FIM MotoGP World Championship Mugello, Italy June 2 Friday’s Best Combined Practice Times: 1. Valentino ROSSI (Yam YZR-M1), 1:51.732 2. Loris CAPIROSSI (Duc GP6), 1:51.756 3. Sete GIBERNAU (Duc GP6), 1:52.012 4. John HOPKINS (Suz GSV-R), 1:52.082 5. Casey STONER (Hon RC211V), 1:52.101 6. Nicky HAYDEN (Hon RC211V), 1:52.177 7. Marco MELANDRI (Hon RC211V), 1:52.339 8. Kenny Lee ROBERTS (Hon KR211V), 1:52.350 9. Makoto TAMADA (Hon RC211V), 1:52.466 10. Shinya NAKANO (Kaw ZX-RR), 1:52.667 11. Toni ELIAS (Hon RC211V), 1:52.789 12. Dani PEDROSA (Hon RC211V), 1:52.819 13. Colin EDWARDS (Yam YZR-M1), 1:52.830 14. Randy DE PUNIET (Kaw ZX-RR), 1:53.129 15. Carlos CHECA (Yam YZR-M1), 1:53.453 16. Alex HOFMANN (Duc GP5), 1:54.103 17. Chris VERMEULEN (Suz GSV-R), 1:54.106 18. James ELLISON (Yam YZR-M1), 1:55.354 19. Jose Luis CARDOSO (Duc GP5), 1:55.637 More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki Racing Team: TOP TEN FOR NAKANO IN MUGELLO FREE PRACTICE Kawasaki’s Shinya Nakano and Randy de Puniet finished today’s second free practice in tenth and fourteenth positions respectively, as changeable weather at the Mugello circuit made for difficult conditions throughout the hour-long session. Shinya Nakano’s main aim during free practice was to run back-to-back comparison tests on his two Ninja ZX-RR machines; one of which features a new, more aerodynamically efficient, fairing and a new specification rear shock, while the other retains the same basic specification used during the French Grand Prix at Le Mans two weeks ago. Intermittent rain during this afternoon’s practice session meant that Nakano was unable to complete the planned number of laps aboard both bikes, but the 28-year-old Japanese rider is confident that the limited number of laps he was able to complete were enough to decide which specification of Ninja ZX-RR he will run during tomorrow’s practice and qualifying sessions. Nakano also tested different rear tyres from Bridgestone on both machines this afternoon, but will repeat the tests tomorrow before making any decision as to which tyre he will race on this weekend. Nakano’s Kawasaki teammate, Randy de Puniet, is confident that he can improve on his lap time tomorrow, after finishing this afternoon just over a second behind the fastest man on the track, Valentino Rossi. The 25-year-old Frenchman ended today happy with the set-up of his Ninja ZX-RR for the ultra-fast Mugello circuit, which he rates as one of his favourites on the MotoGP calendar. Like Nakano, de Puniet will concentrate tomorrow morning on identifying the best tyre for Sunday’s 23-lap Italian Grand Prix, before turning his attention to the all-important qualifying session tomorrow afternoon, in which he’ll be looking to repeat the impressive performance in Le Mans two weeks ago that saw him start the French Grand Prix from fourth position on the grid. Shinya Nakano: 10th – 1’52.667 “Conditions were quite changeable this afternoon. It rained just before the start of practice, so we started on wet tyres, but the track dried very quickly allowing us to switch back to slicks after just ten minutes. My two bikes were set-up quite differently this afternoon, with a new fairing and a new rear shock on one of them, so our main aim during practice was to run some back-to-back comparison tests. The conditions didn’t really help with the comparison, because we had light rain on and off throughout the session, but I think we have found the direction we need to take with the set-up for tomorrow. We also tested a couple of different rear tyres from Bridgestone, but again, the conditions weren’t ideal and I think we will leave any decision about race tyres until we’ve had a chance to do more laps during practice and qualifying tomorrow. It’s always difficult coming back to such a fast track after a year away; you need to recalibrate your brain and reacquaint yourself with the all-important braking markers. But, once you’ve done this, it’s an enjoyable track to race at.” Randy de Puniet: 14th – 1’53.129 “Both the morning and afternoon sessions were good, despite the constantly changing conditions making consistency difficult to achieve during the second session. But then the conditions were the same for everyone, and I’m happy enough with what we’ve achieved this afternoon. I was losing a little time through the final sector this morning, but we tried a few different lines this afternoon and I think that with a few more laps tomorrow I should be able to improve my speed through the final turn. Overall I feel comfortable on the bike, we won’t make so many changes overnight, and although I’m down in 14th