Camel Yamaha Team riders Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards began key set-up work on their Yamaha YZR-M1 machines for the Grand Prix of Qatar in relatively mild temperatures of 27ºC today. After excelling at this track in pre-season tests the riders were keen to gauge the bike's performance against the other main contenders in the MotoGP class and after two intense free practice sessions they ended the day in optimistic moods about their chances for Saturday's race.
Following on from a disappointing first race of the season in Jerez two weeks ago, where both Rossi and Edwards suffered from vibration problems when cornering, the Italian and the American confirmed that the issue was not as severe at this circuit. Edwards spent much of the afternoon session at the top of the time sheets as he set an impressive and consistent pace before eventually dropping to fourth place - two places ahead of Rossi.
The fastest lap of the day was recorded by Kenny Roberts Junior (Honda KR) in a time of 1'56.905, just ahead of Casey Stoner and Marco Melandri (both Honda).
Colin Edwards (4th, 1'57.024, 28 laps);
"Everything is much better today and I've been able to do some good laps, so it's certainly a better start than we made in Jerez! Although it's much less, the vibration hasn't completely gone and we have a couple of other issues that we need to work on in order to be completely ready to push at the limit. I was able to set a decent pace and knock out some consistent laps with the current setting on the bike but we definitely still have a few things to work out. I've gone well at this track since the first day I came here and it really helps to have tested here recently, but we need to take this extra step before I can be truly confident about my chances on Saturday."
Valentino Rossi (6th, 1'57.141, 41 laps);
"We knew from the tests that the bike worked much better at this track and that was the case today. The vibration is not so much and only in a couple of corners, but we can control it. Now we can work more normally, concentrating on setting-up the bike in order to go faster, rather than thinking all the time about the vibration. We still have all day tomorrow to make some small improvements and I think we can be fast in the race on Saturday, as we were last year. There are some very fast riders at the front and we are all very close together. It seems the other guys were ready to push hard from the very beginning and they are full of motivation so it will be a hard battle. Jerez was also a hard battle for me but I hope Saturday will be a different kind!"
Davide Brivio - Camel Yamaha Team Director;
"It is still quite early but at the moment it looks like we might have a normal weekend! Both riders have a good pace and between them they completed many laps today, gathering some important information to work on the setting of the bike tomorrow. We still have to improve though and it will be important to keep up with the steps made by our competitors. Things appear better than they were at Jerez but we'll wait until tomorrow to get a better idea."
Rounding up the first day with riders in 11th and 17th position, Tech3 Yamaha Team is trying to work towards better results for the race weekend. With Carlos Checa suffering from physical problems during free practice session and James Ellison making positive progression with the set up of his bike, both riders have spend significant time on testing different sets of new tyres. Although lap times where less fast compared to the Qatar pre-season test, team director Herve Poncharal remains positive.
Carlos Checa (11th, 1'57.992);
"Since my crash in Jerez I have been suffering from some pain in my left arm and I have lost some feeling. Some days it's better than others; yesterday it hurt a lot but today it's a little bit better. Unfortunately though it's affecting my ability to ride and I can't get into the corners properly. I am being treated by a physiotherapist and I hope that it will get better quickly.
"We've tested five or six tyres today and we've found one that we think can be good for the race, so we're quite pleased. We've found a good base setting for the bike and today we've done some good work on the set-up, so in this department things are looking quite positive. The main factor is the pain in my arm so I hope that this will get better again tomorrow."
James Ellison (17th. 1'59.620);
"We've made a better start than in Jerez and we've found a good direction with the tyres. We tried a new profile and it's working really well so that's good. We left it on for the afternoon and I did some good, consistent laps so I am quite pleased. I did a run of 12 laps and the last one was the fastest, which bodes well for the longevity of the tyre. The bike feels good and I don't have any chatter. We've made some changes to the set-up and especially the position of the seat, so it 'fits' me better now and this is making a difference. I know I am still near to the bottom but I am feeling good here so I hope we can make some steps forward tomorrow."
Herve Poncharal - Tech3 Yamaha Team Director;
"Today we have mixed feelings because we expected a lot from here after such a good test. Carlos is suffering from some pain in his arm, maybe a trapped nerve, and so he is lacking power and feeling. This afternoon was better so hopefully tomorrow once again it will improve. We're slower than we were at the tests so this is not good, but hopefully we can get back on track tomorrow. James I am really happy about, he is much closer and I think he is feeling better all round. He spent some time at our workshop after Jerez and I hope that this has helped him to be better prepared for this second race."
Loris Capirossi, fifth fastest, 1m 57.031s;
"Coming back to Qatar was a big question mark for us after winning at
Jerez. I am very satisfied at this stage and special thanks to
Bridgestone for their great commitment. The front is OK, and we tested
some new rears. On my final out lap I improved my time with a tyre that
had already completed a few laps. In the afternoon session we worked on
the geometry of the bike to find improvements and tomorrow we will
continue in that way. We started the season in the best possible
conditions and we want to continue in the same way. The track conditions
are much better than in the past and with 15 degrees less air
temperature this time, it makes it much kinder on the riders."
Sete Gibernau, tenth fastest, 1m 57.569s;
"Tenth position is not so good but we improved a lot after the morning
session and the bike is getting much, much better. We know with our
settings that we have to work a lot and every hour I think we will see
an improvement. We have a long way to go and at present it is difficult
to set up, but I am starting to feel much better. Hopefully tomorrow we
will improve a lot but we are only about half a second off the pace
right now. We knew it was going to be a challenge on the first day and
tomorrow will be a long, hard day."
