Valentino Rossi has said that a wet track has made the acceleration issues pronounced on his Yamaha after a wet MotoGP second free practice session at the Red Bull Ring.
After finishing the opening session of the day in eleventh position, just over a second off of Dovizioso’s fastest time, however an afternoon downpour meant the second free practice session of the day was run on a soaking wet circuit. Despite being strong in the wet, Rossi said that the acceleration issues that have plagued him all season were even worse when the track is wet.
“Our problem in acceleration with the electronics system in the wet becomes bigger,” said the nine-times World Champion.
“The amount of grip is a lot less. The gap between us and the top guys becomes very big.”
Despite the wet weather, the Italian said he believes the layout of the Austrian circuit makes it the worst on the calendar for the M1.
“It’s the worst configuration when you have to start from the slow hairpins, first or second gear, and after you have a long straight,” he said.
“It’s where we suffer more. For me the layout of this track is the worst one for us.
“Our bike has a better corner speed, so in a track like Brno or Mugello, you can push under this point of view. But here it’s more difficult because we don’t have many of this corners. We have to work in all areas, also in braking, for sure. Looks difficult, here looks like the gap to the top is bigger, and we suffer.”