Ducati’s Valentino Rossi ready for Australian GP despite having an injured finger – MotoGP news
Ducati Team rider Valentino Rossi is ready to hit the track at Phillip Island for the MotoGP Iveco Australian Grand Prix race weekend.
The Italian veteran crashed out in the first lap of the race at the Twin Ring Motegi in Japan.
It was his first and yet only ‘did not finish’ status during the debut season with Ducati Team. With only one podium finish at Le Mans, Rossi is looking forward to take some decent points out at Phillip Island.
Rossi said, “At Motegi, despite the outcome of the race and what the consequences of the crash turned out to be, there were a number of positive aspects. We worked well on the bike's balance and setup, and in the end, from that point of view, we had one
of the most positive weekends of the season.”
Rossi endured a hard race day after making good progress throughout the weekend. He improved his GP11.1 at the Motegi and qualified for seventh place on the grid. Unfortunately, he slammed into Jorge Lorenzo’s tail and bounced back into Ben Spies. Rossi
ended up in gravel taking a fracture on his left hand’s little finger.
After the crash, he was declared free from any kind of minor or major injury other than the bruise on the left side of his lower back.
Later Rossi felt severe pain and swelling on his left hand’s little finger which upon further tests, was declared a hairline fracture to his artificial joint. The joint was put in after the Assen crash in 1995.
Rossi further added, “Phillip Island is another track where the Ducati has always gone well, as have I, so we hope to be able to work as well as we did in Japan. As far as my hand is concerned, the swelling is reduced, and we still have a couple of days
before we go on the track.”
The several-time world champion is looking to take the first practice day and test his physical condition. After the first outing at Phillip Island, it will be further assessed whether he can carry on with the weekend or not.
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