FIM MotoGP World Championship Phillip Island, Australia October 15, 2010 Free Practice One Results (wet conditions, all on Bridgestone tires): 1. Jorge LORENZO, Spain (YAMAHA), 1:41.146 2. Casey STONER, Australia (DUCATI), 1:41.480 3. Nicky HAYDEN, USA (DUCATI), 1:41.631 4. Marco SIMONCELLI, Italy (HONDA), 1:41.881 5. Marco MELANDRI, Italy (HONDA), 1:41.982 6. Andrea DOVIZIOSO, Italy (HONDA), 1:42.271 7. Valentino ROSSI, Italy (YAMAHA), 1:42.626 8. Colin EDWARDS, USA (YAMAHA), 1:43.013 9. Randy DE PUNIET, France (HONDA), 1:43.476 10. Loris CAPIROSSI, Italy (SUZUKI), 1:43.984 11. Mika KALLIO, Finland (DUCATI), 1:44.179 12. Hiroshi AOYAMA, Japan (HONDA), 1:44.704 13. Hector BARBERA, Spain (DUCATI), 1:45.695 14. Alvaro BAUTISTA, Spain (SUZUKI), 1:46.160 15. Aleix ESPARGARO, Spain (DUCATI), 1:48.127 Not qualified (Out 107%) 1:48.226 16. Dani PEDROSA, Spain (HONDA), 1:51.210 17. Ben SPIES, USA (YAMAHA), 1:58.613 More, from a press release issued by Interwetten Honda: GP Phillip Island 2010 INTERWETTEN HONDA MotoGP TEAM Freezing cold makes first free practice difficult for Aoyama The first free practice of the Australian Grand Prix went very different to the first free practice one week ago in Malaysia, where everybody was complaining about the heat. By now everybody wishes to have that heat back as it is freezing cold at Phillip Island. Hiroshi Aoyama finished the first free practice at 12th position and had not his very best time with the cold and wet conditions. It was not easy to find the right feeling with his bike and if it is raining again tomorrow the work on the rain set up will continue. But Aoyama and the Interwetten Honda MotoGP Team would really look forward to a dry and sunny session for tomorrow, if they would have the choice. Hiroshi Aoyama, 12 – 1’44.704: “The first day at Phillip Island would have been nicer in the dry. It is such a beautiful place and the track is great as well and I think it is a pity that we could not make the best out of it. I didn’t have the best feeling with the front and rear tyres, as it is difficult to heat the up under these conditions. We have to work on that, but if the rain continues tomorrow we will go on with the rain set up.” More, from a press release issued by Monster Yamaha Tech 3: Edwards and Spies battle the elements at Phillip Island Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team riders Colin Edwards and Ben Spies battled treacherous conditions at the start of the Australian MotoGP weekend today as strong winds and heavy rain battered the awe-inspiring Phillip Island circuit. Famous for its unpredictable weather, today’s conditions could not have been a bigger contrast to those experienced last weekend in Sepang where Edwards and Spies coped with extreme tropical heat and humidity during the Malaysian Grand Prix. Air and track temperature this afternoon though only just hit a chilly ten degrees. The American duo didn’t take to the track until nearly two hours afte r the scheduled start at 1.55pm was aborted because of serious disruption caused by atrocious weather conditions. Standing water lay in several sections of the 4.448km track, but Phillip Island officials worked tirelessly to ensure thousands of windswept and rain-soaked fans got to witness practice in all three Grand Prix classes. Edwards clocked the eighth best time with a lap of 1.43.1013, the 36-year-old turning the session into a wet weather test to try and improve the set-up of his YZR-M1 in rain conditions. Spies was content to seek sanctuary in the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team garage for the opening quarter of the session, the Texan only making a brief appearance on track in session dominated by a fierce and unpredictable wind blowing off the nearby Bass Strait. Spies, who won one race at the 2009 Phillip Island World Superb ike round, completed just three laps before he decided to call it day, the Texan preferring to wait for improved conditions forecast for tomorrow’s final practice and qualifying. Colin Edwards 1.43.013 19 laps “That’s got to be some of the worst conditions you’ll ever have to ride in. The track was still wet, it was freezing cold and the wind was blowing at 900mph. But after the delay I guess we were just lucky to even get some time on track. The wind was pretty unpredictable and going into the first corner it was unbelievable. Once you pass the finish line it just blasts you from the right and I had to turn my handlebars while I’m going in a straight line just to fight the wind. And then you have to turn the handlebars back to brake. That is all happening at a fast speed and it is a pretty weird sensation. It was a session where the times don’t really matter that much so w e treated it like a wet test. We played