Rossi: "This track isn't my favorite"

Friday, 27 August 2010 22:17 by Luca Bologna

The first free practice session at Indianapolis was not the best for Valentino Rossi. The nine time world champion ended up fifth fastest, the same position in which he finished the Brno race, and which he was quite unhappy about.

Rossi also seemed a bit bothered about the situation regarding the new Ohlins forks, but he did not try to blame his performance on the equipment he is working with.

"The leg hurts and the shoulder is bothering me, especially in the changes of direction.  And then then this is not the type of track that I like.  Quite the opposite.  There are a lot of bumps and it was designed to be run in the other direction, so some of the corners have a strange radius to them."

Do you think it would make a difference if you had the new forks?

"I'm not sure that the new forks would change things drastically.  They are just one component of the bike.  Still, it would be nice to have them available to us."

So how do you rate your session overall?

"I struggled a bit, but it wasn't terrible.  I was able to do a couple of good laps at the end, but we are still far from our full potential.  Tomorrow we will make some changes, because I am struggling to ride the bike as it is."

Were you surprised with Stoner's lap time?

"I think the Yamaha struggles at tracks with a slow corner leading onto the main straight.  Ducati on the other hand, even with Hayden doing a good lap, seem to be going very well.  It is just the first session though, and we will have to see what happens tomorrow.  In any case, I'm looking forward to the return of four sessions before a race."

What is your opinion on Ducati's decision to leave Superbike?

"I'm sorry to hear about it, and I am sorry because I would have liked to do a Superbike race.  It seems like I will never get the chance.  Hopefully it is only temporary and they will decide to return in the future.  It is a shame for all of Superibke."