We can really talk about the fifth sporting life for the phenomenon of Tavullia Valentino Rossi, which today on the circuit of Losail, in Qatar, carried out the first official tests riding the Yamaha Petronas M1. Fifth life which could be perhaps the most exciting as it will most likely be the last, sporting speaking.
After the first “life” as a reckless in Honda, where Stravinto, indeed, won everything, here is the experience Yamaha in 2004, where he left the super favorite house to take up the intriguing challenge of Iwata, challenge won in the face of all. Then “The DoctorHe tried to exaggerate, going in Ducati and attempting an Italian rider-bike combo which unfortunately did not lead to “almost” no results. And here is the return in Yamaha, where he returns to compete with the best and is really close to winning the title in 2015 Global, snatched at the end by the companion of Box Jorge Lorenzo.
And here we are today, the one in which Vale takes to the track with the 20-year-olds sweating, working and grinding kilometers on his now inseparable M1. In its 26th (TWENTY-SIXTH) season in MotoGP (22 in top class), Vale collects 54 laps in about 7 hours of Day-1 of official tests. Work not of Time-attack but in step that of Rossi, which as regards the placements of the day alone concludes 14th with an absolute performance of 1’55 “584, with 897 thousandths of a delay fromAprilia of Aleix Espargarò and four tenths from the new box mate Franco Morbidelli, 7° in 1’55″174.
Very little indicative times but the data collected will be invaluable in view of the first race of the season, which will be staged from 26 to 28 March precisely in Losail, in Qatar, and in which Rossi he will immediately try to prove what he’s made of, even without an official bike in his hands.
The real unknown of the season will be, as always for Rossi, the performance on the flying lap, which especially in qualifying has penalized him a lot in recent years, often forcing him to start from the rear and therefore making the race, right from the start, much more complicated.
At the end of the tests, the centaur 9 times World Champion made some statements to “Sky Sport”:
“I’m happy: I like the bike, the helmet and how I feel on the bike. It is the beginning of a new adventure, I was very excited before hitting the track. Not a fantastic result, but the day was quite positive, we worked well. Announcements? There are fewer people around the bike, fewer Japanese engineers, fewer questions about development, the atmosphere is more relaxed, it feels good ”.
OMNISPORT | 07-03-2021 00:12
