MotoGP : Edwards on top but Rossi injured on eventful first day at Assen - June 22nd 2006

1. Round: 8 - 2006 MotoGP Assen
2. Circuit: Assen
3. Weather: Dry
4. Circuit Length: 4555
5. Lap Record: new track
6. Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 38.144 (Colin Edwards, 2006)
7. Temp: 18ºC

Camel Yamaha Team rider Colin Edwards adapted better than any other rider to the track changes and mixed weather conditions that affected the first day of action at the Dutch TT today, clocking the fastest time in the afternoon session after lapping sixth quickest in the morning. The main concern for Yamaha at Assen today, however, was for the condition of Edwards' team-mate Valentino Rossi, who suffered a high-speed crash in the morning and was taken to a local hospital for treatment to a number of minor injuries.

The Italian was two laps into his second run of the morning when the rear tyre of his YZR-M1 machine lost its grip on the cool Assen circuit and threw him into the air in the fast left-hander before the final chicane. After undergoing x-rays in the Clinica Mobile, which confirmed hairline fractures to the pisiform bone on his right hand and his left malleolus (ankle), Rossi was then taken to the Assen Hospital for a thorax scan which thankfully showed no further damage. He bravely returned to the track in the afternoon and set the twelfth fastest time despite being in some pain and discomfort.

Colin Edwards (1st - 1'38.144; 28 laps);

"The bike felt great today and it was easy to ride from the first moment I went out onto the track. Even with the changes this circuit still has plenty of banking and it creates its own load, so that saves a lot of time with the setting and you can more or less ride anything here. I've ridden a lot of inferior bikes to the M1 here and had a few problems but this is such a great bike - we've barely had to touch it today. I've always gone well here and it's a circuit I've always liked but it seems that from the first time I raced here in about 1995 they have made some kind of change each year to spoil the track. I think the latest changes are a step too far and I don't think we can call this 'The Cathedral' of MotoGP anymore - certainly the Dutch TT has lost a lot of its magic. It was a strange day because of that and because of the injury to my team-mate. I was glad to see him back in the garage this afternoon and hopefully we can work together to go much faster tomorrow."

Valentino Rossi (12th - 1'39.458; 23 laps);

"I'm okay and I would like everyone to relax about it, even if it's been quite hard for me to ride! I have a little fracture on my left foot and also a small fracture on my right wrist, so when I give gas and brake it's really hard. I don't have much power or feeling. Plus I got a big bruise on my thorax and I couldn't breathe well for a long time. I had all the examinations necessary to check if everything was okay and with some painkillers I was able to ride this afternoon. The problem this morning was that we started with a tyre that was a bit too hard on the left. When it started to rain I stopped and when I started again I felt that I didn't have enough grip on the left side. I tried to do another lap to see if the grip would improve, but in a really fast point, with the bike leaned over on the left side, I took a flight through the air! It was a big high-side and the first time I hit the ground was very hard. It's a really unlucky thing for us because here I can feel that our bike is working really well, as Colin has shown. The track is not like the old Assen, but anyway it's not so bad. I need to see how it will be when I can ride at the maximum and hopefully I will feel in better shape tomorrow so I can do that."

Davide Brivio - Camel Yamaha Team Director;

"I suppose it is fair to say that was a different day to normal! On one hand it was very positive because Colin was fast throughout and both he and his bike look good around this circuit. Of course Valentino had a big problem this morning but it was amazing to see him back out on track in the afternoon after such a heavy fall. Despite the pain he was in he managed to complete some laps and also gave us some feedback so let's just hope his condition improves. If Colin can continue like this and Valentino can get back to a decent level of fitness, then we should see them both on top on Saturday."

