FIM MotoGP World Championship Catalunya, Spain July 2, 2010 Free Practice One Results (all on Bridgestone tires): 1. Jorge LORENZO, Spain (Yamaha), 1:43.259 2. Casey STONER, Australia (Ducati), 1:43.412 3. Dani PEDROSA, Spain (Honda), 1:43.631 4. Andrea DOVIZIOSO, Italy (Honda), 1:43.725 5. Ben SPIES, USA (Yamaha), 1:43.854 6. Aleix ESPARGARO, Spain (Ducati), 1:44.136 7. Randy DE PUNIET, France (Honda), 1:44.196 8. Nicky HAYDEN, USA (Ducati), 1:44.440 9. Colin EDWARDS, USA (Yamaha), 1:44.551 10. Marco SIMONCELLI, Italy (Honda), 1:44.634 11. Loris CAPIROSSI, Italy (Suzuki), 1:44.641 12. Alvaro BAUTISTA, Spain (Suzuki), 1:44.692 13. Mika KALLIO, Finland (Ducati), 1:44.745 14. Marco MELANDRI, Italy (Honda), 1:44.806 15. Hector BARBERA, Spain (Ducati), 1:45.004 16. Kousuke AKIYOSHI, Japan (Honda), 1:47.757 17. Wataru YOSHIKAWA, Japan (Yamaha), 1:48.015 More, from a press release issued by Bridgestone: Lorenzo heads timesheets in hottest session of the season Round 7: Catalunya GP Free Practice Catalunya, Friday 2 July 2010 Bridgestone slick compounds available: Front: Medium, Hard. Rear: Hard, Extra Hard (asymmetric) The opening free practice at the Catalunya was sweltering and the track temperature was the highest of the season so far, eclipsing 50 degrees Celsius for the first time in 2010. Fiat Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo made best use of his harder option Bridgestone slicks to finish the hour-long session fastest, just ahead of Ducati Team’s Casey Stoner on a harder rear and Dani Pedrosa of Repsol Honda who used a softer rear tyre to set his best lap. Last year the Catalunya Grand Prix produced the highest track temperature of any race during the season at 52 degrees Celsius, whilst the track temperature peaked at 56 degrees Celsius during Saturday’s qualifying session. During today’s free practice, the track temperature was a constant 53 degrees Celsius. The slick tyre specifications selected by Bridgestone for this weekend are the same as those used last year when Stoner lapped within 0.5seconds of Pedrosa’s lap record, so they are well used to dealing with such hot conditions. Tyre selection today was mixed as riders tried to get a feeling for both compounds whilst ensuring they have sufficient of the compound they think will be preferable for tomorrow’s qualifying session and Sunday’s race. Andrea Dovizioso finished less than 0.1seconds adrift of teammate Pedrosa in fourth, and newcomer to Catalunya Ben Spies was fifth for the Monster Yamaha Tech3 squad, just ahead of Pramac Racing’s Aleix Espargaro. Tohru Ubukata Manager, Bridgestone Motorcycle Tyre Development Department “Today the track temperature was high, but within our expectation and very similar to the conditions we saw here last year. Our slick tyre choices are the same here as they were in 2009 and I can say that both specs are performing well with Dani and Ben setting their best times on the softer rear. The left shoulder of the rear tyres is subject to quite low loads in Catalunya, so although the track and ambient temperatures are high, our soft compound rubber is required to generate good grip at a lower tyre temperature, particularly as the left shoulders have time to cool between turn ten and the next left-hander at turn two which are separated by four right-handers and the main straight. Most riders favoured the harder front tyre option although even front tyre choice was mixed with a few riders completing laps on the softer slick.” Top ten from free practice (Friday 13:55 14:55 GMT+2) Pos Rider Team Practice Time Gap Tyres 1 Jorge Lorenzo Fiat Yamaha Team 1m43.259s Bridgestone slicks 2 Casey Stoner Ducati Team 1m43.412s +0.153s Bridgestone slicks 3 Dani Pedrosa Repsol Honda Team 1m43.631s +0.372s Bridgestone slicks 4 Andrea Dovizioso Repsol Honda Team 1m43.725s +0.466s Bridgestone slicks 5 Ben Spies Monster Yamaha Tech3 1m43.854s +0.595s Bridgestone slicks 6 Aleix Espargaro Pramac Racing Team 1m44.136s +0.877s Bridgestone slicks 7 Randy de Puniet LCR Honda MotoGP 1m44.196s +0.937s Bridgestone slicks 8 Nicky Hayden Ducati Team 1m44.440s +1.181s Bridgestone slicks 9 Colin Edwards Monster Yamaha Tech3 1m44.551s +1.292s Bridgestone slicks 10 Marco Simoncelli San Carlo Honda Gresini 1m44.634s +1.375s Bridgestone slicks Weather: Dry. Ambient 34°C; Track 53°C (Bridgestone measurement) More, from a press release issued by Rizla Suzuki: Rizla Suzuki’s Alvaro Bautista started his home Grand Prix at Montmelo near Barcelona in promising style today before an unlucky crash hampered his preparations after only nine laps. Bautista (P12, 1’44.692, 20 laps) started the hour session very confidently and was running in