around with all kinds of stuff on the bike. So as miserable as the conditions were, it was still a pretty worthwhile session and we learned a few things that can help us in the rain in the future, particularly with the balance of the bike.” Ben Spies 1.58.613 3 laps “There wasn’t a lot to be gained out there today. I did a couple of laps and it is not the rain and the cold, but the wind was so unpredictable it was making it quite dangerous. I couldn’t really brake on the right line and to gain anything out there this afternoon I’d have to ride so on the limit that it wasn’t worth taking any risks. If it was Saturday morning and it was going to be like this all day I’d have stuck in a full session, but I wasn’t going to learn much when the conditions are that bad. I didn’t want to risk getting hurt or tearing up any equipment and makin g the guys have to build up a new bike for tomorrow just because I made a mistake in less than ideal conditions. Hopefully the weather will be better tomorrow and we can get some serious work done because I love this track and am confident of another strong performance in the race.” More, from a press release issued by Bridgestone: Lorenzo fastest in rain-delayed opening practice Round 16: Australian Grand Prix Free Practice Phillip Island, Friday 15 October 2010 Bridgestone wet compounds available: Front: Soft. Rear: Soft The opening practice session of the Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island finally got under way today after a delay of almost two hours caused by heavy rain that was causing particular problems at turn eleven. After great effort by the organisers and track staff, aided by the morning rain easing off, the rivulets of water flowing across the track were cleared and drained. By the time the MotoGP machines were on track, the rain had ceased and by the end of the hour-long session a dry line had appeared around most of the lap although high winds continued to batter the riders. Still, for the first time since the Grand Prix of Aragon, all riders used Bridgestone’s wet tyres for the duration of the session. Conditions were very difficult for riders and tyres as the track surface was slippery and the ambient temperature was the coldest of the season so far, but increasingly as the track dried tyre temperatures rose in the left shoulder of the rear tyres because of the demanding layout of Phillip Island which generates the highest rear tyre temperatures of the year. Newly-crowned World Champion Jorge Lorenzo was fastest followed by Casey Stoner and Ducati teammate Nicky Hayden. Marcos Simoncelli and Melandri of San Carlo Honda Gresini were fourth and fifth in a strong opening day for the team. Dani Pedrosa completed seven laps in what was his first outing since his injury in Japan two weeks ago. As per the regulations, Bridgestone selected just one compound of wet tyres for Phillip Island; the soft compound. Tohru Ubukata Manager, Bridgestone Motorcycle Tyre Development Department “The conditions during the session were very difficult because the track was drying quite quickly and so the level of grip was always changing, and the temperature was very low. In fact, the track was just nine degrees Celsius which is the coldest we’ve seen this season. Nevertheless, our wet tyres worked well from the start of the session when it was fully wet until a dry line appeared. All riders used just one set of wet tyres for the whole session, and some were still improving their laptimes right until the end including Marco Melandri, Valentino and Colin. I am happy with durability as our wet tyres have shown they can cope with conditions from full wet to a dry line, and even with the cold temperature warm-up performance and grip were good.” Top ten from Free Practice (Friday 15:50 16:50 GMT+11) Pos Rider Team Practice Time Gap Tyres 1 Jorge Lorenzo Fiat Yamaha Team 1m41.146s Bridgestone wets 2 Casey Stoner Ducati Team 1m41.480s +0.334s Bridgestone wets 3 Nicky Hayden Ducati Team 1m41.631s +0.485s Bridgestone wets 4 Marco Simoncelli San Carlo Honda Gresini 1m41.881s +0.735s Bridgestone wets 5 Marco Melandri San Carlo Honda Gresini 1m41.982s +0.836s Bridgestone wets 6 Andrea Dovizioso Repsol Honda Team 1m42.271s +1.125s Bridgestone wets 7 Valentino Rossi Fiat Yamaha Team 1m42.626s +1.480s Bridgestone wets 8 Colin Edwards Monster Yamaha Tech3 1m43.013s +1.867s Bridgestone wets 9 Randy de Puniet LCR Honda MotoGP 1m43.476s +2.330s Bridgestone wets 10 Loris Capirossi Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1m43.984s +2.838s Bridgestone wets Weather: Wet. Ambient 10-11°C; Track 9-10°C (Bridgestone measurement) More, from a press release issued by Fiat Yamaha: LORENZO ON TOP AT RAINY PHILLIP ISLAND, ROSSI SEVENTH The notorious Phillip Island weather tried its best to disrupt the first day of the Australian Grand Prix today, heavy rain forcing the practice session to be delayed two hours after part of the track flooded. Action got underway eventually with new World Champion Jorge Lorenzo getting straight down to business and topping the time sheets, while his Fiat Yamaha team-mate Valentino Rossi finished in seventh place. 