MotoGP: Rossi pleased after ‘difficult weekend’

Valentino Rossi has admitted that he’s left the ninth round of the 2017 MotoGP season at the German Grand Prix pleased to have come away with a fifth place and valuable championship points, after a difficult weekend for him and his Movistar Yamaha teammate Maverick Viñales.

Struggling all weekend to get into a rhythm and facing uncharacteristic mechanical problems that saw him lose time in two of the weekend’s practice sessions, the nine-time world champion was happy to settle for fifth in Sunday’s race, after just losing out to Viñales for fourth.

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“It was a difficult weekend, because we suffered a lot, like we had done at other tracks this year, but fortunately we were able to work better. The race was not so bad, because I kept a good pace going from the beginning until the end. I’m happy when I fight for the podium, but still this fifth place is quite good, these are good points for the championship and we are just ten points from the top, so I think the championship is still very much open.”

And, with the series now taking a much-needed four week break between now and the next round of the championship in Brno on the first weekend in August, Rossi says he’s looking forward to the opportunity to switch off, relax, and attempt to come back stronger than ever.

“I think I will relax for two weeks now and, after two weeks of staying with my friends and recharging my batteries, I will start to train because we have to arrive in Brno ready, at a 100% fitness level.”

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