Friday Afternoon MotoGP Practice Times: 1. Valentino ROSSI, Yamaha, 1:30.349 2. Carlos CHECA, Ducati, 1:30.619 3. Nicky HAYDEN, Honda, 1:31.016 4. Sete GIBERNAU, Honda, 1:31.316 5. Alex BARROS, Honda, 1:31.459 6. Marco MELANDRI, Honda, 1:31.530 7. Colin EDWARDS, Yamaha, 1:31.900 8. Toni ELIAS, Yamaha, 1:31.951 9. Max BIAGGI, Honda, 1:31.988 10. John HOPKINS, Suzuki, 1:32.065 11. Makoto TAMADA, Honda, 1:32.364 12. Shinya NAKANO, Kawasaki, 1:32.667 13. Ruben XAUS, Yamaha, 1:33.098 14. Chris VERMEULEN, Honda, 1:33.178 15. Olivier JACQUE, Kawasaki, 1:33.346 16. Roberto ROLFO, Ducati, 1:34.373 17. James ELLISON, Blata, 1:34.456 18. Franco BATTAINI, Blata, 1:35.656 19. Kenny ROBERTS, Suzuki, no time 20. Loris CAPIROSSI, Ducati, no time More, from a press release issued by Dorna Communications: Rossi reigns on day one at Phillip Island Valentino Rossi continued to reign supreme as MotoGP returned to Phillip Island today with the recently crowned World Champion on top form in free practice at his favourite track. After taking victory here for the past four seasons Rossi made his intentions of extending his reign for a further year perfectly clear with a scorching lap of 1’30.349 a time which was inside the current circuit record and over a second too fast for all but three riders to contend with. “This was a fantastic first day for us, especially the afternoon,” said Rossi. “In the race at Sepang a few weeks ago we had a few problems even though we had been very fast in preseason, and here it has been the opposite way around. We had a few difficulties in the morning but we worked them out in the afternoon and found a really good setting. The balance of the bike is excellent and when you have a good feeling at this circuit you can have a lot of fun.” Kenny Roberts and Loris Capirossi will both miss out on the rest of the weekend’s action after falling at high speed in this morning’s opening session. Roberts fractured his left wrist when he crashed his Suzuki in the notoriously difficult Doohan curve, only to be followed to the medical centre by Capirossi after a virtually identical crash in the same corner. After initial tests the Italian appeared fit enough to return to the track for the afternoon session but further tests at the nearby Dandenong Private Hospital revealed internal bruising and ruled him out of Sunday’s race. In Capirossi’s absence his Ducati team-mate Carlos Checa was the only man able to get close to Rossi today, with a late lap from the Spaniard closing the Italian’s advantage down to 0.270 seconds. Nicky Hayden and Sete Gibernau were the only two other riders within a second of Rossi’s best time, with fifth-fastest Alex Barros some 1.110 seconds adrift of the World Champion, who is aiming for his eleventh victory of the season. Sebastián Porto followed up his clean sweep of pole position, lap record and race victory last season with the fastest time in today’s first qualifying practice for the 250cc race. Porto took provisional pole position ahead of local favourite Casey Stoner with a time of 1’33.117, with the Australian the only rider to get within half a second of the Argentinean. Hector Barberá and Jorge Lorenzo completed the provisional front row with reigning World Champion and current series leader Dani Pedrosa in sixth place. Mattia Pasini set provisional pole position for the 125cc race after a late lap of 1’38.665 denied French youngster Mike Di Meglio by 0.163 seconds. Pasini and Di Meglio moved to the top of the time sheets to eclipse an impressive performance from Ángel Rodríguez, who returned to action as a replacement rider in the last round at Qatar and dominated today’s session before ending up in third place. Fabrizio Lai completed the provisional front row with the fourth fastest time. More, from a press release issued by Gauloises Yamaha: ROSSI RETURNS TO DOMINANT FORM DOWN UNDER Gauloises Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi continued his love affair with Phillip Island on the opening day of the Australian Grand Prix as he dominated today’s first free practice sessions in warm spring temperatures and bright sunshine. The MotoGP World Champion was quickly inside the pace he set on his way to victory here last season, dipping well under the circuit record with a time of 1’30.349 to comfortably hold off the attentions of Carlos Checa (Ducati) after a series of quick laps at the end of the afternoon session. Checa produced a late effort of his own to reduce the gap to 0.270 seconds, with Nicky Hayden (Honda) and Sete Gibernau (Honda) the only other riders able to lap within a second of the Italian. Colin Edwards was 1.511 seconds adrift of his Gauloises Yamaha team-mate today as he looked to combine the setting improvements found for the YZR-M1 machine over the course of the season with the base set-up data gathered for this circuit during winter testing. The American ended the day with the seventh fastest time but he is confident of making major improvements tomorrow as he looks to recover the excellent pace he set here in preseason. VALENTINO ROSSI (1st 1’30.349; 51 laps) “This was a fantastic first day for us, especially the afternoon. In the race at Sepang a few weeks ago we had a few problems even though we had been very fast in preseason, and here it has been the opposite way