Rossi: I can't wait to be back on track

During his MotoGP heyday, Valentino Rossi always enjoyed going into the summer break with a victory, so he could avoid spending the holidays dwelling on a bad result (as occurred at the hands of Sete Gibernau during the final corner of the 2003 German GP).

On the basis of his recent track performances, the 2019 summer break won’t have been the easiest for Rossi, who dismissed talk of being too old after three successive DNFs were followed by a mere eighth place at Sachsenring.

Rossi began the season with runner-up finishes in two of the opening three races, but momentum has swung increasingly towards team-mate Maverick Vinales and rookie satellite Yamaha star Fabio Quartararo.

Perplexed at being 20-seconds slower than his own race-pace last season in Germany, Rossi said: "I feel good. I feel concentrated. I feel motivated. But I don't have the touch with the bike… We need to find a way. We need to find 'our' bike.

"It looks like the bike needs a different setting compared to last year. But looks like for me and also for Franco [Morbidelli] it's more difficult to use this type of setting, that is more where Maverick and Quartararo are very strong. So, we need to try to understand."

Despite (or perhaps because of) his on-track difficulties, the 40-year-old kept himself busy with a wide range of activities during the break – his social media posts including time at the beach, training at Misano on an R1 and attending the wedding of best friend Uccio:

But now it's time to return to MotoGP action and continue his quest to get back 'in tune' with the M1, at a track where he was last on the podium in 2016, but has qualified on the front row for the past two seasons.

“During this summer break it was important to take some time off after the first part of the season and rest a bit," Rossi said. "But now I can't wait to be back on track, back aboard my M1, and concentrate on this second part.

"We will have two consecutive GPs where it will be necessary to work well and get the best possible results."

Rossi is also hoping to try a 2020 Yamaha prototype during Monday's post-race test.

"It will be an important second half of the season because we need to improve, and we'll also begin preparing for 2020, starting with Monday's test," he confirmed.

"Brno is a track that I've always liked. I want to work well with my team to make it a nice weekend. We need a good result, so we'll do our best.”

The Doctor took his very first grand prix victory, in the 125cc class at Brno in 1996, followed by a 250cc win in 1999, 500cc victory in 2001 and four-stroke MotoGP class victories in 2003, 2005, 2008 and 2009.

In total, the nine-time world champion has stood on the Brno podium 14 times, while finishing in fourth place for the last two years.

Despite his recent struggles, Rossi is only five points behind Vinales, who holds fifth place in the world championship.