The waiting is finally over. At around 12:25pm on Tuesday, November 9th, Valentino Rossi finally rolled out of pit lane for his first laps aboard the Ducati Desmosedici GP10. Two hours and twenty five minutes after practice had officially started.

Tension had been building for hours, after rain had started falling in the morning, continuing past the 10am start time for the first official test of the 2011 MotoGP season. Fortunately, the rain clouds soon blew over, and the sun and strong winds dried the track sufficiently for the first riders to venture out. With the promise of action, crowds of journalists started to gather in pit lane, while crowds of fans gathered on the rooftop of the building which houses the pits and lines the Valencia circuit's front straight.

A ripple of excitement went through the crowds, as a Ducati Desmosedici, clothed in plain black carbon fiber with a yellow #46 on the front, was rolled to the front of the Ducati garage and started. Another ripple of excitement as a rider emerged from the depths of the garage, followed by a wave of disappointment as it turned out to be Franco Battaini, Ducati's official test rider. Battaini took the bike round the track for a couple of laps, to ensure everything was working and test the conditions, before returning to the pits again. Five minutes later, the ritual repeated itself, Battaini testing the track and the bike once again.

At last the moment millions of MotoGP fans have been awaiting so eagerly for so many months (and in the case of some diehard Ducati fans, many years): Valentino Rossi emerged from the garage, in matching black and fluorescent yellow helmet and leathers, and climbed aboard the Ducati. He rolled out of the pits and onto the track, for his first meeting with the machine.

His very first lap was cautious, the Italian almost wobbling around like a journalist with a chance to ride the bike, but he soon picked up the pace. The pitch of the engine increased along with the speed, the Desmosedici's bark sounding ever more vicious as Rossi pushed towards the limits of the bike. After a session of some 12 laps or so, Rossi returned to the garage, dismounting with a quick glance at the bike, having set a fastest lap of 1'37.329. A long way off MotoGP pace, but good enough for his first outing on the bike.

The throng dispersed, their curiosity satisfied at last. And the rest of the riders started to think about putting in a few laps, the only man brave enough to be out at the same time as Rossi Italian veteran Loris Capirossi, a man who has seen a lot in his 20 years in Grand Prix racing.

It is far too early to draw any conclusions, but Rossi rode smoothly and picked up the pace quickly. Almost an hour after he first emerged from the pits, Rossi's time has been beaten only by Randy de Puniet, coincidentally also making his debut on a Ducati. For the Frenchman's many fans, the news that De Puniet's fastest lap in the first hour was nearly a second and a half quicker than Rossi's is surely cause for optimism.

Source:http://motomatters.com/news/2010/11/..._rossi_ou.html

 

MotoGP Valencia Day 1 Test Times, Shortly After 2PM
Pos No. Rider Bike Time Diff Diff Previous
1 99 Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha 1:33.575
2 26 Dani Pedrosa Honda 1:33.722 0.147 0.147
3 58 Marco Simoncelli Honda 1:33.728 0.153 0.006
4 11 Ben Spies Yamaha 1:33.863 0.288 0.135
5 5 Colin Edwards Yamaha 1:34.132 0.557 0.269
6 4 Andrea Dovizioso Honda 1:34.283 0.708 0.151
7 27 Casey Stoner Honda 1:34.342 0.767 0.059
8 19 Alvaro Bautista Suzuki 1:34.441 0.866 0.099
9 40 Hector Barbera Ducati 1:34.574 0.999 0.133
10 14 Randy de Puniet Ducati 1:34.871 1.296 0.297
11 7 Hiroshi Aoyama Honda 1:34.887 1.312 0.016
12 46 Valentino Rossi Ducati 1:35.134 1.559 0.247
13 35 Cal Crutchlow Yamaha 1:35.289 1.714 0.155
14 65 Loris Capirossi Ducati 1:36.578 3.003 1.289
15 24 Toni Elias Honda 1:36.797 3.222 0.219
16 17 Karel Abraham Ducati 1:39.502 5.927 2.705
SOURCE:http://motomatters.com/news/2010/11/...s_shortly.html

