose too much. It’s very, very important if I want a chance to fight at the top [in the race], I need to start in the top five. First row is more important, for sure. But also top five is OK.
MotoGP organisers have arranged a bodyguard each for Jorge Lorenzo and Marc Marquez for this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix in order to minimise the chance of an incident with Valentino Rossi’s fans. A third security specialist has been assigned to Alex Marquez, Marc’s brother. Whe Rossi is asked if he would make some kind of appeal to try to calm any fan that might want to harm Lorenzo or Marquez.
I didn’t do it, but my fan club did it, which is as if I have said it.
MotoGP spokesperson:
We have asked the German company that provides us with security personnel for access to two more employees. Lorenzo and Marquez will also both have a bodyguard who will be prepared and will have a green light to act if the situation requires it.
Rossi meets MOTBOT, Yamaha’s robotic driver. The team says that the R1 itself is unmodified, and use various sensors to detect its surroundings. The team says it will challenge Rossi on the track in 2017. Rossi signs MOTOBOT’s helmet and runs some laps for data.
How about I help you guys out by doing some laps. I think the data might help you with your work…Hey MOTOBOT! It is better you watch carefully. Maybe take some notes.
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.
Rossi says everything is in place to enable him to win the Italian GP. He set a record of seven back-to-back premier class wins at Mugello from 2002 to 2008 and heads into his home race in strong form following a runner-up finish at Le Mans.
I love Mugello and its atmosphere. It’s very difficult for me to keep my concentration here because there are always so many of my friends and fans around, but the Mugello race is also special for me for that reason. I’ve had some victories here, many great battles and a lot of good memories. I think this year we can be competitive because our bike is good and I’m getting into a good shape. At the Le Mans GP we arrived late at achieving the right set up for the race, at Mugello we will not make this mistake again. I’m relaxed and now I’m ready to try to attain the maximum level of concentration.
Milestone releases the Monza Rally trailer for Valentino Rossi: The Game. Rally mode will allow players to race as a VR46 Academy Rider, a custom rider or as Rossi himself. Nine stages include: Autodrome 1, Monza 1 and 2, Ascari 1 and 2, Grand Prix 1 and 2, the Maxi Grand Prix and the Monza Masters’ Show.
Caladora talks about how he came to help Rossi;
I didn’t know him well. One day we met in Misano with the R1. He invited me to the Ranch at Tavullia. Then he asked me to follow him to the Phillip Island test. He asked me if I would be his ‘Boris Becker’ (former number 1 professional tennis player who has helped many current players). I told him that the money was not important, the passion yes. And I told him that the job had to be serious, or it wasn’t worth even to start.
On his style:
I don’t give any advice, I don’t allow myself to say, ‘Do this or do that.’ I think about what I have seen and then speak. Then Valentino decides to use those words as he sees fit. I go around the circuit with my scooter and study the track; I observe. I try to ‘feel’ the circuit and watch how Valentino and the other riders interact with the track. And afterwards, by studying the times, perhaps he can discern whether it is better to use this or that line. It’s not a very technical operation, there is not a hard rule or anything like that. Each time is different. It’s a little ‘artistic’ work, so to speak. And it’s good that way. What is really important is that Valentino and I do stay tuned. Today’s bikes and riders are at the very limit. The difference is one-tenth of a second per lap or less. You win by covering all the details.
On Rossi’s riding style:
He is a Frankenstein rider. As focused as Eddie Lawson, as whimsical as Kevin Schwantz; able to improvise like Wayne Rainey, while being as combative as Mick Doohan. All this with the enthusiasm and the desire of a teenager to improve…I expected to find another type of person. He is a simple, modest, likeable, straightforward guy.
Starting from seventh place on the grid, Rossi overtakes Marc Marquez and Andrea Dovizioso to place second in the French GP, ten seconds behind team mate Jorge Lorenzo. Maverick Vinales is third. Rossi (78pts) is 12 points behind Lorenzo (90pts) who leads the standings and 7 points behind Marquez.
I started quite badly from the third row so at the beginning it was very complicated. I had a quite good pace so I was able to push and I was quite fast, but you have to stay quiet because it was very easy to make some mistakes. Step by step I arrived to the back of Marquez and Dovi and at that moment I was a bit faster. I‘m so happy, because when you start from seventh position and you take twenty points it‘s very good, also because they are twenty very important points. In the championship I‘m twelve points behind Jorge and seven behind Marc. This means that between us three the championship is wide open and we have to concentrate. I‘m just third at this moment, so I have to think race by race and especially think of Mugello and try to be competitive there.
