FIM MotoGP World Championship Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca Monterey, California July 21 Free Practice Two Results: 1. Kenny Lee Roberts (Honda KR211V) 1:23.859, Michelin 2. Nicky Hayden (Honda RC211V) 1:24.125, Michelin 3. Dani Pedrosa (Honda RC211V) 1:24.194, Michelin 4. Marco Melandri (Honda RC211V) 1:24.223, Michelin 5. Chris Vermeulen (Suzuki GSV-R) 1:24.253, Bridgestone 6. Colin Edwards (Yamaha YZR-M1) 1:24.320, Michelin 7. Makoto Tamada (Honda RC211V) 1:24.339, Michelin 8. Toni Elias (Honda RC211V) 1:24.494, Michelin 9. Casey Stoner (Honda RC211V) 1:24.523, Michelin 10. John Hopkins (Suzuki GSV-R) 1:24.663, Bridgestone 11. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha YZR-M1) 1:24.822, Michelin 12. Carlos Checa (Yamaha YZR-M1) 1:24.883, Dunlop 13. Loris Capirossi (Ducati GP06) 1:25.094, Bridgestone 14. Sete Gibernau (Ducati GP06) 1:25.252, Bridgestone 15. Alex Hofmann (Ducati GP05) 1:25.294, Bridgestone 16. Shinya Nakano (Kawasaki ZX-RR) 1:25.598, Bridgestone 17. Randy De Puniet (Kawasaki ZX-RR) 1:25.651, Bridgestone 18. James Ellison (Yamaha YZR-M1) 1:25.768, Dunlop 19. Jose Luis Cardoso (Ducati GP05) 1:27.020, Dunlop Combined Best Practice Times: 1. Roberts, 1:23.859 2. Hayden, 1:24.125 3. Pedrosa, 1:24.194 4. Melandri, 1:24.223 5. Vermeulen, 1:24.253 6. Edwards, 1:24.310 7. Tamada, 1:24.339 8. Stoner, 1:24.360 9. Elias, 1:24.494 10. Hopkins, 1:24.608 11. Rossi, 1:24.674 12. Checa, 1:24.883 13. Capirossi, 1:25.094 14. Gibernau, 1:25.150 15. Hofmann, 1:25.294 16. Nakano, 1:25.651 17. De Puniet, 1:25.651 18. Ellison, 1:25.768 19. Cardoso, 1:27.020 More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki Racing Team: KAWASAKI SEARCH FOR A SET-UP AT LAGUNA SECA Kawasaki’s Shinya Nakano was left both disappointed and frustrated with his 16th place finish in today’s second free practice session at Laguna Seca, after struggling to find a set-up on his Ninja ZX-RR to suit the characteristics of the technically demanding 3.61 km circuit. The 28-year-old Japanese rider complained throughout both sessions that his Ninja ZX-RR was difficult to turn into the corners, particularly at the infamous Laguna Seca Corkscrew, and at the critical final turn that leads onto Laguna’s only straight. This tendency for his Ninja ZX-RR to understeer through the turns, coupled with stability problems under braking, left Nakano lacking the confidence in the front end of his Ninja ZX-RR that the Laguna Seca track demands. Nakano’s crew, together with Kawasaki’s technical support staff, will improve the balance of Nakano’s Ninja ZX-RR through changes to both chassis geometry and suspension settings overnight, and the Kawasaki rider is confident that this approach will allow him to improve his pace considerably ahead of tomorrow afternoon’s all-important qualifying session. Making his debut at the Laguna Seca circuit today, Randy de Puniet focussed on learning his way around the seven left and four right hand corners that make up the 3.61 km Laguna Seca track aboard his Ninja ZX-RR. The 25-year-old Frenchman saw an improvement of more than one second in his lap time between today’s free practice sessions, eventually finishing just one place behind his more experienced teammate in 17th position. After declaring Laguna Seca a fun track to race at, de Puniet is confident of further improvement tomorrow, as more track time gives him the opportunity to discover more of the secrets to a fast lap around the sweeping turns and undulations of the Californian track. Shinya Nakano: 16th – 1’25.598 “Today has been a difficult day, and I am disappointed to have finished so far down the timesheet on a track that we initially thought would suit the characteristics of our Ninja ZX-RR. I understand the quickest line around most of the circuit now, but still I have some problems with the section from the top of the corkscrew to the finish line, and it is this sector I must concentrate on tomorrow. But the biggest problem we had today was getting the bike to turn; it just didn’t want to. This meant that I was losing time through every turn, but especially through the slow corners, like the Corkscrew and turn nine. This is what we need to focus on tonight; changing the chassis and suspension settings to improve balance and turn-in. As I said, today was disappointing, but I’m confident that the team will come up with a solution to our set-up problems ahead of tomorrow’s qualifying session.” Randy de Puniet: 17th – 1’25.651 “I really like this track! This morning it was a bit difficult, because this is my first time racing here at Laguna Seca and the circuit is very technical, but this afternoon was a lot better. I was over a second faster during today’s second free practice session, and a couple of longer runs this afternoon gave me a better understanding of the technical nature of this circuit. I hope tomorrow that we can make a further improvement to both the set-up of the bike and my lap time, as I really want to finish tomorrow a lot further up the timesheet than I have today. This is a funny circuit. It doesn’t really compare to anything we have in Europe, but it is definitely good fun to race on and I’m hopeful we can put in a strong performance here.” Naoya Kaneko: Technical Manager “At the moment we have some problems with getting Shinya’s bike to turn, which takes away his confidence in the front end, and confidence is important here at Laguna, where you need to carry speed through some of the faster turns. This is what we will focus on tonight; making changes to the overall balance of the bike by altering both chassis geometry and settings, in a bid to improve turn-in performance for tomorrow, and to increase Shinya’s confidence in the front end of the bike.” More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse: DUCATI MEN HAVE TOUGH FIRST DAY AT LAGUNA The Ducati Team had a busy first day at baking-hot Laguna Seca today, riders Loris Capirossi and Sete Gibernau ending the first two practice sessions 13th and 14th quickest as they focused on bike set-up and tyre choice. The pair struggled to find the ideal combination to suit the revised and resurfaced Californian venue where track temperatures reached 50 degrees this afternoon. Tomorrow they will continue chasing a good race combination in order to give them the best possible chance in Sunday’s United States GP. LORIS CAPIROSSI, 13th fastest, 1m 25.094s “We focused on tyres this afternoon and we did find a front tyre that’s better suited to this track but it doesn’t give me a good feeling, so we’re working on bike set-up to get around that. We are also struggling with rear tyre choice, we haven’t yet found the ideal rear, so we’ve got to keep working on that. Overall we’ve made a small step forward since this morning but we are still far from where we want to be, we’re having some problems. This is a strange track, with everyone fairly close on lap times, but we have to work to be more competitive.” SETE GIBERNAU, 14th fastest, 1m 25.150s “We are struggling a lot with the front. We are bad on grip and turning, so we can’t stop the bike and get it steered. That’s what we’re fighting at the moment, so we’re working with Bridgestone and with the team to see what we can do. We just have chip away at the problem with the bike and the tyres and see what we can do because right now we’re not where we want to be. My shoulder is a little bit better than last week, which I’m happy about, but it’s still not great.” More, from a press release issued by Gresini Racing/Fortuna Honda: FORTUNA HONDA RIDERS ADAPT TO TRICKY AMERICAN TRACK FORTUNA HONDA riders Marco Melandri and Toni Elías completed the first day of practices for the US Grand Prix at the Laguna Seca circuit in perfect weather, using it to simply adapt to the modified track. Marco Melandri, who finished second in the last round at Sachsenring, has arrived in confident mood and spent the session finding a good feeling for the track whilst his team-mate Toni Elias took things steadily as he continues his recovery from injury. Alongside his new crew chief Fabrizio Cecchini for only the second Grand Prix the Spaniard worked out the points he needs to spend time on with the Honda RC211V machine in the afternoon. Toni made a great step forward in the afternoon improving his lap time of 2 seconds. Marco finished 4th at 3 tenths from Kenny Roberts jr (1’23″869) while his team mate Toni Elias finished 8th at only 6 tenths from the American rider. MARCO MELANDRI (4th, 1’24″223): “I am satisfied with the first session. I got a good feeling and I’m optimistic about the weekend ahead because I think we have started off on the right foot. I like this track a lot and I think they’ve done a great job with respect to improving the security.” TONI ELIAS (8th , 1’24″494): “I like Laguna Seca a lot – it’s a legendary place. My physical condition hasn’t improved a lot and this circuit layout is hard on my left shoulder. The morning