Valentino Rossi

 

Rossi Upbeat Over Bridgestone Progress

On Tuesday, the second of three days of this week’s test, Valentino Rossi focused more on comparing various tyres of rubber en route to fourth position on the timesheet.

"We worked very much today," explained the five-time Phillip Island premier class race winner. "I did two half simulations with two different tyres and for me personally today we worked more on different types of rubber.

"I had more problems with the first one, but was faster with the second and the feeling with the tyre after 14 laps was not so bad – so I think we found something good. I think Bridgestone can now collect good information from all of the riders to arrive at a decision for one very good tyre for October."

It was Yamaha Factory Racing team-mate Jorge Lorenzo who continued to lead the way, pleased with the initial consistency as he attempted a race simulation.

"Today we had the opportunity to try a new tyre: the tyre that Valentino tried yesterday," the Mallorcan began. "Two of them were cancelled for us today because Valentino rejected them yesterday, so most of the time we just tried the standard one from last year and finally the big one on the last run.

"I did a 14-lap simulation, but decided to stop. It started very well, with lap times of 29.6 and 29.5, but there was suddenly a big drop (in tyre performance) so I decided to stop. It was not the right tyre. Hopefully, tomorrow it is not going to rain, so we will have the opportunity to see which tyre is the best for the next race here."

Testing continues on Wednesday from 9:30am local time (GMT +11), with this year’s Australian Grand Prix taking place on Sunday 19 October.