FIM MotoGP World Championship Catalunya, Spain June 16 Friday’s Best Combined Practice Times: 1. Valentino ROSSI (Yamaha) 1:42.837, Michelin 2. Kenny Lee ROBERTS (Roberts/Honda) 1:42.923, Michelin 3. Dani PEDROSA (Honda) 1:43.036, Michelin 4. Colin EDWARDS (Yamaha) 1:43.197, Michelin 5. Chris VERMEULEN (Suzuki) 1:43.308, Bridgestone 6. Casey STONER (Honda) 1:43.380, Michelin 7. John HOPKINS (Suzuki) 1:43.421, Bridgestone 8. Loris CAPIROSSI (Ducati) 1:43.433, Bridgestone 9. Marco MELANDRI (Honda) 1:43.500, Michelin 10. Nicky HAYDEN (Honda) 1:43.522, Michelin 11. Carlos CHECA (Yamaha) 1:43.617, Dunlop 12. Sete GIBERNAU (Ducati) 1:43.617, Bridgestone 13. Randy DE PUNIET (Kawasaki) 1:43.784, Bridgestone 14. Toni ELIAS (Honda) 1:43.934, Michelin 15. Shinya NAKANO (Kawasaki) 1:43.937, Bridgestone 16. Makoto TAMADA (Honda) 1:43.944, Michelin 17. James ELLISON (Yamaha) 1:45.616, Dunlop 18. Alex HOFMANN (Ducati) 1:45.912, Dunlop 19. Jose Luis CARDOSO (Ducati) 1:46.207, Dunlop More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki Racing Team: DE PUNIET LEADS THE WAY FOR KAWASAKI IN CATALUNYA Kawasaki’s Randy de Puniet remains confident ahead of Sunday’s Grand Prix of Catalunya, after finishing this afternoon’s second free practice session just one second adrift of reigning World Champion, Valentino Rossi, who topped the timesheet today. This afternoon’s free practice session was disrupted by the onset of rain shortly before the start, with the result that almost a third of the session was lost while riders waited for the circuit to dry sufficiently to allow the use of slick tyres. Once the track had dried out, de Puniet was quick to find a good rhythm aboard his Ninja ZX-RR, improving his time with each lap and eventually finishing the session twelfth fastest overall. The 25-year-old Frenchman was disappointed to have finished outside the top ten, but remains confident that, with some changes to his lines through the critical second sector, he can close the gap on the leaders even further during tomorrow’s practice and qualifying sessions. Also confident of an improvement tomorrow is de Puniet’s Kawasaki teammate, Shinya Nakano. The 28-year-old Japanese rider finished today’s free practice session down in thirteenth position, after problems with the stability of his Ninja ZX-RR under braking lost him valuable time, by forcing him to brake early for each of the thirteen corners that make up the 4.727 km Circuit de Catalunya. Although disappointed with his position on the timesheet today, Nakano has already identified a tyre that works well around the Catalunya circuit and remains confident that changes to the chassis set-up of his Ninja ZX-RR overnight will be rewarded with an improvement in lap times during tomorrow’s practice and qualifying sessions. Randy de Puniet: 12th – 1’43.784 “Conditions were hot out there today, and I expended some energy chasing a fast lap time towards the end of the session. I had a good feeling on the bike, and my last run was good, so I was a little disappointed to finish today outside the top ten. At the moment I have some problems through the second split; I need to look at my lines through this section of the track to see where I can save some time. We’re less than a second from pole position at the moment and I’m confident that, with the help of my crew, I’ll be able to close the gap further on the leaders tomorrow.” Shinya Nakano: 13th – 1’43.937 “The rain just before practice meant that we were 20 minutes into the session before it was possible to start testing the different rear tyres we have for this round. In the end we tested three rear slicks and the last one felt pretty good overall. Our main problem today was with stability under braking; the bike just didn’t inspire confidence going into the turns, with the result that I had to brake earlier to make sure the bike was settled before turning in. This lost me a lot of time. Tonight we will look at changing the balance of the bike to improve stability, and with more confidence in the bike under braking, I’m sure that we can improve our position during practice tomorrow.” Harald Eckl: Team Principal “Catalunya, like Mugello, is a fast circuit and I’m afraid we will face another difficult race on Sunday, as we did two weeks ago in Italy. Randy and Shinya are riding as hard as ever, but I think we must hope for rain in Sunday’s race if they are to compete on a level playing field with our rivals.” More, from a press release issued by Ducati Marlboro Team: DUCATI MARLBORO MEN IN THE THICK OF THE ACTION Two weeks after a thrilling Italian GP, Ducati Marlboro Team riders Sete Gibernau and Loris Capirossi were back in the thick of the action at Catalunya today. The pair finished