Marlboro Ducati's Valentino Rossi has said using the new GP11.1 bike at this weekend's Assen MotoGP round is a big risk but risks are necessary when trying to recover.
Speaking on the eve of first practice, Rossi reckons he is very happy Ducati boss Filippo Preziosi has decided to bring the bike's race development forward but is more than aware it could all go horribly wrong as there has been no testing.
"I am for sure very excited more than confident, and very curious about the GP11.1 because I always feel confident with the better feeling of the GP12 with the 1000cc engine but the big question mark is to understand how much is the engine and how much is the difference in the chassis," said The Doctor.
"The results from the beginning of the year is worse than we expected and I have always had big difficult for to go fast with the GP11 so I pushed a lot to fix some problem with the GP11.
"Last Thursday we tested and I pushed Filippo very hard to have some new stuff as soon as possible, especially for Mugello for example, Filippo understand the answer is the GP12. The bike that we already have in the factory is different from the GP11 in all the areas we now suffer.
"From the first test in Jerez I have a lot more feeling with the GP12 and we don't have a real understanding of our level because we are always alone so we are not sure so we base more on my feeling as I feel more confident with this bike - what I do for to go fast, with the GP12 I have result, on the GP11 no.
"Filippo said to me it is a risk but we can put the 800 engine in the GP12 and I said I was very happy and so it is a surprise also for me. The GP12 is a lot more stable, it puts a lot more pressure to the front and more feeling there. I have less movement in acceleration and I can create also more rear grip.
"We have two bikes with two engines and if we run out of engines, we start last! We want to try to avoid this problem but if we run out, we start last in one race. It is a risk this bike may not be good with the 800 engine but when you need to recover, you need to risk, for sure. It is good though, You lose a little corner speed of the 800 but have the torque of the thousand.
