Yesterday's French Grand Prix saw
Valentino Rossi haul the unloved Ducati bike up to third
place at the chequered flag to score his first podium finish since joining the
Italian team for the 2011 season, following a race at Le
Mans that was marked by excitement and surprises. Nicky
Hayden started the fourth round of the MotoGP World
Championship from the fourth row, but advanced to
seventh place by the finish.
The Italian celebrated
his third-place finish after a weekend of hard work and
constant improvement, during which he and his crew
progressively improved the bike’s setup until finding a
good compromise for the race. Sixth at the end of the
first lap, Rossi stayed just a few tenths from Jorge
Lorenzo and Andrea Dovizioso, who fought over fourth
place until an incident between Pedrosa and Simoncelli
with ten laps remaining. At that point, the trio began
battling over second place, and in the end, Valentino
finished third, behind Dovizioso and winner Casey
Stoner.
Hayden, also had a
solid race, he fought over sixth place with Ben Spies
(Yamaha Tech 3), and although he had to concede the
position to his compatriot in the end, he was pleased
with the progress made over the course of the weekend.
Tomorrow (May 17),
Rossi will be in action at Silverstone Circuit, this
time the Italian will be aboard a Ducati 1198, as the
English track inaugurates a new paddock wing.
Valentino
Rossi (3rd)
“We’re very pleased with this
podium because we’re on the right path, and especially
because I had fun today. I rode the Desmosedici well, I
was fast in the technical parts of the track, I felt
good from start to finish and I had good lap times. This
morning we made a last change to the setting together
with Jeremy and the guys from Ducati, and it helped cut
another couple of tenths. I knew I could beat Lorenzo,
so that was my goal. I also passed Dovi at one point,
but I got a little confused and made a move on the
penultimate lap instead of the last one. I lost my
concentration momentarily, but in short, he got me
again. Anyway, it’s fine like this; I’m happy for
myself, for my team, for Filippo (Preziosi), and for all
the boys at Ducati. This result boosts our morale. We
still have to keep working and improving though, because
there’s more to be done. I also have to improve and keep
adapting my style to the Ducati, because I’m still not
riding it as I should, but in the meanwhile, we’ll enjoy
today’s nice race and podium.”
Nicky Hayden
(7th)
“We didn’t do ourselves any
favors by starting 10th, but actually, we made a little
step forward with the bike today. I got a decent start
but was just really tight and lost some time. As the
race got going, I was able to move up a bit and slowly
bring back Spies and Colin. Colin crashed, but once I
got in front of Ben, I wasn’t really able to get down in
the 34s and get away like I needed to. Seventh isn’t a
great result for us, but I would say that overall, it’s
probably been our best weekend yet. When the track was
cold, I was able to go quite fast—always in the top five
in those conditions. I hoped for better in the race, but
I’m looking forward to the next stretch; we’re about to
really get into the season.”
Vittoriano
Guareschi (Team Manager)
“We’re satisfied with this
weekend because we’ve already benefited from the first
changes that we’ve made according to Vale’s requests. We
had a nice race, maintained a good pace and took part in
a nice battle. The team worked very well on the setup,
which we changed every session and took a step forward
each time—including one in the morning warm-up. We still
have work to do, because this is only the start; there’s
still a gap to make up, but anyway, we’re going in a
promising direction. Nicky also confirmed that his
feeling with the motorcycle has improved, and he made
good progress on the bike over the course of the
weekend.”