the first two sessions eighth and 12th fastest in an ultra-tight first day of practice, but close to the leaders on lap times, with the top 16 riders separated by a mere 1.107 seconds. Capirossi was just 0.596 seconds off ‘pole position’ and happy with his race pace, while Gibernau was less than two tenths down on his team-mate, proving that Bridgestone has made significant progress since a challenging weekend at this track last June. Neither rider used qualifying tyres today, preferring instead to focus on race tyres and race set-up. The afternoon session got underway on a slightly damp track after a lunchtime rain shower but ended in warm sunshine. Latest weather forecasts suggest that the rain may return to Catalunya on race day. LORIS CAPIROSSI, 8th fastest, 1m 43.433s “We had some rain today, as we’ve had at pretty much every race so far this year, but in general it was quite a positive day for us. So far I’m not 100 per cent satisfied with my bike set-up, which we need to adapt to the tyres. However, I’m feeling focused, confident and ready to use tomorrow’s two hours of track time to find a good solution for Sunday. I ended this afternoon’s session with a 12-lap run and I’m pretty satisfied with my race pace. I did a lot of 43s, which is not at all bad. We always knew that this track would be more difficult for us than the others but we are doing okay, and, most important of all, we are much better here than we were last year.” SETE GIBERNAU, 12th fastest, 1m 43.617s “We started here with basically the same set-up we ran at Mugello but we need to find a little more. I think the bike/tyre package is better here than it was before, though we are still getting quite a lot of wheelspin out of the turns, so the bike isn’t driving out of the corners, which is important at any racetrack but especially here because there are a lot of long corners. The team and I are therefore working together to try and find a better set-up that will help the tyres. I’ve got one more rear to test tomorrow which is probably the best of the ones I didn’t try today, so we’ll see how that goes. Spidi have made a great job of fixing my boots, so my thanks to them.” Temperatures: Ambient: 25 degrees. Track: 30 degrees More, from a press release issued by Fortuna Honda: IMPORTANT FIRST DAY FOR FORTUNA HONDA AT MONTMELÃ’ Team FORTUNA HONDA returned to the track today for the first day of practice ahead of the seventh round of the MotoGP season at the Montmelò circuit in Barcelona. Marco Melandri and Toni Elias made the most of the opening two free practice sessions for the Grand Prix of Catalunya, a special race for both of the Fortuna riders. Toni Elias, who hails from the local town of Manresa, has arrived for his home race with plenty of motivation, whilst Marco Melandri is also in good shape after finishing on the podium in his own home Grand Prix at Mugello two weeks ago. The Italian has been on the podium here in Barcelona for the past two years. MARCO MELANDRI (1’43″500, 9th): “We’ve worked well during both free practice sessions today and I am happy with the data we gathered. We started out with thye same base setting as Mugello, making just a few small changes. We did some tyre tests and gathered some good information so I am feeling calm and motivated. We have made good progress so I am not worried about being in ninth place. We have worked well for the race and now I am feeling confident and looking forward to being competitive in qualifying tomorrow.” TONI ELIAS (1’43″937, 14th): “We’ve tried a few different solutions with the setting over the course of the two sessions. We’ve made another step forward since Mugello and my feeling with the bike has improved. I’m looking forward to the race and I’m sure the team can help me find the right compromise to adapt the bike better to my home circuit. This is a very important GP for me – your home race is always special and I would like to put on a good show for the Spanish fans.” OFFICIAL TIMES 1. V.Rossi (Ita/Yamaha) 1’42″837 2. K.Roberts jr (USA/Honda KR) 1’42″923 3. D.Pedrosa (Sp/Honda) 1’43″036 9. M.Melandri (Ita/Honda) 1’43″500 14 T.Elias (Sp/Honda) 1’43″934 More, from a press release issued by Camel Yamaha: ROSSI CONTINUES POSITIVE PROGRESS AT CATALUNYA Camel Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi followed on from the joy of home victory at Mugello two weeks ago with an encouraging start to proceedings at round seven of the MotoGP World Championship in Barcelona. The Italian set the quickest time on the first day of free practice, overcoming delicately damp conditions in the afternoon to dislodge Kenny Roberts (Team KR) from the top of the time sheets after the American had set the pace in a stifling hot