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Rossi tests 2012 Ducati
In doing so, he utilised the sixth of eight days during which factory riders may participate in such outings. The Italian turned a total of 82 laps in conditions that were sunny but not overly hot.
Rossi had a fall on the exit of the Scarperia-Palagio section during the third lap of his first outing in the morning, but it didn’t affect the team’s work, which continued until 6:30 p.m.
Filippo Preziosi and Vittoriano Guareschi were in the garage to follow the test, and official test rider Franco Battaini, who had ridden the two previous days, was with Rossi on the track.
“It was an interesting day, although it was also quite long, because we rode until 6:30,” said Rossi after the test. “Developing a bike requires a lot of focus and effort, but it’s also very exciting and fulfilling to be part of a group of people pushing as hard as it can in the same direction. Today we confirmed various aspects of the GP12’s electronics and chassis, collecting a lot of useful information for Filippo and the guys in the factory. I think that the work is well under way as we prepare for our next steps.”
Valentino Rossi Does Well, Nicky Hayden Unsure About Crash
Valentino Rossi and Ben Spies - Misano 2011
His rhythm dropped a little toward the end, but the work carried out by his team and the base settings used for the race are promising for the next round at Aragon in two weeks.
Following a strong warm-up and a good start, Nicky Hayden fell while exiting Turn 15 on the third lap, and he wasn’t able to return to the track.
Valentino Rossi
“I’m pretty happy because we didn’t expect to do this well. I didn’t think I’d be able to stay with the second group, which is our goal at the moment, and instead we managed it for half the race. We still weren’t able to attack like we’d like to, but anyway, we were right there. I started really well from the fourth row, and I was a little crazy through the first three corners because I had to push even though there were some raindrops. It was nice after that. I stayed with ‘Sic’ and ‘Dovi’ for a little while and also battled with Spies, and we maintained a good pace. This morning we made a good change on the front, and if we’d done that yesterday I probably could have started closer to the front. It ended up being one of my best races of the year, although of course we have to remember that we’re only talking about seventh place. Still, it was a nice race in front of a good crowd. We’re fairly satisfied as we wait to take the necessary steps forward.”
Nicky Hayden
“It was obviously a disappointing race. The team did a good job, as they made a couple of changes overnight, and this morning I was able to go a couple tenths faster than in qualifying, with a good rhythm. I thought we had a better chance for the race. It was raining a little bit at first, which is normally good for our bike. I got a decent start, felt good, and was going to take a few chances to try to get up as far as I could. Then I lost the front on the exit of Turn 15 and—bam!—I was down. We looked at the data, and I’m not really sure why I crashed. We were tip-toeing because of the rain, so maybe the left side of the tyre wasn’t quite up to temperature, although it was still rider error. This track has been the worst one on the calendar for me. I certainly could use some good luck, and maybe we’ll get it at Aragon.”
Vittoriano Guareschi (Team Manager)
“I think today presents some positive aspects that have to be considered. We made a change to Valentino’s bike that allowed him to maintain a better rhythm in the race than he had managed in practice, and he was able to fight: he had a really good start and then rode fast for as long as he could. Of course I’m sorry for Nicky’s crash, because he really had a nice warm-up this morning, and he also got a good launch off the start and passed a lot of riders. We’re working really hard, and next week we’ll be back on the track at Mugello for three days of testing.
Full race report and results are available here.
Rossi Struggles To Tenth After Gearbox Problem
Valentino Rossi revealed that a gearbox problem was the reason for his mysterious fall to the back of the field in Sunday’s Indianapolis Grand Prix. The Ducati rider was making decent progress after starting 14th but fell back to 17th on lap nine.
Initially, it looked as though he changed his mind on a potential stop for new tyres but Rossi confirmed that he was forced to take to the escape rode as the GP11.1 became stuck in neutral.
