Rossi Feels Like a Winner after Laguna Seca Podium

The US GP win at Laguna Seca may have been sealed by Yamaha's Jorge Lorenzo, but it was his teammate Valentino Rossi who feels like a race winner following last weekend's running. The Doctor managed to pass Honda's Andrea Dovizioso for 3rd place with 6 laps to go and kept that position until the chequered flag, scoring his second consecutive Top 5 finish in the MotoGP this season.

This would normally be considered a failure for Rossi under normal circumstances, but being that he has just returned from a serious leg injury that kept him out of MotoGP action for more than one month and a half, a podium finish 2 races after comeback is an extraordinary performance.

“It's a great result for me and so important for me to be on the podium in such a short time (after returning to racing). After the Sachsenring, we said that we wanted a podium at Laguna, but I struggled a lot in practice here and in the race. Dovizioso was definitely faster than me, but step-by-step I could come back to him and overtook him,” said Rossi after the race.

Additionally, he admitted having fought not only against his rivals on the track, but also the pain in his body.

“I am painful everywhere and I definitely need time to recover some more. This track is such a difficult one on the body - one of the most difficult ones in the championship. My left side – I had to push using my left because I have no force on my right – is finished,” added Rossi.

Thanks to his 3rd place finish at Laguna Seca – after race winner Lorenzo and 2nd placed Casey Stoner – Rossi has climbed up a spot in the riders' classification, now sitting in 5th place (120 points behind Lorenzo).