the top-three in the early stages. As he began his second run on the Suzuki GSV-R around the 4,727m Circuit de Catalunya, he suffered from a technical issue that caused him to run off the track at high-speed. As he entered the gravel trap he decided to lay the bike down rather than run on into the wall. Bautista sustained no further injuries and was able to continue with the rest of the session when he returned to the pits, but he did aggravate his shoulder injury and will seek further medical advice this evening. Loris Capirossi and his crew made a major change to his GSV-R and they are sure this is the way to progress as he looks for the best set-up for his machine. Capirossi completed 23 laps and recorded a fastest time of 1’44.641. This was enough for a position just outside the top 10, but the gap between Capirossi and the riders in-front of him was much less than it has been in previous weeks and he is convinced he can close that further still over the weekend. Today’s belting sunshine made temperatures soar to a sweltering 37ºC, taking track temperatures up to a baking 53ºC. Spain’s Jorge Lorenzo recorded the fastest time of the day. Rizla Suzuki has one more practice session on Saturday morning, followed by qualifying in the afternoon. Sunday’s 25-lap race is round seven of the MotoGP World Championship, with the action getting underway at 14.00hrs local time (12.00hrs GMT). Álvaro Bautista: “It has been a bit of a disappointing day for me because, at the beginning I started with a lot of confidence and less pain in my arm – I was able to ride like I wanted to for the first time since my accident. The bike felt really good, I was able to control it well through the corners and the package felt much better. I had a nice rhythm going, but on my second run I had a problem in turn four and I wasn’t able to control the bike. I grabbed the clutch, but I ran wide and I had to crash in the gravel because the wall was coming towards me very quickly. After that it was difficult because the other bike had a setting totally different to the one I crashed on. We wanted to try two settings today, but the second one was like a different bike and it just didn’t give me the grip or braking that I wanted. At least we know that the good setting is the first bike I rode today so for tomorrow we will set up both bikes the same. I have to visit the clinic now because I feel a bit more pain after today’s crash and I hope that I will be ok for tomorrow.” Loris Capirossi: “Today we started with one bike similar to Assen, but we tried a completely different setting for weight distribution and I have to say that it is better for the front feeling, but still not enough. We are still struggling on some turns and we need to find something to make it work through those as well. We have some ideas, but we also need to work on the engine-brake and traction control to get them right for this circuit. Overall it is not as bad as Assen, but we still need to improve. We are closer to the guys in front of us now and we have to continue working in this way to get even closer.” Paul Denning Team Manager: “Our potential seems much better than last weekend, but it’s impossible to go from the back to being completely competitive in one step. The biggest disappointment of the session was Álvaro’s crash which was no fault of his own. The potential he had shown to get into the mid 44s on his fifth lap indicates that there is quite a lot more to come when he is back on the bike with his favoured setting. Loris and his crew have also made some sweeping changes since Assen and when the setting is refined, there should be some light at the end of the tunnel for both sides of the garage here in Barcelona this weekend.” More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda: PEDROSA AND DOVIZIOSO THIRD AND FOURTH IN BAKING BARCELONA Repsol Honda Team riders Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso clocked the third and fourth fastest times in the opening practice session for this weekend’s Grand Prix of Catalunya as the MotoGP series was given a very warm welcome back to Spain today. Air temperatures soared to 37 degrees and the track surface reached a tyre-sizzling 53 degrees as Pedrosa and Dovizioso lapped the fast, undulating curves of the Circuit de Catalunya. Pedrosa finished the hour-long session just 0.372s back from the fastest time and declared himself satisfied with the start he’s made to his home Grand Prix. The 24-year-old is one of the favourites for this race both in terms of his potential for victory and his popularity among the fans. Many will be focused on the predicted duel between him and his fellow