Tech 3 Yamaha Team second fastest in opening practice;

The Tech 3 Yamaha Team proved today that persistence, hard work and dedication are rewarded as Carlos Checa finished the initial practice sessions in second fastest position for the A-Style Dutch TT on the new look Assen circuit. Checa's superlative time was just over a tenth of a second behind fellow Yamaha rider Colin Edwards who was fastest. Team mate, James Ellison also scored his most impressive practice time of the year to date to be only 1.5 seconds behind Edwards in 13th position, marginally behind number one Yamaha rider and multiple world champion, Valentino Rossi. As the season approaches the half-way point, the results confirm the ongoing improvement of the Dunlop race tyres, reflected in the ever decreasing gap to the top of the leaderboard.

Carlos Checa (2nd, 1'38.259, 39 laps);

"This is an excellent result for myself and the team and confirms all the hard work we have been doing. I now have the feeling with the Dunlop tyres that I can push more. I can go into the turn and exit the turn faster as rear stability and grip has been improving all the time. Of course we are always looking fro more but the question now is to get the endurance to last the entire race. There has been nothing changed on the bike since Barcelona and there we had improved a lot to give a better feeling but 85% of the improvement is all down to the tyres. It has been awhile since I have been in this position and sure I am happy but as a rider this is what I expect and desire. Sometimes you can't always be in front but I know the limitations and what we have We are racing in the top level with one of the best bikes in the world and I always have tried to be happy no matter how difficult the situation. This situation is getting better every race as since the tests at Le Mans and Mugello t here has been a very big improvement so I feel that we a re getting closer Tomorrow, we need to make sure that we can qualify well to stay near this position and make sure we have a good tyre to do the job. We also need to find the suitable race tyre as today with the conditions and learning the new track we did not have enough time to do a proper distance but we have a good idea of which direction to go. I feel confident that after Barcelona we are closer now than we have been all year.

James Ellison (13th 1'39.645, 35 laps);

"This is definitely the happiest I have been all year. We just got pipped in the last few moments by Rossi and Pedrosa so maybe the position could have been even better but I'm not worried about that at the moment as we're still progressing. We're all very happy. We knew that once we could get the bike set up properly with the tyres I would be able to ride the bike the way I want to. I still don't feel like I'm right on the limit but it's the first time I'm riding like I was riding last year. It's been frustrating in the earlier races not being able to move around on the bike and use the bike aggressively. I've just had to sit on top of it and the bike was riding me. I feel a lot better on it now and I'm having fun every time I go out. I'm feeling a lot more relaxed on it, letting the bike move underneath me instead of fighting it, I'm telling it where to go and the improvements are coming now. The tyres are always improving. To be only 1.5 seconds off is a huge boost to me and a gre at inspiration to the team. We've been getting better every weekend and this has been a great improvement. Hopefully tomorrow is like everywhere else where the leading guys don't improve that much and I can narrow the gap a bit more because my aim this weekend is to be within a second of pole position because we always seem to be able to run quite a good race pace but we start too far back.

Herve Poncharal - Tech3 Yamaha Team Director;

"This has been a very good day today after the great weekend we had in Barcelona. We have continued to work hard with Dunlop and in the end it shows that what we are doing is paying off. Both Carlos and James had a really good race in Barcelona and that has been an inspiration to keep on pushing harder here. Dunlop has always been quite good here in Assen, so hopefully this will continue. The weekend has started in a really positive way for us and it is very satisfying to see Carlos in second position and show what the Yamaha and the Dunlop tyres can do. For sure James is also a lot better than he has ever been. Ok, it is only day one but so far we have started the weekend well and we hope we can continue in this way for qualifying and the race. It is not only just one fast lap either as both riders are putting in the consistent lap times now as they both did a lot of fast laps s o naturally we'd really like to be in this same position tomorrow afternoon We knew from the start of the year it would take time to get the results. We will test the qualifying tyres tomorrow morning to see what works and I know both riders will be endeavouring to set even faster times and hopefully we have qualifying tyres that can do the job. The only real concern is the weather forecast as we will be hoping for the dry conditions to for the weekend.

