“If we want to fight for the victory tomorrow we have to improve.”
It’s a simple enough statement, but it speaks volumes for the man who made it. That was Valentino Rossi, quoted after qualifying on the front row for the Japanese Grand Prix at Twin Ring Motegi just a few days ago.
And the reason it’s so remarkable is that Phillip Island this weekend will see Rossi, all going well, start his 250th Grand Prix in the premier class of motor cycle road racing.
Even after all those races (309 if we take into account his 30 in each of 125cc and 250cc, as they then were), even after 107 Grand Prix victories, the competitive fire still burns bright in the breast of 35-year-old Rossi.
He and his Yamaha didn’t improve enough to win last Sunday – but they were still good enough to take third place, bringing the Urbino native his 193rd podium, his 107th in the top class.
Rossi broke Alex Barros’s record of 245 starts at Silverstone earlier this year in the British Grand Prix. Just one race later, on home tarmac at Misano, he posted his first victory of 2014 – his first, in fact, for more than a year.
“I’m very proud,” he said, again showing that gift for simple statements that mean a lot.
“I made it five years after the last time here, in the same way, fighting with Jorge . During the practice it looked like our Yamaha worked very well so we had a small advantage. I tried to the maximum and so I knew we could fight for victory. I tried to push from the start and at the end it was great to have the win more than one year later from my last. I always work hard and never give up and trust that days like this can happen.”