Movistar Yamaha’s Valentino Rossi ended the first day of MotoGP action at Qatar in second place, 0.267 behind team-mate Jorge Lorenzo and says the choice of front Michelin will be crucial when the lights go out on Sunday.
Rossi is already quicker than he went in testing at the Losail track and seems to have made his mind up which of the two rear tyre options he will use but has still to try the a third front option - he is already favouring the medium but will make a choice tomorrow.
“I am satisfied about the first practice because first of all we are already in the 1’55.7, which is a little bit faster than the pace that I had in the test which mean we are already quite strong. Also, I am in the second position, which is a very good way to start but the condition of the track were different to the test which mean you have some different feeling from the bike,” said Rossi, speaking at the track.
“The base to start is very good and it will be very important to understand which way to follow as for sure the grip will increase which most of the time is good but sometime can create some problems. At the same time, we need to work on the tyres as it look like all the option are open.
“Looks like Michelin is flexible and this time we have a third choice in the front. This is important because some riders and bikes use the different tyres. The front is crucial. Today I use only two of three so tomorrow so I have to try the third one. At the moment, the medium is the best one.”