session was just a first point of contact with the track alter only previously riding here last season and I used it to find my reference points. In the afternoon the team did a great job and I improved my feeling with the rear traction so that I could improve my rhythm of 2 seconds. I’m really happy. We are working in the right directions and I couldn’t expect any better considering that I’m still suffering a lot because of the injury at the left shoulder.” More, from a press release issued by Camel Yamaha: ROSSI AND EDWARDS GET TO GRIPS WITH LAGUNA SECA The blazing Californian sunshine and a bumpy new track surface made life even more turbulent than usual at Laguna Seca today as preparations for the US Grand Prix got underway for the Camel Yamaha Team and their MotoGP World Championship rivals. Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards made a bright start to the day, lapping fifth and second fastest in the morning free practice, but both struggled in the afternoon session and were unable to improve their times as they focused on adapting the set-up of their YZR-M1 machines to the unique demands of the wild western circuit. Rossi himself indulged in a moment of rodeo riding as he ran across the gravel traps after misjudging a braking marker going into the Corkscrew corner. To make matters worse for Edwards he also began to struggle from the effects of flu symptoms and an upset stomach, which were not helped by afternoon temperatures exceeding of 30ºC. His morning benchmark was bettered by only five other riders, however, the fastest of those being American compatriot Kenny Roberts Jr. (Team KR) with a lap of 1’23.859 – just inside Edwards’ own official lap record of 1’23.915 set during the race last year. Tomorrow the pair will have one more free session to adjust their machine set-up before tackling the all-important qualifying practice. COLIN EDWARDS (5th; 1’24.310, 44 laps) “At the moment we’re just working to get the bike better, trying to find the right setting for the track. The new surface is not great I don’t think they could have made it any bumpier if they tried. It’s been hard to ride today because I’ve also been suffering with flu symptoms and an upset stomach. I’ll go to the Clinica Mobile for some treatment tonight and hopefully get a good night’s sleep because I really don’t want to feel like this again tomorrow, it was really hard to ride this afternoon. The morning session was quite good and I was feeling pretty confident, but I started to feel worse throughout the day and things went downhill a bit this afternoon. We tried some new things in the second session and didn’t find exactly the right setting, but we have some more ideas for tomorrow and I’m confident that if I’m feeling okay I can be back on the pace.” VALENTINO ROSSI (11th; 1’24.674, 47 laps) “I think that they’ve done a good job on the circuit and done nearly everything we’ve asked for. The track is quite dirty at the moment but the new asphalt has much better grip and by Sunday I think it will be okay. Turn one is especially much safer and much less dangerous. The problem that we have now is that it’s still very bumpy in parts of the track, which is not good. In most places it’s better but they’ve put the new asphalt down over the old bumps, so they’re still there. This is unfortunate; the worst part is after the corkscrew, turns 9 and 10. I was happy with how we started today – I did some good laps towards the end this morning and was starting to feel good with the bike and the track but this afternoon we had a lot more problems. I didn’t have a good feeling in the corner and the bike was quite hard to ride. The bumps are causing us some difficulties and we need to understand how to make the M1 work at this track. It is only Friday but we have a lot of work to do. We need to make some tests with the qualifying tyre tomorrow morning and hopefully we will have a better situation than in Germany. It is going to be very important that we qualify well because it’s hard to pass on this track.” DAVIDE BRIVIO CAMEL YAMAHA TEAM DIRECTOR “We have some work to do, as always on a Friday! After the morning session we expected to be a lot closer to the front in the afternoon but the situation remained the same and we didn’t make any major improvements. We have collected a lot of data that our engineers will check overnight and we will see how we can move forward in the morning. With the American riders all going fast here there is