Rossi: Yamaha have to do an effort

Valentino Rossi may have been relieved to score a fifth place finish in a dramatic MotoGP outing at Jerez, but the Italian issued a sobering assessment of Yamaha’s current level and questioned the factory’s testing plans in the coming days.

The 39-year old was pragmatic enough to acknowledge he would have finished the race in eighth had it not been for the spectacular collision that took out podium contenders Jorge Lorenzo, Andrea Dovizioso and Dani Pedrosa on lap 18. A sobering admission - that this was Movistar Yamaha’s current level – then followed.

A lack of grip around the hot, slippery Andalusian venue was the factory Yamahas’ undoing all weekend, with neither Rossi nor team-mate Maverick Viñales unable to find a way to combat severe traction issues - a frustratingly familiar story, which the Italian once again felt was down to the M1’s electronics set-up not being up to scratch.

“So at the end to arrive in the fifth position after my speed in the winter, it's positive, I'm happy,” said Rossi. “But this is not good news, to be happy after a race like this. But our technical situation now is like this. It's also true that it depends on the track, because at some tracks we suffer more, in some tracks we suffer less.

“But for me, it's very clear what we have to do on the bike, and it's true that we need time, but Yamaha have to do an effort to try to shorten the time.

"Because if not, we need another season. So I hope that Yamaha give to us the maximum support to be competitive, because like this, sincerely, today, for me, my race was good, I have good pace, but without the incident in front, I arrive eighth.

“This track is a track where we suffer. It's true also that I was a lot, lot faster than last year. Last year I lost 38 seconds, today I lost 8 seconds. But anyway, I am P8 without the crash [ahead] and now this is our level.”

Yamaha will stay on to test at Jerez on Monday, with Rossi revealing the factory has brought plenty of new components to test. This, however, is not what is needed, he said, with ‘75%’ of the M1’s current issues stemming from the electronics.

“For me personally, it's a little bit mechanical parts, but it's mainly electronics. 25/75. Tomorrow will have some other mechanical parts, but we are working on the 25, when it's like you work on the tip of the iceberg, but after, under water, you have a lot more.

“It's a shame, because for me, from what I understand, for the rest our bike is good this year. But we need that. And I hope that Yamaha will give 100% to fix the problem as soon as possible.

“From what I understand, this is work that needs time. This is the bad news. But the good news is that anyway, you have to work on the black box. The problem is that you need to start, because from when you start, you need time.

"But if you don't start, the races, months, championships pass, and you still have the same problem.”