and humid morning session, run on a completely dry track. The threat of rain finally materialised in the shape of a brief lunchtime thunderstorm, which affected conditions for the afternoon and meant that Rossi was one of only a handful of riders to improve their overall times. Rossi’s team-mate Colin Edwards was unable to do so but he made swift progress as he worked with the updated version of the 2006 YZR-M1 chassis in both his machines for the first time. Encouraging test results with the new frame in tests at Mugello were confirmed in the first session, when he clocked the second fastest lap behind Roberts, and his effort was enough to leave him fourth fastest on the combined practice time sheets. VALENTINO ROSSI (1st 1’42.837; 33 laps) “I’m very pleased because we have done a lot of hard work today and the lap times are good. Earlier in the season we were losing time in practice trying to solve the vibration problems but now we are able to work in a normal way thanks to the new chassis. It means we can use every minute of the session to work on the tyres and the set-up for the race. Really this bike is only four hours old so for it to already be working so well is a big encouragement and a good sign for the future. I love this circuit and it is great fun to ride the M1 here but we still have some work to do tomorrow, especially on finding some more front grip. There are two or three riders looking very strong at this track and it looks like it will be another great battle on Sunday.” COLIN EDWARDS (4th 1’43.197; 43 laps) “That wasn’t so bad. After a lot of hard work over the past few races we’ve finally been able to find a direction to work in and stick with so we’re making progress and not wasting any time. During the pre-season tests here we were quick in the wet but not so much in the dry, so it’s encouraging to see that we are making progress so quickly with the new frame. I’ve basically got the same bike and settings as Valentino, which worked for us in Mugello and seem to be working here. We made some real progress at the Mugello test and I’ve been really looking forward to coming here and making it count. No doubt the other riders will get faster tomorrow if the rain stays away but we have a good margin for improvement at such an early stage of development so if we can keep working hard and moving forward then we have a chance.” DAVIDE BRIVIO CAMEL YAMAHA TEAM DIRECTOR “We have come here this weekend with a very different bike to what we had in the official tests back in March but things have been quite good from the start. We still have some work to do and some solutions to find, especially with Colin, because the bike is at an early stage and we still have to fully understand the best way with the setting. So far the situation is good and, as Valentino says, it is good for us to be able to work in a normal way from the first session, without wasting time trying to eliminate the vibrations. We’re expecting it to rain tomorrow but we’re happy with the work we got through today and now we’ll just wait and see what happens.” Combined Free Practice Times: 1. VALENTINO ROSSI (ITA) Camel Yamaha Team, 1’42.837 2. Kenny Roberts JR (USA) Team Roberts, 1’42.923 3. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team, 1’43.036 4. COLIN EDWARDS (USA) Camel Yamaha Team, 1’43.197 5. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Team Suzuki MotoGP, 1’43.308 6. Casey Stoner (AUS) Honda LCR, 1’43.380 7. John Hopkins (USA) Team Suzuki MotoGP, 1’43.421 8. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati Marlboro Team, 1’43.433 9. Marco Melandri (ITA) Fortuna Honda, 1’43.500 10. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team, 1’43.522 More, from a press release issued by Pramac D’Antin: PRAMAC D’ANTIN MOTOGP: FIRST SESSIONS OF FREE PRACTICE AT BARCELONA The day was characterized by the weather instability on the Catalan circuit, and luckily didn’t bother too much the riders of the premier-class. Although it rained at the beginning of the afternoon, the track was already dry a few minutes after the start of the practice session of the MotoGP class. This allowed the Team PRAMAC D’ANTIN MOTOGP to concentrate itself in the best way on the definition of the DUCATI DESMOSEDICI GP06 “Sat.” race set-up. The two riders, ALEX HOFMANN and JOSE LUIS CARDOSO classified themselves respectively 18th and 19th. Tomorrow morning at 10a.m., there will be another session of free practice before the single qualifying session reserved to the MotoGP riders, at 2p.m..A very important weekend for the whole Team as it is a national race, in Spain, where many of the sponsors and supporters of the Team will be present. ALEX HOFMANN #66 (18th – 1’45.912): “Today