place on the timesheet, we’re only just over a second from pole position. More importantly, I’m confident that tomorrow we can close the gap on pole position even further. I like this track. It’s definitely one of the best circuits we race at, and it’s a real pleasure to ride the Ninja ZX-RR here.” More, from a press release issued by Ducati Marlboro Team: DUCATI MARLBORO MEN ON FRONT-ROW PACE Ducati Marlboro Team riders Loris Capirossi and Sete Gibernau ended day one of the Italian Grand Prix second and third quickest, putting them in quietly confident mood for the team’s home race. The pair performed brilliantly in both today’s outings run in cool and changeable conditions, the afternoon session getting underway on a partially damp track, Capirossi and Gibernau preferring to wait in the pits until the circuit dried out enough to make practice worthwhile. Once on track, both men continued riding despite on-and-off drizzle because they are anxious to gather as much data as possible for Sunday’s race. Both riders rode their fastest laps in this morning’s fully dry session, Capirossi less than four tenths off ‘provisional pole’, Gibernau just three tenths down on his team-mate. LORIS CAPIROSSI, 2nd fastest, 1m 51.599s “Today was another difficult day because of the conditions. When the weather is always changing you can’t work effectively on bike set-up, and this is a tricky racetrack where you need the bike to be perfect from every point of view. But we started well today thanks to the work done here by our test rider Vittoriano Guareschi. He’s done a great job, though today’s conditions were very different from the conditions when he tested tyres here. It’s much cooler now, which doesn’t help. In general, things are going well. I was second quickest in both sessions so we are up front but we have a lot of tyres to test and I hope the weather gets better because I don’t want too many things to test in a short space of time, because I like to work towards the race calmly. The weather forecast for tomorrow is better but you never know, so we must maintain our concentration because Sunday is going to be very tough with a lot of fast riders. I just hope I will be among them…” SETE GIBERNAU, 3rd fastest, 1m 51.907s “As always, we are feeling very determined. I learned a lot about this bike at the first few races and one of the things we learned is that we need to ride as many laps as possible, so I can give my guys as much information as possible, so I stayed out this afternoon even when some spots of rain started falling. I think we’ve found a good direction with the bike and both the Ducati and my Bridgestone tyres are working pretty well here. This track has always been a difficult place for me, so I need many laps and I’m praying for good weather for the rest of the weekend. We made some good improvements to the bike when we tested after the race at Le Mans. It now turns better and it’s better on corner entry, so the position of the bike, balance-wise, is much better, which means I feel more comfortable and confident into the turns.” More, from a press release issued by Camel Yamaha Team: ROSSI MAKES ENCOURAGING START TO HOME GRAND PRIX Camel Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi kicked off his preparations for the Italian Grand Prix in positive fashion today as he set the fastest lap time in both of the opening free practice sessions of the weekend. After a dry morning practice, when the Italian topped the time sheets with a lap of 1’51.238, a heavy rain shower just before the afternoon session played havoc with the team’s work programme, hindering Colin Edwards’ adaptation to the new chassis and preventing either rider from improving their best times despite drying track conditions towards the end. It meant that Edwards was forced to settle for tenth place on the provisional time sheets but a more pressing issue for the Texan is the remaining set-up work to be done before Sunday’s eagerly anticipated 23-lap race. The most likely scenario is that he will revert to the original chassis, used to excellent effect at Le Mans two weeks ago, before continuing development on the modified version with a view to the next race in Catalunya. Rossi only completed eight laps in the afternoon but it was enough to fend off the close attentions of fellow local Loris Capirossi (Ducati), who was second fastest. VALENTINO ROSSI (1st 1’51.238; 25 laps) “We have had a good start to the weekend, especially this morning. Unfortunately the rain in the afternoon meant that we only got four good laps in but even in that short time we were able to see that the base setting of the