more competition at the top so Valentino knows he has work to do. Colin did a good job today considering his physical condition so we hope he will be feeling better tomorrow and will be able to make some more steps forward with the bike before qualifying.” More, from a press release issued by Dorna Communications: With the paddock packed with MotoGP fans enjoying the blazing Californian sunshine, the teams and riders got down to the important task of opening their preparations for Sunday’s Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix. Kenny Roberts Jr. showed no signs of letting up the pace at his home track, topping the timesheets in both free practice sessions today. The American who rides for his father’s ‘Team Roberts’ set-up clocked a time of 1’23.859, the only rider to go round in under 1 minute 24 seconds in the entire day. Nicky Hayden, victor at Laguna Seca last year and current leader of the World Championship, was 0.266 seconds behind him in second, with team-mate Dani Pedrosa getting to grips with the track early to come in third. Marco Melandri, Chris Vermeulen and Colin Edwards rounded off the top six, ahead of Makoto Tamada, Toni Elias, Casey Stoner and John Hopkins. A few riders, including World Champion Valentino Rossi and rookie sensation Casey Stoner, were caught out by the circuit’s world-renowned Corkscrew turn on day one at the track, both running off into the gravel but being able to continue unharmed. There was a big surprise for Nicky Hayden after his first practice session at Laguna Seca, as his racing idol Bubba Shobert paid a visit to the World Championship leader’s pit garage. The Repsol Honda rider was greeted by the dirt-track legend in his pit after the morning session, and was the recipient of much admiration from the three time American dirt-track and once AMA Superbike champion. Hayden and Shobert had a friendly conversation and exchanged helmets. Tomorrow the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca plays host to the qualifying session for the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix, with free practice in the morning at 10am, and the qualifier at 2pm. More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki: Promising first day for Rizla Suzuki at Laguna Rizla Suzuki MotoGP racers Chris Vermeulen and John Hopkins both produced promising performances on the first day of practice for the Red Bull US Grand Prix at a warm and sunny Laguna Seca today. Vermeulen put his previous knowledge of the Laguna track to good use to record the fifth fastest time on the newly surfaced Californian circuit. He used the 59 laps that he completed to their full extent to try many different set-ups and Bridgestone tyres in readiness for Sunday’s race. His time of 1’24.253 was only 0.394 seconds off the day’s fastest time set by Kenny Roberts Jr. Hopkins (P10, 1’24.608, 57 laps) made many changes to his Rizla Suzuki GSV-R to help combat the extra reverberations in the chassis due to the bumpy nature of the newly laid surface. He found a set-up to combat the shakes and is looking to make more changes and improvements tomorrow. Rizla Suzuki MotoGP will have one more practice session tomorrow morning before the all important hour long qualifying session in the afternoon. The Red Bull US Grand Prix is round 11 of the 2006 MotoGP World Championship and the flag drops to start the 32 lap race at 14.00 hrs local time (21.00 hrs GMT) on Sunday 23rd July. Chris Vermeulen: “We’ve had quite an eventful day. I knew the Laguna Seca circuit but it is quite a bit different to when I rode here a couple of years ago. It has been resurfaced which is new for everyone and it seems quite a bit bumpier that I remember. It’s made it quite difficult to find the best set-up but my crew have worked hard on getting it right. It is quite aggressive on the front end and we learned a lot today about how to cope with that. Everything seemed to work better and better as the day wore on and hopefully we can continue in that direction tomorrow.” John Hopkins: “Today we were a bit like track sweepers early on as it was so dusty out there! It’s great to be in front of family and the American fans and getting all their support. We still have a few changes to do to the bike because it is a really bumpy circuit. It will be crucial to get a good set-up for the race, we have some base settings but there are a lot of things we need to work on tomorrow. We will work hard tonight with the data we have got