Brno MotoGP: Valentino Rossi happy with second

MotoGP world championship leader Valentino Rossi was delighted to have claimed a spot on the front row of the grid for tomorrow’s Czech Republic clash.

Rossi ended a rain-hit qualifying 1.189s slower than reigning world champion Casey Stoner to finish in second place and he said: “I am happy because I had some trouble with the bike.

“I didn’t have a good feeling with the front but I decided to make another lap because form this morning we improved the acceleration a lot and I had more grip. I tried to push and I am very lucky because it was the right moment of the practice to push.

“This year in the wet though my feeling with the bike is quite good. Stoner is always very fast in the wet, we are behind him but not very far. In a day like today we understand more about the Bridgestone rain tyre and understand the limit. I think we are competitive in the wet for tomorrow, but I prefer a dry race because in the dry we are closer to try and fight.

“It was very tough conditions and it was like changing seasons compared to yesterday. It was good to get some experience in the wet and to improve the setting of the bike in case of bad weather tomorrow. I am very happy about my second position because I push in the right moment of the session.

“I decided to stay out and make a quite good lap time, even if I had some small problems. When I stopped to fix the setting and restart there was already too much water on the track and I was aquaplaning on the straight and it was very difficult to control the bike.

“It was impossible to try and make the same lap time. It was a waste of time trying to improve the bike because the amount of water was too much. It is very important to start from the front row whether it is wet or dry.”