Dani Pedrosa, 51 laps, 232'30 Km: "There's not so much to say about the morning because it was raining off-and-on which meant there wasn't actually that much testing time. In the afternoon we had a dry practice and yet it was difficult for me to find a good line. At the end I improved a little, but not enough, so I'll be working hard tomorrow to make some big improvements. It's early days but I'm really not keen on the new track layout because when you think of Assen, you think of the part of the track that has been lost. Now it's more like a usual track. Still, I'm looking forward to the race here."

Nicky Hayden, 49 laps, 223'19 Km: "We've been in this position before and we've got some ideas to improve things for tomorrow. To try and get some more traction we've got the bike a little bit too soft, and that means it's not steering so good in some of the corners. I really need to come in strong tomorrow, lower my lap-time consistently and get in a good number of fast laps to get myself a good starting position. You know I hate starting out slow again - 10th in the first practice - but I'll sit down with the boys and see what we can come up with. I actually quite like the new sections of track, especially Turn 2, though that left hander after it is pretty tight. Of course I liked the old track because it was unique, but this is another challenge and we're going to figure out the best way to get around it."

Marco Melandri (1'39.647, 14th): "I am satisfied with how I feel as I never thought I would be here after the accident. We have taken a step forward today and getting back on the bike is a marvellous feeling. I am feeling better with each passing minute although I had a lot of pain in my neck after the qualifying sessions. I am happy to be back."

Loris Capirossi, 16th fastest, 1m 40.688s;

"I'm not feeling at all good. I didn't expect to feel so much pain and to find it so difficult to ride the bike. Once I started riding I realised the situation was much more difficult than we had expected. If the race was today there would be no way I could do it. My chest is very painful and although the mesotherapy and physio that the Clinica Mobile has given me has helped, it doesn't solve the problem. My intention is to ride tomorrow but maybe I will need more pain-killers. The race will be really hard but I won't give up. Now I am going to see Dr Costa in the Clinica to see what we can to do improve the situation."

Alex Hofmann, 15th fastest, 1m 40.248s;

"I need all the time I can get to get used to my new machine package, so it was tough losing so much time to rain this morning. Today I worked at regaining my feeling for Bridgestone tyres and we also worked on ignition mapping and other aspects of set-up. I probably only started to feel really okay during my last three laps this afternoon, I was starting to get into it, enjoy it and feel comfortable on the bike, but I still need more time to feel fully at home. I worked with Bridgestone in 2004 and 2005, so it's great to work with them again and to see how they've progressed. We started today with Sete's set-up but we're looking for some easier handling because the new Assen is so different to the old layout. I was such a fan of the old track that the new circuit is a big loss to me. Anyway, my aim is to keep getting stronger and keep progressing all the way to the last lap on Saturday."

John Hopkins:

"We had an extra half hour this morning but it wasn't very useful as we were in and out because of the weather. We really only just got a feel for the track and learn which way it goes. This afternoon we were able to get down to business and start working with the tyres. We are trying to get the best out of the Bridgestones and seeing which one will be the best for durability and grip for Saturday. The mechanics will be working hard tonight on some settings and everything. All in all it wasn't a bad day, we had a bit of wind out there so that could affect some of the data, but we are looking forward to tomorrow and getting everything right for the race."

Chris Vermeulen:

"This is the first time on the new Assen circuit for everyone and it was good to have the extra time this morning. Unfortunately we had rain again - which is not unusual at a Grand Prix weekend. Things are going quite good though, Ohlins have brought some new parts for the suspension and they seemed to work well. We have tried a few tyres and I was happy with those also. We got a full dry session this afternoon and we learnt quite a lot, hopefully we have got a direction for a race set-up."

Toni Elias: "It's a shame that this accident has happened at the worst point of the season for me. I tried to get back on the circuit but the pain was too much. This evening I will travel to Barcelona where I will have a medical examination."

