Valentino Rossi press articles

Rossi: How I learnt to lose and love my bike
Friday, 21 November 2008

2008 MotoGP World Champion explains how disappointment and changes spurred him on to regain title.


From the disappointment of 2006 and 2007, Valentino Rossi came back strong in 2008. The MotoGP World Champion with a record-breaking points total, the Fiat Yamaha rider used the bad experiences of his dry two years to his own advantage this past season, as he himself acknowledges.

`I think that in those two years I learnt to lose, which is an important thing because everybody loses sometimes. The style and the character that you show when you lose is so important for when trying to win another time,´ says the Italian on reflection of his most recent MotoGP campaign.

`There are a lot of different keys to my success in 2008. For sure the physical and mental preparation was very important, because I tried to fix one-by-one all the problems around me to arrive at the first race very concentrated on the target,´ adds Rossi, who had attempted to address one of said problems with a switch in tyre manufacturers before the season´s start.

I´m very happy with my work together with the team when Bridgestone had some problems, especially at the beginning of the year. I had a lot of pressure on me, because Michelin did a great job at the start and everybody said that I had made a mistake in changing tyres.

`The change gave me a lot of extra motivation, but to start with it was difficult; we had to modify the settings on the bike and also my own riding style.´

`The Doctor´ is also much more at home with his bike, despite having to make the radical changes to suit his new rubber. A step up in quality from Yamaha was a welcome move for the now six-time MotoGP World Champion, and appears high up on his list of explanations for personal improvement.

`Last year our bike was very slow, it wasn´t just the tyres. I felt a great improvement and a great effort from Yamaha to improve the M1. I felt in my skin that in every test the Japanese worked very strong so I tried to do even better,´ he explains.

As Yamaha continue work on the bike for 2009, Rossi´s rival will also be pushing hard. All of the top five gave the MotoGP king a hard time in various races this past season, and he expects nothing less of them in the coming year.

`Stoner I expected to challenge for sure, because in 2007 he was very, very strong. I always like Pedrosa because for me he rides very well, so I expect him to be very strong. Lorenzo arrived from two World Championships in 250cc was strong from the beginning; I know he has a good talent. Also Dovizioso. He is very strong and he was good on a bike that this year was a bit slower than the factory bike. In the future he will be a difficult enemy.´

Jerry Burgess: Valentino Rossi tougher to beat in 2009
By Matthew Birt

MotoGP

21 November 2008 14:24


Valentino Rossi’s legendary Aussie crew chief Jerry Burgess believes the eight-times world champion will be tougher to beat in 2009 than at any other stage in his successful career.

The 29-year-old Italian will be bidding for his seventh premier class world title in 2009 having dominated in 2008 with nine wins to romp to the crown with three races to spare.

And Burgess reckons the Fiat Yamaha rider will provide even tougher opposition next season, with Casey Stoner, Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa all tipped as title challengers in ’09.

Burgess told MCN: “I think the young guys now realise these wins Valentino has aren’t just numbers, he is actually good. The next five years will be a very good period because there is great potential for Jorge and Casey and some others. But as long as Valentino feels competitive and that he’s enjoying it, he’ll race at the front.

"We will never see him riding around to make up the numbers and finishing off the podium if he has a competitive bike. He’ll be as strong as ever next year.”

MotoGP » Rossi 2008: The numbers.
Sunday, 23rd November 2008

Facts and figures for Valentino Rossi's title winning 2008 MotoGP season.


Back in front: Rossi first led across the start/finish line of a 2008 MotoGP race on lap 5 of the Qatar season opener. It was the first time Rossi had led a MotoGP race with Bridgestone tyres. Rossi's first Bridgestone podium came at round two and first win at round four.

Slow starter: Rossi's average position at the end of lap 1 of a race was 5th. Rossi only led at the end of the first lap once (Laguna Seca) and his worst race start was at Assen, where a lap one accident left him 14th and last. On average, Rossi lost one place on the opening lap of each race.

