Rossi looking to overcome Silverstone handicap
Added on Friday, June 10th, 2011 by Carole Nash Editor
Rossi looking to overcome Silverstone handicap
Valentino Rossi admits that he is looking forward to riding a MotoGP bike for the first time at Silverstone this weekend, although he admits that he will have to quickly overcome his lack of familiarity with the circuit.
Rossi missed the British Grand Prix last season after breaking his leg in Mugello just weeks before the Silverstone showdown, with the Italian limited to just a handful of promotional laps on a Ducati road bike to gain experience of the new layout.
And the Ducati rider admits that he will need to overcome that handicap quickly this weekend if he is to record another positive result.
“Silverstone is a great track that’s difficult and quite fast. I’ll start on Friday with a small handicap because unfortunately, I didn’t get to race there last year.
“I haven’t ridden a MotoGP bike there, although I did about twenty laps on an 1198 street bike. I’ll have to learn the track as quickly and as well as possible, as it’s very technical, with several blind spots where taking the right line is very important. Of course we’ll also have to work on adjusting the bike.
“Anyway, we’re understanding better and better how to approach the setup of the GP11, and Ducati continues working on development. There’s still work to be done, but it’s clear which areas we have to address and we’re all focused and determined to improve.”
