From GpOne :
The joke came in response to a question from Carlo Pernat, during the Italian post race television show, when the manager insisted on Rossi finding at least one reason why Yamaha should let him get away: "I don't know why Yamaha would let me go. If it was to happen, maybe it is because I am old."
We all know, however, that there is a little bit of truth in every joke. Vale's contract expires at the end of the year, and everyone assumes he has already reached a deal with Ducati. The rider himself says that nothing will be announced until after Brno, and this gives the Italian some time to show Yamaha what they will be missing. He also wouldn't mind making Lorenzo's title run a bit complicated in the process.
So your return to racing went pretty well. Are you happy?
"Well of course it would have been nice to finish on the podium, but it wouldn't change much. What counts is the race that I ran. Yesterday I said I would likely be in the top 5, but I never thought I could finish fourth, fighting with Stoner for the podium until the last corner. Even more surprising was that I finished so close behind Lorenzo, doing the second fastest lap of the race. It ended up better than even my most optimistic expectations."
You had a real battle with Stoner.
"It was cool, exchanging passes right up until the end. It was really nice."
Do you think you got rid of the rustiness from you time off?
"I'm still missing a lot of feeling when I first put on new tires. I was struggling a bit in the first laps, but being able to race this weekend is like gold for my recovery. Every time I get on the bike I am a little bit better, and I can get back to making adjustments to improve the bike. Seat time is very important to a racer, and the less time you are away the less time it takes to recover."
What was it that made you realize you could come back?
"The weeks were going by and I was constantly improving, so my comeback date was pushed up. I am riding the well, and if I look at images of myself on the bike it looks like I am riding normally. Naturally the leg still hurts a little bit, but the intense rehabilitation work I did has been crucial. I'm also happy about the shoulder, because it was bothering me a lot in the races before my leg injury."
Still not the best condition for a fight with Stoner...
"I have had a lot of battles with him and with Lorenzo. And racing with an injured leg is a big advantage... you don't have any pressure on you to win."
Could we see another duel with Stoner at Laguna Seca?
"I'd be happy to. My objective for Laguna is to do a little better than I did here. It is a very difficult track and I like it a lot. There are a lot of left turns there as well, which should help with my injury like it has here at Sachsenring. Then there will be almost three weeks of rest before Brno, so I should be in pretty good shape for the Czech Republic."
Was the pain in your leg a factor in the last corner incident?
"Well first of all it seems like I provide a lot of motivation for all the other riders. Stoner was lapping in 1'22.6/7, but when I passed him he starting doing 22.1's. Everyone wants to finish ahead of me. All that said, the problem was that I was expecting him to attack in the previous corner, so I rode a defensive line. He was smart and used this to get a run
At a certain point it looked like Dovizioso was holding you up.
"It's true. Without him I surely could have caught Lorenzo, considering the times I was putting in."
Overall a very positive result then?
"My goal was to get back in shape for Misano, but if I continue like this I will be ok a lot sooner."
What score would you give yourself for this race?
"Nine. No, actually eight, because I got taken at the end!"
