Valentino Rossi is aiming to move from podium contender to a challenger for race victory in this weekend’s British Grand Prix, even if he needs to ride through the pain barrier to achieve it. The nine time world champion injured his finger after a crash during FP4 at Brno and while the condition has improved, the Italian admits he will still be riding in discomfort.
“I hope the finger is in a better condition. I’ve tried everything but unfortunately the damage is quite big and I still have a little bit of pain so I think for this weekend I have to suffer a bit, especially moving the finger into the glove.”
After winning his battle with Marc Marquez in the Czech Republic, Rossi took his record to seven podiums in eleven starts this season but the Yamaha rider admits there is still work to do before he can transform podiums into victories.
“I’ve started the second half of the season with two good races, two podiums, and staying close to the top. Unfortunately it wasn’t enough to fight for the victory until the last lap. We have to work to keep our rhythm higher until the last lap. I made the mistake in practice and this affected my race but the start of the second half of the season was not so bad. We have to continue like this and try to work to improve the results.”
“It’s a track that I like very much, it’s very long, technical and fast for MotoGP but it’s a very difficult track for the lines. In the past, the results haven’t been fantastic for me. Last year was a little bit better but not enough but this year I am able to ride the bike in a better way and I’m stronger in braking to so I have to improve my pace from last year through the part of the track where I was not strong enough.”
