Valentino Rossi finished the Dutch TT a lap down in thirteenth after being forced to pit midway through the race. The Ducati rider was battling with teammate Nicky Hayden and Hector Barbera for sixth when he suffered a tyre problem, which Bridgestone are currently investigating, which forced him in for a change of rubber.
“It's a shame about today because I started quite well. I was there, having a good race, and I think I could have had a decent result. I was fighting with Nicky, who had passed me, but he was a little bit slower and I was waiting for a good moment to attack him again. I could have finished sixth, which would have given me some points to help in the standings, but we had a big problem with the tyre about eleven laps from the end. I had to return to the garage to change it because it was impossible to continue, so I started again with the soft and finished the race. We'll try again next week at the Sachsenring.”
Hayden got the better of Barbera for sixth and was happy with the performance of the GP12 in the race. Although the result was aided by a crash at the start which eliminated two frontrunners, Hayden welcomed the points return.
“I got a pretty good start and stayed out of the mess in turn one, but then I braked too deep in the chicane and went through the gravel. I almost lost the train, but I charged and was able to catch the group again. My bike felt pretty decent, and I got back in front of those guys. I was fighting with Crutchlow and Barbera. After Cal (Crutchlow) passed, Hector made a big mistake in the chicane and I almost hit him. Valentino and some of the others had tyre problems, but mine hung in there better than some. It would be nice not to have made that mistake on lap one, but I know if I want to go with that group, I've got to go at 100 per cent. A couple guys fell down, which helped me to get sixth place, but that's racing. It hasn't been an easy weekend, but the guys have really worked hard, and hopefully soon we can really do a good result.”
