The race simulation in Qatar went against Valentino Rossi while Casey Stoner made hay. Stoner put in a slick lap while Rossi was forced to abort his run but despite the setback, the World Champion is in good spirits after a third-placed finish on the third night in the Middle East.
Rossiās quickest time in 75 laps of testing was a good āsecondā below Stonerās fastest time while Jorge Lorenzo was also 2-tenths of a second faster than his Italian teammate. Rossiās attempts at setting the race pace were hampered by terrible conditions that forced him to hold back a bit and pay emphasis on the ride.
āOur position is not so bad; weāre third, close to Lorenzo. Stoner is very fast but I am not too worried because we have a good idea about our path for the race and I think that in one month, when it is hopefully a few degrees warmer, we will be okay,ā said Rossi after significant improvement in the electronics and transmissions
āIn the early part of the evening we were fast enough but later on, when it became much colder and the grip went down, we suffered quite a bit. I started a long run but in fact I was getting slower and slower, so we didnāt finish and instead we concentrated on trying some different things with the setting.ā
āThis is not a great track for me or for the bike and the target for the race is to be better than last year! Next we go to Jerez for the final test and I am expecting to be strong there.ā
The Italian had faced a number of issues when dealing with the track last season and only managed seventh place in the qualification as well as a 5th place on race day. It was only the one of the two times that Rossi had not been on the podium in 2008.