bike is good. It is basically the same as the bike we had at Le Mans so I’m pleased to see it working well at such a different circuit. We still need to make some improvements to the setting but we are working in the right way and that is the most positive thing about today. We definitely need to work hard tomorrow but hopefully we can continue to improve. Now I just hope it doesn’t rain, this is a very special race for all the Italians, both the riders and the people who come to watch, and we need the weather to be on our side!” COLIN EDWARDS (10th 1’52.513; 34 laps) “We’ve been playing around a little bit with the new chassis but I need more time in the dry to set it up before we can start to work with it properly. We didn’t get enough of a chance at the Le Mans test because of the weather and it seems to have chased us over here. I don’t want to have to start all over again in the morning so I think the best thing for us is to go back to what we know for tomorrow. It worked well for us in France and it seems ok here too so there is no point wasting time trying to use the new chassis here just for the sake of it. Hopefully the weather will hold out for us tomorrow so we can get through the set-up work we missed out on today and get ready for what promises to be a really tough but exciting race on Sunday.” DAVIDE BRIVIO CAMEL YAMAHA TEAM DIRECTOR “Today was not so bad, even though we had only one session in the dry, and Valentino was able to confirm that the bike he used so well in Le Mans is also working here. Unfortunately we haven’t had enough time in the dry for Colin to make the adequate comparisons so it seems that the situation for tomorrow will be that our riders will be working in different directions. Anyway this is not such a problem because we know Colin is comfortable on the original chassis and worked well with it in France, so it is just a case of him concentrating on getting a good result here and waiting a little longer for his opportunity. Despite the weather it has been a good day, we’ve done a good job and in general we have made a promising start to what is an important weekend for us.” More, from a press release issued by Fortuna Honda: GOOD START FOR MARCO MELANDRI AT HOME TRACK The Team FORTUNA HONDA riders were back on track today for the first free practice sessions at the spectacular circuit of Mugello, which this weekend welcomes the sixth round of the MotoGP World Championship, the Italian Grand Prix. Mixed weather conditions made life hard for the team at what is a particularly special Grand Prix for them. Marco Melandri has arrived at his home race feeling fully motivated after his victory in the Grand Prix of France two weeks ago. The Ravenna youngster, who has stood on the podium four times here in the smaller categories, enjoyed the two free practice sessions to improve his feeling for the bike. It was also a good start for Toni Elias, who spent his time studying a track that is new to him on a MotoGP bike, having missed last year’s race due to a broken wrist injury sustained at Le Mans. The Spaniard has worked hard to find the right setting and, specifically, improve rear grip. MARCO MELANDRI (1’52″339, 7th): “I’m satisfied with this first day of tests. We’ve worked hard to improve the feeling with the front end and today we had some more than positive feedback. The bike and the tyres worked really well and alongside Michelin we started to make a few tests which we will continue tomorrow. I’m feeling happy and motivated – it will be a challenging but fun weekend here in front of the Italian fans.” TONI ELIAS (1’52″789, 11th): “I really like the Mugello circuit and this was my first time here on a MotoGP bike today. It is a challenging track and I just worked to try and find the best lines. Unfortunately the alternation between sunshine and rain didn’t help with the set-up of the bike. We need to do some more tests in the dry to understand thge bike better and resolve some of the problems we had in the last race.” More, from a press release issued by Dorna Communications: ROSSI BACK ON TOP ON FIRST DAY AT MUGELLO With a flood of spectators in the paddock at the Mugello Circuit, not even the weather could dampen the first practice day of MotoGP’s annual Italian visit. Reigning World Champion Valentino Rossi showed the reason why he has won the past four Grands Prix at Mugello, dominating both the morning and afternoon Free Practice sessions. After announcing yesterday that he would stay in the sport for at least another year, Rossi put in a fastest time of 1’51.238 to demonstrate his mastery of his home track, coming in ahead of home