and find some better settings tomorrow and then be ready to go on Sunday” Paul Denning Team Manager: “We hoped that Laguna might suit the GSV-R reasonably well and we have been pleased with the competitiveness that it has shown so far. The circuit is incredibly bumpy which is amazing considering it has only just been resurfaced. It is testing the rider’s abilities and the chassis settings to the limit. Chris in particular has found a good rhythm and has done a lot of miles on the same Bridgestone rear tyre and seems to be able to do good times at the end of a long run which is encouraging for the race. “John is struggling for a bit of feeling from the front of the bike and that is making it difficult for him to get into and out of the turns like he needs to. I am sure his guys will be looking for solutions tonight and John will have a range of options to try tomorrow morning. As it is he’s not far away so things are looking positive. A lot of riders are covered by a small amount of time and it will be the fine details that will determine a good result from a great one!” More, from a press release issued by Bridgestone: Mixed Fortunes as Track Controls in Monterey Laguna Seca, Monterey, USA Friday 21 July 2006 Bridgestone’s preparations for the second consecutive United States Grand Prix got off to a mixed start at the Laguna Seca circuit in Monterey this afternoon with Chris Vermeulen ending Friday free practice as the highest placed Bridgestone-shod rider with the fifth fastest time of the day (1m24.253s). Vermeulen has recent race winning experience of the Laguna Seca track, having won a pair of World Superbike races at the circuit in 2004, so the rookie Australian will be hoping that experience proves advantageous as this year’s event unfolds over the next few days. Vermeulen’s California-born team-mate John Hopkins got his home grand prix off to a top ten start by posting the tenth fastest time of the day. His time of 1m24.663s in the afternoon session was six-hundredths-of-a-second shy of his Friday best of 1m24.608s, which had been good enough for fourth quickest in the morning practice hour. Ducati riders Loris Capirossi and Sete Gibernau were 13th and 14th fastest in the combined session with Capirossi’s afternoon time of 1m25.094s marginally edging out his Spanish team-mate’s morning time of 1m25.150s. Kawasaki’s Shinya Nakano and Randy de Puniet were also barely separable with 16th-placed Nakano (1m25.598s) beating De Puniet (1m25.651s) into 17th spot on the Frenchman’s Laguna Seca debut. The 3.610km Laguna Seca circuit took control in today’s two practice sessions as the recently renewed asphalt unveiled new track characteristics for Bridgestone’s engineers to deal with, as the riders concurrently tried to get to grips with the challenging track behaviour. Shinji Aoki, Assistant Manager Motorcycle Race Tire Development “We always knew that the resurfacing of the Laguna Seca circuit would result in altered track characteristics today but we perhaps did not expect it to be quite so bumpy compared to last year. It is of course slippery, as all newly laid circuits are at first, but we can expect this to improve as the weekend progresses. As far as today goes, it has been difficult to select the best specification of tyre as riders have also been forced to effectively relearn the circuit with their respective bikes. Trying to find the best settings with three sets of variables – bike, rider and tyre has been tough but I do not think that results from today are entirely conclusive. We will be chasing a moving target if the track keeps changing all weekend. We encountered some issues with front tyre wear at times today, something we are looking at closely. We have alternative specifications to evaluate ahead of qualifying tomorrow, but we have seen some signs of encouragement from Chris Vermeulen’s times, which have undoubtedly been boosted by the confidence he has acquired at this circuit from his victories in superbikes. All in all, it has been a mixed opening day, but rest assured we will work even harder tomorrow morning.” Bridgestone Combined Friday Practice Results P5 Chris Vermeulen Suzuki 1m24.253s +0.394s P10 John Hopkins Suzuki 1m24.608s +0.749s P13 Loris Capirossi Ducati 1m25.094s +1.235s P14 Sete Gibernau Ducati 1m25.150s +1.291s P16 Shinya Nakano Kawasaki 1m25.598s +1.739s P17 Randy de Puniet Kawasaki 1m25.651s +1.792s Weather: Hot and Sunny – Air 29°C, Track 50°C, Humidity 15% (afternoon session)