Valentino Rossi, for all his undoubted talents, has never been the best of starters in MotoGP races. Identifying this as an area for improvement, and with the prospect of Assen poleman Casey Stoner making a breakaway at the head of the race, the Fiat Yamaha rider was going all-out in the Netherlands.
“Unfortunately I made a mistake on the first lap, on the first left corner,” admitted Rossi frankly after the A-Style TT Assen. “I went in too fast with a cold tyre and lost the rear.”
“I took De Puniet with me when I crashed, so I have to say sorry to him. It was a bad mistake, because today we improved the setting of the bike and had great pace, and could even have challenged for the win,” lamented the rider, having conceded the lead in the World Championship to Dani Pedrosa.
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