Rossi sticks with new Yamaha MotoGP chassis for Assen

Along with teammate Maverick Vinales, Rossi stayed on at Barcelona for two days following the Catalan Grand Prix earlier this month, trying two new types of frame on his works M1. 

After finishing eighth and more than 20 seconds behind race winner Andrea Dovizioso in the Barcelona race, Rossi reported the first new frame he tried was “better for his style”, curing some of the understeer he had experienced. 

Now the 38-year-old will continue to work with a new frame this weekend at Assen, a track where he has taken seven victories in his premier class career since 2002.

‘It was a good test, because we were able to work hard and in a good way for two days, especially at a track where we struggled very much for the whole weekend,” said Rossi.

“We had a different chassis, and the first impression was good. I had a better feeling. 

“But now we are very curious to try it at another track, [with] another grip level and different types of corners, to understand if in reality we can be more competitive with this new chassis, and to suffer less during the weekend. 

“For sure we will try it tomorrow. Also if we are strong here, we have to wait for the other tracks, because this year it’s very difficult to be strong everywhere.”

Points leader Vinales suffered a similarly tough time at Barcelona, struggling to a 10th-place finish and subsequently trying the two new frames in post-race testing.

The Spaniard likewise will continue to work with the new material at Assen.

“I was lucky I could test Monday and Tuesday, I could feel good on the bike again and pushing on the limit,” said Vinales. “I was feeling good.

“I’m going to try it here in Assen. At Montmelo [Barcelona] I thought it was really good, fast and consistent. It’s good to try also on another track.

“It was really good on the braking points, and especially to keep the speed in the corner. In Assen this is really important.”

Additional reporting by Casper Ferwerda