Ducati Team rider Valentino Rossi performs well at Gran Premio d’Italia – MotoGP news
Ducati Team rider Valentino Rossi displayed his skills at Mugello to finish sixth at the eighth race of the 2011 MotoGP season, Gran Premio d’Italia TIM.
Rossi said, “We have a bike that is different in many aspects from the one we started the season with. We’re aware that it needs to undergo further development from a technical point of view, but even at this stage it has shown that it has a good margin
of improvement just with setup.”
The rain and inclement weather conditions followed from Silverstone to Assen and then to Mugello. From the beginning of the race weekend, the weather was unstable and rains struck unexpectedly. The dry time on track was too short to test a lot of things.
However, the team made some important changes for the race day.
The changes proved beneficial for the race pace. The bike performed well and Rossi was faster than his practice times from previous days. With better corner pace there was also a small grip hampering effect in the bike.
Rossi further commented, “Anyway, we think it’s a good direction to try in the future with our setup. I lost some time on the start because the clutch slipped, and I was almost last into the first turn, with a lot of ground to make up.”
The Italian rider in the Ducati squad was disappointed for his race start because he slipped down to almost the end of the riders pack. By the end of the first lap, Rossi was back to his starting grid position. Previously, he managed to make a good start
with his GP11 but at Mugello, the clutch caused some problems due to which he dropped down in race.
As compared to Assen, Rossi shortened his gap from riders at Mugello but still it is a significant one. The team is focused to improve and make progress in order to cope up with the Hondas and Yamahas.
The riders and crew at Ducati is working hard to sort out the issues and do well in each aspect. Let’s see how they fare in the upcoming events of the 2011 MotoGP season.
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