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.
Monster Energy releases the first of five episodes in its Valentino Rossi: The Doctor Series videos. This episode features insights from Colin Edwards, Rossi, and people from Rossi’s hometown of Tavullia. The video includes clips from throughout Rossi’s career, including some early 125cc Grand Prix action as well as from some of his post-victory celebrations.
Rossi says he would be happy with either Dani Pedrosa or Maverick Vinales as his Yamaha teammate.
I think that for the second rider, [Yamaha title sponsor] Movistar wants a Spanish rider and Vinales or Pedrosa are the most possible [options]. I don’t know the percentage, one more than the other, you have to speak with Yamaha. But for me, it’s the same. [They are] two very different riders; Pedrosa very, very strong, very fast, already demonstrated his great potential, but a little bit older. Vinales, a great talent, already demonstrated but in MotoGP not a lot of experience. But a lot younger, so it’s a little bit different. For me, essentially, it’s no difference. I have a great relationship with Pedrosa and with Vinales.
Rossi says he wants to beat Lorenzo at Le Mans.
In 2015 I think I ran a positive race. but I wasn’t able to beat Lorenzo. But I’ll try to do it this time. We’ll need to start the weekend as we did at Jerez. Right from Friday we were able to make a good step in order to be competitive. So we must also do our best at Le Mans.
Rossi says he will repeat the strong set-up found at Jerez, while reacting to the notoriously unpredictable weather.
Le Mans is a track where the YZR-M1 usually goes very well. The negative thing about Le Mans is the weather, it is always very uncertain. It can rain, it is often cold and so there are many factors that you must be careful of. Last year I had a good race but I was not able to beat Jorge, I’ll try again this year. First we will start the weekend in the same way as we did in Jerez. There we found a good set-up on Friday and this has helped us to be competitive in the race. We will do our best also in Le Mans.
Yamaha’s Jarvis says Lorenzo will receive the same treatment as Rossi, other than when it starts working on its 2017 MotoGP bike.
For the rest of the season, our mission is the same as his mission. There couldn’t be a better way to conclude this period of Jorge with us going out as champions. We will give our maximum amounts of equal support to Valentino and continue to provide him with development parts throughout the year. Of course if we get to a moment, for instance maybe like [testing after August’s race at] Brno, where we will bring the prototype of the 2017 bike, that’s a different story…It’s only when it gets to being truly something that we will not use this year, then obviously we will restrict the information on that.
Jarvis also says the relationship between Rossi and Lorenzo changed after the Sepang clash with Marquez.
Prior to Sepang, we’d had Jorge and Vale back together for three-and-a-half seasons. Honestly the relationship had been going very well. Of course, they always remained competitors of each other but the team co-existed and we interacted very well and very freely with each other. After Sepang that changed, this is an absolute fact.
Hamilton says that he wants to end his career as successfully as Rossi:
Valentino is towards one of the older riders now, but he still has the ability to be at the top. He still has the ability to do so, and so I hope that I am in the similar position towards the end of my career.
On retirement:
I do. Generally when I think about it, I have this three-year contract. I am hoping that I have another three or four years after that. However, he is well aware of how hard it is to pick the right moment to walk away – and says that more success in the future would only likely encourage him to stay rather than provide the perfect opportunity to quit at the top. We all are greedy, we always want more. You know that you have just won the championship, you still feel healthy, you still feel fit. Plus you know that next year is going to be the same year, it is just going to be good.
Rossi returns to Jerez for testing. He is the last of the 19 riders to take to the track, but goes on to complete 52 laps – almost double race distance. Rossi spends the time trying the new Michelin front tyres with the rear fuel tank concept also making a return. However, both Rossi and team-mate Jorge Lorenzo prefer the conventional version.
We tried the bike more in the 2016 version with a different fuel tank. I felt better with the standard fuel tank so I think we’ll continue with the normal one. We didn’t have a lot of things to test today, just some small details. [Apart from the fuel tank] we tried three different front tyres, and we found something good; that was the most important thing.
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.
