MotoGP news

Rossi finishes test fifth

Valentino Rossi completed a third and final day of testing at the Official MotoGP Tests in Jerez de la Frontera today, finishing fifth overall on his YZR-M1. The Fiat Yamaha rider completed 79 laps today, despite not starting until early afternoon due to a damp track in the morning.

Rossi spent most of the day refining set-up and tyre testing with Bridgestone, although the tricky track conditions hampered progress somewhat. Towards the end of the day the Italian, like most of his competitors, tried a qualifying tyre and it was with this that he completed his best lap of the three days, in time of 1'39.568. His team-mate Jorge Lorenzo finished 2nd overall after a qualifying lap of 1'39.252. 

"At the end of today it was quite cold which made things difficult, and generally the conditions have made our job harder for the whole three days," said Rossi. "Despite this I think we've done some good work; I have a good rhythm and I am having a lot of fun riding the bike. I'm quite excited now about the start of the season! We have things to work on, especially our speed in the exit of the corner, which was worse today because we had less grip on the damp track. Overall though it's been good, and I think we've learnt a lot both about the bike and the Bridgestones, plus I have been quite fast both with the qualifier and the race tyres. I didn't use the qualifier I like best here, so I am confident that when we use it in Qatar we can be faster. Now there's just one test left, which will be in the dark and therefore something quite strange! We will focus on our final days of preparation and be ready for the first race."

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