“A number of things happened this weekend that contributed to making this a particularly difficult race: the crash yesterday in qualifying, which robbed some confidence and was part of the reason we had to start so far back on the grid, and today there was a problem with the gearbox. The bike stuck in neutral six or seven times, and the first two caused me to go straight and lose time. I found myself in last place, but I decided to do what I could to at least get some points. In this morning’s warm-up, we had made a small change that let us improve the pace a little, but the race was really difficult. We know that we have to work hard. Ducati is doing that, and my team and I are as well, because we must try to not let up and to get the bike ready while we wait for technical updates.”
Teammate Nicky Hayden’s decision to run the softer front tyre backfired as he finished down in 14th at his home Grand Prix. The tyre was starting to cause problems early on before wearing so badly that he was forced to pit.
“It was a really tough day. We thought the soft front tyre could be a good option for the race, but unfortunately it only worked for seven or eight laps. Then I began to steadily lose ground until it even began shaking on the straightaways, and I had to come in. Since you’ve got to finish to get points, I went back out, and it was actually worth getting two points. I got a good start and was up front the first few laps, and that was the first time I put up a real fight in the dry all season. My bike felt fast in a straight line, and with this new gearbox, I could get out of that last corner and keep guys in the draft early on. We’re on our first race with this bike, and maybe we don’t know enough about what it needs. Sorry to all my U.S. fans and the Ducati fans here who came to support us, but we’ll try again next week.”
Team Manager Vittoriano Guareschi was disappointed to see the momentum from Brno disappear but assures all Ducati fans that they will work hard to recover at Misano.
“Today was very challenging for our team and riders, and despite their typical great efforts, we struggled to bring home a few points. After the positive performance at Brno, we expected to find a good rhythm here at Indianapolis as well. We didn’t manage it, although it’s also true that we suffered a few setbacks. For example, Nicky chose a soft front tyre that proved not to be the best, but his race pace in the early laps was very good, while Valentino had a transmission problem that had never shown up during the four practice sessions. Anyway, we know that we have to improve, and no one at Ducati or in the team is holding back as we work toward that goal.”
Initially, it looked as though he changed his mind on a potential stop for new tyres but Rossi confirmed that he was forced to take to the escape rode as the GP11.1 became stuck in neutral.
“A number of things happened this weekend that contributed to making this a particularly difficult race: the crash yesterday in qualifying, which robbed some confidence and was part of the reason we had to start so far back on the grid, and today there was a problem with the gearbox. The bike stuck in neutral six or seven times, and the first two caused me to go straight and lose time. I found myself in last place, but I decided to do what I could to at least get some points. In this morning’s warm-up, we had made a small change that let us improve the pace a little, but the race was really difficult. We know that we have to work hard. Ducati is doing that, and my team and I are as well, because we must try to not let up and to get the bike ready while we wait for technical updates.”
Teammate Nicky Hayden’s decision to run the softer front tyre backfired as he finished down in 14th at his home Grand Prix. The tyre was starting to cause problems early on before wearing so badly that he was forced to pit.
“It was a really tough day. We thought the soft front tyre could be a good option for the race, but unfortunately it only worked for seven or eight laps. Then I began to steadily lose ground until it even began shaking on the straightaways, and I had to come in. Since you’ve got to finish to get points, I went back out, and it was actually worth getting two points. I got a good start and was up front the first few laps, and that was the first time I put up a real fight in the dry all season. My bike felt fast in a straight line, and with this new gearbox, I could get out of that last corner and keep guys in the draft early on. We’re on our first race with this bike, and maybe we don’t know enough about what it needs. Sorry to all my U.S. fans and the Ducati fans here who came to support us, but we’ll try again next week.”
Team Manager Vittoriano Guareschi was disappointed to see the momentum from Brno disappear but assures all Ducati fans that they will work hard to recover at Misano.
“Today was very challenging for our team and riders, and despite their typical great efforts, we struggled to bring home a few points. After the positive performance at Brno, we expected to find a good rhythm here at Indianapolis as well. We didn’t manage it, although it’s also true that we suffered a few setbacks. For example, Nicky chose a soft front tyre that proved not to be the best, but his race pace in the early laps was very good, while Valentino had a transmission problem that had never shown up during the four practice sessions. Anyway, we know that we have to improve, and no one at Ducati or in the team is holding back as we work toward that goal.”
