Valentino Rossi Will Race with Old Bike
Yamaha's shot at a moving target appears to have missed, at least as far as Valentino Rossi is concerned. At the Phillip Island MotoGP test, the veteran multi-champion rejected the new-this-year Yamaha YZR-M1 chassis with the weight shifted backwards in favor of a development of last year's 'Bridgestone' chassis.Aside from geometry changes, the 2016 MotoGP bike most particularly has the fuel tank mounted to the rear: the balance shift intended to take account of the weakness of Michelin's front tires at early tests last year.
At that time the MotoGP motorcycles were designed around the very stiff front Bridgestone tire, and there were so many front-end slip-offs that the first race-simulation tests had to be abandoned.
Yamaha's response, however, was mistimed: Michelin beefed up the construction of the front tire, and it seems the rubber works best without any major changes from the Bridgestone setup.
'With the older bike I'm faster, but especially, when I ride I feel better, specially the front,' Valentino Rossi said.
Valentino Rossi added that the new design felt a bit queasy on corner entry.Tag: Yamaha Valentino Rossi MotoGP Racing Chassis Michelin Tires Championship Grand-Prix