Spaniard Jorge Lorenzo, who set today’s fastest lap of 1m 43.259s – which was still some way off Pedrosa race lap record of 1m 42.358s, set on his way to victory in 2008. With the high temperatures reducing grip levels, Pedrosa and his crew will work on machine adjustments to give the RC212V more mid-corner grip in tomorrow’s practice and qualifying sessions. Though much attention will be focused on his Spanish team-mate this weekend, Dovizioso is confident he can also pose a serious challenge to the frontrunners. The Italian likes this circuit a lot and was quickly on the pace this afternoon, clocking a time just 0.094s back from Pedrosa’s. Dovizioso and his crew will focus on electronic settings tomorrow and is confident that the intense heat – which is forecast to continue for the rest of the weekend – could actually favour the power of the Honda RC212V. Sunday’s 25-lap race looks set to be a test of both machine speed and rider endurance. DANI PEDROSA 3rd 1m 43.631s +0.372s “I’m quite happy with the first session today. It’s not going to be easy to improve our lap times but for the first practice I’m reasonably happy with the bike. We started with the hard option Bridgestone tyre and then on the last outing we changed to the soft one, and this was the opposite way of working to most of the other riders so it’s natural that we moved forward towards the end of the session. We can see that we have to improve the grip and so we have to work a little bit more on the chassis set-up for this. The temperature was very high today, and the track surface temperature especially, and this affects the levels of grip. We started at the point where we finished in Assen and the bike feels ok. We have to discuss all the details from today in our team meeting tonight but I think we have found a decent direction. In general I’m quite happy so fa r. Already I can feel the anticipation building for this race and the support from my home fans so I’m excited about the rest of the weekend.” ANDREA DOVIZIOSO 4th 1m 43.725s +0.466s “I have a good feeling with the bike and, although it’s only a single session today, we succeeded to complete all the testing of different set-up solutions we had planned. We still have to fine-tune the settings of the electronics but I’m satisfied with today’s first practice session. Of course we have to continue to work to improve the lap times and close the gap to the front in tomorrow’s two sessions, but I’m confident we can do this. It’s very hot out there, and from a physical point of view it’s very demanding. There is not so much grip and the bike slides a lot because of the heat, but this is also the characteristic of the Montmelo circuit. I’m not worried about these hot temperatures which are likely to continue for the weekend and I actually think this can be an advantage for the Honda RC212V. Our pace was quite good for the firs t day, but we need to be faster tomorrow.” TOSHIYUKI YAMAJI – REPSOL HONDA TEAM MANAGER “The Repsol Honda Team made a reasonable start to the Catalan GP weekend today, making adjustments to suspension, gearbox and electronics as is normal for a Friday session. This track can be a tricky one to find the right balance for suspension and electronics particularly, and the high ground temperature reduced grip levels today, so we will continue to work in this area and take a little bit more time to find the ideal set-up. Dani and Andrea’s lap times are not so far away from the top time at this moment, so we are confident we can mount a strong challenge this weekend.” More, from a press release issued by Marlboro Ducati: STONER AND HAYDEN BEGIN SET-UP WORK IN SCORCHING SPANISH HEATWAVE Ducati Marlboro Team riders Casey Stoner and Nicky Hayden began with the difficult task of finding a set-up to cope with the sizzling Spanish summer at Barcelona today, as the Grand Prix of Catalunya got underway in 37ºC ambient temperatures, with the track surface reaching 53ºC. Such conditions always take their toll on the riders, their bikes and in particular their tyres but both Stoner and Hayden made encouraging progress in the opening free practice. The Australian was happy to start out with a better base set-up than he has found in recent weeks, whilst the American struggled for edge grip in the first half of the session before making important steps forward in the final few minutes CASEY STONER (Ducati Marlboro Team) 2nd (1’43.412) “I’m very happy about today. We started off on the right foot and so far I’ve had no problems with my arm we just need to spend a little more time on the set-up of the bike but at this point of the weekend we have to be happy with it. It feels good and