2012 Ducati MotoGP Testing News
In 40 days, Ducati has totally transformed the GP12 that Valentino Rossi will use in the 2012 MotoGP Championship. And everything is up to par, according to VR46.
On Tuesday during the Sepang I MotoGP tests, Rossi made his first appearance on the Desmo GP12, working on the base setup of the machine.
Rossi worked closely on the GP12 with Ducati Corse Technical Director Filippo Preziosi, getting the base settings tuned in. And although the testing was delayed a bit due to damp-track surfaces, once the nine-time World Champion got down to action, he was able to post a 2:02.392, the best time following 30 laps around Sepang International Circuit; his time was 0.735 behind the session leader, Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha Facotry Racing).
Valentino Rossi (Ducati Team GP12 MotoGP) says: “I’m happy because first impressions are important, and already in the first few laps, I could tell that I like the bike. Ducati did a good job in a just a short time.
“The bike is beautiful, but more importantly, it’s nice to ride. The riding position has improved a lot, and it’s better on braking and corner entry. I can brake like I want to and take the lines that I like, and I feel comfortable in general. I was able to ride well and not make mistakes, and there’s a reason for that.
“It means that the bike can be ridden. It’s more agile in change of direction, and it wheelies much less. We’re 7 tenths back today, and of course there’s still a lot of work to do before we can win.
“We have to improve in some areas: acceleration, electronics, power delivery and setup. I’d say we’ll be able to make a more accurate assessment at the end of the test, because let’s remember, the bike is just 40 days old. To leave here a second back from the top would be okay because anyway, we know that there’s still much more to be done.
“But one of the best things from today is that the bike reacts well to changes. That enabled us to drop one or two tenths every outing, which means further progress should be possible.”