Dani Pedrosa. Total laps: 46. Total kilometres: 247.48 Km;
"Today we just tried to adapt to the track and tried to get into a rhythm. I haven't ridden the RC211V here before and it's very different to the 250, so today I was working out how to ride the bike here. The first day of practice is always complicated. We have to find the right gearing and the right tyres for this track, and to try to get down to a good lap time. We worked very hard - both the team and myself - and we improved a lot from first to second practice, and I think we can continue to improve through the weekend. It is very different riding here to Jerez - I don't really like this track - I don't know why - so I have to try to push myself and improve myself when I go out on the circuit. had a big moment coming out of turn three, but this is normal for a MotoGP bike!"
Nicky Hayden. Total laps: 46. Total kilometres: 247.48 Km;
"This morning went pretty well and we got on the pace pretty quickly. The track's in way better condition than the last two times we've been here because it's cooler and cleaner. This afternoon didn't go good so well though. I spent some time on the same tyre that I liked this morning and I just couldn't get back down to a good lap time, which didn't help my session. At the end we kind of hit a bit of a wall trying to find some grip at the back, and we've got a few chatter issues which is a bit of a problem right now. But the good thing is that, while we're ninth, it's not like the time is terrible - it's pretty close. We'll see what's happening tomorrow. I'm fighting a little bit of a cold so hopefully I'll shake it off overnight, come back in the morning and move up."
Marco Melandri (1'57"010, 3rd position, 21 laps):
"I am happy not only to have got a good result today, but because I arrived here in Qatar feeling very relaxed and concentrated. The test day we had in Jerez on the Monday was very important in that sense, I want to thank the Honda technicians for all the support they have given me to improve my feeling with the bike. I think we are very close to getting the ideal set-up for the bike. I have always liked this circuit a lot and the track is in very good condition. However, we can still improve further."
Toni Elias (1'57"392, 8th position, 20 laps ):
"I am satisfied. In the morning I did not feel very comfortable on the bike so we made a change to the set-up which gave us the results we had hoped for. From then on I lapped much more comfortably and was able to focus on testing the Michelin tyres. The forecasts say it will be very hot here on race day and I hope that does not affect our performance. We still have to improve some aspects but I think we have made an important step forward already."
Shinya Nakano: 13th;
"Today I just couldn't find a good rhythm on the bike. We are a little way off on set-up at the moment, not far off, but far enough to cause me some problems on the track. I lost grip at the front and the back during both practices today, which means I wasn't able to push as hard as I would have liked. I think we only need to make small changes to the bike to see a big difference, and once I'm able to push, I'm confident I can improve on my lap time considerably. At this track tyres are critical, and tomorrow we must focus on working our way through the tyre options that Bridgestone have available for us here."
Randy de Puniet: 18th;
"Yesterday my hand felt okay, but this morning when I woke up it was painful even to unscrew the top from a bottle of water. Maybe I slept with the hand in a bad position; I don't know. This morning on the bike I had a lot of pain - on the back of my hand when braking, and closer to my wrist when accelerating - and it was unsafe to carry on. Between the sessions I received treatment at the medical centre, along with some painkilling shots, and the hand was a lot better in the afternoon. During the second session I concentrated not on fast times, but on being as smooth as possible. I am confident that, if my hand injury continues to improve tomorrow, then my lap times will do the same."
Makoto Tamada - KONICA MINOLTA Honda Rider (16th - 1'59.609");
"I have no feeling when entering the corner. Today I tried to be aggressive in braking and, in fact, the top speed I obtained is among the best ones, but I am not able to enter the corner with the bike as fast as I should do. It is frustrating to turn in this way but I will do my best to get quickly out from this situation."
Alex Hofmann #66 (1'59''245):
"Today the things went quite good, the whole Team has done a good job. I managed to obtain a good time at the end of the session, without using any qualification tyre. A great satisfaction after the difficulties we had in the last period; I'm happy to be able to start having fun riding, on a track obviously more adapted to our bike than other circuits. I really want some action and I'm looking forward to get a good result; My aim is to reduce my gap from the first riders the most as possible, and today I managed to stay closer to them. Last season I was absent here as I injured myself in Japan, but from 2004 the track has surely improved its adherence. Of course there is some sand and this track will never have more grip than others but I like it here and I'm enthusiast!"
Jose Luis Cardoso #30 (2'00''257):
"Today we concentrated ourselves on the tyres and we have done a good job. We found a good front tyre and so tomorrow we will have the possibility to take care of the general set-up of the bike. We need to make it easier to handle, as today I had some difficulties in the entry of the corners. Anyway I really like this track, last year in Superbike I went very fast and tomorrow I will do my best to get a good result during the qualifying practice".
Free Practice - Final Times
- 1. Kenny Roberts (USA) Team Roberts 1'56.905
- 2. Casey Stoner (AUS) LCR Honda +0.006
- 3. Marco Melandri (ITA) Fortuna Honda +0.105
- 4. Colin Edwards (USA) Camel Yamaha Team +0.119
- 5. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati Marlboro Team +0.126
- 6. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Camel Yamaha Team +0.236
- 7. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team +0.455
- 8. Toni Elias (SPA) Fortuna Honda +0.487
- 9. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team +0.547
- 10. Sete Gibernau (SPA) Ducati Marlboro Team +0.664