23-year-old Lorenzo has only had a few days to get used to being the MotoGP World Champion but with the pressure now lifted the Spaniard was raring to get back on his M1 and get on with the business of racing. The first half of the session was run on a soaking track but Lorenzo took just a few laps to take the lead and was not ousted for the rest of the practice, despite the track drying a little in the later stages. < p align="justify">Rossi, who was hoping to continue in the fantastic form that saw him win last Sunday, was cautious in the difficult conditions today, feeling like he had a good base setting but knowing that he and his crew can improve further tomorrow. With more rain expected it will be important to maximise their wet setting tomorrow morning to make sure they can challenge in qualifying. Jorge Lorenzo Position: 1st Time: 1’41.146 Laps: 20 “Today was the first day on the bike after we won the title and I am still very happy. We can’t stop now, we have to keep going and finish this season in the best way possible, working for the future. The conditions today were really hard – wet, cold and windy. I am very happy to be so fast in rain, because it didn’t use to be this way, but we need to be prepared because it could be a hard weekend. I would like to ride in the dry, of course, but we will have to wait and see what happens.” Valentino Rossi Position: 7th Time: 1’42.626 Laps: 22 “This weather is unbelievable and it was really at the limit of what you can race motorcycles in today. It’s even more amazing because yesterday was beautiful! I hope it will be better tomorrow but it doesn’t look too hopeful. My setting here in the wet was okay and I feel quite happy on the bike, but I didn’t want to push too hard in these conditions. I think we can improve it more, but we need to wait and see how the weather is tomorrow. We hope for sun!” Wilco Zeelenberg Team Manager “It’s very wet and very cold, so not ideal but in fact Jorge already has a very good pace in the wet here and he was quickest after just a few laps. Later on when it was drying no one improved because it was still very slippery, but it was good to be strong on a very wet track and this was an important practice. We learned a lot about our setting; we’re happy and feeling good.” Davide Brivio Team Manager “The bike is feeling okay but we still need some more time to work a bit more on the setting for Valentino in these difficult conditions, we tried a lot of different things today but it looks like we can still make him more comfortable than this. It’s very wet and it looks like it could be even worse tomorrow, but we will keep working in this way and we hope to improve the time a bit.” More, from a press release issued by Rizla Suzuki: Capirossi in the top-10 at a wintry Phillip Island Rizla Suzuki finally began this weekend’s preparations for the Australian Grand Prix at a later than scheduled time due to the heavy rain and strong winds that caused a delay in proceedings. Loris Capirossi (P10, 1’43.984, 21 laps) made his way into the top-10 as conditions improved towards the end of the first practice session, as the winds that had brought torrential rain and a two-hour delay before the MotoGP riders could go out on track, then dried the circuit enough to show a dry line. When the track was at its wettest, Capirossi made many changes to his Suzuki GSV-R to find the best setting for the 4,448m Australian circuit, all of which assisted him as the wet, but drying, track made things very difficult for all riders. Capirossi also had to contend with the foot injury from Sepang last week and the cold conditions allied with most of the corners being right-handed, certainly took their toll on him as he finished the session in quite a large amount of pain. Álvaro Bautista (P14, 1’46.160, 24 laps) produced a strong performance in the very wet conditions and was consistently inside the top-10 an impressive feat considering the Spaniard had never ridden at Phillip Island on a MotoGP bike and has very limited wet weather experience on an 800cc machine. With cold winds, coupled with the rain, the track temperatures only reached 10°C exactly the same as the air temperatures. Newly crowned World Champion Jorge Lorenzo produced the quickest time of the day. Rizla Suzuki has one more free practice session tomorrow morning, followed by qualifying