Valentino Rossi maybe not fastest on Estoril official test this weekend. But Rossi got his first chance to evaluate a new carbon fibre chassis and new engine which featured a heavier crankshaft on GP11. Rossi's best time on that test was 1.37.410, a second slower than Marco Simoncelli. But Rossi decided to used the new part of GP11 on next race at France.
"We tried a different front part in the bike and it is better and my feeling with the bike improves a lot and I can make a better lap time. I have a lot more indication in my hand of what is happening with the front tyre and this is the most positive thing. Now I understand more what is going on with the front and this is very important."
"I will definitely use the new chassis at the next race in Le Mans. Unfortunately the distance to the top is still too big but when I tried the right tyres to go quicker, I was already quite tired with the shoulder. I’m not at the same level as Simoncelli but I think we are closer than the timesheets say. But I’m sure I could have gone a bit faster," said Rossi.
"It has been a positive test and now we can do some more work to improve even more. The new engine was not a big difference but the character was smoother in acceleration and we will now wait to see when we can use this engine in the next two or three races."
