Rossi: Yamaha have closed gap to Ducati

MotoGP world championship leader Valentino Rossi believes his works Yamaha team has now closed the performance gap to Ducati in dry conditions, and that he can fight for race wins through to the end of the season.

Rossi, who won the Czech Grand Prix after Casey Stoner crashed for the second consecutive race, believes the world champion made a mistake under his pressure.

"Looking back to the race in Laguna, sometimes Casey (Stoner) leans down a lot more than me, so maybe that is something," said Rossi. "In fact sometimes he makes sparks, maybe the gear lever, I don't know.

"For me, the problem (at Brno) is that he made a 1:57.2 lap and he saw that it was not possible to pull away, so he tried to make 1:56.0, and in the human world that is not possible."

Rossi added that his win at Laguna Seca, following a classic fairing-to-fairing battle with Stoner, proved a crucial turning point in his season and was the moment when he realised that he now has a bike to take on the world champion on equal terms.

"For me, the race in Laguna was not too bad for his mind, but it was very good for my mind," said Rossi. "After Barcelona, Stoner and Ducati made a great step. They had three races where, f**k, they were very strong.

"But in Laguna I demonstrated to me and my team that if all is okay then it is possible to beat him. So this weekend we worked very well, the difference is less than it was at Laguna and just for that reason I think he made the mistake."

Rossi was cautious not to dismiss the Ducati threat, however, and pointed to Stoner's superior pace during Brno's wet qualifying as evidence that Yamaha must keep pushing development to the end of the season.

"In the rain we have to improve because Stoner is faster than us," he said. "But anyway we are getting stronger and like at the Sachsenring, and like yesterday, we are in second position, so we are at least competitive.

"Race-by-race we're understanding better about the Bridgestone tyres and how they work.

"At Laguna Seca we made an important step on how to improve the rear grip and this weekend we followed the same setting, and I think the race in Laguna was very important for me and my team.

"We know now it is possible to beat him, even if he is very fast."

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