Valentino Rossi had a tough Day 2 at the Phillip Island test on track, ending the session in eighth on the timesheets – but did celebrate his 38th birthday at the stunning Victoria track.

Although intending to go back to the drawing board overnight to find improvements for the third and final day of testing in Australia, the ‘Doctor’ did set a good run of 1:29 laps on a longer stint.

“It was a difficult day for us, especially in the afternoon. This morning was not so bad." Said the nine times World Champion.

"We tried some different tyres but we especially focused on the pace and it was quite good. This afternoon we had some important tests to do, try a long run and modify something on the bike, but unfortunately it didn't work well and I wasn't fast enough."

"It looks like we followed the wrong direction, so after the interviews we‘ll go back to the box to try to understand better for tomorrow and we hope that we can improve." He concluded

"Being in Phillip Island with the good weather and riding the M1 all day is always difficult, because it‘s hard work, but it‘s also a great pleasure, so I think this is a good birthday gift."