A fast along 37 races, an eternity for one accustomed to success as Valentino Rossi. The 9-time world champion did not win since the 2017 Dutch Grand Prix, when he triumphed at the Assen circuit ahead of Danilo Petrucci and Marc Marquez: only at the time of the disappointing two-year period in Ducati had he remained for so long away from the top step of the podium, returning to victory on the Yamaha after 44 Grand Prix (2013).
The difficulties of the Doctor, who was in serious crisis at the beginning of 2019, are there for all to see: Valentino is 6th in the general classification with 80 points – more than 100 points behind leader Marc Marquez – and in the last four races he has gained 8th place and three disastrous zeros.
Maverick Viñales, team-mate and first yardstick of comparison, was not able to do much better in this first part of the season (he is 5th with 85 points), but on the other hand in the last rounds he showed a significant growth that led him to take a win and a second place. The problems of the Yamaha M1, which with the newcomer Fabio Quartararo took two pole positions and as many podiums, seem to have been at least partially solved in recent weeks, but Rossi still struggles to find the pace to be with the first.
In this situation there are those who even went so far as to talk about an imminent retirement, but the enturage of the ace from Pesaro belies the rumours of a possible farewell: Dad Graziano, in particular, seems very confident for the immediate future and absolutely convinced that his son will soon be able to get out of this impasse.
In an interview published on July 23rd on the paper edition of Quotidiano Sportivo, Valentino’s father said his opinion on his son’s difficult situation: “I talked with his friends, with those around him, and everyone tells me to see him as in the best moments. There are some technical problems, but I’m close to a solution”. “I’m optimistic about this, give him one more, two more races, and Valentino will still be on the podium,” continued Rossi Senior. “From Brno on, I think we’ll see him fight as he knows how to.
According to Graziano, in short, at forty springs played the 46 would have lost neither the rhythm nor the motivation: Vale still has the “handle” and the fitness to be able to play with younger Top Rider. “Vale is one of the few drivers who can keep up with Marquez, in my opinion is the only one who can still bother him,” added the father of the Champion of the Marche “I am absolutely convinced that in the second half of the championship will recover everything he wants to recover. Then, in conclusion, he took a quick shot at all those who believe that Rossi will hang his helmet on the nail at the end of the season: “Valentino in these months has the same desire to learn and impose himself as when he was that boy who did the Sport Production. Do we still want to talk about retirement?”.
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