Rossi happy with shoulder progress

The Italian admitted his injured shoulder was not getting worse despite the riding, and although he conceded it was still a problem, he was pleased to be able to cover significant mileage.

"I'm happy because I was able to ride again today," said Rossi, who finished as 14th quickest, over 1.5 seconds off Dani Pedrosa's pace.

"I did another 42 laps, which is reassuring. Even when I work my shoulder hard, I'm finding that it doesn't get worse, and I don't suffer too much, to the extent that I was able to start again this morning without having lost anything compared to yesterday.

"Actually, the shoulder is even getting better as I ride, and I'm able to make the movements that are required. Obviously, it's still a handicap, because eventually I begin to lose strength and the pain increases, but we were able to do some good, consistent work."

Rossi said he has also been happy with the progress his Ducati team has made during the test.

"We tested some new fairings, trying out the aerodynamics. There's still a little vibration at the front that we weren't able to eliminate, but we have some cards we can play tomorrow to address that. We have to get a little more experience to better understand the bike's reactions when we change tyres, from soft to hard and vice versa.

"If the weather stays nice, the track conditions will continue to improve, and I think lap times could drop a bit. Naturally, beyond feeling increasingly comfortable on the bike, one of our goals is to be able to ride it more easily. We're satisfied with the progress we're making."