Italy MotoGP: Valentino Rossi 'We made a big mistake'
Updated with further quotes from Valentino Rossi.
Valentino Rossi will start his home Italian MotoGP fro☂m just tenth on the grid after a 'big mistake' in terms of tyre choice for his Movistar Yamaha.
Holding fifth and "with a margin to improve" when he pitted for a fresh rear tyre, Rossi and his team also opted to change to a🦩 softer front tyre for the final run. It was a decision he soon came to regret.
"We made a big mistake in the qualifying, together wit😼h Bridgestone we decided to change the front tyre at the same time as the second rear," Rossi explained.
"It was the ꦐwrong decision, I felt really bad with the softer front and I was unable to improve my lap time. It's a great shame, because I had a good potential and could have started on the front, my pace is good and I feel good with the bike, but it's like this.
"Tomorrow f🍨rom the fourth row everything will be harder and more difficult. But we have good pace, we need to fix some small pr꧙oblems and try to make the maximum.
"I want to try and make a good race because it's my 300th Grand Prix and al🍒so we are in Mugello! I'm quite desperate for the tenth position but I know nothing is lost. It will be hard but we can do a good race.
"If you had to pick💦 one track to start from the fourth row, Mugello is good because there are a lot of places to overtake. We will try to make a good warm-up, a good start and do the first laps at the maximum then see what happens."
Prior to qualifyin꧋g, Rossi had been fourth fastest and just 0.186s from the top in final prac💫tice.
"🃏I had a good pace in practice, 𝓡only losing a little in the final sector. The problem is that everybody has a good pace - Marquez, Pedrosa, Jorge and also the Ducatis of Dovizioso and Iannone.
"For this reason it is more important to start in front. Anyway I will try. I am competitive and fast.♓"
Honda's unbeaten reigning champion Marc Marquez, Ducati's Andrea Iannone and Rossi's team-mate Jorg🐲e Lorenzo will form the front row of Sunday's grid.
Rossi fell on the first lap 🎉of last year's race after tangling with Alvaro Bautista.
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 Marquez’s injury issues.
