German GP – Rossi (2nd): "I had a fantastic race!"

The official Yamaha team did not hesitate to use the settings defined last year by Jonas Folger to tackle the 2018 German GP. Good luck for Rossi and Viñales, who scored twice behind the untouchable Marquez! Debriefing.

Valentino Rossi – Yamaha Factory (6th in qualifying and 2nd in race) : "The Sachsenring is always complicated for the M1 and today we manage to make a double podium, so I am very satisfied for the team".

• German GP:
• German GP :
• German GP – 
• MNC of July 12, 2018 :
  

"I’m very happy because I had a fantastic race, without making the slightest mistake. Last week, I reviewed last year’s race and seeing the performance of Folger (on the Yamaha Tech3, Editor’s note) , I told myself that we had to do the same thing as him! In the end, I get the same result: it’s perfect before going on vacation! "

MNC analysis:  Valentino Rossi expected to suffer on the Sachsenring circuit, a short and narrow course on which Yamaha has not won since 2009. At the time, it was – already! – the Doctor who had signed this success with the M1, before winning his ninth world title at the end of the season. His last coronation to date…

At first, his fears were confirmed: lacking in traction, the Italian finished the first day of testing in an anonymous 17th position… Hard. Same story for Johann Zarco, who now experiences the same grip concerns on his M1 "2016/2017".

But while the French did not manage to correct the situation on Saturday, Rossi for his part succeeded in improving his M1 enough to take the sixth fastest time in qualifying, just 0.262 sec behind pole-sitter Marc Marquez! Instant return of the smile in the box of n ° 46, aware of having now a card to play for the race !

This card, the nine-time world champion used it to perfection: started well as soon as the lights were out, Rossi then got undone under braking – and with the manner – of the Ducatis of Petrucci and Lorenzo to go to the hunting on Marquez. The only pilot able to keep pace with the leader, the Doctor was pressing enough to force the Spaniard to put on a layer..

"When the gap narrowed to 0.6s, I pushed again to take cover", who intelligently controlled his lead and speed advantage on the German track to secure his 9th victory in a row.

Still, Valentino Rossi was the only one to really challenge the title holder’s supremacy at the Sachsenring, which the transalpine driver rightly considers a small victory! Once again the first Yamaha rider on arrival, the Doc ‘nevertheless has the honesty to give part of his laurels to Jonas Folger, from whom he took over the base of adjustments.. 

Rossi and Viñales have indeed collected data from the former Tech3 rider, who delivered his best MotoGP race last year, following Marquez to the finish. The official Yamaha riders cleverly drew inspiration from its tuning base to develop their M1. With success, as their double underlines !

Valentino Rossi signs his best result of the 2018 season at the Sachsenring with this second place, after having climbed the third step of the podium four times (in Qatar, France, Italy and Catalonia). This consistency consolidates his second place in the provisional, with 46 points (!) Behind Marquez and ten lengths ahead of Viñales.

Yamaha out of victory for over a year ! 

This flattering record for the 39-year-old Yamaha official should not, however, mask the inability of the Yamaha riders to regain success: Rossi has not won since the 2017 Dutch GP while his last victory. team-mate Viñales – below barely visible in the fight for 6th place with Bautista – dates back to May 2017 at Le Mans…

Another worrying finding for Iwata’s coat of arms: Rossi remains his best representative, while his young box neighbor (22 years old) is supposed to embody the future of Yamaha … The finding is clear after nine races contested: despite his white result in Argentina, the Italian finished ahead of the Spanish six times (Qatar, Jerez, Le Mans, Mugello, Barcelona and Sachsenring)…

The native of Tavullia also has five podiums against three for Maverick Viñales (Austin, Assen and Sachsenring). At the time of the traditional mid-season reviews, the account is clearly not there for the n ° 25, supposed to play the title against Marc Marquez !

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