Ducati’s duo of Loris Capirossi and Sete Gibernau. The top three all clocked their fastest laps during the first Free Practice in the morning. John Hopkins continued his efforts to push his Suzuki bike to the next level with a flying afternoon session. Hopkins took fourth place ahead of Australian rookie Casey Stoner and World Championship leader Nicky Hayden. Marco Melandri, Kenny Roberts Jr, Makoto Tamada and Colin Edwards completed the top ten, with the Camel Yamaha rider trying out the new chassis used by team-mate Rossi in Le Mans for the first time. 250CC Czech rider Jakub Smrz put in his best display so far this season to take the 250cc provisional pole at the Mugello Circuit. The Cardion AB rider showed great promise in preseason and has earned a series of top ten finishes, and the Italian Circuit seems to be one in which Smrz will be hoping to step up to the first podium of his career. The 1’55.412 lap from the Czech was less than a tenth faster than Hector Barbera and Andrea Dovizioso, who was fastest in this morning’s session. Alex de Angelis came in ahead of Aprilia factory test rider Alex Debon, who had a sensational day in fourth, and the early season leader Jorge Lorenzo. 125CC Julian Simon braved the driving rain at the Mugello Circuit to put himself on provisional pole for Sunday’s 125cc race. Simon’s time of 2’15.953 put him ahead of a shock duo of Michele Pirro and Karel Abraham. Fabrizio Lai rounds off the provisional front row ahead of Mika Kallio and Alvaro Bautista. On the end of row two, 15 year old British rookie Bradley Smith scored his highest placing to date, with his eighth place seeing one of MotoGP’s youngest riders on a temporary second row, something he would be more than happy to hold onto for Sunday’s race. 1st, Valentino Rossi (Yamaha), 1’51.238 (FP1) : “We have had a good start to the weekend, especially this morning. Unfortunately the rain in the afternoon meant that we only got four good laps in but even in that short time we were able to see that the base setting of the bike is good. It is basically the same as the bike we had at Le Mans so I’m pleased to see it working well at such a different circuit. We still need to make some improvements to the setting but we are working in the right way and that is the most positive thing about today. We definitely need to work hard tomorrow but hopefully we can continue to improve. Now I just hope it doesn’t rain, this is a very special race for all the Italians, both the riders and the people who come to watch, and we need the weather to be on our side!” More, from a press release issued by Pramac D’antin: MUGELLO WEATHER HAMPERS NEW TIRE TESTING FOR HOFFMAN AND CARDOSO A day characterized by the instability of the weather, on the Italian track of Mugello; the Team PRAMAC D’ANTIN MOTOGP concentrated himself especially on the DUNLOP tyres during these first sessions of free practice, but the bad weather didn’t allow a perfect development of the program that first was predicted. For tomorrow, the whole Team hopes for a dry track, to get the chance to find the best setting for the DUCATI DESMOSEDICI GP06″Sat.”. This race is an important appointment, at home, where a lot of sponsors and partners of the Team will be present. The German ALEX HOFMANN obtained the 16th general time, while the Spanish JOSE LUIS CARDOSO classified himself 19th. Tomorrow at 10a.m., there will be another session of free practice, before the single session of qualifying practice reserved to the MotoGP class riders at 2p.m.. ALEX HOFMANN #66 (16th – 1’54.103): “The weather conditions were changing too much and didn’t help, they didn’t allow us to finish the work we had programmed. We tested a couple of new tyres, but there is a lot of work left to do. For the moment, I’m not much satisfied, I hope that tomorrow the track will be dry during both practice sessions, so we will have the chance to make other test and find the best setting for the race. I hope to conquest a good result in front of all our sponsors, partners and numerous fans and friends. It’s our home race and it’s important to make a good result here in Italy”. JOSE LUIS CARDOSO #30 (19th – 1’55.637): “Today we concentrated ourselves on the tyres, we had some new slick ones to test. Unfortunately, the weather instability didn’t allow us to work in an adequate manner; the meteorological conditions were changing too often. A real pity because we needed to work a lot, the development of the tyres demands a great effort and we hope that the weather will be fine tomorrow, so to be able to ride on a dry track and get the maximum from the last two practice sessions. It’s