Gibernau sets pace on first day of practice at Jerez Sete Gibernau was the quickest rider on a cool and cloudy opening day of action at the Gran Premio Marlboro de España at Jerez on Friday. Due to the MotoGP World Championship’s new qualification format, which sees only the final session contribute to the formation of Sunday’s grid, today’s two free practice sessions presented the riders with a chance to build on the machine set-up work they had begun at this circuit during three days of tests two weeks ago. Gibernau went head-to-head with Valentino Rossi almost as soon as the track opened for the morning session, lapping inside pole record with a time of 1’40.800 as he looked to strike the first psychological blow in what promises to be another colossal challenge for the title between the pair. The pace set by the Spaniard and the Italian was not bettered by any of the riders as the track cooled in the afternoon, leaving the pair separated by just 0.086 seconds overnight. “I think the good preseason the team have had, together with Honda and Michelin, is starting to show,” commented Gibernau. “We have to be satisfied with the first day because we’re on top and we’ve still got room for improvement. It’s the first time the afternoon session hasn’t counted for qualifying and we used it to find a good race setting, completing as many laps as possible on the race tyres, and the pace we set was very satisfactory.” The young trio of Nicky Hayden, John Hopkins and Marco Melandri, the fastest three riders from the final preseason test here, posed the biggest threat in the afternoon and look certain to challenge for the podium in Sunday’s race. Meanwhile, Max Biaggi had a more than productive afternoon as he knocked a spectacular 1.3 seconds off his morning lap time to move up to sixth place. Shinya Nakano also made significant progress on the Kawasaki to end the session seventh fastest ahead of Colin Edwards, who lost two tenths of a second from his lap time between the morning and afternoon sessions after making set-up changes to his Yamaha. The qualification format remains the same as last year for the 250cc and 125cc categories, who jostled for positions on the provisional starting grid this afternoon. In the quarter-litre class Dani Pedrosa left it until the last lap to upstage an otherwise dominant day for Aprilia. The Honda rider clocked a new record lap of 1’43.025 to snatch provisional pole position from Sebastián Porto and Casey Stoner, who had topped the time sheets for the majority of the qualification session. With Porto and Stoner dropping to second and third respectively, their factory colleague Randy de Puniet completes the provisional front row in fourth. Last year’s winner Marco Simoncelli was the fastest rider in the 125cc session, clocking a best time of 1’46.996 on the Aprilia. Simoncelli was closely chased throughout the session by factory colleague and Italian compatriot Mattia Pasini, whilst Honda’s Swiss youngster Thomas Lüthi continued his good form from preseason testing to set the third fastest time. Mika Kallio completes the provisional front row in fourth place on the KTM. More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki Racing: MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2005 ROUND 1 – CIRCUITO DE JEREZ, SPAIN 8 APRIL 2005 – FREE PRACTICE NAKANO SEVENTH FASTEST ON OPENING DAY AT JEREZ The 2005 season opened at Jerez today with Kawasaki factory riders, Shinya Nakano and Alex Hofmann, both performing impressively in the two free practice sessions. Sunday’s Spanish Grand prix will be the first of 17 races in the 2005 MotoGP season. Japanese ace Nakano set the seventh fastest time, just 0.6s off the quickest lap recorded by Sete Gibernau. In preparation for tomorrow’s single, one hour qualifying session for grid positions, Nakano tried a soft qualifying tyre on his final lap. Nakano’s Ninja ZX-RR teammate Hofmann was 11th on the time sheets, and the 24 year-old German was delighted with his efforts after two hours of free practice. Hofmann, now allocated two ZX-RR machines fitted with Kawasaki’s big-bang firing order motor, concentrated solely on race set-up and was not tempted to try for a faster lap on a qualifying tyre. Kawasaki’s tyre partner Bridgestone has supplied three new race tyres for evaluation at Jerez, and today’s tests indicated improved overall consistency and grip. The tyres have the same compound as at the recent Jerez IRTA tests, but