VR46 riders Franco Morbidelli and Fabio di Giannantonio praised Valentino Rossi‘s feedback after the MotoGP legend made a long-awaited comeback in the Barcelona paddock.
Although Rossi had initially planned to attend the Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez last month to support his team, he ultimately cancelled those plans and opted instead for Barcelona, where he quickly became a centrepiece of attraction.
Present to witness VR46’s first victory since 2023 from the front row, the nine-time world champion did not limit his appearance to Sunday’s main event. Rossi spent the entire grand prix weekend on site, eager to watch his riders on track and immerse himself once again in the atmosphere of the garage.
Although he retired from motorcycle racing five years ago, Morbidelli highlighted how Rossi still possesses an eye for detail.
Asked what the #46 is able to spot from trackside, the 31-year-old explained: “He sees that I’m struggling, I’m struggling with entry, I’m struggling in exit of the corners.
“He’s giving me a lot of help to face the lines, to approach the lines of the track in the best way to have the best performance.”
When asked how Rossi was able to understand these things from the outside despite having not ridden current MotoGP machinery, Morbidelli added: “Because he’s a genius of motorcycles. When you’re a genius of that, you can do things that are difficult to understand.”
Fabio Di Giannantonio, VR46 Racing Team
Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / Getty Images
Di Giannantonio, who went on to win the Catalan GP for VR46, was no less enthusiastic than his team-mate throughout the weekend.
Beyond simply enjoying Rossi’s presence, Di Giannantonio sees a personal benefit that he fully intends to exploit for as long as he remains a VR46 rider.
“It is amazing,” he said. “The eye that he has is insane. I really get surprised every time, because he sees things that you can see only on the data. He sees these things and you’re like, ‘why are you [not] on track with me?’
“And he is able to see a lot of things from the others, from you. So it’s really interesting, really helpful, and really a great opportunity for me to learn and improve when Vale is here.
“This year I was asking a lot of time, ‘when are you coming, when are you coming, when are you coming back?’ Not just for the presence itself, that is already huge, because the energy that he brings is amazing, but you can really improve a lot with Vale in the garage.”
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