Biggest fightback: Rossi's biggest fightback was at Phillip Island, where he qualified 12th and finished lap one in 8th position, before rising to 2nd by the finish.
When to lead: Rossi 'only' led 170 of the 465 race laps this season (37%). The latest Rossi took the race lead was lap 14 of 20 at Indianapolis.

Dry and wet: Of Rossi's nine race wins 8 were in the dry and 1 (Indianapolis) in the wet.

Streaks: Rossi longest winning streak was 5 races (Laguna Seca to Motegi) and his longest podium streak was 9 races (Sachsenring to Valencia).

Qualifying: Rossi's average qualifying position for a race was 4th. He qualified on pole just 2 times with his worst qualifying sessions at Phillip Island (12th) and Valencia (10th). On average, Rossi qualified 0.659sec behind pole.

Ready to race: Rossi's average finishing positioning in a race was 2nd, two places higher than his average starting position.

Getting stronger: Rossi scored 167 points during the first nine rounds, but 206 during the last nine.

First half vs second:
First nine rounds: 3 (wins), 7 (podiums), 1 (pole), 2 (fastest laps)
Last nine rounds: 6 (wins), 9 (podiums), 1 (pole), 3 (fastest laps).

Winning big, losing bigger: Rossi's average race-winning margin was 6.020sec, but when he lost his average margin of defeat was 11.771sec.
Biggest and closest: Rossi's biggest race win was by 15.004sec over Toni Elias at Brno and his closest was by 1.943sec over Casey Stoner at Motegi.

When to push: Rossi only set 5 fastest laps this season. His average fastest lap ranking in a race was 2nd and the average location of his fastest lap was at 39.3% race distance. The earliest Rossi delivered his fastest race lap was on lap 2 (of 21) at Sepang and the latest lap 18 (of 22) at Shanghai.

Straight line speed: Rossi's average top speed ranking over a grand prix weekend during the 2008 season was 6th. Rossi didn't set the highest top speed at any of the 18 rounds, with his best top speed ranking being 3rd (three times) and his lowest 10th (Motegi).
Rivals getting faster? On average, Rossi was ranked 5th in terms of weekend top speed during the first half of the 2008 season, but slipped to an average of 7th during the second half, suggesting rival machines made greater gains as the year went on.

Yamaha vs. Yamaha: Rossi was the top qualifying Yamaha rider at only 8 rounds, but finished as the top Yamaha race rider at 15 of the 18 rounds. Team-mate Jorge Lorenzo was the highest placed Yamaha rider at Qatar and Estoril, with Tech 3's Colin Edwards leading the M1 challenge at Assen.

Bridgestone vs. Bridgestone: Rossi was the top qualifying Bridgestone rider at 5 rounds and was the top Bridgestone race rider at 12 of the 18 rounds.

Races to spare: Rossi's end of season championship winning margin was 93 points over Casey Stoner, equivalent to nearly four race wins.

For comparison, Rossi won the 2005 title by 147 points (over Marco Melandri), the 2004 title by 47 points (over Sete Gibernau), the 2003 title by 80 points (over Sete Gibernau), the 2002 title by 140 points (over Max Biaggi) and the 2001 title by 106 points (over Max Biaggi).
Six to one: Rossi's record breaking 373 points was more than the combined total of the lowest six (full time) riders in the 2008 world championship - Sylvain Guintoli (67), Alex de Angelis (63), Randy de Puniet (61), John Hopkins (57), Marco Melandri (51) and Anthony West (50).

Points mean prizes: Rossi was the only rider to score points in every race this season. Andrea Dovizioso, Shinya Nakano and Sylvain Guintoli scored points in all but one round.

One man band? Rossi contributed 341 points to Yamaha's 2008 constructors' championship total of 402 and his 373 riders' points made up the majority of Fiat Yamaha's teams' championship total of 563.

Rossi´s Ferrari test `more exciting than difficult´
Friday, 21 November 2008

2008 MotoGP World Champion ponders what might have been after opening day of testing with Formula 1 car.




Valentino Rossi began the first of two days of testing with the Ferrari F2008 on Thursday, his first drive with the Formula 1 machine in nearly three years. The Italian may not have been familiar with the latest model of the car, but the location was one that he knows like the back of his hand; the Mugello circuit in Italy where he has been unbeatable in the premier class since 2002.

