Rossi and Lorenzo not yet in `perfect shape´

Fiat Yamaha´s Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo are getting used to Donington with a few issues sidetracking them from the task at hand. For Lorenzo, a return to riding following a concussion and skin graft have him searching for confidence in Britain, whilst Rossi is on a quest to find why some typically favourable tyres aren´t cutting the mustard in the Midlands.

Valentino Rossi - Third

`This morning we were struggling and we´re not in perfect shape yet. Fortunately however, this afternoon on the last run things improved a lot and we are now third. The main problem here is the asphalt because it doesn´t have any grip anymore and riding on it is very difficult. Of course the temperature was quite low, which didn´t help, but in some parts of the track the asphalt is finished. It´s a pity because this track is great, one of my favourites! We have to hope that the weather stays dry because if it´s wet it will be even worse. We have a couple of ideas to try tomorrow; we will try some different tyres and also some other solutions for the setting, in order to be faster in the direction changes. We had a very long meeting after the session in order to try to understand the problem, it´s very strange because we used some tyres which are usually very good for us, but here they don´t seem to work as they normally do. Third position is okay however, we´re not so far from the top and tomorrow we will try to make some more steps forward.´

Jorge Lorenzo - Sixteenth

`Today was always going to be a hard day for me and I had to start very slowly because honestly I felt some fear after all of my problems! I haven´t ridden since the crash in practice in Catalunya and I have lost some confidence, so the aim this weekend is just to find it again. Today the main target was to try to find my feeling with the bike and also to check my physical shape, which is okay although I do have some pain in my hand and finger where I had the skin graft. I am happy to be back however and I hope that the worst is over and that tomorrow I will be more relaxed and have more confidence. We are starting from scratch again this weekend so we have to go step-by-step and take things slowly.´