The 2014 season saw nine-time World Champion Valentino Rossi take a step forward in terms of competitiveness as he registered 13 podiums and two victories.
The brilliant Italian finished his 15th premier class season as the runner-up in the MotoGP™ World Championship and this year also saw him extend his contract with Movistar Yamaha MotoGP for two more years – meaning he will ride with the factory team until at least the end of 2016.
In addition to his nine World titles Rossi has now amassed 196 podiums and 108 victories and he unsurprisingly reflects positively on another successful year in 2014…
Q: The season is over. Can you evaluate your performance?
VR: “I am very happy about my performance this season. The balance was very positive. For me this was the key season to decide my future. Last year I wasn’t very happy and I had to decide whether to continue or not. My target was to get to the front, fight with the top three riders and aim to get onto the podium every race. Last year this wasn’t always possible. I am happy that I was able to make it happen this year. I’ve made some big changes at the beginning of the season, but these have worked and I'm happy for that. Throughout this season I’ve always been strong in the race. I had good races and good battles.”
Q: What do you think about this year’s M1? At the beginning of the championship you suffered some lack of performances, but in the second part of the season the M1 won races with both you and Jorge (Lorenzo).
VR: "Our M1 has improved a lot during the season, especially thanks to the good job done by both crews. Silvano, Ramon and all the engineers and technicians have worked very well. All together we were able to improve the bike to make it competitive and winning. It's a shame we weren’t able to improve the performance earlier on because most of the gap with Marc (Marquez) was created at the beginning of the season and then it became difficult to recover. If only we could start the season again now, things would go differently, but that's okay. What’s more important is that the bike has improved a lot and that it’s competitive now.”
Q: The results have been fantastic this season, the numbers speak for themselves. As a rider but also as a man, what does it mean to be back at such a high level?
VR: “It is a great satisfaction as both a rider and a man, because in recent years things had not gone well. The two years with Ducati were very difficult. Last year was a lot better but not enough for me to give everything I could, so I made some tough choices. They were bold, even risky, but now it’s a huge satisfaction to be here after many podiums and a couple of victories. It makes me feel even more motivated and I’ve had a lot of fun, knowing that I’ve been competitive enough to win two races and have fought for the victory at almost every race with Lorenzo or Marquez, which was my target.”
Q: Which was the happiest moment throughout the season?
VR: “The best moment was the victory at Misano in front of all my fans. I managed to get back to first place in the Italian Grand Prix after five years and it was great. I loved that race. I really enjoyed myself and I felt really good emotions. However, I actually enjoyed the second victory more because at Misano I was a little too excited. In Phillip Island I was able to appreciate the win even more. I really enjoyed it!”