Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP rider Valentino Rossi admitted that the same rear tyre issues continue to plague him as he finished in the lowest of the four Yamahas in eighth place in Buriram.
A mistake and crash in qualifying saw the Italian start from the third row for the race, and after a strong start Rossi was up to fifth and chasing down Andrea Dovizioso. Unfortunately for Rossi, that early charge was his old charge, as the Italian lost grip, forcing him to go into damage limitation mode.
“Unfortunately, the race went in a similar way to recent races, because I had more or less the same problems,” sad the 40-year-old.
“After a few laps, I started to suffer with a lack of rear grip, gradually losing both grip and performance, so I had to slow down. It was another hard race, it’s a pity because we’d found something good in warmup and was doing well on the used tyres.
“We changed a few things, and this helped us to find a little more grip, so I expected to run quite a good race.”
The race saw Rossi’s great rival Marc Marquez win his eighth World Championship, leaving him just one behind Rossi himself. When asked about Marquez and his stunning season, Rossi said: “He dominated this year, just as I did in the years I was on top form.
“He only made a mistake at Austin, but aside from that he’s been almost perfect. I don’t think he’ll struggle to reach nine.
“I’m sorry because I’ve thrown two or three titles away during my career – well I threw two away and one I lost, but it’s still three anyway. I fear he’ll soon catch me on nine.”
