Rossi: Lack of top speed caused me to fade at Phillip Island
Valentino Rossi said Yamaha's straightline speed deficit cost him a lot during MotoGP's Australian Grand Prix and was a big reason for why he finished only eighth.
Rossi had taken the lead at the start of what was his 400th grand prix appearance, but could only keep first place for three laps before he was overtaken by Cal Crutchlow and several others in quick succession.
The 40-year-old was part of the group fighting for fourth, which became third after Maverick Vinales's last-lap crash, but he was only able to salvage eighth.
While Rossi said that this race was better than Motegi, where he struggled before crashing out, he was severely hindered because "every lap I lost one position in the straight".
"Was a great start, very good way to celebrate my 400th grand prix, to stay a little bit in front," said Rossi. "At the end, for sure, the result is not fantastic but I was not so far from [Jack] Miller, who arrived on the podium.
"I was able to ride in a better way, I was more competitive compared to the last weekend. Anyway, we need more, we need to be stronger.
"The problem is, every lap I lost one position in the straight. We are a big group but if I am not able to resist, or re-overtake during the lap, in the next lap the guy behind overtook me another time because I was for sure slowest in the straight of all the group.
"Unfortunately in some places I was not strong enough every lap to recover. At the end I tried to ride smooth and not lose because I had other bikes behind."
Rossi added that having rear grip problems has been the "theme of the second half of the season" and that he is yet to find a solution to it.
"Here we found a good balance of the bike and in braking and inserting corners I was very well placed with the front," he added.
"But we lacked a bit of grip at the rear, which is the theme of the second half of the season, which for the moment we can't solve. We have to think about this and we have to try to improve".
Additional reporting by Oriol Puigdemont
Crutchlow: 2018 Phillip Island crash "haunted me for a year"
Zarco's KTM woes made Honda debut sweeter
Why Ducati holds all the power in its MotoGP rider dilemma
OPINION: The French Grand Prix looks to have made Ducati’s decision on its factory team line-up simpler, as Enea Bastianini stormed to his third win of the campaign and Jorge Martin crashed out for a fifth time in 2022. But, as Ducati suggests to Motorsport.com, it remains in the strongest position in a wild rider market
The seismic aftershock of Suzuki's decision to leave MotoGP
Suzuki's sudden decision to leave the MotoGP World Championship at the end of the season has acted as a stirring element in a market that had already erupted. We analyse what this means for the grid going into 2023
How the real Ducati began to emerge in MotoGP's Spanish GP
Ducati’s 2022 MotoGP bike has had a tough start to life and the expected early-season title charge from Francesco Bagnaia did not materialise. But the Spanish Grand Prix signalled a turning point for both the GP22 and Bagnaia, as the 2021 runner-up belatedly got his season underway after a straight fight with Fabio Quartararo
How praise for Honda's MotoGP bike has given way to doubt
In a little over two months, Honda has gone from setting the pace in MotoGP testing with its new RC213V prototype to being at a crossroads - caused by the discrepancy in its riders' feedback. After a Portuguese GP that underwhelmed, serious questions are now being asked of Honda in 2022
Why Quartararo's win was vital not only for his title hopes
Fabio Quartararo got his MotoGP title defence off the ground in the Portuguese Grand Prix as a dominant first win of 2022 rocketed him to the top of the standings. While a significant result in terms of his title hopes, it has come at an even more important time in terms of his 2023 contract negotiations
The MotoGP rookie fighting two fronts in his debut year
Darryn Binder has found himself in the unenviable position as MotoGP's most under-pressure rookie in 2022 having made the step directly from Moto3 with a reputation as an over-aggressive rider. This hasn't been an easy thing to shake at the start of the season, but he believes tangible progress is being made
How ‘Beast’ mode is putting Ducati in 2022 MotoGP title contention
Enea Bastianini’s second win of the 2022 campaign at COTA puts him back in the lead of the standings and once again showed the best Ducati package is still the 2021 bike. Those closest to Bastianini tell Motorsport.com why he’s so good on the GP21 relative to his factory counterparts.
How Espargaro helped Aprilia shed MotoGP's underdog tag
Aleix Espargaro became MotoGP's newest winner in a thrilling Argentina Grand Prix in which he also proved the merits of the Aprilia project. After six years of hard graft, both parties have reaped the rewards they have long thought they deserved. But it was several key moments in that journey that led both to that momentous Sunday at Termas de Rio Hondo.