in the afternoon. With heavy rain also forecast for tomorrow, any piece of dry practice could be valuable as Sunday’s 27-lap race is expected to be held in the best conditions of the weekend. Loris Capirossi: “It’s been a tough day because until nearly four o’clock we didn’t know what we were going to do! The conditions in the practice were a little bit crazy in the beginning, not because it was wet, but because the air and the track were so cold. It was hard to warm the tyres and with it being so cold it made my condition worse than in Sepang last week. You have to move your body a lot here and there are many right turns so that put extra pressure on my foot as I moved my body and that gave me a bit more pain. Overall the session was not too bad and we’re now really looking to see what will happen with the weather tomorrow, because I want to do a good job here at Phillip Island. This is one of my favourite tracks and I really love to ride here, but with the conditions as they are we don’t know how our bike will go here this time. We have struggled in the past, but I am crossing my fingers because I really hope that we can go well this year.” Álvaro Bautista: “It’s been a strange day today, because we have practiced two hours later than usual, so this has made the start to the weekend very different. At the beginning it was very wet and I just tried to get as many kilometres as possible in those conditions, because so far this year I’ve only ridden in the wet twice. I didn’t have a feeling of much contact with the track at the start of the session it was like I was floating so I went into the garage and made some changes, but when I exited again the track was starting to dry and this made it very difficult because some parts were very wet and others dry. This was a shame because we couldn’t tell if the modifications we made were better or not. It was good to have the opportunity to ride here in the wet and we’ll have to see what tomorrow brings. If it rains then we need to decide whether we keep working in the direction we were going today, or if it’s dry then we just have to start from the beginning.” Stuart Shenton Crew Chief Loris Capirossi: “It’s been a bit of a steady start for us today, obviously the conditions were far from ideal and probably the cold was our biggest opponent today rather than the rain. It took a while for us to get going and for Loris to get into a groove, but at the end the wet setting we used didn’t seem to be too bad. There are a couple of things we will need to iron out if it continues to be wet, but we’ll be ready for that, although we’d certainly hope for better conditions over the weekend.” More, from a press release issued by Marlboro Ducati: STONER AND HAYDEN IN TOP THREE AS RAIN DELAYS PLAY AT THE ISLAND Both Ducati Team riders were amongst the top three fastest men on track once free practice for the Australian Grand Prix finally got underway today, with the action delayed until 15:50h local time due to heavy rain at Phillip Island. With standing water on the track surface and flooding in some of the gravel traps, Race Direction took the decision to postpone the session for two hours as circuit staff worked frantically to get the track into the best possible conditions. The rain abated once the session got underway, a dry line forming towards the end of the hour that saw the lap times drop significantly in the final ten minutes, with Casey Stoner and Nicky Hayden clocking the second and third fastest times respectively. CASEY STONER (Ducati Team) 2nd 1’41.480 “The conditions were difficult today and obviously we had the big delay too, which is not the ideal way to prepare. Also we would prefer a fully wet session but it started to dry towards the end and that denied us the opportunity to confirm the settings or get a full understanding of the conditions. Other than the wind, which made things very difficult, it was quite a successful day. We made a couple of changes and I feel we made a little improvement with the bike but again because of the conditions we weren’t able to get much of a direction. Hopefully tomorrow we get consistent weather, whatever it may be, so that we can get a proper idea of our set-up in either the wet or the dry.” NICKY HAYDEN (Ducati Team) 3rd 1’41.631 “Those were nasty conditions… I mean nasty. It wasn’t so much the wet but the wind. It was really strong and for me it took a little while to get comfortable with being blown around so much. Other than that the bike worked well in the wet. We made a little bit of a change to help the bike turn, keeping some weight on the front, for the second run and I was able to go okay. My pace wasn’t too bad. Obviously it could be all for nothing if the forecast is right and the