From fourth on the grid, Rossi completed an all-Yamaha podium in the second Jerez race behind Petronas Yamaha man Fabio Quartararo and Maverick Vinales, who managed to pass his factory teammate on the penultimate lap.
It came after an uncompetitive opening weekend of the season for Rossi at the same track one week earlier, which ended in retirement after an engine alarm went off.
Explaining the turnaround, Rossi said he and his new crew chief for this year, David Munoz, had to persuade certain factions within the Yamaha garage about the merits of deviating from the set-up preferred by Quartararo and Vinales.
“Not just after last race, but all the second part of the 2019 season was very frustrating,” said Rossi after standing on the podium for the first time since last year’s Grand Prix of the Americas. “I was so slow and I suffered very much. But this time we work in another way.
“We have to work hard because with David, we have to put pressure on Yamaha because sometimes it’s something political. It’s a political problem. We want to change the bike and we don’t give up.
“And from Friday morning I have a better feeling. Sincerely, this time my team helped me a lot, because they give me a light at the end of the tunnel, they give me another bike.”
Valentino Rossi, Yamaha Factory Racing
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<figcaption class="C($c-fuji-grey-h) Fz(13px) Py(5px) Lh(1.5)" title="Valentino Rossi, Yamaha Factory Racing Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images” data-reactid=”51″>
Valentino Rossi, Yamaha Factory Racing Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Yamaha team boss Lin Jarvis said the changes Rossi was able to make for the Andalusian GP weekend made the Italian feel like the Yamaha was “his bike” again.
<p class="canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)–sm Mt(0.8em)–sm" type="text" content="Jarvis explained to BT Sport: "Most of our Yamaha have a similar range of settings, the zone they are working in is pretty much common. But Vale struggled to get to grips with that and to feel comfortable and make it work for him.” data-reactid=”57″>Jarvis explained to BT Sport: “Most of our Yamaha have a similar range of settings, the zone they are working in is pretty much common. But Vale struggled to get to grips with that and to feel comfortable and make it work for him.
“Vale was very disappointed and really wanted to change something after the first weekend [at Jerez]. We decided to change something, he wanted to try it because nothing to lose.
“Changing the minds of Japanese engineers sometimes is not so simple, because we have a lot of data and information and the other guys are going fast. So why go in this other direction? But Valentino obviously has a lot of experience and he knows what works for him. He pushed, we accepted and made the change.
“I wouldn’t say it’s resolved all his problems but he feels a lot more comfortable, he feels it’s his bike again and therefore he can ride it better.”
OTTAWA – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the NDP is caving to political pressure from Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre when it comes to their stance on the consumer carbon price.
Trudeau says he believes Jagmeet Singh and the NDP care about the environment, but it’s “increasingly obvious” that they have “no idea” what to do about climate change.
On Thursday, Singh said the NDP is working on a plan that wouldn’t put the burden of fighting climate change on the backs of workers, but wouldn’t say if that plan would include a consumer carbon price.
Singh’s noncommittal position comes as the NDP tries to frame itself as a credible alternative to the Conservatives in the next federal election.
Poilievre responded to that by releasing a video, pointing out that the NDP has voted time and again in favour of the Liberals’ carbon price.
British Columbia Premier David Eby also changed his tune on Thursday, promising that a re-elected NDP government would scrap the long-standing carbon tax and shift the burden to “big polluters,” if the federal government dropped its requirements.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
Simon Jolin-Barrette, minister responsible for consumer protection, has tabled a bill to force merchants to calculate tips based on the price before tax.
That means on a restaurant bill of $100, suggested tips would be calculated based on $100, not on $114.98 after provincial and federal sales taxes are added.
The bill would also increase the rebate offered to consumers when the price of an item at the cash register is higher than the shelf price, to $15 from $10.
And it would force grocery stores offering a discounted price for several items to clearly list the unit price as well.
Businesses would also have to indicate whether taxes will be added to the price of food products.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
Quebec legislature member Youri Chassin has announced he’s leaving the Coalition Avenir Québec government to sit as an Independent.
He announced the decision shortly after writing an open letter criticizing Premier François Legault’s government for abandoning its principles of smaller government.
In the letter published in Le Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec, Chassin accused the party of falling back on what he called the old formula of throwing money at problems instead of looking to do things differently.
Chassin says public services are more fragile than ever, despite rising spending that pushed the province to a record $11-billion deficit projected in the last budget.
He is the second CAQ member to leave the party in a little more than one week, after economy and energy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon announced Sept. 4 he would leave because he lost motivation to do his job.
Chassin says he has no intention of joining another party and will instead sit as an Independent until the end of his term.
He has represented the Saint-Jérôme riding since the CAQ rose to power in 2018, but has not served in cabinet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
