Rossi has “difficult” day, admits he tested with new winglets

Rossi, who comes into the race weekend 12 points ahead of teammate Jorge Lorenzo, was only fifth fastest after the two sessions. Lorenzo was fastest, ahead of Honda duo Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa.

“This Friday was a little bit difficult,” admitted Rossi. “The track has new asphalt, and has more grip, but for some reason the pace was not fantastic. With the front [end] under braking and entry, the bike is a bit difficult to control.

“This morning was worse, already this afternoon I did a good step. We modified the settings and were able to improve the pace and the feeling. At the end I had a good rhythm, but I don’t feel comfortable 100 per cent.

“We have to work, we have to try to improve because Jorge and Marc are especially fast, and also Pedrosa had good pace too.

“I’m not fast enough in braking and entry, and also we tried the other tyre at the front and the rear, and that could be a good option for the race, I like both. We will try that again tomorrow, and make the right choice for the race.”

Winglets on the agenda

Lorenzo set his fastest time after trying the new nose fairing-mounted winglets, which Rossi opted not to try despite having tested them.

"It‘s possible that I will give the winglets a try this weekend," said Rossi. "We already rode with them during the private test and the first feeling wasn‘t so bad, it helped a little and could make a small difference."