important to find a good set-up that adapts itself to our tyres, for the race on Sunday. I like this track a lot and I really would like to obtain a good result here, in front of all our sponsors”. EMANUELE MARTINELLI – Track Engineer of Alex Hofmann: “Today we tested some new tyres brought us here by DUNLOP, that were slightly better. Unfortunately, we had no much time at our disposal, due to the instability of the weather, and there is a lot of work left to make. So, tomorrow, if the weather conditions will allow it, we will concentrate ourselves on the set-up of the motorcycle: we must work on the frame to adapt it the most possible to the tyres that we will use during the race. We need to make many kilometres, to find more grip, useful to control the motorcycle, that becomes difficult to ride when the tyres consume themselves”. More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki: Hopkins fourth quickest at a rain interrupted Mugello Rizla Suzuki MotoGP racer John Hopkins set the fourth quickest time overall during today’s free practice sessions for the Gran Premio d’Italia Alice at Mugello in Italy, as the weather again played its part at a MotoGP event. Hopkins (1’52.082, 33 laps) used the majority of the dry periods to work on the best set up for his Rizla Suzuki GSV-R for Sunday’s race. He tried various different suspension and chassis settings before recording his fastest lap of the day at the end of the afternoon session. Chris Vermeulen (1’54.106, 39 laps) is riding at Mugello for the first time and was hoping for two full dry sessions today. This was not to be as a small shower in the morning interrupted proceedings and then prolonged rain before the afternoon session and constant small showers during the hour made the conditions very difficult. The rookie Australian made good progress despite the weather and consistently improved on his times whenever he took to the track. Today’s unusually cold and wet weather did nothing to dampen the spirits of the crowd that watched World Champion and local hero Valentino Rossi set the fastest time. Rizla Suzuki MotoGP will have a further hour long practice session on Saturday morning followed by the all-action qualifying in the afternoon. Sunday’s race is round six of the MotoGP World Championship and the lights will change to go at 14.00hrs local time (12.00GMT). John Hopkins: “It was a bit disappointing today really because we couldn’t get done what we wanted to – set-up wise – because of the weather. This morning I tried to get a good feeling from the machine and work with the crew to get the best settings. I also needed to get into a rhythm myself as this is a difficult track. It’s somewhere that you can’t override the circuit or you can get really messed up. I’ve tried to smooth my style out and get the best from the bike. I felt good this afternoon but it started raining and there was not a whole lot we could do about that. We waited for the circuit to dry out and that meant we never got as many laps as we wanted. I set my best time on a Bridgestone race tyre at the end of the session that we had done quite a few laps on, so that is good for Sunday. I just hope that tomorrow is dry and we can work towards a good setting for Sunday’s race.” Chris Vermeulen: “I really enjoyed the track today. It’s my first time here and it’s a great racetrack to ride around. It has everything you want from a rider’s point of view. It has fast corners, slow corners, elevation changes, fast straights, in fact a bit of everything. It is difficult to learn though and has a few blind places. Unfortunately we didn’t get a full dry session, but we did make a lot of improvements on the bike and I feel quite confident that we can make another step tomorrow.” Paul Denning Team Manager: “We had a lot of work to get through today, both technically and with Bridgestone, and unfortunately due to the changeable weather conditions we didn’t manage to achieve it all. Having said that though, it’s still clear that the 2006 GSV-R is far more competitive around this track than the 2005 version was and, having found a better rhythm this afternoon, John was only 0.3 of a second off the fastest time, which is an encouraging point to move on from for the weekend. “Chris’ bad luck, in terms of getting consistent weather to help him learn the tracks, continues. The second session was very sporadic, but he still managed to go a second faster in far worse conditions than they were this morning. Overall we can only see this as an encouraging day and hope that the Mugello weather turns into something more traditional over the next couple of days.”