it’s easy to ride but we still have a long way to go before we start setting the lap times we think will be necessary. We have to work a little bit more with the rear set-up and the gearbox and I think if we can get better in those areas we’ll notice a big improvement overall. It is very hot here but the tyres are working well and our bike works in a different temperature range to the others, which could work to our advantage.” NICKY HAYDEN (Ducati Marlboro Team) 8th (1’44.440) “It wasn’t a great first session for us we struggled a lot for rear grip. On the edge of the tyre I had no traction and I was losing a lot of time. Towards the end we got it a little bit better but it was quite a tricky session to be honest. We were trying to manage one engine and put more miles on it whilst the other one felt a little better so that was tough. It’s not a great start for us but at least I feel like I’m not on the limit yet. There is a lot of room for improvement and we have a lot of work to do tomorrow because we’re 1.1 seconds off the pace and that is a lot.” More, from a press release issued by Dorna Communications: Championship leader, Jorge Lorenzo, took first blood in the stifling heat of Barcelona, topping the timesheet with a time of 1’43.259 at the end of this afternoon’s first MotoGP free practice session ahead of the Gran Premi Aperol de Catalunya. With the ambient air temperature topping 37ºC and the track temperature rising to 52ºC during the session, free practice was demanding of riders, bikes and tyres this afternoon but Lorenzo, who is going for a third straight win this weekend in front of his home crowd, still managed to lap the 4.727km Catalunya circuit 0.153s faster than Casey Stoner. The Ducati Team rider had a run-off early on in the session at Turn 1 but it was a minor event, as he went on to record the second fastest time aboard his Desmosedici GP10 at a track he declared as fun to ride. Completing the top three was Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa who finished almost four-tenths of the time of his fellow countryman, Lorenzo. Seeking an improvement in the consistency of his results on his RC212V this weekend, Pedrosa started his quest in promising fashion at a track on which he has won races in three different classes. Teammate Andrea Dovizioso was 0.094s further back in fourth, while Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s Ben Spies put in a hot penultimate lap to shoot up from 15th to fifth inside the final minutes of the session, as he set about learning another new track. Aleix Espargaró’s improvements continued on board the Pramac Ducati as he set the sixth fastest lap of the session, just under nine-tenths off Lorenzo, whilst Randy de Puniet is also on track for another good result at Catalunya having finished seventh and just 0.06s behind Espargaró. Nicky Hayden made a step up towards the end of the session to move into eighth spot, with Colin Edwards and Marco Simoncelli also posting top-ten lap times. The only crash of the session occurred 23 minutes in when Álvaro Bautista fell on his tenth lap whilst running fifth fastest, with his team checking to see if a problem with his Rizla Suzuki GSV-R had caused the crash. The rookie was back out shortly after and completed a further ten laps, eventually finishing 12th – one spot behind teammate Loris Capirossi – despite having banged his injured shoulder once again in the crash. San Carlo Honda Gresini’s Marco Melandri was 14th, a brave ride from the Italian, who looked to be in some pain with the shoulder injury and fractured sternum he sustained in a practice crash at Assen just eight days ago. Wataru Yoshikawa started his first GP weekend as Valentino Rossi’s substitute on the Fiat Yamaha team and was 17th fastest, just behind Kousuke Akiyoshi who continues to fill in for the injured Hiroshi Aoyama on the Interwetten Honda. Moto2 Eager to delight a strong home crowd this weekend at Catalunya and with a Championship lead to maintain, Toni Elías made the perfect start by topping the opening practice session with a best lap of 1’48.425. The Gresini Racing Moto2 rider posted his effort on the 23rd of 25 laps, placing him 0.107s clear at the head of the timesheet. Following him was Sergio Gadea who is looking to return to the scoring positions this weekend after his run of registering points in every race so far was broken at Assen. At just over a tenth off Elías, Gadea was 0.09s faster than Shoya Tomizawa, although it is the Japanese rider who lies second in the Championship standings ahead of Sunday’s race. Interwetten Moriwaki Moto2 rider Tom Luthi continued to impress with the fourth fastest