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The light that shone bright in Qatar seems to have flickered out in Argentina and Valentino is left in the shadows. His 16th time, one second from team-mate Vinales, paints a revealing picture - the Doctor clearly faces an uphill climb.
“It was a very tough first day, I'm far from the front and am not fast" Rossi admits, aware of the issues.
We expected to see more of course, and even the Doctor didn't think he'd be so far back.
“I hoped to have good sensations, as I did in Qatar, but we're back to how we were in testing - he complains - I have problems at the front, the bike is moving a lot at the front. I can't ride the M1 well and we're struggling, I'm fairly slow through all sections of the track”.
As if that weren't enough, the outsiders are out in force at Termas de Rio Hondo, occupying significant positions, to the annoyance of the 'seniors'.
“There are many riders, not just those we refer to as the top guys, who are strong, with 16 of us in 9 tenths - he confirms - We hope that tomorrow morning brings good weather and we can qualify directly for Q2, but it will be difficult because we're all very close and I'm still far off the pace”.
The only slight consolation is his pace, better than his flying lap performance.
“With the hard tyre I'm constant but I'm still missing something - he continues - Tomorrow we need to make changes to improve. I think the track is in a better conditions than last year, but there are many potholes. That makes it hard to ride, especially in the first part of the track”.
