Nicky Hayden does well in GP11 as Valentino Rossi struggles with GP11.1 – MotoGP news
Ducati Team riders Nicky Hayden and Valentino Rossi were fighting for a better place on the starting grid for the upcoming Iveco TT Assen Grand Prix.
Nicky Hayden was facing a hard time to improve the pace on his GP11 with level-2 chassis stiffness. On the other hand the Italian veteran, Valentino Rossi was fighting for the right combination with his newly bred GP11.1 but failed to set a fast pace as
his American teammate.
Ducati Team rider, Nicky Hayden said, “We struggled a bit at the beginning of qualifying, and then when we put in the soft tyres, we also changed to a different shock setting that helped put some temperature in the tyre. I started getting a better feel and
going faster, and like always, it would have been nice to get a few more laps.”
At the start of the session, Hayden was trying to get along with the new chassis but due to wet weather, it was hard to compare both chassis performances. He also explained that when Pramac Racing rider Loris Capirossi fell, the session should have been
held under red flag to avoid any further run over because he crashed on a high speed section of the track.
The riders have faced nearly every condition during this race weekend and the race day promises to bring even more challenges for them. Hayden’s teammate, Rossi was struggling to catch the pace with his newly reformed GP11.1, which is said to be an inspiration
from the GP12.
Ducati Team rider, Valentino Rossi said, “We’re disappointed with qualifying because we had started quite well yesterday, so clearly, we expected things to go better today. We had a decent session this morning, but we weren’t able to improve, so we’ll start
eleventh.”
The Italian rider was working hard to get a better traction out of his GP11.1. He also claimed that the new version is providing better grip than its previous GP model. The team lacked to get race setup efficient enough to adequately warm the tyres. This
is causing some trouble at the moment for Rossi as he is not getting the feel from his Desmosedici GP11.1.
He went on to say that he will apply himself in the race a little better than usual along with improving his corner entry. Let’s see how he fares when the Assen Grand Prix takes place on Saturday, June 25, 2011.
Tags: