Movistar Yamaha’s Valentino Rossi completed the first day of practice in 9th overall at the Termas de Rio Honda.
The second session saw light rain in the opening minutes, but the drama was short lived and the track quickly dried. The Yamaha Factory rider gradually picked up their pace, taking over four-seconds off his FP1 time as the grip levels rose. The improvements continued lap by lap to end with Rossi in ninth, 1.171s from first.
Valentino Rossi:
“In the second practice the condition of the track improved a lot and already the lap time is very competitive. The big issue is the tyres, we have to decide on the rear and also the front. The first impression of the bike is not so bad although we have to work on the balance and the settings. The position is not fantastic but we are not very far from the top guys so tomorrow we will try to improve the feeling with the bike and also the lap time.”