conditions are dry from here on but at this track you have to be prepared for anything and take advantage of every situation. We’re in the top three and very close in the wet so that’s a good sign. Anyway, we’ll see what the conditions are like tomorrow and try to take advantage of whatever they are.” More, from a press release issued by Pramac Racing Team: THE RAIN SLOWS DOWN THE FIRST FREE PRACTICE OF THE AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX AT PHILLIP ISLAND The torrential rain that has come down on Phillip Island’s track during the day, has delayed by over an hour the start of the MotoGP first free practice. Once the MotoGP riders have got the green light they all took the way to the track, but because of the rain, less intense but still annoying, it was not possible to go very fast. This is also why the Pramac Racing Team riders had difficulties to score a good lap time, close to other riders one. The final gap of Aleix Espargar was over six seconds. Mika Kallio, despite the shoulder pain that affects his performance, was able to mark the eleventh fastest time. The first free practice were, however, distorted by today’s weather conditions. The hope is that tomorrow morning’s weather will give the possibility to lead in the better way the second free practice and the qualifying session that are predicted to be very difficult as interesting. Fabiano Sterlacchini – Technical Director “The track conditions have not helped us. The gap from the first riders is huge, but we don’t have to give much importance to it anyway. We worked hard to try a few raining settings so that we’ll be ready for rain in the tomorrow’s qualifying and for Sunday’s race. Mika, despite the sore shoulder, have done a fairly good free practice, the final gap is huge, but he was still able to reduce his lap time in these conditions.” Mika Kallio – Pramac Racing Team – 11th fastest lap time in 1’44 .170 “Riding my bike with the shoulder in these conditions becomes increasingly difficult, riding it on a wet track is even more difficult. I’m quite happy because I was able to reduce my lap time in the last minute. Certain the gap from the former riders cannot enjoy myself much, but I am still confident for tomorrow’s qualifying, where we will try to limit the damage and gain a good starting position for Sunday’s Grand Prix. ” Aleix Espargar – Pramac Racing Team – 15th fastest lap time in 1’48 .127 “With today’s weather condition I tried to go fast while avoiding taking excessive risk and this does not helped me to be very fast. The gap from the first rider is huge, but I do not give much importance to this think, also because I hope that tomorrow the weather conditions are getting better so that I can be able to fight for a good starting position. ” More, from a press release issued by Dorna Communications: After a two-hour delay to proceedings due to heavy wind and rain, the opening practice sessions for the Iveco Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island eventually took place on Friday afternoon, and newly-crowned MotoGP World Champion Jorge Lorenzo was the quickest rider around the damp circuit. Setting the standard with a time of 1’41.146 the Fiat Yamaha rider underlined his determination to round off his title-winning 2010 campaign in winning style, with conditions difficult because of the earlier rain and a drying track. Home-hero Casey Stoner was next up on the timesheets, 0.334s down on Lorenzo’s time as the Australian, who has won at his home circuit for the past three seasons, brought his factory Desmosedici GP10 home ahead of Ducati team-mate Nicky Hayden. The American was in turn 0.151s off Stoner as the riders began to see a dry line forming towards the end of the hour-long session, but were unable to make the most of it as damp areas were still abundant. Marco Simoncelli was fourth quickest as the San Carlo Honda Gresini rookie battled rear grip to set a best time of 1’41.881, with his team-mate Marco Melandri fifth and the final rider to get within a second of Lorenzo. Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda) completed the top six and will be hopeful of challenging for victory again after second place finishes in the last two weekends. Coming in seventh fastest was last week’s race winner and outgoing champion Valentino Rossi on his Fiat Yamaha M1, with Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech 3), Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda) and Loris Capirossi (Rizla Suzuki) all in the top ten. Back on track for the first time since he fractured his collarbone in Japan exactly two weeks ago Dani Pedrosa completed seven laps, before concluding his session just before the half-hour mark having posted a best time of 1’51.210 on wet