Breaking news
MotoGP French GP
Rossi “didn’t understand” why he crashed in French GP
Valentino Rossi “didn’t understand” why he crashed on the opening lap of the MotoGP French Grand Prix and called his third-successive non-finish a “great shame”.
Lewis Duncan Matteo Nugnes
Edited: Oct 12, 2020, 10:22 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
The Yamaha rider started from 10th and was in the middle of the pack on the run up to the Dunlop chicane on the opening lap of Sunday’s Le Mans race when the rear of his M1 swung round on him.
His crash forced Yamaha teammate Maverick Vinales, Suzuki’s Joan Mir and Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro to take avoiding action and run through the chicane, while Rossi was unable to rejoin.
It marked his third DNF in three races, having crashed out of second in the Catalan GP and retired from the Emilia Romagna GP at Misano following an early fall.
“I’m very sad, crashing like this at the first corner is a bad thing,” Rossi said.
“I had a good start and I was already in pretty good shape after the [opening] bend. In the first corner on the left we all entered very calmly, because the conditions were very difficult due to the cold.
“I also entered very slowly, but it started behind me and we honestly didn’t understand what happened.
“It is a period that I am also quite unlucky I must say, because I have not been able to collect even a point in the last three races even though my performance was not bad, because in practice I have always been quite competitive.”
Read Also:
- Battle for ninth with Mir "like fight for victory" - Quartararo
- Podium in wet race "doesn't mean that much" – Marquez
Rossi wasn’t the only rider who suffered a fall which left them perplexed, as Suzuki’s Alex Rins crashed from second on lap 20.
Rins had come from 16th on the grid running the medium rear tyre as opposed to the soft the leaders were using, and by lap 11 was into the podium battle.
Having taken second when Pramac’s Jack Miller’s bike expired on lap 19, Rins had a “totally unexpected” tumble at the Dunlop chicane on the following tour.
“It was a shame; even before the crash it was a great race,” said the Suzuki rider.
“It was difficult for the tyres to warm up, it was difficult but we handled it well, I gained several positions and we moved forward.
“I had a good feeling with the front tyre, we fought a lot with [Andrea] Dovizioso and Miller.
“[Danilo] Petrucci escaped and when Miller's engine broke, I went forward and I was catching Petrux , [which is] just when I fell.
"I was riding well, braking on the spot, it was totally unexpected."
Additional reporting by German Garcia Casanova
6
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Mir says one bad MotoGP race "is allowed"
Next article Dovizioso “paid” for wrong tyre choice in wet French GP
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Lewis Duncan
MotoGP 2025: Full rider line-up revealed
MotoGP
MotoGP
MotoGP 2025: Full rider line-up revealed
A year on from Marquez’s Germany MotoGP meltdown, has Honda improved?
MotoGP
MotoGP
German GP
A year on from Marquez’s Germany MotoGP meltdown, has Honda improved?
What’s behind MotoGP’s right-hander chaos in Germany practice?
MotoGP
MotoGP
German GP
What’s behind MotoGP’s right-hander chaos in Germany practice?
More from
Valentino Rossi
The closest finish in MotoGP history: Toni Elias over Valentino Rossi 20 years ago
MotoGP
MotoGP
Portuguese GP
The closest finish in MotoGP history: Toni Elias over Valentino Rossi 20 years ago
Marc Marquez to read Valentino Rossi’s new book “when I retire” from MotoGP
MotoGP
MotoGP
San Marino GP
Marc Marquez to read Valentino Rossi’s new book “when I retire” from MotoGP
Valentino Rossi abandons Nordschleife Permit plans for 2026
Endurance
Endurance
NLS8
Valentino Rossi abandons Nordschleife Permit plans for 2026
More from
Yamaha Factory Racing
Alex Marquez undergoes surgery on his right shoulder and begins recovery at home
MotoGP
MotoGP
Qatar GP
Alex Marquez undergoes surgery on his right shoulder and begins recovery at home
How MotoGP teams and riders are organising themselves for their arrival in Qatar
MotoGP
MotoGP
Malaysian GP
How MotoGP teams and riders are organising themselves for their arrival in Qatar
MotoGP responds to Yamaha’s Qatar GP withdrawal
MotoGP
MotoGP
Malaysian GP
MotoGP responds to Yamaha’s Qatar GP withdrawal
Latest news
Charles Leclerc penalised for Liam Lawson clash; Kimi Antonelli and Oliver Bearman also punished after F1 Brazilian GP
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
2 min
Charles Leclerc penalised for Liam Lawson clash; Kimi Antonelli and Oliver Bearman also punished after F1 Brazilian GP
Max Verstappen "needs to understand what happened" after "night and day" F1 comeback in Brazilian GP
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
3 min
Max Verstappen "needs to understand what happened" after "night and day" F1 comeback in Brazilian GP
LIVE: NASCAR Cup season finale at Homestead lap-by-lap updates
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
29 min
LIVE: NASCAR Cup season finale at Homestead lap-by-lap updates
Kyle Larson wins 2026 NASCAR Cup championship with Stage 1 clinch at Homestead
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
34 min
Kyle Larson wins 2026 NASCAR Cup championship with Stage 1 clinch at Homestead
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe