ROSSI ON THE PACE
Nine-time champ confident he can close the gap to Lorenzo after finishing second in opening test of 2016
Valentino Rossi’s impressive start to 2016 where he finished second to Jorge Lorenzo at Sepang is Moto GP’s best news in years, because he is already dismissing thoughts of retirement and planning to race into 2017 and beyond. “It’s good to be second and near the top,” grinned the Italian after three days of testing in debilitating tropical heat. “I’m happy because I want to continue racing [after 2016] but I will only continue if I’m able to fight for top positions.” Although Rossi’s deficit to Lorenzo was a whopping 0.957s, the soon-tobe 37-year-old believes he will be up to speed with the new Michelin tyres and same-for-all rider aids when it matters in Qatar on March 20. “I’m happy with the test, we did a good job and tried a lot of stuff, so we gave a lot of information to help improve the bike,” he added. “Also, we did a 2m 00.5s lap which is not so bad. Of course, Jorge’s lap time is impressive, so we have to understand how to get closer. He is very good everywhere: he brakes late, he enters very fast and he has good corner speed. He feels very good with the bike and with the Michelins, so he rides better and closer to the limit, but this is only the first test. Also, I did a lot of ‘dirty’ work compared to him – a lot of laps, while he concentrated more on performance.” Rossi worked hard at the more mundanedane task of riding numerous laps to gain vital data to improve the unified software. The latest rider aids are definitely lower spec, but Rossi believes that’s a good thing, because it allows riders to make more of a difference. “The new system is less sophisticated. Everything is a little worse – the engine braking and also the traction control – but it’s OK, I like it. Already the bike is good to ride, because at last year’s Valencia tests it was a lot worse, especially on the edge of the tyres.” Rossi is confident he has more speed to come when he tests at Phillip Island later this month and again at Losail in early March. Most importantly it’s clear that Yamaha’s superbly balanced YZR-M1 is already getting more out of Moto GP’s new tyres and electronics than the other factory bikes. “We can do better, though we still need to work a lot,” he said. “The big question mark is whether we use the new bike which is more like the 2015 bike or the different 2016 bike.” Both Rossi and Lorenzo had three M1s each at Sepang: a 2015 bike for comparison purposes and two 2016 prototypes, one of conventional layout, the other with a long fuel tank to shift weight distribution. “At the moment I prefer the one that’s more similar to the 2015 bike,” he added. “The [long tank] bike is good, but we have trouble in braking. Yamaha made this bike to work with last year’s Michelins, but already Michelin made a big step, so maybe we don’t need this bike. But we’re not in a hurry: we will try both in Phillip Island.”
World champ Lorenzo remains the benchmark
Who can catch Jorge Lorenzo? The reigning Moto GP world champ has never started a Moto GP season as title favourite, until now. His pace at Sepang was astonishing and left many of his rivals scurrying to the airport with their tails between their legs. The Spaniard’s best time on hard tyres – the only tyres available after Loris Baz’s crash on soft rubber (see page 62)– was almost a whole second quicker than Rossi, while Honda’s former champ Marquez trailed by a massive 1.2 seconds. Suzuki’s Aleix Espargaro spoke for many when he said, “Jorge is on another planet. I don’t know how he does it and I’m not sure anyone else does. Compared to him, we are all suffering.” Lorenzo went into the tests believing his smooth style would suit the Michelins and the reduced electronics of the control software. The stopwatch proved his hunch entirely correct. “I’m not pushing hard, the lap times are coming easily,” said Lorenzo. “With the new tyres and electronics it’s more difficult to ride the bike, so this is good for the more technical riders because you have to be more sensitive with the throttle. One second of advantage is huge – I’ve never had the privilege to be so far in front.”