Valentino Rossi is hoping that this weekend’s Aragon Grand Prix provides confirmation of the progress he hopes Ducati made at Misano. Rossi took his first dry podium of the season but with Dani Pedrosa retiring early on, doubts still remain as to how quick he and Jorge Lorenzo could’ve gone and Rossi expects a clearer picture to emerge this weekend.
“We come to Aragon with a positive outlook after the Misano result, even if we also know that every race has its own story. It will be our first chance to check if the progress we’ve made will also be confirmed at this track, which is very different from Misano. It’s fast and challenging, and managing the tyres at lean angle is very important. Concerning that, during the test after the last race, we tried a swingarm that I liked as it provides a bit more grip with the bike leaned over and stresses the tyres less. Anyway, we’ll see. It will be a chance to understand if we’ve really improved.”
Teammate Nicky Hayden is also looking forward to the weekend as he runs Ducati’s new chassis for the first time and he also expects it to be a step forward.
“For me, Aragon is a fun circuit. I like tracks that have a bit of elevation change, and Aragon definitely has some ups and downs. There are also some blind parts that make it technical but also enjoyable, as well as some good places to pass. I’m looking forward to seeing how much better my hand will be than it was at Misano, and also to having the new chassis. I definitely had a little bit better feeling with it at the test, so it will be nice to go there and start with it. I’m sure we’ll need to make a couple of adjustments to the setup, but I’ll be interested to see how we can get on there.”