time, just eight-thousandths off Tomizawa. The Swiss rider, who has ridden in the last two races – finishing on the podium in each and currently lying third in the standings – with a damaged collarbone, only had surgery last Saturday after Assen but was again on the pace here in Catalunya. In fifth was Andrea Iannone, who comes into this weekend off the back of his second win of 2010 at Assen. Completing the top-eight positions were Gabor Talmacsi , Yonny Hernández and Julián Simón, with Jules Cluzel and Scott Redding both within 0.534s of Elías as they registered top-ten times as well. Vladimir Leonov, Iannone, Redding, Cluzel, Alex de Angelis and Raffaele De Rosa all ran off track, but none were prevented from completing the session as a result. 125cc Marc Márquez matched the scorching weather conditions in Barcelona on Friday afternoon by setting the hottest lap of FP1, topping the opening 125cc session of the weekend with a best time of 1’51.219. The Red Bull Ajo Motorsport rider is seeking his fourth straight win of 2010 at his home GP and made his intentions clear during the hour-long practice. Second on the timesheet and searching for his second podium of the season, Bradley Smith was 0.246s off Márquez with the British rider’s Bancaja Aspar team-mate and current Championship leader Nico Terol in third, over half a second off his colleague’s pace as he made himself the final rider under the 1’52″ mark. Pol Espargaró, who crashed without injury during the session, was a further 0.019s back in fourth. The gap to fifth-placed Efrén Vázquez was far more substantial at 1.269s, just over two seconds off Márquez’s pace at the front. Jonas Folger, Sandro Cortese, Johann Zarco, Randy Krummenacher and Esteve Rabat were separated by less than two-tenths as they completed the top ten. British rider, Danny Webb, was 12th. As well as Espargaró there were crashes for wildcard rider Peter Sebestyen and Louis Rossi towards the end of the session with none experiencing any lasting effects. More, from a press release issued by Monster Yamaha Tech 3: Fifth for fast learner Spies in sunny Spain Ben Spies slipped seamlessly and impressively back into learner mode today, the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 rider quickly mastering the challenging Catalunya circuit near Barcelona with a supremely composed display. Temperatures soared to a physically demanding 37 degrees during the opening MotoGP practice session and Spies was able to produce a hot pace with a flying lap of 1.43.854. That put the reigning World Superbike champion in fifth place on the timesheets as the 25-year-old made significant progress with improving corner entry performance on his YZR-M1 machine. Methodically building up his speed on a track he’d never seen before, Spies was able to knock one second off his previous best lap time on his final quick lap to finish just 0.595s behind fastest rider Jorge Lorenzo. Using the harder front and rear Bridgestone tyre options to cope with the extreme track temperature that hit 53 degrees, Spies was just 0.129s behind Andrea Dovizioso in fourth to once again finish top non-factory rider. Fellow American Colin Edwards was also delighted with the progress he made with the turning performance of his Yamaha. Weight distribution changes gave Edwards much more confidence on corner entry and he put the modifications to good use. A best lap of 1.44.551 put him ninth with Edwards spending the entire session using the same hard compound Bridgestone rear tyre to gain crucial information in preparation for Sunday’s 25-lap race. Ben Spies 5th 1.43.854 27-laps “The track is fun but the longer turns are pretty hard to learn. The last three turns are definitely a little bit different but I felt I was slowly getting to grips with it and I’m really surprised I ended so high up in fifth. I went out on one bike and just worked on learning the track and when I switched to the other bike I found the turning was a lot better. I fixed the twitchy feel I was having on the front and that was a positive. Then I put the hard front tyre on and it was a hundred times better for me and it ended up being a really good session. We changed the geometry in the front-end and got the bike turning even better. I didn’t have to hold the front brake to help the bike turn. Now I can let off the brake, throw it into the corner and get it turned. It is obvious rear grip is vital here in the hot conditions and the key is going to be who can set the bike up for the end of the race when there’s not much grip. I’m looking decent on speed right now but we’ve got to manage it and make sure I’m fast for the end of the race.” Colin Edwards 