Today’s MotoGP Estoril race wasn’t some sort of breakthrough for Valentino Rossi who finished in 7th (BFF Uccio was betting on 6th) but this what Rossi admits this is what his GP12 is capable of at the present.
In tomorrow’s test he’ll receive some new parts and some engine modifications with hopes that they will give him some smoother acceleration, but reported that due to the engine rule, an eventual new engine will only be available at the Silverstone round.
“It went a bit better this time, in the sense that we started from a better base on Friday and we managed to prepare for today over the course of the weekend,” said Rossi.
“I was able to approach the race knowing what to expect from the bike, and I therefore managed to push harder and get a little closer to the limit.
The first laps were decent.
I moved up a couple of positions and then I maintained a consistent pace, doing times that we expected to do.
We must improve on corner exits and on acceleration because right now we’re not able to be as effective as the others due to the fact that we can’t get all of the power to the ground.
We have a test tomorrow, and we’ll start working.
Anyway, today I even managed to have some fun.
”If you hate all the electronic aids in MotoGP, you’ll not find a better excuse to continue hating them when you’ll find out what caused Nicky Hayden to fade to 11th and more than a minute behind Stoner and you’ll think some alien force was out to ruin his race.
Apparently an external radio signal interfered with his Ducati’s ECU’s transponder, forcing him to ride with the electronic calibration out of phase and ride without engine braking and then he would also lose power on the straight.
Kudos to the American who toughed it out and didn’t pit as others might have.
“Starting from the first lap, there was an electrical problem and the bike didn’t know where it was on the track.
I tried my best to ride around the problem and not make mistakes.
We’ll focus on tomorrow’s test now and look forward to the next race at Le Mans,” said Hayden.
