Japanese GP – Rossi (crash and retirement): "I had no grip"

The hopes of a 2017 MotoGP World Champion title are officially over for Valentino Rossi, who was forced to retire following a high side during the Japanese Grand Prix. The Yamaha official got up without further injury to his fractured leg, but his head full of questions about the traction issues of his official M1. MNC Statements and Analysis.

Valentino Rossi, Yamaha-Movistar (12th in qualifying and retirement after a crash in the race): “I was behind Aleix (Espargaro, Editor’s note) and I tried to keep contact. But on the left side, the situation was critical, I had no grip and the rear gave way without warning. was a big fall. I’m lucky in the end because I didn’t hurt myself too much ".

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• Japanese GP : 
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• Japanese GP – 

Site analysis: Sad record for the Yamaha clan at home … Johann Zarco, qualified in pole position, finished with difficulty in 8th place in front of an annoyed Maverick Viñales, while Valentino Rossi flew away from the eighth lap, trapped by the lack of traction whose complained the official drivers of the brand in tuning forks all weekend.

• Japanese GP – 
•  MNC exclusive file – 

On the left side, "it was like riding on ice," laments the Doctor, fortunately recovered without further damage to his recently fractured leg in his fall, the second to occur at Motegi after a slip during free practice 4. " I didn’t see anything coming ", he explains on his return to the box at the back of a scooter, very concerned about this rear grip problem on the M1..

The nine-time world champion claims to have tried everything this weekend to reverse this trend, even if it means sometimes making daring technical choices such as using slicks on a wet track during qualifying. Badly rewarded by his poker move, Rossi finished the QP2 in the last position (12th), while Johann Zarco took pole on the M1 2016 !

What definitely convince Yamaha to return to the previous vintage and abandon a visibly ill-born 2017 M1? Not sure: the n ° 46 emphasizes that Zarco also encountered strong traction problems in the race, which resulted in the French crashing down to 8th place. In the opinion of the nine-time world champion, this rout can only be explained by one factor: the tires… 

According to Rossi, Michelin rear tires are not suitable for the M1, especially on a wet track, regardless of the vintage of the bike. Note that Pedrosa was also the victim of a tire problem, even causing the withdrawal of the HRC rider due to a completely degraded tread. But the HRC rider had made the risky choice to start with an extra-soft tire (like), when the majority of the field opted for the "soft". 

Lucid, Rossi also explains that these problems are amplified by another phenomenon: Honda and Ducati have continued to progress since the start of the season – more precisely after the summer break for Honda – while Yamaha is treading water … that the last victory of an M1 goes to n ° 46 with its success in the wet track and that Viñales has not won since in May. In other words, the Yamaha have not won anything since mid-season !

This long period of no progress can also be explained by the divergent opinions communicated to Yamaha by Rossi and Viñales: the Spanish, for example, refutes the Italian’s analysis concerning the possibility that their problems are related to the tires. According to him, their concerns are structural and only come from the M1. But how to solve an equation when the main stakeholders add unknowns each on their own? ?!

In the end, Rossi leaves Japan with a sore body – "I have pain all over the place", he confided after the race – and his head filled with doubts and unanswered questions for the moment … The Doctor must also wonder if the opportunity to win a tenth title will present itself again, he who is now officially out of the game for the world crown since he is 76 points behind Marc Marquez and only 75 remain to distribute…

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