9th 1.44.551 21-laps “I think I went about a tenth faster than my best time in last year’s Friday session. It’s the same rider, the same tyres, pretty much the same bike with a slightly different engine, so I can honestly say I’m trying my hardest and not getting any slower! I feel good and I’m definitely making some strides with the bike. We put some more weight on the front and got it turning a lot better. I feel a lot more comfortable and the bike is not running wide now when I get into the corner. It has been a nightmare with the turning this year but finally we’ve made big progress in that area. I went out on the hard rear tyre and I just stayed on that for the wh ole session. It is really hot out there and there wasn’t a lot of grip and we’ll need to make some changes overnight to the rear suspension because tyre management in those conditions is going to be crucial.” More, from a press release issued by Pramac Racing: BEST FIRST SESSION FOR THE ROOKIE ESPARGARO’ ON HIS HOME GRAN PRIX, SIXTH. KALLIO THIRTEENTH A great heat wave has accompanied today’s first practice of the Catalunya Grand Prix that will take place Sunday on the Montmelò circuit. The thermometer has exceeded the 37 degrees, 50 when considering the asphalt temperature. The riders of the Pramac Racing Team, Aleix Espargarò and Mika Kallio, has started well finishing in sixth and thirteenth respectively. In particular the Catalan rider has managed to improve lap after lap is bike set up concluding the session with three very fast laps. His gap from the first-placed Jorge Lorenzo is now less than a second. Mika has instead begun with a slower pace and on his last lap had stopped the chronometer half a second behind his teammate. Today was helpful for the Finn to study the track situation and to identify the best setup for the tomorrow qualifying with his engineers Marco Rigamonti – Track Engineer Aleix Espargarò “Seeing Aleix so close to the first riders increases the confidence we have in our resources and the feeling that we are working good. His good period seems to continue also on the Catalan circuit, the sixth position give us good feelings for Sunday’s race. He is amazing in everything he does: he is always ready to learn, watching videos of old races or studying the trajectories on maps of the circuits that we give him. He also spends much time with us in the box to analyze the data and I think that these results are the fruit of the great effort that Aleix is putting in his work. Tomorrow, with these track conditions, we can make a very good qualification. ” Aleix Espargarò – Pramac Racing Team – 6th best time in 1’44 .136 “How nice is to be able to be so fast in front of your fans! We are improving race after race, even in the free sessions. At Silverstone I was eighth on Friday, seventh in Assen and sixth now. It ‘s my home circuit and I’ll do my best to leave good memories of me to the people that will come here. This now is my best result since I am joining the MotoGP. Of course, the result of today is not very important, but I’d say that it’s better to start in this way. Tomorrow it will be again a great battle but I will try to maintain the today’s position.” Mika Kallio – Pramac Racing Team – 13th best time in 1’44 .745 “Despite the thirteenth position is not a good placement, I am confident for the rest of the weekend. We had worked on both bikes trying different solutions and tomorrow we will put together all the information we have obtained to set a competitive bike. I really want to have a good result here, last year I have finished the after test race in the fourth position and this is a proof that we can achieve a good placement here. It will be very important to conquest a good qualify position tomorrow, starting in the top ten is essential.” More, from a press release issued by Fiat Yamaha: LORENZO TOPS FIRST PRACTICE WHILST YOSHIKAWA GETS TO GRIPS WITH M1 Fresh from consecutive wins at the last two races, Jorge Lorenzo continued his blistering run of form today by topping the time sheets on day one at Montmeló, his home track. Wataru Yoshikawa joined him on the other side of the garage, the Japanese filling in for the injured Valentino Rossi. In keeping with his recent trend, Lorenzo went to the top of the standings early on in the session and remained there throughout, completing 27 laps despite punishing temperatures in excess of 35 degrees. Despite the impressive lap times the Mallorcan, who lives just down the road in Barcelona, found he was lacking some rear grip on his M1 and he and his crew will concentrate on improving this tomorrow. He finished the day 0.153 seconds ahead of Casey Stoner. Yoshikawa