we made a lot of tests, especially on the race tyres, but also on the general set-up. Our biggest aim is to have a good rhythm for the race and that’s why we’re concentrating ourselves almost exclusively on this. For tomorrow, we still have one new tyre to test, then we will work on the set-up and on the suspensions of our DUCATI, to find a more adequate balance and more general stability. We’re still very far from the other riders during the races, and that’s why we prefer to work on the race configuration more than on the lap time, not only for this Sunday’s race but for the whole season’s races”. JOSE LUIS CARDOSO #30 (19th – 1’46.207): “From this morning, we made some changes on the motorcycle but without getting the results I would have hoped. We need to compare all the data, study all the details and program the work to make tomorrow. This is a very important race as we’re in my country, in Spain, and I would like to obtain a good result in front of my public”. ANDRE LAUGIER – Track Engineer of Jose Luis Cardoso: “This afternoon, Cardoso didn’t have the same sensations he had this morning, surely because the conditions of the track varied a bit as it rained at the beginning of the afternoon. For tomorrow’s practice, we will study very good today’s data, we will compare this morning’s session with this afternoon’s and we will go on working very hard, to allow the rider to find the good sensations he needs”. 1. Valentino Rossi 1’42.837 2. Kenny Roberts Jr. 1’42.923 3. Daniel Pedrosa 1’43.036 4. Colin Edwards 1’43.197 5. Chris Vermeulen 1’43.308 18. Alex Hofmann 1’45.912 19. Jose Luis Cardoso 1’46.207 More, from a press release issued by Dorna Communications: ROSSI DODGES RAIN TO LEAD AFTER DAY ONE Despite the appearance of the rain which seems to follow the MotoGP tour the world over this year, the World Championship’s passionate fans still flocked to the Circuit de Catalunya today to witness the excitement of the buzzing paddock. With the Gran Premi Cinzano de Catalunya taking place on Sunday, today’s sessions served to establish the early pace-setters in all three categories. Valentino Rossi continued on the comeback trail on the first day of practice, finishing as the fastest rider with a lap of 1’42.837. The Camel Yamaha man has been one of the most successful riders in the history of the Circuit de Catalunya, and knows that a win is essential for his championship aspirations. The second practice session went ahead without interruptions, although the track was slowly drying after a sudden downpour soaked 125cc practice. Having put in the fastest lap of the first free practice, Kenny Roberts Jr. benefited from the slower second session to finish the day in second position overall. The American was just ahead of home rider Dani Pedrosa, another rider with a formidable record in Catalunya. The last time Colin Edwards came to the Montmelo Circuit he left as the proud owner of a brand new BMW M ZX Roadster, courtesy of a victory in a special qualifying session back at the Official Test in March. On day one of practice the Texan Tornado clocked the fourth fastest time, ahead of Australian duo Chris Vermeulen and Casey Stoner. John Hopkins continued the impressive form of the Suzuki team, with a seventh place in the combined standings. Championship leader Loris Capirossi clocked the eighth fastest time of the day, with third and second placed championship riders Marco Melandri and Nicky Hayden completing the top ten. The paddock also welcomed two of Spain’s biggest rallying stars this afternoon, with Citroen driver Xevi Pons and KTM Dakar rider Isidre Esteve experiencing some of the excitement of the World Championship. The raid and rally drivers made the most of their time at the track, shooting the breeze with fellow countryman Toni Elias in the Fortuna Honda box. 250cc The 250cc category saw something of a fairytale first point of contact for Alex Debon. Stepping in for injured rider Hector Barbera in the Fortuna Aprilia team, Debon grabbed a last-gasp provisional pole to complete a dream start for him as part of the Spanish outfit. The stand-in’s lap of 1’47.231 saw him place ahead of championship leader Andrea Dovizioso and Hiroshi Aoyama, with title contender and fellow Fortuna Aprilia rider Jorge Lorenzo the only other rider to break the 1’47s barrier. Marco Simoncelli, Shuhei Aoyama, Alex de Angelis and Yuki Takahashi all placed in the top eight, ahead of Roberto Locatelli and Jules Cluzel. 