Movistar Yamaha MotoGP's Valentino Rossi gave a brave performance at the Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix on Sunday. Rossi needed a couple of laps to come to grips with the wet race conditions, but a strong second wind saw him secure seventh place.
All eyes were on the skies at the Sepang International Circuit as Valentino Rossi lined up on the grid minutes before the start of a drama-filled Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix. After a dry warm up session, the wet conditions for the race made tyre choice crucial. The Doctor pushed hard in the wet, whilst being careful not to get caught out by the slippery conditions. Hey secured seventh place overall.
Thick clouds looked threatening, as the Doctor started the 20-lap race from fourth on the grid. Uncertain about how hard he could brake going into the first corner, he lost some positions and completed the first lap in 11th place, but it was just the start. Rossi used his experience to turn his fortunes around, steadily improving his pace and picking up places as more and more riders fell victim to the wet conditions.
He reached eighth place on lap 6. Trying to stay in contention for a good result, he was pushing to close the gap to seventh, but his attention was demanded elsewhere as Danilo Petrucci overtook him three laps later. The nine-time World Champion didn‘t give up the fight and used his compatriot as a tow towards Pol Espargaró in seventh place.
As the track dried and the tyre degradation started to take its toll on his rivals, the Italian overtook Espargaró for eighth place with eight laps to go. It was a signal for Rossi to set a series of personal best sectors, showing his eagerness to join the fight at the front. One lap later he overtook Scott Redding, which motivated him even further. Though he came close, within 0.4s over the finish line, he was unable to close the gap Petrucci. He took the chequered flag in seventh place, 30.769s from the front.
“We were a little bit unlucky with the weather because I think that on the dry we could have been competitive,” Rossi said. “We wanted to do a good race because we arrived here fresh from a podium on Phillip Island and it‘s good to try to stay at the top, but it rained.”
“Unfortunately, we also weren‘t strong enough with this bike on the wet. We had a lot of problems and wasn‘t strong enough with this bike on the wet. We need to understand the situation and try to improve and that‘s just the way it is. We‘ll see what happens in Valencia. It‘s another important race and a difficult track, but we‘ll see. We‘ll try to be competitive.”
