Rossi against ‘risky’ Yamaha changes

Valentino Rossi believes his Movistar Yamaha team is following its best development plan to solve its acceleration issues and is against any radical set-up swings in the hope of finding quicker fixes.

Both Rossi and team-mate Maverick Vinales have been plagued with acceleration issue centralised to its electronics package and power delivery working with the Michelin tyres with complaints stretching back to almost a year.

Valentino Rossi
Valentino Rossi
© Gold and Goose

Valentino Rossi believes his Movistar Yamaha team is following its best development plan to solve its acceleration issues and is against any radical set-up swings in the hope of finding quicker fixes.

Both Rossi and team-mate Maverick Vinales have been plagued with acceleration issue centralised to its electronics package and power delivery working with the Michelin tyres with complaints stretching back to almost a year.

Rossi played down the improvements trialled at the Brno test on Monday, having warned of a delay in any upgrades from Yamaha before the race weekend, and concedes he will have to continue to wait for the breakthrough he’s after from the Japanese manufacturer.

Despite his frustrations, Rossi doesn’t feel any extreme measures need to be taken and is certain sticking to its current set-up plan will act as a better solution with the YZR-M1.

“During this year I think we’ve worked well with my team and have arrived on Sunday always quite competitive,” Rossi said. “I think a lot of times we did the maximum.

“If we tried something very risky, about the setting of the bike we can do nothing. Nothing that is better than this.

“You can try something like a soft tyre like this but I am sure that you can do 10 laps in front but after that you will arrive less than fourth. So I think this is not the best way. I think we need to be more competitive and do our job in the same way as now.”

Rossi is also uncertain on when any significant updates will arrive from Yamaha, with the biggest update on show being a new fairing used at the Brno test, as his wait for improvements continues heading into the Austria MotoGP race weekend.

“I don’t know a lot more than you,” he said. “For me our problem is very clear but it is a long time that we’ve said it.

“It is not easy but it is important that Yamaha works and in the test on Monday in Brno we tested something. We need time but we hope to improve our performance before the end of the season.”

Rossi remains second in the MotoGP world championship but saw Marc Marquez open up a 49-point advantage at the top while Andrea Dovizioso moved up to third place with victory in Brno to cut the deficit to the Yamaha rider to 19 points.

The Movistar Yamaha rider is bracing for a tricky weekend at the Red Bull Ring with the circuit not suiting his bike having finished fourth in 2016 and seventh in 2017.

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