ONE man who will surely know the condition of Valentino Rossi's fitness is Jerry Burgess and in an interview with Spanish TV has commented that his rider will be at '90% fitness for Estoril'.
The lingering shoulder injury has paid factor to the inconsistent performance of Rossi in recent races and the likelihood of the Italian marching to his first victory on the Ducati Desmosedici is still optimistic. However, Burgess states that now is the best part of the season as Valentino's finds more motion in his shoulder.
Ultimately Rossi is the focus for Grand Prix's most successful crew chief, but Burgess notices the bigger picture in regards to the Desmosedici GP project realising the importance of his role in developing a machine rideable by more than just one racer. "We must ensure that all riders can ride the Ducati, as we did with the Yamaha."
The focus that Burgess recognises is in building an adaptable Ducati along the lines of the M1 Yamaha, so that the young rookies who make the progression to MotoGP find a bike that is easier to ride rather than the temperamentel bike they find now.
Discussing the current bike, Burgess believes that 'time is the enemy' in the way of not having enough testing with the prototype. However, this has not stopped the development team from creating a Desmosedici that is more friendly but the inherent problem still lies in the turns, with Rossi commenting that he has 'no confidence at full tilt'.
If you are fluent in Spanish and would like to see the full interview, head over to RTVE.