around. We had a few difficulties in the morning but we worked them out in the afternoon and found a really good setting. The balance of the bike is excellent and when you have a good feeling at this circuit you can have a lot of fun. It is an old style track very fast and very technical and you need courage to set a quick lap time. Normally we start the weekend behind a few people but today we’ve been in front and held the advantage all afternoon so I’m really happy. We have some more work to do tomorrow, mainly with the rear tyre, but at the moment the pace is good. The motivation in the team is still very strong even though we already won the championship and we want to stay that way for the final three races of the season.” COLIN EDWARDS (7th 1’31.900; 49 laps) “This is my favourite track but I didn’t enjoy it too much today. I had some setting and tyre problems and we definitely have some things to work out! I’m having to fight to turn into the corners and we’re nowhere near the level of feeling that I had with the bike during the preseason tests here. The main reason seems to be that we’ve improved the setting of the bike at the majority of the tracks we’ve been to this season and here we might just have to take a step backwards. I set a 1’30.2 during the winter so we know what we’re capable of if we can find the right setting, which I’m confident we can do tomorrow. I want to be leaving Australia in second place in the championship so that I can hang on for that runner-up spot in the final two rounds.” DAVIDE BRIVIO GAULOISES YAMAHA TEAM DIRECTOR “It’s been a good Friday for Valentino, he has quite a good pace and seems to be comfortable on the bike. Now we will see what further improvements we can make. Colin is having some problems but the team will work hard tomorrow to bring him close to the same level as Valentino. He is challenging for second place in the championship and we have to do everything we can to put him in the right place to fight for it on Sunday.” More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki: Roberts Jr crashes out at Phillip Island Team SUZUKI MotoGP racer Kenny Roberts Jr will take no further part in this weekend’s Polini Australian Grand Prix after injuring himself in this morning’s practice session. Roberts Jr had already topped the time-sheets on a drying Phillip Island circuit and had just changed bikes to evaluate the new cowlings that Suzuki has produced for the GSV-R prototype race bike. He crashed heavily at the end of the front straight just as he was going into turn one. The 2000 World Champion was thrown violently from his bike and landed heavily in the gravel. He was immediately taken to the medical centre and following lengthy investigations and x-rays it was discovered he had a fracture in the wrist area of his left hand. Roberts Jr will return to California for further examinations and will not be fit to race at next weekend’s inaugural Turkish Grand Prix so Team SUZUKI MotoGP will run a one-man team. John Hopkins has had a very productive day and used both practice sessions to find the correct Bridgestone tyre for race day. He believes he has found the compound that is best suited to the cooler conditions at Phillip Island and will continue to get the optimum set-up from his GSV-R during tomorrow. He also tested the latest fairing and will do a comparison test on Saturday between the new version and the existing design. Today’s sessions were held in dry sunny conditions with track surface temperatures only reaching 28 degrees. The fastest time was set by World champion Valentino Rossi. Team SUZUKI MotoGP will have a further practice session on Saturday morning and then Hopkins will be lone Suzuki rider going for the best qualifying position he can get during the afternoon timed session. Kenny Roberts Jr: “The bike felt better today than it did in testing in January which is a positive step forward in development for Suzuki. As far as the session and the crash go there is not a lot that makes sense at the moment. I thought initially there would have been a mechanical failure or something to that effect, because I’ve never high-sided going 200k’s at the end of the straight like that before. The guys are looking over the bike now but there doesn’t seem to be anything wrong. It’s disappointing to have a crash that takes you out for the whole weekend when you didn’t do anything to cause you to fall down in such a way it just happened! Loris Capirossi had a similar sort of crash and high-sided at speed in the same place as I did. I’ve heard that he thought the same as I did – that it was something mechanical, so I don’t know whether it was just a chain of events or circumstances that led up to it. We were in the top three during the session and I was still on used tyres so I know what the situation would have been for the weekend, and I was looking forward to a strong finish. “I’d like to thank Dr Wei and everybody at the medical centre. I was having a bit of a hard time when I first got there and was struggling to stay in the situation because I had hit my head pretty hard when I got thrown around. Dean, Gerry Biasi, the doctors and everybody from the team were great and tried to make everything as comfortable as possible. We will now try everything we can to get better from here and