Valentino Rossi finished the first day of the 2017 Italian Grand Prix in 14th position, having returned to the handlebars of his Yamaha M1 for the first time since his motocross crash last week.
Wounded in the chest and stomach during this, it was nevertheless a severe pain in right arm which forced the Italian driver to make a long stop during FP1 to be examined and treated by a doctor. Reduced to its minimum portion in the morning (15 laps), the test session was however a little more productive in the afternoon, with 19 laps completed, but above all a best time improved by half a second which places the Yamaha rider 0.635s behind provisional leader Cal Crutchlow.
At the end of the afternoon, Valentino Rossi spoke in Yamaha hospitality: “A difficult day. I have to fight a little, because at Mugello, with a MotoGP, and with this temperature, it is already very difficult physically, even if you are at 100%.
This morning I suffered a lot, especially when accelerating, because I had pain in my right arm to stay on the bike. When I had to open the throttle and had to hold on to the handlebars with all my strength, I had a lot of trouble. Honestly, I didn't expect that. It was a surprise. But this afternoon, together with the guys from Clinica Mobile, we worked a lot on the arm, we took something, and in the afternoon these things were better. So, it's positive.
However, in the afternoon I had difficulty breathing, but Friday is usually the worst day. After that, your body adapts to the temperature, to the stress, and hopefully I can improve. »
Rossi confirmed he did not resort to painkillers this morning “but I had a lot of pain, so I tried some this afternoon, but it was something very mild, as is normal. And I hope that will be enough. »
Regarding technical questions, Rossi added “We have to work on the balance of the bike, I'm not very happy. We have to find a way to make it a little better. And we also have a lot of question marks about tires, Because different riders and different motorcycles may use different tires, so the choice of tire will be important. We have to work, we have to try to improve, and we hope that my physical situation will improve, especially on Sunday, because the race will be very difficult. »
Massimo Meregalli, team manager: “Today Valentino did his first kilometers on the bike since his motocross incident. He used some mild painkillers for FP2 and managed to make good progress in the afternoon. He amazed us all with his quick recovery and speed on track in both sessions. I'm sure he will feel even better tomorrow, both physically and on the bike. »
Results of the two free sessions combined:
1 C.CRUTCHLOW GBR LCR Honda HONDA 1'47.365
2 A.DOVIZIOSO ITA Ducati Team DUCATI 1'47.394 to 0.029
3 J.FOLGER GER Monster Yamaha Tech 3 YAMAHA 1'47.543 at 0.178
4 M.PIRRO ITA Ducati Team DUCATI 1'47.595 at 0.230
5 M.VIÑALES SPA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP YAMAHA 1'47.669 to 0.304
6 ZARCO FRA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 YAMAHA 1'47.674 to 0.309
7 D.PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team HONDA 1'47.699 to 0.334
8 H.BARBERA SPA Reale Avintia Racing DUCATI 1'47.708 to 0.343
9 A.BAUTISTA SPA Pull&Bear Aspar Team DUCATI 1'47.728 at 0.363
10 J.LORENZO SPA Ducati Team DUCATI 1'47.747 at 0.382
11 A.IANNONE ITA Team SUZUKI ECSTAR SUZUKI 1'47.807 to 0.442
12 D.PETRUCCI ITA OCTO Pramac Racing DUCATI 1'47.950 at 0.585
13 M.MARQUEZ SPA Repsol Honda Team HONDA 1'47.980 to 0.615
14 V.ROSSI ITA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP YAMAHA 1'48.000 to 0.635
15 S.REDDING GBR OCTO Pramac Racing DUCATI 1'48.111 at 0.746
16 A.ESPARGARO SPA Aprilia Racing Team Gresini APRILIA 1'48.129 at 0.764
17 J.MILLER AUS EG 0,0 Marc VDS HONDA 1'48.664 to 1.195
18 T.RABAT SPA EG 0,0 Marc VDS HONDA 1 to 48.664
19 L.BAZ FRA Reale Avintia Racing DUCATI 1'48.751 to 1.386
20 S.LOWES GBR Aprilia Racing Team Gresini APRILIA 1'48.842 to 1.477
21 K.ABRAHAM CZE Pull&Bear Aspar Team DUCATI 6 1'48.925 to 1.560
22 P.ESPARGARO SPA Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM 1'49.524 at 2.159
23 B.SMITH GBR Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM 1'49.640 to 2.275
24 S.GUINTOLI FRA Team SUZUKI ECSTAR SUZUKI 1'50.054 to 2.689