The 2008 MotoGP World Champion clocked a fastest time of 1´22.550, around 1.5 seconds down on the time recorded by ex-Formula 1 king and regular Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen in a September test at the same circuit. Rossi undertook a total of 64 laps with the F2008, adorned with his trademark 46 racing number.

Rossi found the limits of the car with a few early spins, but was left pleased with the results of his opening day behind the wheel.

`I´d done some special neck training beforehand, but the day was more exciting than difficult;´ the Fiat Yamaha rider told press agency ANSA. `I think that I had the potential to have been a good driver, based on the tests that we did before in Fiorano and later Valencia. What I don´t know is whether I could have been a winning driver or not.´

Rossi´s test –a reward for his MotoGP title win- continues on Friday.

Rossi using 2008 & 2009 Yamaha M1 bikes for Jerez analysis
Wednesday, 26 November 2008

Second on the timesheet on day one in Jerez, MotoGP World Champion clocks his fastest time with latest prototype.


Chilly conditions failed to put Valentino Rossi´s progress on ice at Jerez, with the 2008 MotoGP World Champion feeling ever-more-comfortable on the 2009 Yamaha M1 prototype. The Italian tested the bike for the second time on Wednesday afternoon, braving the cold conditions to work with the machine in a three-hour stint.

The Italian was second on the timesheet behind Dani Pedrosa and, like his Repsol Honda rival, was using both the latest machinery and the model used at the end of the 2008 season. Particularly pleasing for Rossi was the fact that his quickest time of 1´40.135 came with the 2009 bike.

`I am happy about this first day because my performance has been good from the beginning and I have been fast all day,´ said Rossi after his 1:30pm-onwards session. `Unfortunately it´s been quite cold and there were only three hours when it was possible to go fast, but we were able to get quite a lot of work done in this short space of time.

`We have tried some different things on the old 2008 bike and we were able to make some improvements, then we also tested several new things on the prototype bike, and I am happy because I did my fastest lap with this bike.´

Rossi has far less rubber at his disposal than before as a consequence of the new single-tyre rule, but was happy with the eight tyres available. Two front and two rear specifications, provided in duplicate, were nonetheless to the reigning titlist´s liking.

`Bridgestone have brought good tyres here; so far I don´t see any problems with the new rule and it seems they´re doing a good job. They have also resurfaced the track and it has made a big difference; they have got rid of all the bumps and like this it´s great fun to ride around. I think we will be able to go faster now,´ concluded the 29 year-old.

Jerez test: Valentino Rossi delighted with 2009 Yamaha
By Matthew Birt

MotoGP

26 November 2008 18:13


Valentino Rossi declared himself delighted with the performance of Yamaha’s 2009 factory YZR-M1 prototype as he ended the opening day of testing in Jerez with the second quickest time.

The Italian, who won a sixth premier class world title in 2009, logged a best time of 1.40.135 on the 25th of a 39-lap stint at a chilly Jerez today.

Get the latest from the Jerez test
Rossi led the timesheets for most of the day, needing only seven laps earlier to jump to the top of the timesheets, but was relegated to second when Spaniard Dani Pedrosa posted an impressive best of 1.39.525.

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Rossi was 0.610s off the Honda rider but a massive 1.028s clear of Fiat Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo, who ended the day in third with a best time of 1.41.163.

Rossi tested some new engine parts fitted to his 2008 spec M1 to check the engine improvements and the 29-year-old told MCN: “I am really happy with the performance of the new prototype. We have improved the engine performance and the chassis too, so it shows that Yamaha has not relaxed after winning the championship.

"They have stayed very concentrated and it is important that they continue to work in this way. We have improved the acceleration and the bike is also improved on stability with the front and rear with the chassis.

