While his fans and pundits will say you should never write off Valentino Rossi, the truth of the matter is that nobody saw such a dominant win coming from the Italian legend anytime soon, especially at Jerez. However, and as we postulated over the winter, it was always possible that his lengthy experience and previous knowledge of Michelin’s tyres would be of huge advantage to him. Following a few incidents, Michelin had changed its carcass construction prior to Spain, making it a lot harder. The upshot being that virtually nobody but Rossi got on with them. Scott Redding, for example, couldn’t get within two seconds of the time he set there during testing and was furious. His weight and size is an issue it seems, but at the same time he’s not the only one who’s suffering, they all are. Even Rossi had the tyre spinning in the higher gears on the straights, as did the others, but he was the master of managing Michelins back in the day and it would appear that skill has served him well with the new tyre. And, worryingly for his rivals, due to Michelin’s issues at previous tracks, for at least a few races this construction is likely to stay. Tenth title on the cards? Hope springs eternal, Rossi fans!
First 2016 BSB win for Haslam!
One very, very ’appy Italian!