Valentino Rossi - Photo Credit: MotoGP.com
Ducati riders Nicky Hayden and Valentino Rossi felt the Aragon test was a worthwhile exercise for the team despite only finishing sixth and eighth respectively. Rossi completed 70 laps but didn't get chance to try out the new aluminium swingarm, partly due to an electrical problem.
“It went pretty well because it was important to do some riding at this track, where I didn't know all the 'secrets.' I'm just sorry to have had a small problem at the end of the session. Maybe a cable in the ECU broke, so I was stuck in the garage for fifteen minutes, which prevented me from using the second soft tyre that I had available. Otherwise, I think I could have been a little bit better. We didn't have enough time to try the aluminium swingarm again, but since we found some positive things, we can say that it was a good test.”
Teammate Hayden also racked up the miles, lapping the Motorland Aragon track 66 times and although he didn't see the major step forward he'd hoped for, the American was looking ahead with optimism.
“We couldn't really have asked for a better day, weather-wise. It was pretty hot, but not unbearable, so a good opportunity to try some things and do some good work. The day started out pretty well, as we were able to make a couple of good steps straight away. This afternoon we tested some bigger parts for Ducati and weren't able to go faster. Of course we'd like to be closer to the top, but we got some good data, and hopefully we can put it all together soon with a good result.”
