Rossi:
Everything went wrong …
“After yesterday, I knew that I could be competitive on a dry track, get onto the podium. Even this morning, we worked well preparing the bike for the wet and I could have battled for the win.”
And instead? “Instead we were unlucky with the weather. It stopped raining and the conditions changed.”
What was the biggest problem? “I was too slow with the intermediate tyres. It’s true that I could have come in 2 or 3 laps earlier, but it would not have changed much. I stopped for the change with Dovizioso and Crutchlow, who finished on the podium, whereas, once I got on the second bike, I had no confidence. They gave me 10 seconds in one lap.”
The intermediate tyres’ fault? “I don’t know if it was the wrong choice, but on paper, with the slicks it would have been even more difficult. I think it would have gone worse.”
Who chose them? “I did, along with the team. Friday we had a lot of problems with the front slick tyre. I was unable to get it up to temperature, so that is why we decided on the intermediates.”
What didn’t work? “I didn’t start particularly strong and the M1 is really hard to ride in these damp asphalt conditions. As I said, it is not normal to gain 10 seconds in just a few turns. It’s something we need to work on.”
The team had been calling you into the garage for a few laps, a situation that reminded us of the 2015 Misano race… “On that occasion I don’t think they had put the board out. In any case, here we had arranged that they would give me the signal as soon as a rider had come in to change tyres and then I would be the one to decide. Up to that moment, I didn’t feel like I needed to change tyres. Maybe I could have come in earlier, but it would not have changed much. I would have finished maybe 6th instead of 8th.”
But when you have a flag-to-flag, you rarely get the strategy right… “I also always have the challenge of being in 1st or 2nd place. When you are in the back it’s simpler, you take a gamble, whereas when you are up front it’s all more difficult.”