Valentine rossi will be one of the stars this weekend at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. He competed Barcelona on countless occasions, with 10 wins to his credit on the Catalan track in the general categories of world of Motorcyclingbut this occasion will be special, because the pilot of Tavullia will compete with his wheel Audi r8 of the group WRTwhere the purpose of reach the Top-5 or the podium in the final qualifying race of the Fanatec GT Word Challenge Europeappointment that this weekend will live in Barcelona SpeedFestival-Maria de Villota Legacy. Previously, the Italian examined in front of the press at the Circuit how his first year was and responded to World of sports about his tournament plans the 24 Hours of Le Mansa race that is always between the eyebrows.
“I think next year I will compete in the same championship. The program for 2023 will not yet do the 24 Hours of Le Mans. I hope that if everything goes well I can compete at Le Mans in 2024. That is the goal. But to be honest, I’m going with the race and now I know that I want to compete in this championship next year because I’m very happy and I want to try to be more competitive”, the 9-time world champion in the general category in two wheels revealed to MD.
In this sense, in the press conference held this Friday he turned down the option to compete in the Dakar one day.
“I always had in mind that I will race in a car when my MotoGP career is over. For me it is something very important because even if I stop MotoGP I am still a rider and I want to be in the races, try to push, feel the adrenaline of the starts… and I will try to continue competing in cars for a long time, but that will depend a lot on my results. I really like the Rally too, you said the Dakar, but I decided and I think I’m better on the track and I feel better on the track. So the Dakar is a great race, but I think I prefer to compete on asphalt because asphalt is my place”.
THE MOTOGP WORLD CUP
Logically, Valentino Rossi was asked about MotoGP. The Italian does not want to assess whether the queen category of the motorcycling world championship has lost its emotion with the increasing importance of motorcycle aerodynamics.
“I really like MotoGP. It will always be in my heart. And of course, I have a team, four MotoGP riders, and of course I always follow them and I always try to help them. But yes, aerodynamics make bikes look more like cars, because when you are close, you feel the aerodynamics a lot (tires heat up, grip is lost and brakes heat up, NDR). And with the bikes in the last season there has been a lot of evolution from this point of view and of course that makes it more difficult to catch up, ” he assured MD’s question. He also did not want to read who he thinks will be this year’s champion in tight fight between Pecco Bagnaia, Fabio Quartararo and Aleix Espergaró.
“The MotoGP title is still open for three riders, Aleix (Espergaró), Pecco (Bagnaia) and Quartararo (Fabio) and… it’s very open. Anything can happen, because they are very close in terms of points and there are 4 more races. I will follow him,” said the man from Tavullia.
“The three can still win, Espargaró is also close. It’s difficult, because maybe Pecco is faster, but Quartararo is never wrong, so… with 18 points, anything can happen in four races. I will do the ‘tifo’ (support in Italian)”, he added in an interview after ‘Sky’.
WHAT YOU MISS MOST IN MOTOGP
“I miss MotoGP a lot, of course, because it has been my life for almost 30 years (laughs), more than 3 quarters of my life. For me it is the best show in motorsport, more than any other. This is my personal feeling. When I follow the races, of course it’s not the same, but I also feel adrenaline because I’m competing with my brother. It’s different when seen outside, but it’s a good show.”
GOOD MEMORIES OF BARCELONA
“I love this place (Barcelona), because I have great memories here. It’s hard to say which is my favorite track, but it’s definitely one of the best because I always have good results here and I have memorable races for me. The place is fantastic, Barcelona is amazing, so it’s always a great place to be.”
HE WON 10 TIMES IN BARCELONA ON MOTORCYCLE AND HIS GOAL HERE
“I competed here in 1995 in the European Championship and in 1996 in the World Championship I was very fast on this track. Now the goal with the car, I don’t think I’m ready to win, especially because anything can happen in races of endurance. We will try to be in the Top-5 or on the podium. In endurance races we are strong, but whatever happens, their races are long and everything has to go well. But we have good potential.”
HIS FEELINGS ON HIS FIRST FULL YEAR ON FOUR WHEELS
“I like it. The balance is positive. I feel very good with my team, WRT, I think it’s the right choice. It’s difficult not only because of the speed of these cars when you drive, but because it’s a different championship compared to MotoGP , the races are very different and you have a lot to learn in the different situations you find yourself in the race. This is something new for me and I have had good races and some good results, but we have to try to be better and keep improving.
THE FESTIVAL OF SPEED AND ITS PURPOSE THIS WEEKEND
“In the last two endurance races we finished fifth and very close to the podium. This is the goal, to get a podium to end the season. It won’t be easy, but we can be competitive and we can fight for it, for the first three place”.
WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED SO FAR IN THIS FIRST YEAR ON CARS
“The best thing is the feeling when you drive the car, because from MotoGP it’s hard to find something exciting, because when you drive a MotoGP you feel a lot of adrenaline. But I like driving cars that this and I like that I have been able to improve during the season, it is a good thing. On the other hand, it is very difficult to understand all the little details, the little tricks to be first in this kind of race because there are many cars on the track, always a lot of confusion, always a very difficult fight, you always have a lot of ‘full course yellow’ (yellow flags), many laps behind the ‘Safety Car’, always at the beginning the drivers with a lot of experience are very good in the first corners and it’s not easy. You have a lot of work in the pit, because of changing drivers… and it’s not easy at the beginning. I didn’t expect these little details, because outside MotoGP it’s different way of competing, but it is important”.
MORE RACES THIS YEAR
“I will also do the Gulf 12 Hours, because I did it in 2019 and 2020 and I had a lot of fun, especially in 2019, in Abu Dhabi. But I don’t know if it will be possible. You have to understand with the team and fix the races or find other races thinking about next year”.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
