Rossi Ducati Video
On Nov. 9, 2010 Valentino Rossi, before thousands of MotoGP supporters and motorcycle journalists from around the world, rode for the first time the Ducati Desmosedici; so get ready for a sensational 2011 MotoGP World Championship.
The first day of the long awaited post-season MotoGP motorcycle test at Valencia was delayed by gray skies and light drizzle in the morning.
By 10:55 a.m. Valentino Rossi arrived in the Ducati garage (with the blessing of the Fiat Yamaha Team), where Filippo Preziosi, Jeremy Burgess and his crew as well as engineers and motorcycle technicians from Ducati Corse were waiting for him.
At 11:46 a.m. the official Ducati test rider Franco Battaini took to the track for a first shakedown on the black "carbon" colored MotoGP Ducati GP11 and finally, at 12:23 p.m., the nine-time World Champion rode the Ducati Desmosedici for the first time.
Rossi started out on a Desmosedici GP11 fitted with a "big bang" version of the engine, which he used for virtually the entire day as he worked on geometry and other settings. As the day drew to a close he made one final run on the "screamer" version.
The second and final day of MotoGP testing at Valencia, Rossi worked closely together with Filippo Preziosi on the setting of the GP11 machine with the big bang engine configuration, completing 70 laps.
His detailed feedback and the data gathered over the past two days will help the Ducati engineers develop the GP11 and adapt it more to the riding style of the nine-time MotoGP World Champion.
Filippo Preziosi (Ducati Corse MotoGP) says: "The objective is clearly to allow Valentino to ride like Valentino Rossi! We know we have to improve the bike in order to achieve this, especially the front end. He has given us some very precise information and now it is down to us to use it."
"We would obviously have liked to give him the opportunity to go faster today but even though that wasn’t the case he has impressed everybody over the last two days with the way he works, his calm approach and his positive attitude towards everything," he explained about Valentino Rossi.