try to get back as soon as possible.” John Hopkins: “It was a consistent day for us, but a bad day for Suzuki. Unfortunately Kenny hurt himself – best wishes to him and it sucks that we won’t have him this weekend. Two bikes are always better than one out on the track and we could have made some more progress with the machine especially the new cowling. That just leaves us to do everything we can. From this morning we have been working to find race tyres, fortunately we ran a tyre at the end of the session which I would say is the best tyre that we have for the weekend. We still need to work on the set-up to have a good package so that we are able to go out and do some decent lap times tomorrow and some long runs.” Dean Miller Team Physio: “Kenny had a big get off today and despite bumps and bruises all over his body, no internal issues seem to have come up and he seems to be fine, apart from a fracture in the articulation area of the thumb and his left arm. It doesn’t appear to be too serious but it could be difficult for him to ride and put pressure on it in the race. He has decided not to risk it and will travel back to California and see Dr Ting – his surgeon – and take it from there. As to when he will return that is still up in the air, it will be based on how well we heals. He definitely won’t be in Turkey next week but we can’t rule out the possibility of him riding at Valencia next month.” Paul Denning Team Manager: “We are all very disappointed for Kenny but there is a sense of relief that his injuries are no greater than a fracture. A high-side is never pleasant but a fourth gear high-side into turn one at Phillip Island is about as bad as it gets. The injury is particularly frustrating given that Kenny has, over the last three of four races, got into a strong rhythm and was feeling a lot more positive and enthusiastic about the direction the whole package was taking. He won’t be available for Turkey and regarding Valencia that is a wait and see situation, which will be dependent on further investigations in the States. “John has been running the new cowling that Suzuki has developed specifically for here to cope with the strong cross winds. It has some advantages at this stage but we need to evaluate it against the original GSV-R cowling tomorrow to make sure it is the way forward. John is searching for a bit more performance in all directions but Stuart Shenton his Crew Chief – and the guys seem to have a clear idea for tomorrow in order to maximise our potential for race-day.” More, from a press release issued by Telefonica Movistar Honda: A GOOD DAY’S WORK Sete Gibernau started work at Phillip Island with a series of tyre tests as Marco Melandri focused on suspension and gearbox settings AUSTRALIAN GP – MOTOGP FREE PRACTICE The Telefónica Movistar Honda MotoGP team worked in two different directions today as the Australian Grand Prix got underway at Phillip Island. Whilst Sete Gibernau concentrated on comparing data to the information gathered here during the preseason tests, Marco Melandri preferred to begin lapping with a very similar setting to the one he used in the last race at Qatar. A morning shower had an effect on the 125cc session but it gave way to sunshine and in the afternoon the temperatures eventually rose to 16 ºC (34ºC on track). Sete Gibernau (4th) and Marco Melandri (6th) were both quick enough for hypothetical second row starts, with the Spaniard running through a number of race tyre options and setting a fastest lap of 1’31″216. Melandri worked mainly on his suspension and gearbox, clocking a best lap of 1’31″530. SETE GIBERNAU (4th, 1’31″316): “In the morning we made a good start on our programme for the weekend, starting with the data we gathered during the winter test, and in the afternoon we got a little distracted but that is what Fridays are for testing things out and deciding which things are good for the race and which are not. We’ve got the right set-up for the bike and we’re working hard on the tyres. At this circuit the left hand side gets very hot because you spend a lot of time leaned over and so tyre choice here is fundamental.” MARCO MELANDRI (6th, 1’31″530): “In winter we suffered a little during the test and so instead of working with that data we’ve gone back to the base set-up from Qatar. It’s been a really good day for us, working mainly on the suspension and the gearbox. Tomorrow we have to keep working like this because for now we have a good balance. I feel that I have matured a lot over the last few races because I am focusing more on getting the bike set up than trying to set a quick lap from the first day.” More, from a press release issued by Camel Honda: BARROS AND VERMEULEN START WELL AT PHILLIP ISLAND The first day of practice at Phillip Island went well for both the Camel Honda riders today. Alex Barros seems to be back on good terms with the front end of his bike and was second quickest in the morning and fifth overall on the day after focusing hard on set-up. Debutant Chris Vermeulen, in his first outing on the MotoGP Honda machine, made light work of the tricky mixed track conditions after light morning rain hit the first half hour of practice, slotting into the top ten after a few laps on board the bike. The young Australian has hit if off straight away with his