Rossi: Feeling is quite good, very fun to ride the MotoGP bike at Silverstone

Petronas Yamaha’s Valentino Rossi made an impressive return to the top ten during FP2 at the British MotoGP. 

Rossi got as high as fifth during the closing stages before a slew of fast laps relegated him to tenth place. 

Rossi was one of a few riders to seemingly benefit from the new Silverstone asphalt, which along with cooler conditions produced increased grip. 

In FP2 Rossi tried the hard rear tyre - an option that was ‘too hard’ for the conditions, however, the soft rear was where the nine-time world champion found his best pace. 

Speaking about his opening day, Rossi added: "Yes, today for me was a positive day because I have quite a good feeling with the bike already from this morning. For the afternoon we continued to work and it was not so bad. 

"We tried to work with the hard tyre, but the hard for this afternoon was a bit too hard for this temperature because the temperature is quite low. 

"At the end with the soft, I did two good laps and I am in the top ten. The feeling is quite good  and I enjoyed it very much because Silverstone is a great track. 

"I like the layout a lot and also with the new asphalt it’s very fun to ride the MotoGP bike here. 

"Today was cold, but was dry, which is already great for Silverstone and we hope that the weather and the weekend continues like this." 

With Silverstone traditionally one of Rossi’ better tracks over the course of his career, and the improved pace shown today over previous rounds, a good result could certainly be on the cards. 

One of the reasons Rossi particularly enjoys the British circuit is it’s ‘good mix’ between older and more modern characteristics. 

"I like a lot this track because it’s very technical and there are a lot of corners. There are 18 corners. It’s a long track and I love the long tracks," said Rossi. 

"You have everything because you have very slow corners, medium-fast ones, hard braking, so it’s a great pleasure. 

"It’s a good mix between older style circuits but more modern. They are able to balance this and it’s a great enjoyment because it’s a MotoGP size. 

"It’s very wide, it’s very fast, so you can use all the horsepower when you ride which is a great feeling."