“I was hoping for a little more than this but realistically at the moment it was the best I could manage.
I started from near the back but kept passing people and made progress throughout the race. I got close to Kallio and tried my best to pass him but made a couple of mistakes and he beat me.
All in all it’s not a spectacular result but it is definitely a step forward. I’ve been close to the front guys all weekend, we’ve worked well and we’ve learnt a lot about the bike. I’m already looking forward to getting back on the bike for the test tomorrow and continuing to work down this path, which we think is the right one.”
1. Valentino Rossi ITA Fiat Yamaha Team 43′11.897
2. Jorge Lorenzo SPA Fiat Yamaha Team 43′11.992
3. Casey Stoner AUS Ducati Marlboro Team 43′20.781
4. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Repsol Honda Team 43′20.833
5. Loris Capirossi ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 43′31.728
6. Dani Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda Team 43′34.079
7. Colin Edwards USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 43′35.444
8. Randy de Puniet FRA LCR Honda MotoGP 43′37.162 Click here to read more
1. Jorge Lorenzo SPA Fiat Yamaha Team 1′41.974
2. Valentino Rossi ITA Fiat Yamaha Team 1′41.987
3. Casey Stoner AUS Ducati Marlboro Team 1′42.426
4. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Repsol Honda Team 1′42.594
5. Toni Elias SPA San Carlo Honda Gresini 1′43.139
6. Colin Edwards USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1′43.168
7. Randy de Puniet FRA LCR Honda MotoGP 1′43.175
8. Dani Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda Team 1′43.207 Click here to read more
“Today we weren’t quite able to pick up where we left off yesterday but I went half a second quicker this morning – unfortunately it wasn’t enough to close the gap on the guys in front because they improved too. I shaved another couple of tenths off again this afternoon but on my last run I crashed in turn two and that was pretty much that. The position isn’t great but on the other hand with just a couple more tenths I’d have been a lot further up.
I know I’m talking a lot of ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’ here and at the end of the day the position is what counts and we’re not high enough up. It’s just a shame that on the lap when I’m sure I would have found those extra couple of tenths the rear stepped out in turn one and when I flicked it over into turn two it put me down pretty good. I smacked my left wrist quite hard but I don’t think it’s a big issue and other than that I seem to be okay so we’re looking forward to trying for more tomorrow. ”
“I know it’s only sixth position but still I’m pretty happy because I was running up front throughout the session and having fun, which is what racing is supposed to be about!
Basically “Vitto” (Guareschi) stayed on in Mugello and tested a lot and we have changed almost everything on the bike other than the handgrips! We’ve altered the electronics and the geometry a lot to help me get the bike turning and we’ve taken a big step. I don’t want to get too excited because it’s only Friday and we’ve got to keep working hard but I want to say that I am very grateful to the team and to “Vitto”, Filippo (Preziosi) and “Pippi” (Cristhian Pupulin) and the Test Team in particular.
Nobody here has given up on me even after a few bad races and I have always made it clear I won’t give up on them. We have had to stay mentally strong and keep positive, even though that hasn’t been easy. Hopefully we’re on to something here and all the hard work will start paying off.”
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