MotoGP Austin test - 'Positive' day for Rossi at tough track

Factory Yamaha's Valentino Rossi has ended his first day's MotoGP testing at Austin in a positive frame of mind, saying the track is beautiful but difficult to learn.

Factory Yamaha's Valentino Rossi has ended his first day's MotoGP testing at Austin in a positive frame of mind, saying the track is beautiful but difficult to learn.

The Texan tarmac ribbon has plenty of fast and flowing corners, some of them with blind entries, so it has taken some time to learn and with very little rubber down, grip has been difficult to come bu.

“I really like the track, my first impression is that it is beautiful. It’s very flowing with a lot of fast corners and a lot of change of direction; it is fun on the bike! There are three hairpins that are very tight; this is better for Formula 1 overtaking, but for us they are a bit slow. In general the track is good. There is some downhill and uphill and first braking zone is very good," said The Doctor.

"We have to understand which tyre to use, but the asphalt surface doesn't have any rubber on it at the moment so there is not so much grip at the moment. The uphill at turn one helps to stop the bike, which is beautiful. For me turn two is the best though and after you enter into the chicane which is very similar to Silverstone. The straight is very long, which is maybe good for overtaking.

"The city is great, the atmosphere is very good so I think it is a very good place for a race. It's very important to have this time as the track is so difficult, there are a lot of blind corners where you have to understand where to brake.

"We will continue to work on the line to understand the track and also to increase the rear grip on the bike as we suffer in acceleration. The first feeling is positive."

By MotoGP desk

Image by COTA