He may have started late and spent ౠmuch of the day outside the top ten on the testing time sheets, but later Va🌸lentino Rossi could reflect on the “good feeling” that came courtesy of ending Monday as the quickest MotoGP rider at Brno.

“It was a long, long tim🦹e that I wasn’t able [to do this] on Monday,” he joked at the close of a long afternoon during which he tested new parts, including a new aerodynamic fairing, and Ohlins carbon fibre forks, while showing a strong pace.

Rossi had spent a lengthy amount of Su𒐪nday evening locked away with his team, as the sought a solution to their continued issues related to timing in flag-to-flag encounters, and returned to track a day later to sample𝓡 set-ups that could aid his quest to regain championship ground at the Red Bull Ring this weekend.

His quickest time – set on lap 51 of 52 - of 1m🔥 55.162s was less than a tenth off his best from𝄹 Saturday’s qualifying, and was enough to better title leader Marc Marquez’s best by 0.018s.

And from what he tested, Rossi stated a liking for the new front forks, while casting doubt on whether Y🦩amaha’s new fairing would be appropriate for the flat-out⭕, undulating plunges around the upcoming Austrian track.

“I’m so, so happy because it was a long, long time that I wasn’t able to stay in the first place on Monday because I don’t usually 💫like the Monday test,” he said. “It’s one of the difficult parts of my work!

“It’s important because we finish a good weekend with a good performance and to stay is the first position, it is not always important, it is a good feeling. Between all the things, we try the fairing. It’s good. I have a good feeling. But 🐬it depends on the track. I don’t think it’s a track where a fairing like this is very important.”

On why he felt the fairing would n🐠ot be best suited to Austria, he continued: “Because for me the🌌 top speed is very important. With this fairing you lost a little bit. At the end it’s like this. It’s a bit more easy to ride, less wheelie, like the wings last year.

“Now they check the data and it looks like we lose a bit. Spielberg the top speed is always. May🍸be it’s not the best for Austria but maybe it can bꦬe an option for other circuits.”

Presꦅsed on what parts he was using when he set his quickest time at the close of the afternoon, Rossi said, “ꦐThe [new] fork yes. The fairing no. I want to try to understand a back-to-back and I put again the standard.

“The fork is OK. It’s more easy. At the end,ꦐ apart from this, more or less ဣthe same as Saturday. I was able to make more or less the same lap time. I’m happy. I like the forks because they help in the change of direction and the bike is more easy, more light. So it’s a good option, yes. I like a little bit lighter because it’s less effort. At my age it’s important!”