Marlboro Ducati's Valentino Rossi is not happy with having to start tomorrow's Le Mans MotoGP race from the third row of the grid as he will be behind slower riders but says it was his best qualifying so far with the new team.
The Doctor starts in ninth place after he tried to use the soft compound Bridgestone but it wouldn't work well enough with his setup so the Italian had to settle for his spot and will try some new settings in warm-up.
"Naturally, we’re not happy with our position: it’s not good, because I had hoped to start from the second row. I’m pleased with the way we worked, though, as well as with how I rode, because I was finally able to ride well," said the nine-time world champion.
"We solved some problems, and we understood that other aspects of the setup weren’t going in the right direction, so we changed them. I think this was our best qualifying session since I’ve been at Ducati, because with just a few minutes left, I was inside sixth place.
"Unfortunately, when the moment to use the softer tyre comes, we don’t take a big enough step, so tomorrow I’ll have to start from the third row, behind some riders who had a slower pace. We have a couple more ideas to try in the warm-up though, and if they work, we can do better in the race."
