Valentino Rossi thinks Ducati has started to improve in the season – MotoGP news
Valentino Rossi believes that Ducati has started to prove that it is closing in on the gap from the front runners of MotoGP in the current season.
The Italian GP was a good one for the team as Rossi was able to finish fifth in the race after starting from 11th on the grid.
He was only 11.7 seconds behind the winner Jorge Lorenzo in the Yamaha. Both Rossi and his teammate Nicky Hayden were disappointed not to take home a podium at the race but are happy to see an overall improvement in the team as it progresses forward in the
season.
Rossi said that the team is very happy with the fifth place finish he got as it is not a bad position to get and the encouraging aspect was that the he was able to get good pace at the end of the race.
He added that after the Italian Grand it is now two races where he has been able to get a good enough rhythm to the last laps and that is something very important to him.
Rossi explained that he has still not managed to solve the discomfort that he is getting from the soft Bridgestone tyres. He reckoned that they are the reason that is holding him back in qualifying and are giving him too much to do on the race days.
“We always struggle too much in practice because the other guys are able to improve their speed and their performance a lot with the soft tyre,” said Rossi. “For me, I always have some problems with the front end of the bike, and a lot of times this year
when I put on the soft tyre I am not able to use the extra grip because the extra grip on the rear makes my problem worse.”
“So for this reason we are struggling a lot during practice. With a better position on the grid and a better start, I could've fought for the podium,” he added.
He added that it is a great pity for him to not be able to get a podium with the Ducati at Mugello but he is taking the positives from the race. The pace of the bike was good and now the team has a better base to improve the bike for the coming races.
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