DESPITE difficulties with his transfer to Ducati, Valentino Rossi has committed to the Italian manufacturer for 2012.
Speaking after an off-par qualifying and race finish at Sachsenring, when asked by Gazzetta della Sport whether he will continue with Ducati in 2012 Rossi said: “Will I stay with Ducati in 2012? I said ‘I think so’, meaning that I reckon that staying here is the logical choice.”
The reasoning behind the question was in regards to the two-year contract between the nine-time champion and the Bologna manufacturer, the second year being an option for Rossi to continue giving him room for movement if the partnership did not go to plan.
The issue should he leave would be, where would Rossi and his entourage go? He won't return to Yamaha to ride alongside Jorge Lorenzo again and he burnt the bridge with Honda at the end of 2003 - however, HRC did extend the olive branch saying they would take Rossi back.
At Sachsenring the 31-year-old Italian found himself embroiled in a battle with teammate Nicky Hayden and Alvaro Bautista after working his way into the top ten from a poor qualifying position. Ultimately Rossi would finish the second best of the Ducatista in ninth, and both would lose out to the sterling work of Bautista in an inspiring ride on the lone Suzuki GSV-R.
Finding improvements with the bike from languishing down at the back of the grid, Rossi discussed the race: "After the opening laps, I realized that my pace was the same as that of Nicky and Bautista’s group, maybe even a little faster, but I had small glitches with the gearbox in the second half of the race.
"It was mainly hurting me in the last corner, when I changed to third, because the bike wheelied and it took me half the straightaway before I could put it back down.
"At the end of the race, I wanted to pass Nicky on the brakes into the first corner, where I was pretty strong, but instead even Bautista passed me on the straight. Anyway, that’s not where we want to be.
"We definitely improved today compared to Saturday, but we’re still too far back." he finished, revealing that the improvements were a in part from adjusting the weight balancing of the Desmosedici GP11.1.
Moving to Ducati, Rossi found the Desmosedici unlike anything he was accustomed to, "Our performances are disappointing, because I don’t seem to be able to make the difference on this motorbike. We must figure out how to solve the problems, we must be focussed and carry on working hard, with optimism.
All we need now is some time, to develop a Ducati the way I want it.
Rossi
“This motorbike requires slightly different adjustments and a different riding style. We must understand which lead we should follow. Such a situation is a bit risky, because we might end up getting confused,” continued Valentino,
“This motorbike was ready, it had been developed previously. All we need now is some time, to develop a Ducati the way I want it. Let’s hope for the best.
“I want to race, otherwise I’d stay home. Last year, here at the Sachsenring, I was walking on crutches and my shoulder was falling to pieces, but I lapped in 1’22”, the lap time of today’s winner. I don’t think I’ve suddenly become an idiot.”
Rossi will now decide whether to continue with the GP11.1, which can be developed further, or step back to the Desmosedici GP11.
