![Valentino Rossi and his Misano themed helmet]()
Every race day, a small yellow fish wakes up, knowing that he needs to swim faster than the shark or he will be eaten. This is how Valentino Rossi saw his home Grand Prix at Misano. His special helmet featured a small yellow fish hunted by a big hungry shark (Jorge Lorenzo). The words “Via via via” were written on the helmet, meaning: “Go away, try to escape.”
The battle of nerves surrounding the
2015 MotoGP championship is in full swing, and history teaches us that the Number 46 is a master in putting pressure on his rivals, Jorge Lorenzo included. “I’m not offended,” said Lorenzo, who qualified on the pole. “Usually it’s better to be a shark than a small fish. This time, though, I would rather be the small fish as he has more points. Not only that, but the yellow fish is hard to hunt.”
In a dramatic flag-to-flag race that saw most riders pit twice due to the changing weather conditions, the big loser was Lorenzo. He crashed out with eight aps to go, while Rossi crossed the finish in 5th, extending his lead in the championship standings to 23 points over his teammate.
Marquez joked: “I’d rather be a jellyfish that stays between the shark and the small fish.” But in the end he played the “piranha,” as he called himself, taking his fourth win of the season at the San Marino Grand Prix in front of 92,000 Rossi fans.
![Marc Marquez race action from Misano]()
“I would have really liked to win in front of the home crowd. The atmosphere was special,” said Rossi. “But it’s difficult to make the right decision when you are fighting for the championship. Marc made the right decision at the right time, but he doesn’t have the pressure of the final standings. In the end, he had nothing to lose and this helps.”
Continued Rossi: “For two-thirds of the race I was strong in dry and wet conditions. Then, when the track started to dry, it became a gamble. In some turns on the other side of the circuit (from the Tramonto turn until il Carro), it was still wet and the sky was threatening more rain. I stayed out too much, losing the possibility to fight for the podium. I should have swapped bikes two laps earlier. It’s a pity, but I was studying Lorenzo. I’m not strong in mathematics, but when the team signaled that Bradley (Smith) was gaining 10 seconds per lap on slick tires, it was easy to calculate that I had to change tires.
“Smith had nothing to lose and he took the huge risk of doing the whole race with slick tires. Scott Redding crashed out but succeeded to rejoin the race. Obliged to change bikes, he entered the pits at the right moment, but this decision is more the result of a mistake rather than a strategy. [Loris] Baz was good, too. I tried to push, but I was too far from Baz and I preferred to manage my race.”
![Valentino Rossi celebrates with fans at Misano]()
“In terms of results, it was a success. With Jorge out, we extended the leadership to 23 points and this is what counts for the championship. Marc is far back, but you cannot rule him out. Regarding Lorenzo, we have a good advantage but we still have to try to win or arrive on the podium. Both Marc and Jorge are strong, so if we are too conservative we can lose nine points every Sunday and with five remaining races, this is more than my advantage. I need to try to arrive in front of Jorge. On paper Aragon is a difficult track for us, so we have to keep our head down. What is Lorenzo is thinking? That he is very fast in the dry and that he can win every Sunday!”
“It was my mistake,” admitted Lorenzo. “I had to trust more the garage when they signaled to enter the pits for the second time to change from rain tires to slicks. I thought the team wanted to make a risky decision and I didn’t trust them. I was waiting for Valentino’s move. I knew that I was stronger than him in the dry. My second mistake was being too impatient. I was losing ground when I had the slicks on and I pushed too much when the tires were still cold. I lost the rear entering a left corner after several right turns. I’m really disappointed, but racing is like this. In my opinion the flag-to-flag rule is too dangerous for the riders and it should be reconsidered for the riders’ safety. In F1, the drivers are in contact with the team via the radio. This helps, but in my opinion it’s risky to race with slick tires in wet conditions. Anyway, we are confident for the championship and we’ll keep on fighting. This season I recovered 29 points in four races, so I can do it again. Winning, winning and winning, this is the imperative.”