tyres. Similarly looking to avoid any unnecessary risks as he completed just three laps in the session, Ben Spies (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) was also a passive bystander for the majority of the hour. Moto2 Alex de Angelis was the Moto2 pace man in the first practice for the intermediate class, setting the best lap of the hour-long session with an effort of 1’36.295 on his JiR Motobi machine. That placed De Angelis just 18-thousandths of a second ahead of 17 year-old British talent Scott Redding, who was second fastest in the session on his Suter machine. The Marc VDS Racing Team rider, who has been in fine form of late in practice, was just under four-tenths quicker than Fonsi Nieto (G22 Holiday Gym). Julián Simón (Mapfre Aspar) and Andrea Iannone (Fimmco Speed Up), who are still closely contesting second spot in the Championship, were separated by 0.252s in fourth and fifth respectively, with Jules Cluzel (Forward Racing), Mike di Meglio (Mapfre Aspar) and Roberto Rolfo (Italtrans STR) completing the top eight. Sergio Gadea (Tenerife 40 Pons) experienced a difficult session, crashing twice, whilst Yonny Hernández (Blusens-STX) and Simone Corsi (JiR Moto2) also had falls, the latter of whom had a nasty highside at turn 11. 125cc The 125s were first off on Friday afternoon and had to deal with the toughest track conditions as the rain continued to fall sporadically. When the action had finally got underway it was British rider Bradley Smith (Bancaja Aspar) who set the best time of the session with a lap of 1’54.547. Conditions appeared to get worse before they got better, but just after the halfway point of the hour-long session they began to improve noticeably and subsequently so did the lap times. Following Smith on the timesheet at the conclusion of the session was Championship leader Marc Márquez (Red Bull Ajo Motorsport) at +0.925s on the lead time, with 16 year-old Brit Danny Kent (Lambretta Reparto Corse) putting in an impressive display to place third at +1.108s on Smith. Sandro Cortese (Avant Mitsubishi Ajo), Nico Terol (Bancaja Aspar), Johann Zarco (WTR San Marino Team), Pol Espargaró (Tuenti Racing) and Tomoyoshi Koyama (Racing Team Germany) completed the top eight. Understandably considering the conditions there were several crashers during the session; Luis Salom (Stipa-Molenaar Racing), Marcel Schrötter (Interwetten Honda 125), Adrián Martín (Team Aeroport de Castelló), Simone Grotzkyj (Fontana Racing), Esteve Rabat (Blusens-STX) and wild cards Jordan Zamora (Eurotwins Brisbane) and Nicholas Diles (Aprilia RSW Racing), with Espargaró, Randy Krummenacher (Stipa-Molenaar Racing) and Khairuddin Zulfahmi (AirAsia – Sepang International Circuit Team) all experiencing run offs. More, from a press release issued by LCR Honda: HEAVY RAIN DELAYS MOTOGP PRACTICE AT P.ISLAND GP OPENING DAY Phillip Island, 15 October: torrential rain was the main factor in today’s Australian Grand Prix opening day at Phillip Island race track which hosts the last over sea round of the championship, with LCR Honda MotoGP rider Randy de Puniet finishing 9th overall. Air temperature of 9° degrees only (10 degrees on the asphalt) and rain showers welcomed the MotoGP riders and teams this morning at the 4.448km seaside track so due to adverse weather conditions the 3-class first free sessions have been delayed. Despite the cold, the poor rain and the trickles on the surface, the Frenchman riding the RC212V made the most from his machine lapping the ocean track 29 times and posting his best lap time on 1’43.476. Phillip Island is one of the most severe circuit of the season on the rear tyre so the 29-year-old and his squad will mainly work on tyres choice and suspension setting to cope the high speed corners and the floating undulations of the Aussie track ahead tomorrow’s qualifying session. De Puniet 9th 1’43.476 De Puniet: “Well…. today’s conditions were pretty bad but at the end I could complete my TO DO list in the wet doing a 22-lap long run with a good pace. Following the adverse conditions we worked on the chassis set up and engine mapping and I am pretty satisfied because I lapped consistently fast. At the end the surface started to dry up and I damaged my rear tyre so I could not improve my lap time. Anyway the adjustments we made in the wet helped me to be back on my pace and this is very important for me. Now we see what the weather will be for tomorrows qualifying but I am not worried about the wet conditions”. More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda: DOVIZIOSO SIXTH AT RAINY PHILLIP ISLAND, PEDROSA PLAYS IT SAFE It was a bleak scene that greeted the Repsol Honda Team at Phillip Island today as the MotoGP paddock assembled for the first practice