Valentino Rossi says he goes to the Japanese Grand Prix at Motegi next weekend “quite optimistic”, after a surprisingly strong weekend in Thailand for the Yamaha MotoGP team. Rossi missed pole by just 0.011 second and was only just beaten to third by Yamaha teammate Maverick Vinales in last week's Thailand race, which proved the Iwata marque's best weekend since it managed a double rostrum at the Sachsenring. This sudden upturn in form came as a surprise to Yamaha, after Rossi failed to exit Q1 and was 10th at Aragon, while both riders struggled for pace at the pre-season test in Thailand in February. Both riders chalked their pace to small improvements to the bike, but...
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