Today was a free day for Ducati riders at the Wrooom event and Valentino Rossi took the opportunity to take the Ducati Desmosedici especially equipped with studded tires for a spin on a snow covered road at Madonna di Campiglio.

The Italian gingerly tried out the bike by himself (you can check out a brief video that friend Uccio posted on his Twitter account) gaining some confidence and then team mate Nicky Hayden, who is recovering from his fractured scapula, decided he wanted to feel the sensation of a MotoGP bike on the snow and rode pillion.

This isn’t the first time that a D16 has been used at Madonna di Campiglio, Vittoriano Guareschi used the GP7 at the ice rink during the 2008 Vrooom.

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During today’s press conference for Ducati’s 2012 team launch at the Vrooom media event at Madonna di Campiglio ski resort in Italy saw Valentino Rossi under a barrage of questions regarding the upcoming season, the new GP12 which isn’t present, and obviously the old chestnut, when is he going to retire.

Here’s what a smiling and relaxed Rossi had to say:

“The championship will be difficult because the gap in 2011 was quite big. Our target is to fix problems step by step, and try to get closer to Yamaha and Honda. And from that moment on, we’ll start to work on the finer details, and be competitive for the victory. I do not want to say from the start that I won’t be able to fight for the championship, but I have to be realistic. Ultimately we have 1.5 second gap to recover, our target is to get much closer to the others and be able to race with them and fight with them. This is our goal. We know we need time, but we all work well together – and it’ll be a dream to try and win the first race, but realistically we are still too far off – but maybe the new bike is a miracle. - The bike has changed a lot and Ducati has worked really hard to have ready for the first test. I’m not worried, I’m optimistic and confident. When we’ll test it we’ll know at what point we’re at and if we’ve improved. I don’t expect that the bike will immediately competitive, but I think it will be enough to know if we worked well and for this season we’ve organized a much simpler and clearer work routine.”

“I think that the first test will be important, and for sure the bike will be different compared to last year. It is impossible to be competitive from the first test, but I think we have some good information to work from and be ready for the first race. Last year was a lot worse because from the first test we understood that the season would have been very tough and difficult. After three laps we understood we could not win the first race, but now the situation is better – because I am fit. I’m physically in shape now and we have another two or three weeks ahead of us. I am ready for the first test. It’s nice working with Ducati, but unfortunately the results were below our expectations. The atmosphere is nice and we all believe in what we are doing.”

Continue reading: Valentino Rossi on the upcoming season, the Ducati GP12, CRTs and retirement

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