Rossi: Hayden rides better than me here

Valentino Rossi simply can't get comfortable at Silverstone. The Italian missed the first race there in 2010, when he was recovering from a broken leg. The 2011 edition was essentially a disaster for him, and thus far 2012 hasn't gone much better. He was fastest overall in the wet during FP1, but the dry has left him frustrated at the back of the pack, qualifying just 10th today. "And to think that I actually like this track - the Ducati rider said - We really struggle to be fast here. I'm always running long in the corners, and I can't hold the best lines. The problem is quite clear; we are missing front grip. I'm using the setup which I tested at Aragon, a setup with gives more load on the front end, but it's not enough. There's a good amount of weight on the front, but it's not really helping. The origins of the problem are elsewhere. While the other riders are able to push, entering the corners while braking hard, we are suffering."

And what about the crash? "The crash caused me to lose some time, and then we also had some bad luck - Rossi continued - My best time came on the hard tire, and I still had two soft tires left, but I couldn't use them because of the rain. We could have cut at least a half second. The airbag functioned perfectly during the crash, and my shoulders are thankful for it. The crashes you remember are the ones where you hurt yourself. But I wasn't pushing to the limit, and I had already done four laps to establish our pace. That spot isn't new to me, however, and I had already taken a chance there in the morning. Last year I crashed there in the warm up."

The problem is a small bump in the braking zone: "First the front wheel is compressed, and then it unloads quickly. That's where I tucked the front. The fact that we lack front end grip was certainly influential, but it's not the bike's fault. Actually, since we switched to the aluminum frame, the front has been much more honest and secure; it gives you some notice before going away."

The only thing left to do now is work hard. "Tomorrow morning we'll try something different to gain back the two tenths we need to compete with the other Ducatis. Hayden is riding better than me here. He's able to enter the corners quicker, but his race pace isn't too far from mine. If it rains, then I might have a nice race."

gpone