Valentino Rossi anticipates a strong qualifying round at the Aragon circuit – MotoGP news
Valentino Rossi of Ducati faced a gearbox problem at the free practice 2 session which resulted in a limited performance of his Ducati at the wet Aragon Circuit.
He believes that they will be able to perform impressively during the qualifying round.
The Ducati rider had a problem with his gearbox and they had to replace it in a hurry which resulted in dropping the temperature of the tyres. The decreased temperature of the tyres reduced the top speed of the bike and he did not have ample time to regain
the temperature so he may push hard.
Rossi said, “We had to prepare the second one [gearbox] in a hurry, and then I rode with that. It’s a shame because with these conditions, the tyres only get up to temperature after a few laps, so when I was able to go back out, I didn’t have time to push
hard.”
The Italian rider believes that they are capable of exhibiting improved performance with their machine. He anticipates a dry race on Sunday. It is forecasted that the qualifiers will also be wet.
“Our potential is certainly better than this. We can be more competitive, and we’ll try tomorrow in qualifying which, according to the forecasts, could be wet like today,” the Ducati rider said.
He wants to attain a good grid position to finish the Spanish GP impressively. Rossi finished the Italian Grand Prix at the second position. It was his last race with the Ducati team at home circuit.
During the FP1 at Aragon he completed his fastest lap in 2 minutes and 5.750 seconds with a top speed of 319.2 km/h whereas his top speed during FP2 was 323.8 km/h and it took at least 2 minutes at 2.412 seconds to complete the lap.
The other Ducati rider Nicky Hayden edged him by completing his fastest lap in 2 minutes and 0.996 seconds. His top speed was 322.4 km/h. The seven times world champion has proved his improved performance at the Spanish circuit and anticipates improving
it further.
Let’s see how he performs in the qualifying round scheduled a few hours from now.
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