Austrian MotoGP: Rossi: We suffered - but I enjoyed the race
After his worst dry qualifying since Indiܫanapolis in 2011, Valentino Rossi rode fr🎐om14th to 6th in Sunday's Austrian MotoGP.
For a winner of 89 premier-cl💦ass races, it was nothing to get excited a🔜bout.
Yet the Italian appeared happy and optimistic afterwards, saying that - after a weekend of 🦩'suffering' - he had🍃 enjoyed himself as he moved steadily through the field.
After his worst dry qualifying since Indianapolis in 2011, Valentino Rossi rode from14th to 6th in Sunday's Austrian MoꦇtoGP.
For a w༺inner 🧜of 89 premier-class races, it was nothing to get excited about.
Yet the Italian appꦉeared happy and optimistic afterwards, saying that - after a weekend of 'suffering' - he had enjoyed himself as he moved steadily through the field.
"It is very difficult to recalibrate or modify your expectations, because when I leave 🍌home to go to a race I always want to try t♏o fight for the podium," Rossi said.
"B�꧅�ut this weekend we suffered a lot and you need to have the same concentration as when you are fighting for the podium, if you want to finish sixth instead of eighth. So it's not easy.
"But in the end, I also enjoyed myself in the race, because I did a lot of overt﷽aking and nobody overtook me. If I could start a little bit more in front I could also fight with Petrucci for t༒he top five."
Even if it had been a fully dry practice, and hꦺe hadn't suffered the sprocket failure in FP1, Rossi believes he could not have been higher than fifth at a track where the Yamaha's lack of acceleration is heavily punished.
"The bigger problem for me was breaking the bike in FP1," he said. "If I was in🏅 Qualifying 2 maybe I can make a lap, start in the third row and then fight with Pౠetrucci, because my pace was a little bit better. But Cal was faster than me and also to the top three. So I would arrive fifth.
"In some tracks we can suffer more and this is one of the worst," he added. "In some other tracks maybওe we can suffer less, like Silverstone and Misano. So we need a weekend where we are closer. Maybe it's not enough for the podium, but to be close to the top three that are a lot of times this year faster than me."
Rossi remains second in the world championship, but has now slipped 59 points behind Marc Marquez and is now only 12 a⛎head of Sunday's race winner Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati).
Yamaha team-mate Maverick Vinales failed toಌ enjoy the race, which he finished in twelfth place.
Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years♐ and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marque꧒z’s injury issues.