125cc Finn Mika Kallio took provisional pole in the 125cc category today after a rain-hit qualifying session. He set his lap just before there was an intense downpour at the Circuit de Catalunya, and all riders headed to their boxes to make the necessary changes to their bikes and leathers. With the KTM rider first on the provisional grid, he lies ahead of Thomas Luthi, Michele Conti, Mike di Meglio and the surprise package of Joey Litjens and Bradley Smith. Seventh place went to Raffaele de Rosa, the top ten rounded off by Lorenzo Zanetti, Gabor Talmacsi and Michele Pirro. MotoGP 1st, Valentino Rossi (Yamaha), 1’42.837 : “I’m very pleased because we have done a lot of hard work today and the lap times are good. Earlier in the season we were losing time in practice trying to solve the vibration problems but now we are able to work in a normal way thanks to the new chassis. It means we can use every minute of the session to work on the tyres and the set-up for the race. Really this bike is only four hours old so for it to already be working so well is a big encouragement and a good sign for the future. I love this circuit and it is great fun to ride the M1 here but we still have some work to do tomorrow, especially on finding some more front grip. There are two or three riders looking very strong at this track and it looks like it will be another great battle on Sunday.” More, from a press release issued by Rizla Suzuki: RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP PUSHING HARD AT CATALUNYA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP racers Chris Vermeulen and John Hopkins were both within touching distance of today’s quickest time during free practice for the Gran Premi Cinzano De Catalunya. Vermeulen (1’43.308, 40 laps) finished in fifth place overall and Hopkins (1’43.421, 43 laps) was just a fraction of a second behind his team-mate in seventh. Vermeulen was able to concentrate on his riding style and getting the best settings for his Rizla Suzuki today, as he has previous knowledge of the Montmelo Circuit from a promising pre-season test. Hopkins worked hard all day and completed long runs in the search for the most suitable Bridgestone tyre in preparation for Sunday’s 25-lap race. He was consistently near the top of the leaderboard and will certainly be looking to achieve a good qualifying position tomorrow afternoon. Today’s afternoon session was disrupted by a heavy rain shower just before it commenced, but the track quickly dried out and dry but humid conditions similar to the morning session – took over. World Champion Valentino Rossi set the quickest time with former World Champion Kenny Roberts Jr in second. Rizla Suzuki MotoGP will have a further free practice session tomorrow morning before Vermeulen and Hopkins go all-out to get the best positions in the afternoon’s only qualifying practice. Sunday’s race is round seven of the MotoGP World Championship and the race will get underway at 14.00hrs local time (12.00hrs GMT). Chris Vermeulen: “Obviously a better start to a Grand Prix weekend than we’ve had recently. It’s very hot and humid here, but we did lose a bit of track-time today to the rain which is not unusual this year! Suzuki has brought some modifications here to Catalunya and that has helped a little bit for the long straight, but we are still a bit down on power compared to the other bikes. Bridgestone have got some great tyres here and the bike is working very well, it’s very consistent and I can do a lot of laps at a similar time. Hopefully we can get it even better tomorrow and I can get a good qualifying position.” John Hopkins: “It’s good to be back at Barcelona. We had a really good winter test here and everything fells pretty good today. Unfortunately we had another half and half session this afternoon and we lost a bit of time there it seems like we haven’t had a day at the races this year without a bit of rain! We had a lot of things to get through this afternoon but that was cut short. Overall though everything’s just getting better and better for us and let’s hope tomorrow is going to be dry because I think we have a good chance of running up front here this weekend.” Paul Denning Team Manager: “It’s been raining- which means we must be at a Grand Prix race! But apart from that small interruption it’s been a productive day for both riders. As expected the start to Chris’ weekend has been a lot more interesting, due to his previous knowledge of the track. This enabled him to get on with his own technique and the set-up of the Rizla Suzuki GSV-R. Both riders are very much in the thick of the action and are certainly competitive, especially so if we compare our performance with that of the other Bridgestone riders out there. “I think we have a lot of work still to do to maximise the potential of the chassis and tyre combination to help our race durability. Everyone is working hard and we are hoping to be as competitive as we can for the rest of the weekend.”