Valentino Rossi says his Yamaha team made a step forward with the bike's troublesome electronics for the Qatar MotoGP race, in which he secured third place.
Rossi and team-mate Maverick Vinales – who finished sixth on Sunday – have battled all pre-season to get the M1's electronics to work properly, with the former struggling for acceleration.
The Italian had also suffered with front tyre wear at Losail, and says the team lost performance as it looked for a solution to this on Saturday.
Yamaha turned a corner in this area on Sunday afternoon in the warm-up session, according to Rossi, and this allowed him to stick with Andrea Dovizioso and Marc Marquez in race.
Despite the missing the win by just under eight tenths in the end, Rossi is wary that Yamaha's issues could return next time out in Argentina.
“I think first of all, yesterday in the qualifying I was not very happy about the balance because we try some modify for save the front tyre,” he explained.
“Yes, we can save the front tyre but after we lose speed. So today I say, we try everything to go fast, and after, if the tyre resists, [it] resists. If not, ciao.
“We make a good step, this morning we improved the traction on the exit from the corners, and also I think we work well with the electronics.
“But the good and the bad is, from one track to the other, the difference of the bike will be big also this year. So nobody knows what happens in Argentina.”
Rossi signed a new two-year deal to remain in MotoGP with Yamaha on Thursday. When asked if his podium answered any detractors who claim he is too old to continue racing, he said this was of little concern to him.
“You know, in our sport, like in other sports, just one things in important – the result,” added.
“So you can speak a lot, but after the only important thing that happens is on the track. I don't race to demonstrate to the people that I'm not too old.
“I race just to demonstrate to me that I can stay at the top. So, this is the good way I think.”
