On an event-filled day at the GP di San Marino e Riviera di
Rimini, Valentino Rossi had his best race so far aboard the Desmosedici.
In sunny and warm conditions, the Italian made it to the second step of
the podium, having ridden at a pace that was second only to that of the
winner, Jorge Lorenzo. The first start was cancelled, but Rossi enjoyed
a great getaway when the red lights went out for the second time, and
he exited the first turn in second place. From there, he held off
attacks from first Stefan Bradl and then Alvaro Bautista before taking
the chequered flag.
His teammate
Nicky Hayden rounded out the Ducati Team’s positive day, finishing
seventh despite riding with a right hand that was still swollen and
painful. Tomorrow he and the team will decide together whether he’ll
take part in the Ducati Team test that will take place with Valentino
Rossi on the same Misano circuit.
Valentino Rossi (Ducati Team) 2nd
“It was a really nice race, and I’m very happy. It’s a great result,
which I’d like to dedicate to Sic and his family, Paolo, Rossella, and
Martina. I’d also like to thank all the guys who work with me and
everyone at Ducati Corse who are giving their best, like me: after two
difficult years, we really needed that. I’m very pleased because we did a
dry race at a high level, always with a fast pace, and with a limited
gap to Lorenzo. We worked well. The new frame and swingarm allow us to
make more changes to the geometry, and in fact here the feeling with the
front was improved and the bike also seemed to be better balanced on
acceleration. The setup that we found was also good, as I managed to be
fast and consistent for the whole race. It will be important to continue
working well and do our best to take the Ducati as high as possible in
the next races as well.”
Nicky Hayden (Ducati Team) 7th
“I felt bad enough this morning that we considered not racing, but
being here in Italy, I wanted to at least try. This track seems to
provide a lot of drama, and I thought if I could just stay clean and get
to the finish, I might salvage somewhat of a result. I knew it was
going to be extremely difficult. Unless you’ve ever used carbon brakes
with a Bridgestone front tyre, you don’t realize how hard you can
squeeze the lever on a MotoGP bike now, and a couple of laps, I had to
slow down to try to let my hand recover. It wasn’t very strong, and it
was really painful, but I was able to hang on and get a seventh today.
Hopefully I can start building up for the rest of the season. It’s great
to see Vale on the podium, and it’s a well-deserved reward for all the
effort by Filippo, his staff, the team, and the factory.”
Vittoriano Guareschi, Team Manager
“We’re very happy because we worked well, both two weeks ago in the
test and with the bike’s setup over the race weekend, and we managed to
put Valentino in a position where he could get a good result. Vale was
able to perform to his potential in the dry, and to manage the race well
to the finish. We needed confirmation on this new chassis in a
confrontation with the other riders, and we got that today. Nicky did
the best that he could in his condition. His hand certainly isn’t
completely mended, and he had to receive pain-killing injections in
order to race. Anyway, it was very important for him to return after
four weeks off, and depending on how he feels tomorrow, we’ll see if
he’ll be able to ride with Valentino in the test.”
