MotoGP Austin - Front-end problems plague Rossi
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22/04/2013
Nine-time World Champion Valentino Rossi's problems with the front-end of his YZR-M1 continued through warm-up and into today's Austin MotoGP encounter with the Italian suffering broken brakes.
Nine-time World Champion Valentino Rossi's problems with the front-end of his YZR-M1 continued through warm-up and into today's Austin MotoGP encounter with the Italian suffering broken brakes.
The Doctor said a disc broke out-lap which added to the troubles he had been having stopping the bike and increased the amount of vibration making it to his arms. Rossi only managed sixth place and said he has a lot of set-up work to do.
In practice, Rossi also complained of front-end push which he hasn't been able to eradicate and says that he needs to take his setup more towards that of Jorge Lorenzo and Cal Crutchlow, who were both markedly faster than him.
"I'm not happy, for sure. We know here is a difficult track, difficult weekend but we have to find a way to lose less points in difficult weekends and arrive maximum in the top five because we don't work very well in the practice and we still don't understand the balance, the setting of the bike. I think we have to modify some other things," said Rossi, speaking to bikesportnews.com at Austin.
"Also, I have a lot of problems here during the race, especially I have a problem with the disc, the front brake, that I lose part of it on the out lap and I have a lot, a lot of vibration so already I was not very fast but this problem make it harder to stop the bike.
"I try to attack Bradl but after I start to have a lot of problem with the front because we try to make another step with the setting this afternoon but I lose too much load on the front so we are still not 100 per cent.
"Lorenzo and Crutchlow also use another setting compared to me and it looks like in this track if you have a bigger experience with that type of setting you can go faster. It is weight distribution and position of the wheels. I think we have to go in the middle, not exactly like me and not exactly like Jorge. Also, Cal use a similar setting and here is very fast.
Image by Bonnie Lane
