The two riders’ efforts were focused in different directions: Working with an eye toward the future, Rossi dedicated the day to trying various setups and weight distributions, tests that were intended to direct the next development steps for next year’s bike.
After one outing with the GP11 and one with the GP11.1, Hayden dedicated himself solely to the latter, working on adapting to the newer version and searching for a base setup.
Nicky Hayden, 78 laps, 1:57.533
“Everything went pretty well today. We didn’t break any track records or anything, but luckily the rain held off. I did one run this morning with the GP11 just to start from zero and then went straight in on the GP11.1. Like at Laguna, I was immediately just as fast, but steadily through the day, I was quicker and quicker. Once again, the team worked like dogs, between working on my race bikes and preparing for the test. I enjoyed riding the bike, and it’s always nice to see progress and have a good feeling, I plan to ride it at Indy. My sister’s getting married this weekend, so we’ve got a pretty special two weeks coming up between that and my home GP.”
Valentino Rossi, 74 laps, 1:58.266
“It was a very busy day, not only because we did almost 75 laps, but also because we tried many changes in every outing. It’s not easy riding like that, as it requires a lot of concentration. We had some electronic updates that we still have to perfect, but we’ll return to those soon. Apart from that, we were thinking more toward the future, mainly trying different geometries, weight distributions, and settings that were a little strange, everything to remove any doubts and to understand some things about the GP11.1. I’d say it was a successful test, even if we sacrificed some performance since we had other objectives. We also tried some new tyres from Bridgestone, and the first impression was good.”
Ducati Team press release
