Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1542349
MotoGP World Cham ion Valentino Rossi alentino Rossi is facing the 2006 season - very likely his last in MotoGP - with his cus- tomary lightness of being. Many things contribute to thisr accumulat- ed success, obviously; and a career that may already have set new benchmarks, but appears to be still in the process of taking off, what with his good showing at Ferrari Fl tests, setting competitive laP times at Valencia and Mugello. As much as anything, it was his performance on the day we spoke, the first of the official IRTA preseason tests. Whil€ others thrashed around in the cool of the morning through to the cool of the afternoon, Rossi stayed out of sight, emerging only in the middle of the day, running nine laps, the sixth of which was almost a full second faster than the best of the rest. "l think we made good use of the best time of the day," he explained with a smile. Because no matter what may be happeninS in the broader context, Rossi seems to have no problem on focusing on the important detail: winning his sixth con- secutive top-class World Championship, to bring his total to eight. lf he is distracted by Ferrari, he is not letting it show declining to reveal when his next test will be, and con- centrating on the matter at hand. "l am not sure when my next test will be, and it is not dis- tracting me," he said. "Vvhen I am on the track on the bike, I have no problem. After testing Ferrari, I went to Qatar to test, and within six laps I was faster than the record." Rossi is a man of passion for things mechanical, so we beSan by askinS about the emotion and the feeling of driving a Formula One car. "lt is a big, big difference. To speak about personal feeling - what lfeelis not what Michael Schumacher feels, for example," Rossi said. "For me, I have a great passion for cars... for rally cars, and now I have the chance to try Formula One. A great, great passion. But for me, bike is completely another world, for the personal feeling from the driver - in this case, the rider. When you ride the bike, you become a part of the bike, With your move- ment, you change the weight on the front tire, on the rear tire, on the side. With the car, the part of the driver is more passive. lt's not more easy. But it is less." I Of course it must be easier to take risks in a car, because it is safer, Yes, for sure. I had a lot of spins in Valencia - I think seven times. For a motorbike rider, that is very funny. Because you make a mistake, and the car stops. You take out the steering wheel, climb out, and it is finished. With the bike, if you make a misrake, you are sliding, there as some pain, for sure there is more and more Iear. But personally I arn more scared in a Formula One than a bike because it is very tight, and down so low- But I think for Schumacher is the opposite- How difficult did you find it to adiust to the higher coroer speed? Yes, it's unbelievable. lt's difficult. I am always very good in the fast parts. With bike, with all - also with Formula One. But to arrive at the limit, I need time. At the end at Valencia and l4ugello, I make almost the sarne speed as Schumacher or Massa, but it is diflicult. o T Could this be Valentino Rossi's final season? a BY ,vtcHAEr Scorl PHoros BY Gor.o & Goost 40 MARCH 29,2N6 . CYCLE NEWS E - l. I 7 -/ I l"/ I 1 T (' fr: \ \\ I I suppose one big thing is the acceleration of a car. No. The acceleration from zero to 100 is the same for a car and a bike, Two-point-four, more or less. The bigger difference is the speed in the comer, and the biggest difference is the braking. The braking is unbeliev- able. Unbelie ble. For example, at Mugello, the first braking, the speed is almost the same, but the bike you start to brake at 200 meters [220 yards], and the car is 70 [230 feetl. (Laughs) Unbelievable. You seemed to adapt quite quickly. Yes, is possible. Also, the Ferrari guys give me a lot of advice. But when you arrive to brake, it is difficult, because you think it is impossible [to] stop. With the car, you brake so late. But when you brake, the work of the driver is finished. Just the eyes, and the brake, to brake there. Then the work is finished, and the time is very shon. with the bike, starting to brake is the start of the work of the rider..- to control, to shift do\Mn. ls a lot different. Once you lose control in a car, you are dealing with a lot more weight and momentum. Yes. When the F I sbrts to go out of control - there's nothing to do.