Rossi (5th) and Yamaha in full Tour-Mans at the French GP…
The place of first Yamaha rider returns once again to Valentino Rossi at the arrival of the 2019 French Motorcycle Grand Prix, without however completely delighting him: the Doctor is worried about the lack of acceleration and top speed of his M1 face to the three Ducatis that precede it. Debriefing and analysis of the Japanese manufacturer’s situation at the World Championship.
Valentino Rossi, Yamaha-Monster (5th in qualifying and 5th in race) : "I was hoping to be able to get on the podium today, but it was not possible. It was still a positive weekend, better than in Jerez anyway. We started the race well, the pace was good and I finished very close to our main rivals ".
“Unfortunately, we were losing time on the acceleration so it was very difficult for me to stay in the lead. They were very quick out of the corners, faster than me. The positive side is that we have worked well this weekend and the bike was fast ".
- GP of France:
- GP of France :
- French GP Qualifying :
- MNC special file :
"In the sections where you really have to go hard, I was good. I was hoping to overtake Miller at the end because I felt good, but I would have needed a little more speed. Now we’ll see if we can. be a little more competitive at Mugello ".
Site analysis : The Le Mans circuit (72) is historically favorable to Yamaha MotoGP, despite its succession of strong acceleration which is not particularly to the advantage of M1s. What gives hope for a good result for the Japanese manufacturer, so far kept at bay…
The results are unfortunately far from expectations at the end of the French motorcycle GP, since Viñales ends up on the ground while Rossi fails in 5th place without ever having been able to fight for the podium. Certainly, Quartararo put on the show during, but he finished 8th behind his teammate Morbidelli 8.4 seconds behind the winner.
No Yamaha ends up on the podium: a first at Le Mans since 2011 and the Stoner and Dovizioso double on the Honda-HRCs ahead of Valentino Rossi, at the time spent at Ducati! In the meantime, at least one Yam ‘rider has tasted champagne there: Rossi last year (3rd), Viñales in 2017 (1st), Lorenzo and Rossi in 2015 (1st and 2nd), Rossi in 2014 (2nd), Cruchlow in 2013 (2nd on the M1-Tech3) and Lorenzo in 2012 (1st ahead of Rossi, this year also on Ducati!).
The reasons for Yamaha’s absence on the podium are multiple: without his bad start and his mistake at the start of the race, Fabio Quartararo certainly had the pace to finish in front, while Maverick Viñales was again the victim of the mistake. ‘a pilot behind him (Bagnaia this time, after Morbidelli in Argentina).
The performance of Valentino Rossi, spared by these racing events, is therefore the only one truly revealing the level of the Yamaha this weekend. However, the resulting observation is not encouraging: the nine-time world champion was clearly dominated by the Ducatis of Dovizioso, Petrucci and Miller….
10.8 km / h difference on the Ducati of Dovizioso !
The inferiority of the M1 was expressed mainly at the exit of the curve, where the M1 conceded several lengths to the overpowered GP19. With the consequence of a lower top speed: Rossi reached "only" 300.1 km / h in the race, while Dovizioso panicked the radar at 310.9 km / h. That is 10.8 km / h in the view of n ° 46, which also ends up only three seconds ahead of the !
Miller and Petrucci were not to be outdone with respectively 308.1 and 307.1 km / h, again around ten km / h to their advantage. Rossi therefore had to bridge the gap generated with each restart when braking and / or on a curve: not so simple insofar as the Ducatis are now much better balanced..
The critical aspect at this point is that the MotoGP engines are sealed: Yamaha cannot correct the situation when it comes to raw power. The only ways of improvement concern electronics and aerodynamics: the famous ailerons, for example, have a positive influence on stability, but nibble precious km / h at maximum speed. A story of compromise, as often in motorcycle racing…
Another avenue to explore concerns Valentino Rossi himself, since he is again the author of the worst top speed of the four Yamaha – which he regularly deplores! The gap with his teammates is not extremely large, but still: Quartararo climbed to 304 km / h, Morbidelli to 301.9 km / h and Viñales to 301.4 km / h.
Revenge at Mugello ?
But this difference is mainly due to the size and not to the driving: Rossi measures 1.81 m against 1.71 m for Viñales, 1.77 m for Quartararo and 1.76 m for Morbidelli. However, these 10 centimeters – and the few kilos – which separate him from his box neighbor impact the aerodynamics of his motorcycle, and therefore his Vmax: in the dab position below, Viñales is still far from touching the seat shell while the Doctor is closer !
Note that Marc Marquez for his part reached "only" 301.3 km / h, a speed barely higher than Rossi. And yet, his Honda stood up to the Ducatis on re-acceleration and in the straight line! How then to explain its "low" maximum speed ?
Simple: the winner of the 2019 French Motorcycle GP spent a large part of the race alone in the lead, so without being able to benefit from the aspiration! This phenomenon will also be very significant in 15 days in Mugello (Italy) where Dovizioso had reached 356.5 km / h (chrono) … against 312 km / h (counter) for MNC on the Aprilia !
This home race for Valentino Rossi will be tackled in 4th place in the provisional standings behind Marquez, Dovizioso and Rins. The n ° 46, author of two podiums in five races (2nd in Argentina and Texas), is already 23 points behind the leader (72 against 95)…
Will the Italian star be able to reverse the trend on this circuit where she has seven straight wins (2002 to 2008)? Nothing is less certain with regard to the current domination of the official Honda, the excellent form of the Ducatis and the probable revenge spirit of Alex Rins, anonymous 10th in France on the Suzuki … very close on MNC: stay connected !
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