has completed many miles on the M1 during tes ting but he admitted that the bike he rode today was a little different to the winter development prototype. The 41-year-old from Tokyo has also had to learn the track, having never ridden here before, but he was happy with his first day of work in the factory team and is looking forward to making a step forward tomorrow after finishing 17th today. Jorge Lorenzo Position: 1st Time: 1’43.259 Laps: 27 “This was a good practice and I was fast straight away again, although I did think that I would be able to improve my lap time a bit more during the session. Unfortunately the rear was sliding a lot which was partly to do with the heat, but we will try to improve this tomorrow. I love racing here, it’s so close to my home and it’s always extra special for me because all my family and friends come to watch. I hope I can give them a good show!” Wataru Yoshikawa Position: 17th Time: 1’48.015 Laps: 24 “I have already ridden many laps on the M1 but this bike of Valentino’s feels quite different to the test bike and I need some more time to become used to it. Today was quite tough because in this heat the track was quite slippery, which didn’t make it so easy for me to learn it, but I felt better by the end. We need to do some more laps and I will be ready to improve tomorrow.” Wilco Zeelenberg Team Manager “It was good to be fastest in these incredibly hot conditions, but we definitely have room for improvement because the bike didn’t behave exactly how we wanted it to today. At the moment the problem is the rear sliding, so we need to look carefully at our setting and make some changes. Tomorrow we will compare Jorge’s setting from last year to the one of today and see if we can make some small improvements.” Davide Brivio Team Manager “Today gave Wataru a chance to learn the track, which is new to him, and to give an initial indication of the bike setting to the team. It will be interesting now to see how much we can improve during the weekend, as he becomes more comfortable on the bike.” More, from a press release issued by LCR Honda: RANDY 7th FASTEST AT HOT CATALUNYA GP OPENING DAY Barcelona, 02 July: The opening day of free practice for seventh round of the season in Catalunya was conducted in perfect summer weather today with ambience temperature of 37°C with LCR Honda MotoGP racer Randy De Puniet in good form again posting the 7th fastest time. The Frenchman riding the Honda RC212V circulated the Spanish circuit 26 times throughout the 60-minute hot free session clocking his fastest lap time on 1’44.196. De Puniet is the highest ranking non-factory rider one-third of the way through the 18-race calendar and arrived in Catalunya with the aim to maintain his position. He worked with his crew to adjust his machinery following the high surface temperature which rose up to 53°C and, after the first run out, LCR crew is now analysing the data ahead tomorrows sessions. De Puniet 7th- 1’44.196 De Puniet 7th: “It’s physically demanding to lap in these hot conditions but I feel good and this first free session was pretty positive for me. In my first run today I made 14 laps because we planned to work on the race distance but the surface temperature is very high and we faced some rear grip issues. I have got a positive feeling on the bike and we tested different settings working on suspension and engine mapping but we still have to adjust some points to improve the rear grip for tomorrows session”. More, from a press release issued by Indianapolis Motor Speedway: MotoGP PREVIEW: GRAND PRIX OF CATALUNYA EVENT: Grand Prix of Catalunya WHERE: Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain. Circuit is 2.937 miles (4.727 km), with 13 turns. Race is 25 laps. WHEN: Sunday, July 4. It is the seventh of 18 events this season. 2009 RACE WINNER: Valentino Rossi, by .095 of a second over Jorge Lorenzo 2009 POLE WINNER: Jorge Lorenzo, 1 minute, 41.974 seconds U.S. TV: 8-9 a.m. (ET), Sunday, July 4, SPEED (live). Moto2: 5-6 p.m. (ET), Sunday, July 4, SPEED. 