Suffering from flu symptoms, Valentino Rossi didn’t take to the track during today’s second of three days of testing at Sepang. The Italian rider was feeling weakened by fever and a cold when he arrived at the track this morning, and after consulting with the team and with doctors from the Clinica Mobile, he returned to his hotel, where he underwent anti-flu treatment. The hope is that the unplanned day off will leave Valentino in better condition for tomorrow’s final day of testing.
Nicky Hayden’s second day of testing didn’t bring the results he had hoped for, but the American worked closely with his team in an effort to take a step forward for tomorrow’s final day.
Nicky Hayden (Ducati Marlboro Team) 12th, 2:02.208 (44 laps)
“It wasn’t the smoothest day, as we had a couple of time-consuming glitches. We had planned to put on some fresh tyres at the end to see how good the changes we’d made really were, but we had a small problem with the gearbox near the end, and there wasn’t time to go back out. We still did 44 laps though, and it was a pretty solid day overall. The team really worked hard today, so thanks to them as always. Our gap to the front is still quite big, but we’ve definitely managed to get the chatter a lot better. It’s not completely cured, but it’s good enough that we can focus on some other stuff. I’ve got a lot of work to do tomorrow, so hopefully we can take a big step and leave here positive.”
