The day started with a smile for Rossi who ended his afternoon a little disappointed. Second time before the lunch break after experiencing an electronic malfunction on his first bike, he finished his Friday in Valencia in eighth place and more than seven tenths behind. The Doctor makes no secret of it: everything has to be reviewed tomorrow.
The start of Red on the route Ricardo Tormo first gave a smile: “ one of the mechanics had forgotten his wallet in the air box... All joking aside, the electronics detected something and turned off the engine. It was fun driving through the paddock with the M1. After five minutes, everything was back to normal. The end of the first session didn't go so bad this morning and I finished second ».
What followed, on the other hand, was less pleasant: “ In the afternoon I had a problem when I tried the hard tires, which are supposed to be the ones we will use for the race. From two or three laps, I didn't have any grip with it and I wasn't fast enough. In the end I put on a soft tire to improve my time but the balance of the bike was not good. I'm not happy with my settings and we'll have to work to improve on that ».
« We need to analyze the data and see what we can improve for Saturday ". On Saturday and also for 2017… “ We need to improve the engine performance to be a little faster in a straight line. We also need to improve the electronics to manage rear tire wear in the second part of the race. ».
« We were supposed to use a different version of the M1 this year, with the tank moved. But because of the new tires we stayed with the 2015 chassis. Yamaha has the best chassis, but there is also work to be done in this area. The fact remains that it is the engine and the electronics which are our main weaknessess ”. Valentino Rossi is the only competitor to have taken part in the 17 previous editions of the Valencia Grand Prix.
