News 16 Apr 2019

Rossi regretful in bid for Circuit of the Americas victory

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP rider accepts runner-up honours.

Image: Supplied.

Multi-time world champion Valentino Rossi has expressed regret in his bid for victory at Circuit of the Americas’ third stop on the 2019 MotoGP World Championship calendar despite delivering his all in the 20-lap affair.

Rossi saw the opportunity for victory was there once reigning champion Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda) crashed out of the contention, however the Italian fan favourite was overcome by Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar), who scored his maiden victory in the premier class by less than half a second.

“I’m very sorry for missing out on the victory, because when I saw Marquez crash I said to myself ‘;aybe I can do it’, but after that Rins arrived,” Rossi explained. “Sincerely, I pushed to the maximum, the race was very fast, I did one good lap after another, but in the end he was better than I was. I was riding very well, and I wasn’t able to overtake him.

“It’s a shame because I haven’t won for a long time, but we are strong, and we will try again next time. On a positive note, I tried everything today, I rode a very good race and stayed in front for a long time. Riding on the limit, unfortunately I made some mistakes. Maybe if had done everything perfectly I could have tried to attack on the last lap again.

“So, mixed feelings – on the one side, I’m sorry about the victory, and on the other side it’s a great result after a great weekend. I was strong and I rode a very good last lap, but I didn’t want to do anything too crazy because 20 points are very important for the championship, which is still very open.

“It looks like we are strong this year and that the bike has improved, and these are the most important things, because maybe we can fight at the front many times this season.”

The Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP rider now sits second in the championship standings as the series visits Jerez in Spain on 5 May.

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