Randy de Puniet: 5th - 1'38.610;

"Today we tried a lot of tyres from Bridgestone, to identify a good race tyre for Saturday, and one in particular seems to work well around this new Assen circuit. It's been a good day overall; I have a good feeling with the bike and my lap times have been consistent throughout this afternoon's session. The track is new, and I think some riders will go faster tomorrow, so we must continue working to try and improve my lap time further. I prefer the older, faster part of the circuit, because the new section feels too slow to me. But it is the new section that I must concentrate on tomorrow, as I think it's possible to save some time if I can improve my lines through these first four corners."

Shinya Nakano: 9th - 1'38.965;

"This morning I had a good feeling from the bike and I set the fastest time, but we made some changes to the gear ratios for this afternoon and these changes didn't work as we expected. I think we geared a little too long for some of the turns, which meant the bike didn't pull as hard out of the corners, and this made it difficult to find a good rhythm this afternoon. For tomorrow we will change back to the gear ratios I ran this morning, and I'm confident that this will lead to an improvement in my lap time. I got caught behind a slower rider a couple of times today, and it was difficult to find a place to pass them on the track. This is something I need to look at again tomorrow, as it's important to identify places on the track where a pass is possible before Saturday's race."

Jose Luis Cardoso #30 (17th - 1'42.814): "Today we worked a lot on the tyres and on the general setting of the motorcycle, for the race. We still haven't found an ideal solution and we will keep on working tomorrow, hoping that the meteorological conditions will remain dry during the whole day. About the new track, I have to admit I prefer it as it was before, this is a question of personal taste but the new sections are a bit inconvenient for our MotoGP bikes.".

Ivan Silva #22 (18th - 1'43.699): "This morning, as I never had raced on a motorcycle of the MotoGP class before, I tried to be more careful of the reactions of the bike, more than trying to be fast. I remained very calm, not to commit any error and to learn the maximum. Then, during the second practice session, I tried to put the motorcycle the way I like it, and my lap times got down regularly. I always rode cautiously, to avoid crashing, to exploit the bike at the maximum and to have fun as well. Tomorrow morning, we will go on working and improve ourselves, and I'm confident. Right now, I can say I'm very happy, before today I never had ridden on a MotoGP bike and I'm satisfied of this first approach".

Makoto Tamada - Konica Minolta Honda Rider;

"I was curious to verify which could be the effect of the changes made to the Assen circuit. After this first day's test I can say that I like the current track because it presents wider and more secure safety areas and the presence of new kerbs permit to have better riding references. The new asphalt surface seems to be good as well, there are no grip problems. I'm sorry for the fall because I had reached a good rhythm. Only one solution was left to try, the one which could allow us to improve furthermore. I'm not worried because the fall left no consequences and today is just the first day."

Meanwhile Gibernau left Barcelona's Dexeus hospital at 12.15 today, following Tuesday's operation to plate his broken left collarbone. On Monday he will begin rehabilitation and resume training with trainer Daniel Sune.

Free Practice:

8. 1. C. Edwards, Yamaha (USA) 1' 38.144
9. 2. C. Checa, Yamaha (ESP) 1' 38.259
10. 3. C. Stoner, Honda (AUS) 1' 38.416
11. 4. K. Roberts, Team Roberts KR (USA) 1' 38.510
12. 5. R. De Puniet, Kawasaki (FRA) 1' 38.610
13. 6. J. Hopkins, Suzuki (USA) 1' 38.659
14. 7. C. Vermeulen,Suzuki (AUS) 1' 38.720
15. 8. M. Tamada, Honda (JPN) 1' 38.921
16. 9. S. Nakano, Kawasaki (JPN) 1' 38.965
17. 10. N. Hayden, Honda (USA) 1' 39.142
18. 11. D. Pedrosa, Honda (ESP) 1' 39.166
19. 12. V. Rossi, Yamaha (ITA) 1' 39.458
20. 13. J. Ellison, Yamaha (GBR) 1' 39.645
21. 14. M. Melandri, Honda (ITA) 1' 39.647
22. 15. A. Hofmann, Ducati (GER) 1' 40.248
23. 16. L. Capirossi, Ducati (ITA) 1' 40.688