Rossi: ‘We still need to improve’

Valentino Rossi continues to emphasise that he and Yamaha Factory Racing are still in need of improvements ahead of his home race at Mugello this weekend.

Rossi is yet to win a race since returning to Yamaha at the start of 2013 and is now striving for a marked improvement at the Gran Premio d’Italia TIM.

"I am very happy that we are going to Mugello," the seven-time premier class champion says on Tuesday. "I love the track and I'm really happy to go back there with Yamaha. It is a track I really like and a good result is important.

"Unfortunately, we are still not fast enough so we need to improve, especially in dry conditions. We must work hard and improve the bike. The Mugello race will be difficult, but we will try to do everything to get the best result."

Although the Urbino rider is yet to stand atop the podium since the Malaysian Grand Prix of 2010, he claims a top three result would suffice this weekend.

"A podium would be really nice," he adds, having last finished on the rostrum at the season-opening race in Qatar on 7th April. "I believe that there will be many people at Mugello, so I'm happy, and the heat there is always good!"

Rossi has won at Mugello nine times across the three classes of MotoGP™ - more than any rival, which makes him the most successful rider at the circuit. His last Italian victory came in 2008, two years before a leg-breaking crash at the same venue.

Rossi faster than Lorenzo on Friday

Valentino Rossi was upbeat following the opening day of practice for the Monster Energy Grand Prix de France, although Yamaha Factory Racing teammate Jorge Lorenzo was somewhat less content with his day’s work.

Rossi, who is striving to become the fourth winner in as many races so far this season, ended the day in third place and was just over a tenth of a second off the top time registered by Repsol Honda Team’s Dani Pedrosa. This also marked the first time in the 2013 season that he had finished ahead of teammate Lorenzo.

“I’m very happy with today,” the nine-time world champion told motogp.com. “Right from the morning my speed was good and in the afternoon we were working with the bike. We had two different settings and in the end I decided to follow one way; it’s been modified in order to save the tyres and not lose too much traction under acceleration.

“The modification worked because I did my best lap and the rhythm is quite good; I’m third but very, very close. I hope for a dry race because I think we can be more competitive with the Yamaha in the dry.”

Jorge finished fourth at Le Mans, just 28 thousandths off Rossi who in-turn was only four thousandths in arrears of Honda’s championship-leading Marc Marquez.

“I’m not really, really happy but I’m not disappointed because we are there, very close,” the Mallorcan commented. “We just need to work a lot to find a good way for tomorrow, but if it rains it’s going to be difficult to improve the bike for dry conditions…”

A 70% chance of rain has been predicted for Saturday and showers are also expected to be in the vicinity on race day, as they also were last year.

Ducati Team riders quietly confident for France

Ducati Team returns to Le Mans optimistic for a strong Monster Energy Grand Prix de France. Having tested both in Jerez and Mugello since the Spanish Grand Prix, both Nicky Hayden and Andrea Dovizioso are upbeat ahead of the fourth round.

In 2012, Valentino Rossi took Ducati’s equal best result of the season as he finished second in France. Prior to this year’s race, the Italian squad has been putting much input into its GP13 bike as well as the new GP13 Lab version which was given its race debut last time out in the hands of test rider Michele Pirro.

“The conditions at Le Mans are always tricky - in part because it’s typically raining!” Dovizioso begins. “Still, I think it’s a good track for Ducati and it’s a really good track for me. That being the case, we should go there with confidence and see if we can understand a little bit about where we can improve, although for the moment we still shouldn’t think too much about the result.”

Dovizioso has finished on the Le Mans podium in all three classes of the World Championship (125 and 250 as well as MotoGP™) and won the race in his 125 title-winning season of 2004. Hayden has been less fortunate at the historic venue, with his best finish to date being fourth in the MotoGP race of 2010.

“We’ve had a couple of days off after a very busy week, so I was able to head north and regroup,” explains the American, world title winner of 2006. “Honestly, I’ve struggled at Le Mans, but one of the keys to the track is hard braking which is a strong point of the Desmosedici.

