Rossi and Hayden 6th and 7th at Laguna Seca

The team worked very heavy on both the GP11 and the GP11.1, and they will keep on the development of the 800cc bikes during the next round at Brno, in the Czech Republic, which will follow a short two-week break. On the Monday after that race, the season’s 2nd official test for the team riders will take place.

Valentino Rossi:
“We worked good this weekend. We began from a better position than we have in recent races, and I got a good launch on the start and tried to stay with the leaders. I did a lap in the mid-’22s, but then I closed the front twice in a row on the bumps in Turn 5 and nearly crashed. I still had a tough race after that, because Nicky stayed glued to me and did not give me a opportunity to breathe. We obviously do not want to be fighting for 6th place, but we are having some troubles at the moment and we have to try and do our best with what we have. We are losing too much on corner entry, where I am very slow because I do not have enough feeling, but Ducati is working and we must stay focused and positive, making progress step by step. In the short term, we have to make up those missing tenths in order to stay with the group with Spies, Sic and Dovizioso. Then we will think about the others.”

Nicky Hayden:
“I have won this race before, so I am not going to jump up and down celebrating 7th place. We knew it was going to be tough, and crashing in qualifying did not help. I got a decent start, but I did not get to go with that 2nd group like I had hoped. It was kind of like the Sachsenring: a good battle with Valentino, but 30 seconds behind the front. Vale was no faster than me, but he’s a racer: he does not make mistakes and give you anything. A couple of times I thought I might be able to go up the inside, but I am not just going to close my eyes and knock us both down trying for 6th place. People who think he's not trying are crazy. I saw his right foot come off the peg a couple of times when he almost went down. We will take two weeks off, regroup and go to Brno. Now is no time to be negative. I believe in my team and Ducati, and I really think we are still going to have a good season.”