"The first feeling with the new bike was positive in Valencia a few weeks ago, and it is positive again today, and the best thing is we have some clear ideas already on how to improve the bike for the future.”

MotoGP » Rossi 'happy' as '09 faster.
Wednesday, 26th November 2008

Valentino Rossi second fastest on opening day of Jerez MotoGP test.

Valentino Rossi finished the first day of the second post-season test of 2008 by setting the second fastest lap time, behind Dani Pedrosa, at Jerez - but was most pleased to have set that lap on a prototype version of the 2009 YZR-M1.

Jerez marks the last opportunity to gather MotoGP track data before the first test of 2009, at Sepang in February, and Rossi is eager to make provide Yamaha with as much guidance as possible.

Clear skies and a cold wind meant track temperatures were very cool in the morning and Rossi chose to wait until 1.30pm, when the newly-resurfaced track had warmed up slightly, to begin.
The six time world champion went on to complete 20 laps on a 2008-spec bike and 20 on the new 2009 prototype M1, on which he set a fastest lap 0.610sec behind Pedrosa.

"I am happy about this first day because my performance has been good from the beginning and I have been fast all day," declared The Doctor. "Unfortunately it's been quite cold and there was only three hours when it was possible to go fast, but we were able to get quite a lot of work done in this short space of time.

"We have tried some different things on the old 2008 bike and we were able to make some improvements and then we also tested several new things on the prototype bike, and I am happy because I did my fastest lap with this bike."

As per the new single-tyre rule there are just two front and two rear specifications available for the test, with the riders supplied with two tyres of each specification, making eight in total.

"Bridgestone have brought good tyres here; so far I don't see any problems with the new rule and it seems they're doing a good job," confirmed Rossi. "They have resurfaced the track and it has made a big difference; they have got rid of all the bumps and like this it's great fun to ride around.
"I think we will be able to go faster now. Today was very cold, especially with the wind so now I hope it's a bit better tomorrow and that it doesn't rain because we have a lot more work to do and I would like to improve my lap time a bit more," he concluded.

Rossi's Fiat Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo was third fastest, one second behind the Italian.
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Rossi concludes official test in prime position
Thursday, 27 November 2008

Fiat Yamaha rider retains top spot on last day of MotoGP run in Jerez.

After a late start for the MotoGP riders present in Jerez, the second and final (half) day of the Official Test kicked into gear after 2pm local time. One-by-one the participants took to the drying track, left damp by overnight rain and cold temperatures, in the attempt to make the most of their last hours of testing for 2008.

2008 World Champion Valentino Rossi ended his title-winning year with the timesheet top spot on day two, snatching the placing from Dani Pedrosa in the final hour of the session. One of the last riders to emerge from the garage, Rossi joined Pedrosa as the only two men to record a time under the 1´40 mark, a 1´39.429 lap that was the fastest of the test. The Fiat Yamaha rider has been using both the 2008 and 2009 versions of the Yamaha M1, in order for the Japanese factory to be able to assemble the complete prototype for the coming year in January.

Repsol Honda rider Pedrosa was once again faster than his best race lap (a circuit record) from the 2008 Spanish round, and even managed to better his time from the opening day to place second on the chart. The Spaniard continued to work on the engine configuration of the RC212V, putting down a 1´39.447 lap in the process to end the day just 0.018 slower than Rossi.

Rossi´s teammate Jorge Lorenzo was again third on the timesheet, behind the Pedrosa-Rossi combination. He knocked over a second off his Wednesday time upon his afternoon arrival on track.

Also taking a sizeable chunk out of his previous best was Nicky Hayden, continuing his adaptation to the Ducati Desmosedici GP9. `The Kentucky Kid´ recorded the test´s sixth quickest lap on one of his typical marathon run-outs, although late charges from San Carlo Honda Gresini´s Toni Elias and Alex de Angelis moved them above the American.

All thirteen regular MotoGP riders were able to improve over the course of the Thursday run, their last opportunity to ride their 800cc machinery until February of next year. A testing ban comes into place on December 1st.