“We’ve seen a lot of spectators at the last couple of races and I imagine that will also be true at Le Mans. My wrist has improved since Jerez and, although it’s still not perfect, I expect to have less pain in France. Hopefully we can have some fun and do a good race.”

Ducati is yet to win a MotoGP™ race since Casey Stoner took victory in the 2010 Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island.

MotoGP Le Mans: Rossi seeking to exploit 'Yamaha track'

Valentino Rossi is aiming to continue his FrenchMotoGP podium form at the Yamaha friendly Le Mans circuit this weekend.

M1 riders have won four of the past five French GPs, while the stop-start circuit has been kind to Rossi personally, with three MotoGP wins and nine podiums.

Le Mans was also the only venue where Rossi claimed podium finishes in both his Ducati appearances.

The Italian, who fought his way to an inspiring second place in the opening Qatar round, has finished sixth (Texas) and fourth (Jerez) in the events since.

“Le Mans is a good track for me, also because in the last two years I was able to arrive on the podium in the dry and also in wet conditions,” said the seven time MotoGP champion. “We hope to do the same and also better with Yamaha because this is a good track for the M1.

“In Le Mans the weather will be very important, because usually the weather is quite bad. It can be cold and wet so we will see. We will have to work well like always and try to understand the weather and the conditions of the track. We will try to do the maximum as always.”

While team-mate Jorge Lorenzo is set to use the newest Yamaha chassis this weekend, after further trials during the post-race Jerez test, Rossi still appears to favour the previous version.

"In Jerez, during the test we collected a lot of good data so we will face this weekend confident that we can do well," said team director Massimo Meregalli. "Le Mans has always been a good track for Yamaha and for this reason we will aim this weekend to achieve maximum results, there is every reason to do so."

Rossi starts round four holding fourth in the world championship, 18 points behind Repsol Honda's Marc Marquez.

Bikes of Lorenzo and Rossi to carry special logos at Le Mans

The logos, to be seen on both of the factory outfit machines, will serve as tributes to Yamaha legend Jean Claude Olivier who lost his life in a road traffic accident earlier this year. Known as ‘JCO’, Olivier worked for Yamaha for 45 years until his retirement in 2010. He competed in the Dakar Rally for the company between 1979 and 1989, finishing second in 1985. He also guided motorcycle racing for Yamaha Motor France when holding the role of President. Also in remembrance of Olivier, a display of images will be erected in the Yamaha team hospitality area this weekend.

On-track, both Lorenzo and Rossi are hoping for more positive weekends after struggling amid the high temperatures of Jerez two weeks previous.

“I am looking forward to racing there,” Lorenzo begins of Le Mans. “I arrive with a lot of motivation after the Jerez results. Perhaps we expected better there but we struggled much more than we expected because of the extreme heat on the track. Fortunately we worked a lot on the test day afterwards to solve little problems. That session helped us to understand what the main problems had been on the Sunday.

“I've always had very good results at Le Mans and it brings me good memories. Last year, in fact, I got a victory in the wet by a great distance over the rest. I rode a perfect race, without making a single mistake and in terrible track conditions. I have won many times in France and think it's a good track for both me and the Yamaha M1.”

In 2012, Rossi may have finished almost ten seconds behind Lorenzo, but notched up his equal best finish of the year while competing for Ducati Team.

“Le Mans is a good track for me, not least because in the last two years I was able to reach the podium in both dry and wet conditions,” says the seven-time premier class world champion. “We hope to do the same and better with Yamaha because this is a good track for the M1.

“In Le Mans the weather will be very important because usually the weather is quite bad; it can be cold and wet, so we will see. We will have to work well, like always, and try to understand the weather and the track conditions. We will try to do the maximum, as always.”

Heading to Round 4, Lorenzo leads the Yamaha attack from third place in the championship which is headed up by Repsol Honda Team’s Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa. Rossi sits fourth and is now hoping to become the fourth different winner from as many races this season – something that has not happened since 2008.

Rossi -v- the young guns!!

Nice photo huh? Is he still capable battling for the championship?