Valentino Rossi was left feeling encouraged by Ducati’s performance during Saturday afternoon’s qualifying session at Brno, with the seven-time Champion securing his personal best grid slot of the year. The Italian will start the race from sixth on the grid, explaining that he hopes to find some more speed prior to the lights going out.
"We took a step forward today by changing the front setting again and also modifying the riding position on the bike," Rossi, who is currently occupying fifth in the championship standings, commented after qualifying. "We were also good in the wet this morning; actually, it was a really fun session, being there near the front the whole time.
"It’s been a good weekend so far, although of course nothing earth-shattering, as I’m only sixth. Anyway, it’s my best qualifying position of the season with the Ducati, which I’m also able to ride better this way, especially under braking and on corner entry.
"During tomorrow’s warm-up, we’ll try to further improve the rear grip in the first two sectors, where I’m losing the most time. In the second half of the track, I’m only losing about a tenth. We’re pleased because we’ve learned a few things and, after an initial period of adaptation, we’re able to work on the GP11.1 in a more productive way."
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| Pos. | Driver | Team | Time | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |  D. Pedrosa | Repsol Honda | 01:56.591 | 25 |
| 2. | J. Lorenzo | Fiat Yamaha | 01:56.704 | 25 |
| 3. | C. Stoner | Repsol Honda | 01:56.860 | 20 |
| 4. | B. Spies | Fiat Yamaha | 01:57.178 | 23 |
| 5. | M. Simoncelli | Gresini | 01:57.351 | 22 |
| 6. | V. Rossi | Ducati | 01:57.367 | 24 |
| 7. | A. Dovizioso | Repsol Honda | 01:57.442 | 25 |
| 8. | C. Edwards | Tech 3 | 01:57.676 | 24 |
| 9. | N. Hayden | Ducati | 01:57.721 | 23 |
| 10. | H. Aoyama | Gresini | 01:57.784 | 25 |
| Full results | ||||
| Valentino Rossi | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| More Valentino Rossi photos | |||
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