News - 28/11/2008

Rossi signs off for winter holidays with fastest time in Jerez

World Champion Valentino Rossi set the fastest time in Jerez today on the final day of testing for the year. His Fiat Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo was third fastest, making it a successful concluding test for the year’s leading team. Rossi spent most of his time today on the new 2009-prototype M1, working on developing the setting and also trying out some new parts for the engine, amongst other things. He set his best time of the day on his 52nd of 54 laps, dipping nearly seven tenths of a second under the lap record with a time of 1’39.429. It was another cold day in Jerez and Lorenzo did not make his first foray on track until 1.30 pm, completing 58 laps before ending his day at 5pm. The 21-year-old spent the entire time today on a test bike, which carries some new prototype parts, familiarising himself with the different machine, working on establishing a base setting and continuing to improve his feeling with the new single-brand tyres. He showed his improvement with a best lap of 1’40.426, just over 0.3 seconds off the current lap record. The team will now have two months to recover from a hard season while the MotoGP testing ban is in force. The next on-track action will be at Sepang in Malaysia on 5th, 6th and 7th February 2009.

Valentino Rossi - Position: 1st Time: 1'39.429 Laps: 54

“The track was a bit drier today and so we were able to improve even more and do a great job. We worked a lot on the new bike and tried some different parts to yesterday, including for the engine and we were quite fast. It seems we’re going in the right direction with this new bike and I am happy about this. I hope that the information we have gathered here will help the engineers to improve the bike and I look forward to the next evolution in Sepang. I think these first tests with the one-tyre rule have been quite positive and Bridgestone have done a good job so far, although for sure they will have a difficult job to decide which tyre for which track. Anyway, I hope that we will have some exciting battles next year with everyone at the same level with their tyres. Now I am looking forward to some holidays and next week I will go to Wales for the rally, which I hope will be a lot of fun. It’s been a fantastic year and I am really happy I have finished at the top today, it’s not a big thing but it gives a good feeling to me and all the team and means we can enjoy our holidays confident that we are in good shape!” Davide Brivio - Team Manager “This has been a positive test for us, and we have finished the year very well. Despite the cold weather allowing us just a few hours to test over these two days, we have been able to go through more or less our entire programme and check everything on the agenda. This means that we have given a lot of valuable information to our Japanese engineers, and this will help them in their development work over the winter. Valentino finished fastest today, which is a great conclusion to the year, and shows that we’re on the right track with the 2009-prototype M1. Now we have some time for rest and so I would like to thank all of the team once again for their hard work and wish them happy holidays!” Jorge Lorenzo - Position: 3rd Time: 1'40.426 Laps: 58 “Today we concentrated on the evolution bike, which has some prototype parts, with a new setting from Valentino. It seems we had a small advantage with this bike and I was able to improve my time, so I am happy about this. This ‘new’ bike is also more stable under acceleration, with less wheelie and the throttle is a bit easier to handle so these are important improvements. The final conclusion of these two days is very positive I think, although we know there is still a lot of margin to improve, both in the bike and in my riding style and of course we need to keep working to better understand the new tyres. Now we start a long holiday and I am looking forward to starting training immediately, because since Valencia I have really been too busy! It will be good to have two months off with my friends and family but I am also looking forward to February in Sepang, when hopefully I will get to try the new engine.” Daniele Romagnoli - Team Manager "This has been a very good test for us, and today we improved our lap time by quite a lot compared with yesterday. Jorge focused on the new bike today and he likes it and was able to make some good laps. The team worked on finding a new setting, which helped us to improve our lap time and, although there is a lot more to work on, it seems with the new bike we have more potential to improve than with the old one so this is very encouraging. We are very happy about Jorge's lap time because he is the first rider who is using new tyres, behind Valentino and Dani who have had a lot more experience with them. Of course we need more time to understand the tyres and how we can use them to their full potential, but we have time. Now finally we have a long winter break for the team, but Yamaha will continue to work hard to improve our bike before the next test in Sepang in February."
Test Times
1. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Fiat Yamaha Team 1'39.429
2. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda 1'39.447
3. Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Fiat Yamaha Team 1'40.426
4. Toni Elias (SPA) Team San Carlo 1'40.448
5. Alex De Angelis (RSM) Team San Carlo 1'40.486
6. Nicky Hayden (USA) Ducati Marlboro Team 1'40.486
7. Mika Kallio (FIN) Alice Team 1'40.564
8. Colin Edwards (USA) Tech 3 Yamaha 1'40.604
9. Sete Gibernau (SPA) Grupo Francisco Hernando 1'40.856
10. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) Repsol Honda 1'40.966
11. Niccolò Canepa (ITA) Ducati Test 1'41.077
12. James Toseland (GBR) Tech 3 Yamaha 1'41.740
13. Vittoriano Guareschi (ITA) Ducati Marlboro Team 1'42.906
14. Yuki Takahashi (JPN) JiR Team Scot Honda 1'42.918

