MotoGP Qatar: Marquez is the danger man - Rossi

MotoGP Qatar: Marquez is the danger man - Rossi

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Movistar Yamaha’s Valentino Rossi believes that hated rival Marc Marquez is the danger man in tomorrow’s Qatar MotoGP season opener as he showed the most impressive pace through practice and qualifying today in Qatar.

Rossi eventually took fifth place in qualifying, three-tenths behind team-mate Jorge Lorenzo but it most concerned about the Repsol Honda man who managed three laps in the 1’54s bracket during qualifying while Lorenzo managed two and Rossi just one.

In free practice four Marquez managed seven laps in the 1’55s from eight full laps compared to four for Lorenzo from six full laps and four for Rossi from ten full laps.

“I’m quite satisfied, because it’s important that we start from the top5 and we are fifth. It’s the ‘minimum target’, but it’s not so bad because we are not so far from the pole position. I lost a little bit in the second part of the lap, I didn’t do a perfect lap,” said Rossi.

“If I had done so, I could have stayed a bit more in front, but anyway it’s good to start in fifth place. I’m also quite happy about the pace. We have to work and improve in the warm-up tomorrow, but I was already not so bad. It looks like four or five riders are fast and have more or less the same pace, but I’m most worried about Marquez, because today he had the best pace.”

After qualifying, Marquez said: “We are riding well and in FP4 I feel really good, really constant and then in qualifying practice also I feel ready to make a fast lap. It is a long time ago since I had the feeling to push for one hot lap, so the feeling is coming back and this is the most important for tomorrow in the race.

“We will see our level and how is our rhythm, but I feel ready to fight for the podium and if everything is fine, for the victory.”