![VR46 celebrates with his fans.]()
![Valentino Rossi with Misano themed helmet.]()
![Valentino Rossi Misano helmet.]()
![Valentino Rossi Misano helmet.]()
![Marc Marquez and Jorge Lorenzo.]()
![Marquez-Lorenzo-Rossi.]()
![Marc Marquez.]()
![Marc Marquez celebrates win.]()
Every race day, a small yellow fish wakes up, knowing that he needs to swim faster than the shark or he will be eaten. This is how Valentino Rossi saw his home Grand Prix at Misano. His special helmet featured a small yellow fish hunted by a big hungry shark (Jorge Lorenzo). The words “Via via via” were written on the helmet, meaning: “Go away, try to escape.”
The battle of nerves surrounding the 2015 MotoGP championship is in full swing, and history teaches us that the Number 46 is a master in putting pressure on his rivals, Jorge Lorenzo included. “I’m not offended,” said Lorenzo, who qualified on the pole. “Usually it’s better to be a shark than a small fish. This time, though, I would rather be the small fish as he has more points. Not only that, but the yellow fish is hard to hunt.”
In a dramatic flag-to-flag race that saw most riders pit twice due to the changing weather conditions, the big loser was Lorenzo. He crashed out with eight aps to go, while Rossi crossed the finish in 5th, extending his lead in the championship standings to 23 points over his teammate.
Marquez joked: “I’d rather be a jellyfish that stays between the shark and the small fish.” But in the end he played the “piranha,” as he called himself, taking his fourth win of the season at the San Marino Grand Prix in front of 92,000 Rossi fans.
“I would have really liked to win in front of the home crowd. The atmosphere was special,” said Rossi. “But it’s difficult to make the right decision when you are fighting for the championship. Marc made the right decision at the right time, but he doesn’t have the pressure of the final standings. In the end, he had nothing to lose and this helps.”
Continued Rossi: “For two-thirds of the race I was strong in dry and wet conditions. Then, when the track started to dry, it became a gamble. In some turns on the other side of the circuit (from the Tramonto turn until il Carro), it was still wet and the sky was threatening more rain. I stayed out too much, losing the possibility to fight for the podium. I should have swapped bikes two laps earlier. It’s a pity, but I was studying Lorenzo. I’m not strong in mathematics, but when the team signaled that Bradley (Smith) was gaining 10 seconds per lap on slick tires, it was easy to calculate that I had to change tires.
“Smith had nothing to lose and he took the huge risk of doing the whole race with slick tires. Scott Redding crashed out but succeeded to rejoin the race. Obliged to change bikes, he entered the pits at the right moment, but this decision is more the result of a mistake rather than a strategy. [Loris] Baz was good, too. I tried to push, but I was too far from Baz and I preferred to manage my race.”
“In terms of results, it was a success. With Jorge out, we extended the leadership to 23 points and this is what counts for the championship. Marc is far back, but you cannot rule him out. Regarding Lorenzo, we have a good advantage but we still have to try to win or arrive on the podium. Both Marc and Jorge are strong, so if we are too conservative we can lose nine points every Sunday and with five remaining races, this is more than my advantage. I need to try to arrive in front of Jorge. On paper Aragon is a difficult track for us, so we have to keep our head down. What is Lorenzo is thinking? That he is very fast in the dry and that he can win every Sunday!”
“It was my mistake,” admitted Lorenzo. “I had to trust more the garage when they signaled to enter the pits for the second time to change from rain tires to slicks. I thought the team wanted to make a risky decision and I didn’t trust them. I was waiting for Valentino’s move. I knew that I was stronger than him in the dry. My second mistake was being too impatient. I was losing ground when I had the slicks on and I pushed too much when the tires were still cold. I lost the rear entering a left corner after several right turns. I’m really disappointed, but racing is like this. In my opinion the flag-to-flag rule is too dangerous for the riders and it should be reconsidered for the riders’ safety. In F1, the drivers are in contact with the team via the radio. This helps, but in my opinion it’s risky to race with slick tires in wet conditions. Anyway, we are confident for the championship and we’ll keep on fighting. This season I recovered 29 points in four races, so I can do it again. Winning, winning and winning, this is the imperative.”