 

Valencia MotoGP test times - Tuesday 3pm
1. Jorge Lorenzo ESP Yamaha Factory Racing 1m 32.511s
2. Casey Stoner AUS HRC 1m 33.261s
3. Ben Spies USA Yamaha Factory Racing 1m 33.386s
4. Marco Simoncelli ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini 1m 33.578s
5. Dani Pedrosa ESP Repsol Honda Team 1m 33.722s
6. Valentino Rossi ITA Ducati Marlboro Team 1m 33.882s
7. Nicky Hayden USA Ducati Marlboro Team 1m 33.998s
8. Alvaro Bautista ESP Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1m 34.070s
9. Colin Edwards USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1m 34.132s
10. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Repsol Honda Team 1m 34.283s
11. Randy de Puniet FRA Pramac Racing 1m 34.477s
12. Hector Barbera ESP Paginas Amarillas Aspar 1m 34.574s
13. Hiroshi Aoyama JPN San Carlo Honda Gresini 1m 34.767s
14. Cal Crutchlow GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1m 34.924s
15. Loris Capirossi ITA Pramac Racing 1m 35.248s
16. Toni Elias ESP LCR Honda MotoGP 1m 35.808s
17. Karel Abraham CZE Cardion AB Motoracing 1m 37.495s

2010 Valencia Grand Prix :
Pole position:
Casey Stoner AUS Ducati Marlboro 1m 31.799s
Fastest race lap:
Dani Pedrosa ESP Repsol Honda 1m 32.914s

SOURCE:http://crash.net/motogp/news/164917/...esday_3pm.html

 

I think with the advent of Rossi's appearance at Ducati, we'll start to "see" Ferrari help in terms of development, particularly in the engine department. I don't know if Fiat sponsorship came over with Valentino, but if it did, then we can almost be certain that Ferrari will be involved (albeit "secretly") somewhere in the development process.

 

Ducati......., I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship:

 

No video? Come on SpeedLimit...I expect a higher quality thread from you in the moto section

Valentino Rossi makes his first outing with Ducati | The Official MotoGP Website

 

^^^LMAO! i'm disgruntled at work because I can't watch so i may have subliminally been selfish bud!

 

Valencia MotoGP test times - Tuesday 5pm
1. Jorge Lorenzo ESP Yamaha Factory Racing 1m 32.012s
2. Casey Stoner AUS HRC 1m 32.775s
3. Ben Spies USA Yamaha Factory Racing 1m 32.878s
4. Dani Pedrosa ESP Repsol Honda Team 1m 32.912s
5. Marco Simoncelli ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini 1m 32.919s
6. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Repsol Honda Team 1m 33.190s
7. Colin Edwards USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1m 33.513s
8. Alvaro Bautista ESP Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1m 33.558s
9. Nicky Hayden USA Ducati Marlboro Team 1m 33.716s
10. Valentino Rossi ITA Ducati Marlboro Team 1m 33.882s
11. Randy de Puniet FRA Pramac Racing 1m 33.914s
12. Hiroshi Aoyama JPN San Carlo Honda Gresini 1m 33.953s
13. Hector Barbera ESP Paginas Amarillas Aspar 1m 34.110s
14. Cal Crutchlow GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1m 34.314s
15. Loris Capirossi ITA Pramac Racing 1m 34.631s
16. Toni Elias ESP LCR Honda MotoGP 1m 35.058s
17. Karel Abraham CZE Cardion AB Motoracing 1m 35.076s


2010 Valencia Grand Prix :
Pole position:
Casey Stoner AUS Ducati Marlboro 1m 31.799s
Fastest race lap:
Dani Pedrosa ESP Repsol Honda 1m 32.914s
SOURCE:http://crash.net/motogp/news/164920/...esday_5pm.html

 

will be pretty effing cool to finally see him on a duc.

 

Is the Duc a better bike than the Honda?