125cc: Noon-1 p.m. (ET), Tuesday, July 6, SPEED. THE AMERICANS: U.S. riders Nicky Hayden (Owensboro, Ky., Ducati Team), Ben Spies (Longview, Texas, Monster Yamaha Tech 3) and Colin Edwards (Houston, Monster Yamaha Tech 3) will compete in the MotoGP race. Hayden is tied for fourth in the MotoGP World Championship standings, with Spies eighth and Edwards 10th. Kenny Noyes (Borrego Springs, Calif., Jack&Jones by Antonio Banderas) will compete in the Moto2 race. Noyes is tied for 21st in the Moto2 World Championship standings. “¢Nicky Hayden (after practice July 2): “It wasn’t a great first session for us. We struggled a lot for rear grip. On the edge of the tire, I had no traction and I was losing a lot of time. It’s not a great start for us, but at least I feel like I’m not on the limit yet. There is a lot of room for improvement.” “¢Ben Spies (after practice July 2): “The track is fun, but the longer turns are pretty hard to learn. The last three turns are definitely a little bit different, but I felt I was slowly getting to grips with it, and I’m really surprised I ended so high up in fifth. I went out on one bike and just worked on learning the track, and when I switched to the other bike, I found the turning was a lot better. Then I put the hard front tire on and it was a hundred times better for me, and it ended up being a really good session. We changed the geometry in the front end and got the bike turning even better. I didn’t have to hold the front brake to help the bike turn. It is obvious rear grip is vital here in the hot conditions, and the key is going to be who can set the bike up for the end of the race when there’s not much grip. I’m looking decent on speed right now but we’ve got to manage it and make sure I’m fast for the end of the race.” “¢Colin Edwards (after practice July 2): “I think I went about a tenth faster than my best time in last year’s Friday session. It’s the same rider, the same tires, pretty much the same bike with a slightly different engine, so I can honestly say I’m trying my hardest and not getting any slower. I feel good, and I’m definitely making some strides with the bike. We put some more weight on the front and got it turning a lot better. I feel a lot more comfortable and the bike is not running wide now when I get into the corner. It has been a nightmare with the turning this year, but finally we’ve made big progress in that area. It is really hot out there and there wasn’t a lot of grip, and we’ll need to make some changes overnight to the rear suspension because tire management in those conditions is going to be crucial.” THEY SAID IT: “This is a bit premature.” Fiat Yamaha Team rider Jorge Lorenzo, about his role as heavy favorite to win the MotoGP World Championship with a 47-point lead FAST FACTS: Valentino Rossi won this event last season by .095 of a second over Fiat Yamaha teammate Jorge Lorenzo in one of the most stirring final-lap battles in recent memory. Rossi will miss this race as he still is recovering from a broken leg suffered in the Grand Prix of Italy in early June “¦ Yamaha test rider Wataru Yoshikawa begins as a replacement rider for Valentino Rossi starting at this event. Yoshikawa, from Japan, is the oldest rider on the MotoGP grid at 41 “¦ At least one Spanish rider has finished on the podium in this event in seven of the eight years since the MotoGP (990cc, 800cc) era began in 2002. The only exception was 2006 “¦ Only two riders have won in three different classes at this event, Valentino Rossi and Dani Pedrosa. Rossi and Pedrosa won in 125cc, 250cc and MotoGP “¦ Points leader Jorge Lorenzo has finished on the podium in the first six races of the season, the first rider to achieve that feat since Valentino Rossi in 2005 “¦ American Ben Spies will race at the Catalunya Circuit for the first time . Spies never has competed at five of the seven tracks on the schedule so far this season “¦ Marc Marquez has won three consecutive 125cc races, becoming the second-youngest driver to win three in a row. Marquez was 17 years, 129 days old when he won June 26 at TT Assen. Current MotoGP rider Marco Melandri was 17 years, 29 days old when he won three in a row in 1999. The last rider to win four consecutive 125cc races was Youichi Ui in 2001. *** IMS tickets: Tickets for the 2010 Red Bull Indianapolis GP are on sale now. A new structure offers additional value and flexibility to fans attending the annual MotoGP event. Among the highlights of the new ticket structure are lower prices and single-day reserved and general admission tickets for Race Day, Sunday, Aug. 29. Fans can order tickets online at www.imstix.com, call the IMS ticket office at (317) 492-6700, or (800) 822-INDY outside the Indianapolis area or visit the ticket office at the IMS Administration Building at the corner of Georgetown Road and 16th Street. Online orders can be made at any time. Hours for phone orders and the ticket office are 8 a.m.-5 p.m. (ET) Monday-Friday. General admission tickets provide access to the grounds and to the viewing mounds along the infield section of the circuit, which provide excellent angles to see the greatest riders in the world. Tickets for groups of 20 or more also are on sale. Contact the IMS Group Sales Department at (866) 221-8775 for more information.