Ducati rider Valentino Rossi ecstatic to be back for Gran Premi Aperol de Catalunya – MotoGP news
Ducati team rider Valentino Rossi is happy to be back at the Montmelo circuit for the fifth MotoGP event of the season, Gran Premi Aperol de Catalunya on June 5, 2011.
The seven-time MotoGP World Champion, Valentino Rossi said, “The Catalan Grand Prix is one of the nicest of the season, for a number of reasons: Barcelona is a beautiful city, the track is really nice - probably my second-favourite after Mugello - and finally,
as is always the case at Spanish races, the grandstands are filled with enthusiastic fans.”
The Italian rider has earned his first podium with the Ducati team and also his first for the 2011 MotoGP season. The season start was not promising enough for Rossi and he along with his team will be looking to catch up soon with other teams.
With the fifth round approaching, the Italian rider is pleased to race at the second Spanish event in the season. In the first Spanish event at Jerez, Rossi was not able to score a decent position and finished in fifth place- same as in the Portuguese Grand
Prix.
Rossi commented with reference to the 2010 event and said, “I'm really happy to return to the track, since I had to watch the race from my house last year. I've always been quite strong at the track, so I have many nice memories, the most recent of which
is the 2009 win after a great battle with Lorenzo.”
Due to his leg injury, Rossi missed the 2010 event at the Catalunya circuit. However in 2009, Rossi scored a famous victory out of six at the venue by making a last corner overtake on the former Yamaha teammate Jorge Lorenzo.
Rossi also claims that the team has to work even further to improve the Ducati Desmosedici GP11. Although Rossi scored his first podium finish but it was possible after Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa and San Carlo Honda Gresini’s Marco Simoncelli fought for
a second place and crashed out.
Pedrosa sustained a right collarbone fracture from the crash and Simoncelli was penalised with a ‘ride through’ penalty which pushed him down to fifth position in the race.
Tags: