Valentino Rossi took to the track today on-board a Ducati 1198 around Misano
IN ASSESSMENT of his own fitness and an opportunity to get some track time in ahead of next week’s test Valentino Rossi took a Ducati 1198 for a spin around Misano.
As testing restrictions still apply until the 1st February test at Sepang, the six-time MotoGP champion swapped his new Desmosedici for the 1198 superbike.
“Today I did a total of 25 laps on the 1198 Superbike, which is sort of a 'historic' motorcycle for Ducati: beautiful and fast. I liked it!"
“The track more or less confirmed what we expected: the shoulder is painful—especially under braking, when the front area hurts, where they stitched the tendon.” He said, “Movement is stable enough, and we're also doing not so bad with endurance, but apart from that, it hurts a lot and isn't very strong.
“Let's hope it gets a little better in these next few days before the test in Malaysia. Once we're there, we'll work with the riding position in an effort to make the most of the situation and collect important information with the Desmosedici, even though I'm not in top form.”
Speculation is rife that the Italian superstar is sandbagging his injuries ahead of the 2011 season in an attempt to the catch his championship rivals by surprise in the upcoming months before the opening race – especially when one takes in to consideration the last minute decision to race in the Wrooom events.
Rossi’s appearance on the 1198 does not come as a surprise as the Italian manufacturer are expecting to take full advantage of their new racing acquisition to prepare for future superbike models.
Claudio Domenicali said as much in the Wrooom press conference this year: “Valentino is universally recognized as a master at taking a bike to its limits, but also at providing feedback that’s extremely useful for development. We think this skill will give us a big push for improving our engineering, and to always give our fans the best bikes possible.”
Posted: 27/01/2011 at 00:15
1. MotoGP has only been in existence since 2002
2. Vale won it 6 times in 2002, 3, 4, 5, 8 & 9. He also won the 500cc championship in 2001 & has won a total of 9 world championships.
/pedantic mode off
Posted: 27/01/2011 at 07:21
Posted: 27/01/2011 at 08:44
Me too. Pay attention Kushagra Kumar. Theres a good chap. I also think there is a certain amount of gamesmanship here from Vale. Doubtless it's still giving him jip. But I have ultimate faith he'll be ready come Qatar.
Posted: 27/01/2011 at 09:57
Posted: 28/01/2011 at 23:18
Posted: 29/01/2011 at 11:21
I think there is an element of 'keep them guessing' with Rossi's injury. I'm not expecting anything more than a mid field place in the next test. However I'm sure come the first race he will still feature in the top five.
Looking to the future, I think there are plenty of great young riders, that will come through in the next couple of years, from both moto2 and WSB,and we may have some of the more competetive racing to come.
Regardless of what people think about Rossi, he has certainly provided alot of young kids the motivation, to go for it.
Posted: 30/01/2011 at 14:15
Some great young riders coming through? Like who? I would say exactly the opposite, there doesn't seem to be any real stand out talents at all in the lower ranks at the moment.
WSB is quickly becoming a retirement farm. If anything the last season moto2 class showed just how average all the riders appeared. To have Elias win and return to the top class as his reward was a little telling for the rest of them. Anthony West is one of the best riders in that class though his bike is shite and he's getting on in years now.
It was obvious when Stoner, Pedrosa and Lorenzo were in the little classes that they were coming through to the top of the premier class - even though no one really recognized Stoner, overshadowed by the big hyped Pedrosa. But now I don't see that at all. Marc Marquez they say, but Im not convinced yet.
Posted: 31/01/2011 at 04:12
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