Jerez: Record Lap D. Pedrosa (Honda) 2008, 1'40.116
Jerez: Best Lap J. Lorenzo (Yamaha) 2008, 1'38.189

Excellent, finished at the top, we wouldnt expect anything else from Vale

well i expect less from him
when i get him alone i want to finish on top
lol

tammerz wrote:well i expect less from him
when i get him alone i want to finish on top
lol

ROFLMAO!!!!

Jerez test: Valentino Rossi ends 2008 on top
By Matthew Birt

MotoGP

28 November 2008 10:09


Reigning world champion Valentino Rossi ended his superb 2008 campaign at the top of the timesheets in the final winter test of the year in Jerez.

Rossi, who won nine races to regain the premier class crown in 2008, ended the year on top spot having clocked a best time of 1.39.429 on the 2009 prototype Yamaha YZR-M1.

Get all the latest from the Jerez test
The Italian, who will compete in the Rally of Great Britain in early December, finished just 0.018s ahead of Spaniard Dani Pedrosa as the duo were the only two to break the 1.40 barrier on the final day.

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With cold conditions preventing any track action until 1pm, Rossi was quickly in the groove when he ventured out for the first time at 2pm.

He needed only three laps to move to the top of the timesheets and he clocked the fastest time in his final run of the day on his 52nd lap.

Rossi’s best time was marginally faster than Pedrosa’s best from day one, while he was 0.7s quicker than his own previous best at the two-day test session.

The 29-year-old was also 0.7s inside Pedrosa’s 2008 Spanish lap record.

Rossi tried yet more new engine parts in the ’09 YZR-M1, which also features a new chassis and he said: “In general I am very happy today because I close the year at the top with a good lap time, so it is a great way to finish a fantastic year for me and for Yamaha. It is not that important but for the feeling going into the winter it is good.”

Talking about the new engine parts, Rossi told MCN: “The new parts worked not so bad and it is another step in the right direction. It is an improvement and now the Japanese have some important information to build the new bike for the next test at Sepang in February.

"The new engine parts again helped with acceleration out of the slower corners, which was an area we needed to work in this area. The power now is less aggressive and this is not so bad.”

Rossi also tried the new Dainese suit fitted with the protective airbag system today, though he said: “Luckily I didn’t need to use it, and I hope never to use it.”

MCN Awards: Man of the year as voted by you
By Liam Marsden
Events
03 December 2008 10:34

Eight times MotoGP champion Valentino Rossi received the Man of the year award at the MCN Awards.

The award was voted for by users of motorcyclenews.com and included such stars as Troy Bayliss, James Toseland, Casey Stoner and the late Craig Jones.

Unfortunately Rossi could not be at the awards due to his testing schedule in Jerez, but BBC presenter Suzi Perry was on hand at Jerez to hand the award to the Italian.

Accepting the award, Rossi said: "I am very happy to receive this award and it means so much more to me because it has been voted for by the fans and readers of MCN.

"I always love coming to Britain to race as the fans there are really crazy, Donington Park is one of my favourite circuits and I hope to win there again next year.

"I am sorry I couldn't be there to accept this award in person but I think you will understand that I have to be here in Jerez testing."