Top-Ten for Dovizioso in Final Free Practice Friday of 2021

12-11-2021

Top-Ten for Dovizioso in Final Free Practice Friday of 2021

The opening day of the ValenciaGP ended with Andrea Dovizioso ninth and Valentino Rossi 21st

There were mixed fortunes for PETRONAS Yamaha Sepang Racing Team’s MotoGP riders, as they experienced varied conditions on the opening day of the Gran Premio de la Comunitat Valenciana, with Andrea Dovizioso ninth and Valentino Rossi 21st.

Waiting 15 minutes before heading out in FP1, to see what the rain would do, Dovizioso used the time to adjust to the conditions, before setting a 1min 42.182secs lap at the end of the 45 minutes. He ended FP1 in 18th place. The drier conditions of FP2 suited the Italian, who was able to stay inside the top ten for the majority of the session. ‘Dovi’ momentarily held second with a 1min 31.597secs lap, but ultimately ended FP2 ninth.

Rossi opted for a risk-free strategy in the wet FP1 this morning, heading out 15 minutes into the session for four unclassified laps around Circuit Ricardo Tormo, the fastest of which was 1min 52.981secs. The afternoon’s FP2 session proved to be a challenging one for the Italian, who will make his final MotoGP appearance this weekend. At the end of the 45 minutes Valentino’s best lap – 1min 32.285secs – placed him 21st.

FP3 for Dovizioso and Rossi will begin at 9.55am local time (4.55pm MYT) tomorrow, with the first of the two MotoGP Qualifying sessions getting underway at 2.10pm local time (9.10pm MYT).

Andrea Dovizioso

"Today isn’t important but I’m still happy to be inside the top-ten. From the start I had a good feeling and I was able to do a good lap time. I don’t think every rider showed their true pace, especially as the conditions were tricky, but overall it has been better today. Let’s see what happens tomorrow when everyone is pushing at 100%. Everything is new for me at each track, but I think this one is okay for our bike. However to have good speed is one thing, to be consistent for a whole race is another matter. Tomorrow it will be important to try to be in Q2, but also to work on our race pace."

Valentino Rossi

"It was a difficult Friday because the conditions were quite bad. This morning it was very cold and there was a lot of water on track. Fortunately this afternoon was fairly dry, but there were still some damp patches and that made it a bit dangerous, especially with these temperatures. The layout of this track makes it very difficult and I think it might be the most difficult track for me. The place is great though with all the fans and it’s always a good atmosphere. I didn't feel fantastic with the tyres and we didn’t have a lot of grip. It’s just the first day though, so we have to do some work. I hope that it remains dry, that the track improves and that we can improve the setup of the bike."