#posting this now mainly bc of an ask related to vale's mentality but I do really like it as a bit of insight

[batsplat]

Vale's long-time mechanic Alex Briggs agrees that his rider was let down by his inner circle. "My feeling is that the Yamaha team's press group let him down," said Briggs. "They never asked him what he was going to say in the press conference at Sepang. Or what are you doing with this paperwork? Because he had some time sheets as ammo. I think it all could've been stopped, because they knew to a degree something was going to happen." Briggs has vivid memories of that season. “I thought Valentino was going to win it - I thought we were good enough.” However, Briggs noticed that Vale did change during 2015. “Towards the end of the season he got very concerned with everything, he was trying to control everything. I remember the last few races he wanted War and Peace on the pit-board - he wanted to know who was behind him, how many people were behind him, the groups and so on. I don’t think you need all that - just look in front! “I think part of it was that there were a few people around him that were a bit weaker than him, like the crew chief and the Italians in the team had become a bit ‘yessy’. “I think he would’ve been better off just riding. Things got a little bit cloudy and he wasn’t quite as, I don’t know… It’s like when you’re playing golf; if you’re in the middle of your backswing and you start thinking about what you’re doing, you’re not being instinctive.”

Mat Oxley’s Valentino Rossi: All His Races