session of the Australian Grand Prix weekend. Driving rain and strong winds resulted in a delay of nearly two hours as marshals swept standing water from the track, with MotoGP practice eventually getting under way at 15.50 when conditions were finally deemed safe. The air and track temperature at Phillip Island, both at a lowly 10 degrees today, was in chilly contrast the 38 degrees encountered for first practice of the Malaysian Grand Prix one week ago. Andrea Dovizioso figured towards the top of the timesheets in the early part of the session when the track was fully wet and the 24-year-old Italian gathered some useful data today in spite of the weather. With the forecast predicting a possible repeat of these conditions for qualifying tomorrow and Sunday’s race, Dovizioso felt it was worth pushing hard and learning as much as possible. His best lap time of 1m 42.271s was just 1.125s behind today’s fastest rider Jorge Lorenzo and was good enough for sixth place, despite being set on only his 14th of 26 laps completed today. Dani Pedrosa was returning to a MotoGP bike for the first time since he broke his left collarbone in Japan two weeks ago, and he wisely chose a very cautious approach, fully aware that there was more for him to lose in today’s treacherous conditions than there was to gain. The 25-year-old Spaniard went out at the beginning of the wet session, staying on track just long enough to test his physical condition, but choosing not to risk riding for any longer than necessary. If the conditions had been dry today, Pedrosa would have stayed out longer, but the Spaniard completed just seven laps at speeds which placed him in the middle of the timesheets at that stage of the session. He will return to the track tomorrow when the Australian Grand P rix continues with another hour of free practice in the morning and qualifying in the afternoon at 13.55″¦ weather permitting. ANDREA DOVIZIOSO 6th 1m 42.271s +1.125s “It was an interesting session today and it was worth pushing hard because at this circuit we can have this type of conditions for the race, so we need to know what to expect. The problem was that the track conditions changed a lot during the session however. We used wet tyres for the whole time and at the beginning of the session when it was fully wet we were quite fast compared to the other riders. On my second time out of the pits there was almost a dry line all the way round the circuit, but we didn’t try slick tyres because the temperature was really low and it would have been risky to ride on slicks before they got up to temperature. So we stayed on wet tyres even though they were very worn by the end of the session. It was very windy and at the end of the straight the bike wheelies a lot so it was an important test of the electronic controls. We still have work to do on th e machine settings, but we understand the direction to work in tomorrow and I think we can move forward.” DANI PEDROSA 16th 1m 51.210s +10.064s “The plan today was simply to check my condition on the bike – in these conditions I didn’t want to take any unnecessary risks. What I can say is that I had some strength to move on the bike and put pressure on the handlebars which is good. However, I didn’t feel very comfortable with the leathers because they were tight and there was pressure – but even with that I could do some laps and tomorrow I will try again – we will go step-by-step. Now it’s quite painful but we will see how the pain goes through the night and tomorrow we will take another step. We knew it wouldn’t be easy but I just hope that the effort is worth it in the end. To ride in wet conditions is more smooth than in the dry, but also more risky. The asphalt today was very very cold and here it’s a problem because on the right hand turns you don’t have any grip at all. The hardest po int was braking, changing direction and in the right hand corners because I have to stretch my arms a lot – but I hope we can work a little bit on the leathers to make it more comfortable for tomorrow. Afterwards I went to the Clinica Mobile and they told me that now I need to relax the muscles. We’ll see how it goes tomorrow.” TOSHIYUKI YAMAJI – REPSOL HONDA TEAM MANAGER “This was a tricky session for everyone and it was a case of learning as much as possible without taking any undue risks. For Dani that was particularly true, so we decided to simply check that he could ride the bike and get an impression of his physical condition, rather than ride for the whole session. He will try again tomorrow and we’ll wait to see how he progresses. Andrea collected some useful information today and has a good base if the conditions stay like this for the weekend. We’ll be ready for whatever the weather throws at us.”