Yesterday, June 25th, marked the two-year anniversary since Val🤡entino Rossi's most recent MotoGP win, in the 2017 Dutch TT at Assen.

Although it's t🦩he Italian legend's longest losing streak during 14 seasons with Yamaha, it's not his longest winless run in grand prix.

That lasted another eight months, from October 2010 until June 2013, during which Rossi spent two seasons struggling ജat Ducati.

Whilst 'proud' of his past success, Rossi feels that one of the secrets to his 24-year grand prix career has ꦺbeen to always focus on the future.

"Usually I don’t like to look at the past, because my past is fantastic and I'm very proud of my career, but if you want to continue [racing] you🅰 have to work on 🌠the future," Rossi explained.

So how does Rossi ass꧑ess his current and future situation?

"What do I see? We are in a difficult technical moment. I think and I hope that Yamaha have to do more, to be more 🌞competitive, because now w🦋ith MotoGP the level of the opponents is very high.

"But I think I🐭'm in a good shape. I can ride well. I can prepare for the races in a good way with my experience, so I think that we can be competitive."

Giacomo Agostini (eight) is the only rider to have won more premier-class titles than Rossi (seven), who already holds the all-time 500cc/MotoGP win record wi🌄th 89 victories.

A further victor🤡y would be his first as a 40-year-old, a feat only three riders have so far achieved in the history of motorcycle grand prix.

Assen was the scene of Rossi's return to the top step after rejoining Ya🤪maha in 2013 and the leg൩endary Dutch venue would thus be a fitting place to end his current barren run.

Although team-mate Maverick Vinales was the only Yamaha rider to win a race last year, Rossi still finished as the best M1 rider in the standings (🎉third), a role he again occupies heading into this weekend's round.

But with both Vinales and Rossi were taken down in Jorge Lorenzo's Barcelona accide🐭nt, Rossi 🔥has dropped 26-points behind Ducati's Danilo Petrucci and fourth in the world championship.

"After the unlucky race in Barcelona we are ready for the two consecutive GPs of Assen and Sachsenring," Rossi said. "In Montmelඣó we did a good job in the gar꧑age, we worked well, and we were very fast.

"I felt good dur𓂃ing the two laps in the race, so in the Netherlands this week we will work hard to get ready for✨ the fight at the front again.

"168澳洲5最新开奖结果:The Catalunya test was positive, and I think the conclusions can help us have a good race weekend here. We wiꦛll do our best.”

Rossi has finished runner-up four times💦 since his Assen 2017 win, including a narrow 0.462s defeat at the hands of Alex Rins in Austin this year, as well as a fall while leading at Sepang last year.

"After an important and successfu𓂃l test in Catalunya, we come to Assen with some optimism and also quite a bit of fire in our bellies," said team director Massimoཧ Meregalli.

"The way things ended ꦐat the previous round was a real shame and had serཧious consequences for our outlook on the championship.

"However, we are determined to make a strong comeback here this weekend and we‘🌟re using the ꦰunfortunate incident in Catalunya to fuel our motivation even more.

"We want to be on the podium, and to do so we need to be at the🦩 front at every session, so that will be our focus."

Rossi took two podiums from the opening three❀ rounds, but has been absent from the rostrum since. Vinales' has made one podium appearance this year, a🅷t Jerez.

But both Yamaha riders were part of 🌸the huge lea♓d battle at Assen last season, with Vinales eventually finishing third and Rossi fifth.

Meanwhile, for those that say 'Rossi should retire' - remember he's the top Yamaha rider in the world championship, with more podiums than any other Yamaha rider t🐻his season and has bee🐻n closer to victory than any other M1 in 2019.

The Italian is also contracted until the end of 2020 and, as things currently stand, why would any manufacturer want to l💜ose their hig💞hest ranked rider?