by Mark Appleton
Valentino Rossi lowered his lap time by over a second compared to previous Free Practice times but could only manage ninth on the grid.
The Italian said he was satisfied with the good setup work done on the GP12 for qualifying which also enabled him to maintain a decent and consistent race pace.
“I’m pretty pleased because we improved the bike’s setup and we made the third row, which was our goal for today,” chirped the Italian. “Even if I really lose a lot in the last part of the track, especially on entry in the last two corners. Anyway, we can also be pretty satisfied with our race pace because I was able to ride well and consistently, even on a used tyre.
“The forecasts say it could rain tomorrow, and of course we know that we can do well in the wet, although it could also be good for us even if we just get a bit cooler temperatures.”
Team mate Nicky Hayden found a good feeling in the third Free Practice session, after making changes to try to adapt the bike at the higher temperatures in Catalunya, eventually finishing in seventh spot.
“This morning I did a pretty decent lap time with a hard tyre and thought I could possibly get on the second row,” said the American. “But this afternoon, right from the beginning, I struggled to get the same feeling and had to change a couple of things. I was able to do an okay lap, but truthfully, I thought I could get into the 41s.
“We’ll start seventh tomorrow, which isn’t great, but the gap to the front is the smallest it’s been all year. We’ll certainly have to improve our consistency tomorrow, and race distance could be really tough for tyre wear, but maybe the temperatures will be cooler and help us.”
Full MotoGP Qualifying results are available here. You can read the race report for Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden here.
