Rossi: My pace is better now, but good race depends on tyre choice

Valentino Rossi expects the British MotoGP to come down to tyre selection after putting in extensive work with the hard rear. 

Rossi will start today’s race at Silverstone from seventh - his second best qualifying of the year, while the Italian’s race pace suggests he’s more than capable of keeping a similar position. 

Even though this weekend looks like Rossi’s best thus far in 2021, the nine-time world champion doesn’t feel quite as strong as Assen and Barcelona because ‘I was better in the pace’. 

Asked if the SilverstoneGP is his best chance for a good result this season, Rossi added: "Depends very much. In Qatar I was better in the qualifying but my pace is better now. 

"It is true that in Assen and especially in Barcelona I was better in the pace but we had problems. 

"The good and bad of MotoGP is that you never know what happens in the race. 

"It depends very much on the tyre choice and the temperature and many things. I hope to do a good race."

Following day one where Rossi tried the hard rear tyre in low temperatures - conditions that weren’t great for that tyre, Rossi did so again during FP4 as he believes the medium will be difficult to get to the end of the race.

Rossi said: "The medium: before FP4 I was more for this. The hard with low temperature is hard to put right and left, but in the afternoon I was a bit faster with the hard. 

"It is difficult for the medium to arrive to the end of the race. From the other side, it is not easy with the hard. 

"You need to understand which tyre degrades in the better way and doesn’t lose time. It is not always that the hard is better at the end."