team, and without a single mistake managed to consistently improve his pace throughout the two sessions, setting respectable times as he made his first adjustments to the RC211V. Sito Pons Camel Honda “I’m happy with this first day because both Alex and Chris have worked hard. Alex is close to the top three, apart from Rossi, who is a cut above at the moment. There’s obviously still work to do tomorrow, but it seems the problems from the last couple of races have been resolved. As for Chris, I have to say that he’s making a great debut so far. He has only ridden the bike for a couple of hours, and still has a long way to go before understanding the bike fully, and in terms of performance, but we’re really happy with his approach, with his work ethic, with the way he has slotted so easily into the team, and with the way he has absorbed all the little technical details that he has come up against all at once.” Alex Barros Camel Honda 1’31.459 5th fastest “Although we’re missing an important member of the team here, our telemetrist Lluis, work continues and things have improved considerably in the front end in comparison to Qatar. It’s working well here, there’s no problem for me here. We are using the same set-up as a year ago, given that the bike is the same apart from the rear shock, and in general I’m happy with how it is going. We still haven’t found a rear tyre that gives enough grip, but I think that Michelin will analyse all the data now, and I hope that tomorrow they will propose something else we can try.” Chris Vermeulen Camel Honda 1’33.178 15th fastest “This morning it was tough at the start with the wet track, but in general I’m really happy and I’m really making the most of this. The team is working superbly and are being really patient with me and with all the things I still don’t know. The bike is completely different from the one I’m used to, especially in the front end, with the feeling of the front tyre under braking. It’s something that I have to get used to now. Obviously, it’s not only this, the power of the engine and the way it’s delivered is so different, it’s incredible really. Another thing that strikes me about the RC211V is how smooth and light it is. Also, even though it wasn’t necessarily the windiest ever day here at Phillip Island, it really made a difference to how you rode the bike, and it’s something else to bear in mind.” More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki Racing Team: KAWASAKI RIDERS BATTLE TRICKY CONDITIONS AT PHILLIP ISLAND Mainly sunny, but cool, conditions greeted Kawasaki riders, Shinya Nakano and Olivier Jacque, at the ultra-fast Phillip island circuit for today’s two hours of free practice in preparation for the Australian Grand Prix. It was an intense day, with the riders and Kawasaki technicians working to improve tyre grip and chassis balance in the tricky conditions. Nakano posted the 12th fastest time, with Jacque 0.7s behind in 16th position. Jacque was back on track after missing last week’s Qatar Grand Prix because of back pain following a crash in practice. The 32-year-old Frenchman completed 28 laps across two sessions today without problems. After brief showers made the track damp early in the morning session, conditions were clear and dry with only a slight wind in the afternoon. Today’s spring time track temperatures, around 28 degrees, were lower than for pre-season testing at the Island. Both Nakano and Jacque had to work hard to build-up tyre temperature for their fast laps. Jacque had a couple of scary, 315 kph moments with rear-end slides entering turn one at the end of the downhill front straight. The layout of the Phillip Island circuit, with its predominance of fast, left-hand turns, means lower right-side rubber temperatures and reduced grip. Both Nakano and Jacque are confident of a more responsive set-up and increased grip for tomorrow’s practice and qualifying sessions, but are looking for significant improvement to close the gap to their rivals. Shinya Nakano: #56 – Twelfth – 1’32.667 “I’m losing most of my time in the first and second sectors, compared to the top guys and it was very difficult to go any faster today. The main problem is braking stability, at the front, and the bike feels heavy in the fast changes of direction. But the latest engine spec feels strong here, good top end revs, so that is an improvement compared to last year at this track. With the tyres I don’t have enough grip on the right side, which is always a problem here because the track is mainly left turns. We need to find some more grip to help improve the lap time.” Olivier Jacque: #19 – Sixteenth – 1’33.346 “Finally, at the end of the session I gained a lot of confidence and I did my fastest time at the end of a four lap run – and I felt no pain in my back. I think I have a good base setting now, we just need to improve the balance of the bike for the hard braking and fast sections. And I would prefer a little more tyre grip, it was cool today and difficult to get temperature into the tyres. Early in the session I nearly lost the rear going into turn one a couple of times, but then we switched to a different spec rear tyre and that was much better. I think we can improve more over the weekend and hopefully have a competitive race package.” More, from a press release