suzukimad07
23rd February 2011, 15:31
Illness forces Valentino Rossi to miss second day in Sepang
By Matthew Birt -
MotoGP
23 February
A flu bug forced Valentino Rossi to miss the whole of the second day of MotoGP testing action at the Sepang circuit in Malaysia today.
The Italian arrived at the circuit this morning complaining of severe body aches and pains and he was immediately sent to the Clinica Mobile where he was placed on a drip.
The 32-year-old, who finished ninth quickest yesterday, had hoped to feel strong enough to ride his factory Ducati GP11 after treatment, but he opted to leave the circuit just before 11am to rest.
Rossi spent the rest of the day holed up in his room on the ninth floor of the nearby Pan Pacific adjacent to the Kuala Lumpur International Airport.
He had initially planned to wake at around 3pm and return to the track and ride the last two hours from 4pm onwards.
But Ducati management got a telephone call from the Italian shortly after 430pm informing them he would not be returning to the circuit as he was too unwell to contemplate riding.
Crew chief Jerry Burgess told MCN: “He had a lot of aches and pains and pretty much as soon as he came to the circuit he had to be put on a drip. Something is obviously not right with him because I can’t recall a previous time when he’s sat out a whole day at a test.
"Hopefully the rest will have helped him recover enough to return tomorrow and have another crack at it. It’s a shame because we have made a lot of progress with the bike and we were definitely looking to pick up the pace and get closer to the front.”
Missing a full day of testing will only hinder Rossi’s pre-season preparations as he was looking to build on the confidence gained yesterday when he finished just over a second off the leading pace.
He had reported significant progress in the recovery of his right shoulder and was also thrilled with improved feeling with the GP11 machine.
Today’s session was another clean sweep for the dominant Repsol Honda squad with Casey Stoner logging a brilliant lap of 2.00.171 in the dying moments.
Stoner was on his last lap when he moved 0.058s clear of Spaniard Dani Pedrosa, who had looked likely to snatch top spot with a 2.00.229 set on only his fourth lap this morning.
Andrea Dovizioso was third with Ben Spies the first non-Honda rider, the Texan escaping unhurt from a late crash to finish fourth with a best time of 2.00.824.
Reigning world champion Jorge Lorenzo was fifth while Cal Crutchlow ended down the timesheets in 18th. The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 rider clocked a best of 2.02.984 to finish 2.813s away from Stoner’s blistering best.
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www.suzukimad07@hotmail.com (http://www.suzukimad07@hotmail.com)
By Matthew Birt -
MotoGP
23 February
A flu bug forced Valentino Rossi to miss the whole of the second day of MotoGP testing action at the Sepang circuit in Malaysia today.
The Italian arrived at the circuit this morning complaining of severe body aches and pains and he was immediately sent to the Clinica Mobile where he was placed on a drip.
The 32-year-old, who finished ninth quickest yesterday, had hoped to feel strong enough to ride his factory Ducati GP11 after treatment, but he opted to leave the circuit just before 11am to rest.
Rossi spent the rest of the day holed up in his room on the ninth floor of the nearby Pan Pacific adjacent to the Kuala Lumpur International Airport.
He had initially planned to wake at around 3pm and return to the track and ride the last two hours from 4pm onwards.
But Ducati management got a telephone call from the Italian shortly after 430pm informing them he would not be returning to the circuit as he was too unwell to contemplate riding.
Crew chief Jerry Burgess told MCN: “He had a lot of aches and pains and pretty much as soon as he came to the circuit he had to be put on a drip. Something is obviously not right with him because I can’t recall a previous time when he’s sat out a whole day at a test.
"Hopefully the rest will have helped him recover enough to return tomorrow and have another crack at it. It’s a shame because we have made a lot of progress with the bike and we were definitely looking to pick up the pace and get closer to the front.”
Missing a full day of testing will only hinder Rossi’s pre-season preparations as he was looking to build on the confidence gained yesterday when he finished just over a second off the leading pace.
He had reported significant progress in the recovery of his right shoulder and was also thrilled with improved feeling with the GP11 machine.
Today’s session was another clean sweep for the dominant Repsol Honda squad with Casey Stoner logging a brilliant lap of 2.00.171 in the dying moments.
Stoner was on his last lap when he moved 0.058s clear of Spaniard Dani Pedrosa, who had looked likely to snatch top spot with a 2.00.229 set on only his fourth lap this morning.
Andrea Dovizioso was third with Ben Spies the first non-Honda rider, the Texan escaping unhurt from a late crash to finish fourth with a best time of 2.00.824.
Reigning world champion Jorge Lorenzo was fifth while Cal Crutchlow ended down the timesheets in 18th. The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 rider clocked a best of 2.02.984 to finish 2.813s away from Stoner’s blistering best.
__________________
www.suzukimad07@hotmail.com (http://www.suzukimad07@hotmail.com)