Valentino Rossi has turned the disappointment of last season’s slip of a title chance into motivation for the 2016 season.
It has been stated by Honda vice-president Shuhei Nakamoto that ‘Rossi needs enemies’ to get the most out of himself and his bike. Whether it’s Max Biaggi, Sete Gibernau, Casey Stoner or his latest ‘enemy’ Marc Marquez. Rossi needs somebody to fixate on.
Following the polemic of the end of the 2015 season with the various clashes with Marquez throughout the season the Yamaha man has said that his feelings towards Marquez are not the same as they were at the start of last season.
It seems as though the feelings are mutual as it was released earlier this week that Marquez intends to sever all ties with Valentino and the VR46 companies, seeking a new merchandising supplier and accommodation. Having previously had his merchandising handled by Rossi’s company and his trackside accommodation was sourced from close family friends of the Italian.
At the 2016 Yamaha bike launch, Rossi said that
“This is just the past, from today we start with a new season from the beginning, it will be hard but we will try to stay at the same level.
“I have the passion and I have still the motivation to continue because I still love it. It all depends also on the results, as I have to be competitive.
“It is good this moment of the season as you always have that feeling – the moment of excitement for the new bike – so it is always interesting.”
Rossi has also said that he is very happy with his and his bikes performance in2015, being very surprised by the dominance of Yamaha throughout the season, expecting his competitors, mainly Honda to be much more competitive.
“The end of last year was quite difficult, but at the end, I am happy with the 2015 season because I enjoyed it a lot and I could fight for the championship through the whole season to the last race”
