• Bagn𒐪aia: ‘Martin was faster, but we made a mistake’
• Martin: Pecco mꦏove ‘aggressive’, contact with Marc ‘was racing, let’s g🌃o for it’

Bagnaia h🦩as a 14-point advantage over Bagnaia heading 🦄into Sunday’s Valencia MotoGP.

Rossi, who has twice entered a final round leading a championship but who lost ﷽out on both occasions, told : "Fourteen points are an important advantage in a race. 

“But iꦓt's also the last one and it's tough. [Pecco is] all in. 

“I certainly would have preferred to have a 14-point advantage than a disadvantage.&♉nbsp;

“It must be said that Pecco will start second, he can startꦐ well, hoping he makes the right tyre choice." 

Last year Bagnaia became the first 🎶VR46 Academy graduate to win the MotoGP title.

Rossi 🦩said about Bagnaia this season: "He seems calmer to me than last year, because he has already experienced all this and e♏xperience always helps. 

“[Friday] night we spoke and [Saturday] he gave everything he had and what we had thought of. [Saturday night] will ꦬbe more tough but it won't be easy for Martin e♐ither."

Martin won Saturday’s sprint, Bag⛎naia finished fifth, to reduce the deficit✃ from 21 to 14 points.

Rossi assessed the sprint race: "We also asked ouಌrselves why Bagnaia hadn't copied Martin's tyres.

“I𓃲f it was the right choice it would have been for both of them, di𓆏tto if it had been wrong.

“꧑But Pecco felt good with the medium in the 💧morning, Bezzecchi and Marini also started with the medium, it seemed that the two tyres were similar from the data. 

“And instead in the race the sof𒁏t made the differ▨ence." 

Rossi assessed the chasing Pramac challenger: "Martin is playing everything, he ♈is ready to do anything to win the World Championship, like marking Pecco on Friday... 

“But Bagnaia [oꩵn Saturday] was perfect from t♏he first lap, he overturned everything and there was also the dream of closing it already in the sprint, but it didn't go that way."

Rossi added about Martin:ඣ "It was immediately clear thatꦜ he was one of the strong ones in MotoGP. 

“There were doubt🔯s about his physique, he had had bad injuries, but since Pecco crashed in Barcelona Martin has put the march. ไ;

“He understood that it could be his chance. “There were 66 points behind and the World Championship was almost over, but from there Martin said 'this is the chance, I'll try'🌄.”&๊nbsp;

Seven-tiꦉme MotoGP champion Rossi’s appearance in the Valencia paddock adds an extra layer of exci꧅tement to the final round.

He joked about his rol⭕e as a retired rider: "In the meantime I take a lot of photos with the fans! 

“Then I try to help our riders but I also live it fro🐭m the heart.

“It's nice to see it from the outside, on t🌊he grid. 

“It's always a great atmosphere, there's the tension of t꧋he race🐻 but in the end it's not me who's racing."