Ducati riders Hayden, Rossi qualify in ninth and twelfth places for Italian GP – MotoGP news
Ducati Team riders Nicky Hayden and Valentino Rossi faced a hard qualifying session at Mugello as both are placed 9th and 12th respectively for the Italian MotoGP event, the Gran Premio d’Italia TIM.
Hayden said, “We didn’t put in a new soft tyre at the end, so the gap looked worse than it was. I felt confident, but this afternoon the conditions were crazy. It was spotting rain in the beginning, but everybody put their heads down and went out full-gas.”
The conditions were hard to stay on track and everyone returned to the pits as the heavy rain started. Towards the end of the QP session, the Ducati riders went out on the track under downpour to have a feel of the newly laid asphalt in wet conditions.
After a rainy session, there was no time to test better tyre options for dry conditions, which will make it difficult for the teams on the raceday. Though it is disappointing to start from ninth place on Ducati’s home event, but still Hayden is hopeful he
will manage to stand out in race.
The sole Italian manufacturer in MotoGP has faced a tough race weekend in their home event and is pushing hard to bring the best out from Mugello. The predicted successful combination of homeboy Valentino Rossi and Ducati team is yet to prove its worth.
Rossi has just earned a single podium yet for its Italian team.
Valentino Rossi said, “We had many things to try and the rain this afternoon ruined our plans, but that’s no excuse for the gap, as the conditions were the same for everyone. It’s true that we lost yesterday’s morning session, and that we’re still working
on development. We expected to go better at Mugello, and instead we struggled here as well.”
The front end of Rossi’s Ducati was not right and it cost the Italian to drop a few places in the QP session. However, his GP11.1 is free from rear end problems, which is a progress in terms of bike stability. Let’s see how he fares on Sunday in Mugello.
Tags: