Brno MotoGP: Valentino Rossi savours best Ducati qualifying

Front-end modifications helped Valentino Rossi claim his best grid position for Ducati after the Italian ended today’s Brno qualifying session in sixth position.

A best lap of 1.57.367 bettered his previous best qualifying of seventh and encouragingly he was only 0.016s behind fellow Italian Marco Simoncelli in fifth.

The 32-year-old Italian said: “We made a modification to the front in the wet this morning, changing my position on the bike and I like it better. I am in a better position on the straight, but especially in braking and entry the handlebar position gives me more feeling to understand what is happening with the front.  We also gained some agility so we made a step.

“I can ride more at the limit and I start from the second row for the first time with Ducati, so we are quite positive. We still need to work for the race because I still need better rear grip in acceleration and better change of direction and we have some ideas for this.  Now we are not so far, just 0.7s from pole position, but also if we fix two or three problems I can fight with the second group and make a good race.”

Expanding on the front-end modifications that inspired new confidence in the vague front-end feeling that has dogged the nine-times world champion throughout 2011, he added: “When I brake I feel more what is happening with the front tyre and I can force more the entry, so I can use the brake on the edge and this allows me to enter the corner lot faster and make a better line. I think we improved some of our problems but we are still not competitive for the win, but we are closer.”