Rossi: Rivals stronger this weekend, we need to improve

On the brink of a home podium last Sunday, Valentino Rossi began the second Misano MotoGP weekend with a bets lap time 0.635s from the top.On the brink of a home podium last Sunday, Valentino Rossi began the second Misano MotoGP weekend with a bets lap time 0.635s from the top.

But that was only good enough for 15th on the ultra-close timesheets, with the Italian warning that Yamaha's rivals look to have eroded last weekend's M1 advantage.

"I knew after the test on Tuesday that this weekend will be harder for everybody because a lot of other riders improve the riding and also the other manufacturers are able to improve the setting of the bike and I saw Suzuki, KTM, Ducati a lot stronger. Also Honda," Rossi said.

"So we need to work on the bike to improve. Tuesday was an important test for us but unfortunately at the end we don’t find something that is clearly better. So we decided to work with the bike very similar to last week but with my team, with David, we tried to improve the balance to have more grip in acceleration.

"Sincerely I am already a bit faster compared to last week, but we don't finish our work. I don’t feel comfortable with the balance of the bike. I am a little bit in trouble on braking and entry, I'm not strong. So we need to improve and continue to work.

"We need to work tonight because tomorrow morning as always it will be very important to be in the top ten after FP3."

Changing subject completely, Rossi also quashed speculation that Franco Morbidelli's current sickness, in the days following his debut MotoGP victory, may have been party-related.

"No, no! A lot of people ask me because Franco didn't come to the test on Tuesday. But [there was] nothing. I stayed at home with my girlfriend and some friends on Sunday night, we watched the race again," Rossi said.

"We were supposed to meet Franco on Monday evening for dinner together, but he sent a message to everybody saying he was sick, on the toilet and we have to cancel the dinner."

Team-mate Maverick Vinales was fourth fastest, just 0.041s behind Brad Binder (KTM).

But that was only good enough for 15th on the ultra-close timesheets, with the Italian warning that Yamaha's rivals look to have eroded last weekend's M1 advantage.

"I knew after the test on Tuesday that this weekend will be harder for everybody because a lot of other riders improve the riding and also the other manufacturers are able to improve the setting of the bike and I saw Suzuki, KTM, Ducati a lot stronger. Also Honda," Rossi said.

"So we need to work on the bike to improve. Tuesday was an important test for us but unfortunately at the end we don’t find something that is clearly better. So we decided to work with the bike very similar to last week but with my team, with David, we tried to improve the balance to have more grip in acceleration.

"Sincerely I am already a bit faster compared to last week, but we don't finish our work. I don’t feel comfortable with the balance of the bike. I am a little bit in trouble on braking and entry, I'm not strong. So we need to improve and continue to work.

"We need to work tonight because tomorrow morning as always it will be very important to be in the top ten after FP3."

Changing subject completely, Rossi also quashed speculation that Franco Morbidelli's current sickness, in the days following his debut MotoGP victory, may have been party-related.

"No, no! A lot of people ask me because Franco didn't come to the test on Tuesday. But [there was] nothing. I stayed at home with my girlfriend and some friends on Sunday night, we watched the race again," Rossi said.

"We were supposed to meet Franco on Monday evening for dinner together, but he sent a message to everybody saying he was sick, on the toilet and we have to cancel the dinner."

Morbidelli was sixth fastest on Friday but then cancelled his media duties due to his ongoing stomach problems.

Franco Morbidelli and Maverick Vinales were the top Yamahas on Friday, in third and fourth respectively, both within 0.041s of Brad Binder (KTM).