issued by Fortuna Yamaha: COLD AND WINDY FIRST DAY IN AUSTRALIA Toni Elias and Rubén Xaus had to take a strong wind into account as they began work today at Phillip Island. Elías was satisfied with 8th place provisionally after the first day, whilst Xaus wants to rediscover his form from previous visits to the track, where he has appeared on the podium on various occasions. A half-hour rain shower hit the start of the first free MotoGP session, and not until 30 minutes of the session had gone did the riders manage to get full on the throttle. It was a complicated day due the cold and wind, and it saw Loris Capirossi taken to hospital with a severe contusion to his chest after a crash, ruling him out of Sunday’s race, whilst Kenny Roberts Jr will also miss the event after breaking his left wrist. TONI ELIAS First free practice: 12th, 1’33.314, + 1.763 from Gibernau Second free practice (Combined): 8th, 1’31.951, + 1.602 from Rossi “It’s not at all bad. In the morning we began by having a few problems, because it’s a much quicker track than the previous few. We got through those problems though, until more came along in the afternoon. I’m happy though because we’ve made some progress and 8th is good for the time being. It’s very cold and there’s a lot of wind, but everyone has to deal with that I suppose.” RUBEN XAUS First free practice: 16th, 1’34.362, + 2.811 from Gibernau Second free practice (Combined): 14th, 1’33.098, + 2.749 from Rossi “I feel much stranger than I wanted to at this track. I’ve had some great experiences here, and have been on the podium on many occasions after some great races. I’d like to be able to ride differently. There are areas where I was quicker last year, or where I rode quicker before. It’s because of my riding style though, because when I try to anticipate opening the throttle the tyre doesn’t absorb the power and it slides much more than it should. My position isn’t too bad, the track conditions make it very difficult, and we still need to test a few tyres. The track was cold today and to be honest, when you slow down to follow somebody, it’s a risk afterwards.” Antonio Jiménez, Toni Elías’ Chief Mechanic “It has been a tough day. In the morning we were only able to test for half an hour because the track was wet. But I think we reacted quickly and we anticipated the circumstances; what we tested worked out. We are quite happy now, but we shouldn’t rest on our laurels because everyone will improve further tomorrow.” More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse: BITTERSWEET DAY FOR DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM The Ducati Marlboro Team had a bittersweet day one at Phillip Island, Carlos Checa running a close second fastest in the opening two practice sessions, Loris Capirossi ending his weekend when he crashed heavily in this morning’s session. The Italian was taken to a local hospital where tests revealed minor internal bleeding. “We’re really sorry for Loris, we wish him a speedy recovery,” said Ducati MotoGP project manager Livio Suppo. “It’s a real shame for him because we know he was so keen to secure second place in the World Championship. In Loris’ absence, Carlos did a very good job today. He tested several different tyres and was consistently fast throughout this afternoon. It was a bit of a strange session, with more than a second covering the first five riders, so I think we can be very happy with our pace. It seems that our tyre/bike package works very well here, so it’s disappointing for Loris that he won’t be able to enjoy that for the rest of the weekend.” CHECA A CLOSE SECOND FASTEST Carlos Checa played an impressive lone role for the Ducati Marlboro Team this afternoon, clocking second fastest time of the day, just 0.27 seconds behind World Champion Valentino Rossi. The next rider was almost four tenths slower than Checa around this super-fast track. “I’m quite satisfied so far,” said Checa. “We did a good job all day, focusing on race set-up. We didn’t even use qualifying tyres at the end of the afternoon because we lost some time in the morning because the track was damp for the first few minutes, so we wanted to devote all our time to race settings and race tyre choice. We have some clear conclusions from the tyre tests we’ve done, we are going in the right direction, so if we can continue like this the result will come. The Desmosedici definitely likes this track – it is fast and it’s stable, which is what you need here.” CAPIROSSI OUT FOR THE WEEKEND Loris Capirossi will take no further part in this year’s Australian GP following a high-speed crash at the 200kmh Turn One during the latter stages of this morning’s first practice session, run in cool and windy conditions. Although an initial examination by the Clinica Mobile revealed no broken bones, it was later deemed necessary to take Capirossi to a private hospital in Dandenong, about 70km from the Phillip Island track. “Loris felt generally okay after the crash, but after a while he felt some pain in his chest, so he was driven to Dandenong,” said Livio Suppo. “He underwent a scan that showed he had some internal bleeding in his right lung. He is having that bleeding drained and is expected to stay in hospital for two to three days. We wish him well and hope he gets better very soon.”