with slightly stiffer case construction. The four ZX-RR machines allocated to Nakano and Hofmann are in the same mechanical trim as the recent IRTA tests at Barcelona and Jerez. Kawasaki technical director Ichiro Yoda said today that the next stage of development of the 990cc, in-line motor will be tested at Jerez on Monday, although no decision has been made on when it will be raced. Conditions today were cool and heavily overcast, with a maximum track temperature of just 27 degrees, while the air temperature hovered at 19 degrees. Under the new 2005 qualifying format the grid for the Spanish GP will be decided only in tomorrow afternoon’s one hour qualifying session. The weather forecast is for fine and sunny conditions, with a predicted maximum temperature of 20 degrees. Shinya Nakano: #56 – 23 laps (1’41.424) “On my final lap I tried a qualifying tyre to prepare for tomorrow’s session, but there really wasn’t much difference in time compared to the race tyre. But today was all about race set-up and trying the new Bridgestone tyres, which are an improvement, although I need to look at the set-up to improve traction at the rear. Overall I’m happy to be in the top ten.” Alex Hofmann: #66 – 25 laps (1’41.829) “Today was a lot of fun and I feel much fresher now we are at the first race and being out on the track at the same time with all the other riders. Bridgestone have made a step forward with some new race tyres, I did a very consistent 12 lap run and I did not use a soft qualifier. We improved the overall chassis balance compared to the test here and, as both of today’s sessions were free practice, I just worked on getting ready for the race.” Ichiro Yoda: Technical Director “The new Bridgestone race tyres have a slightly stiffer construction and are an improvement from the Jerez test two weeks ago. With today’s conditions the track had less grip than the test here two weeks ago, so we had a lot of set-up work to do, including adjustments to the engine control system. The engine braking system is performing better, but is still not perfect. However, we have some new parts that we will test at Jerez on Monday as part our next development stage.” FREE PRACTICE – FINAL TIMES 1. Sete Gibernau (SPA) Movistar Honda MotoGP 1’40.801; 2. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda +0.093; 3. John Hopkins (USA) Team Suzuki MotoGP +0.133; 4. Marco Melandri (ITA) Movistar Honda MotoGP +0.411; 5. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Gauloises Yamaha Team +0.417; 6. Max Biaggi (ITA) Repsol Honda +0.623; 7. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Kawasaki Racing Team +0.623; 8. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati Marlboro Team +0.857; 9. Colin Edwards (USA) Gauloises Yamaha Team +0.899; 10. Alex Barros (BRA) Camel Honda +0.927; 11. Alex Hofmann (GER) Kawasaki Racing Team +1.028; 12. Makoto Tamada (JPN) Konica Minolta Honda +1.122; 13. Troy Bayliss (AUS) Camel Honda +1.320 More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse: Marlboro Spanish Grand Prix, Jerez Friday practice, April 8 2005 DUCATI MARLBORO MEN FOCUS ON NEW ENGINE-BRAKING SYSTEM Ducati Marlboro Team riders Loris Capirossi and Carlos Checa used today’s opening two practice sessions for Sunday’s Marlboro Spanish GP to continue development work on Ducati’s innovative new engine-braking system. After initial tests last month, both riders had both their bikes fitted with the new unit for the first time, illustrating the factory’s confidence in this new technology. The new system is designed to optimise braking stability by reducing excessive engine-braking forces, and has the added advantage of slightly reducing fuel consumption. “We are using the new system because we know that the best place to really stress new parts is at a race,” said Ducati Corse director Filippo Preziosi. “During testing you can ride many laps without problems, but it is under pressure in a race situation that you find new limits, which gives us better information to improve. Today is the first time that we have focused 100 per cent on the new system. After just two hours of track time we’re very happy with progress. We have already matched our best time on race tyre from our November tests here and we’re not so far from the front guys. It’s encouraging but we still don’t know how long it will take us to find all the benefits of new system, but we are working towards that.” CAPIROSSI NINTH ON DAY ONE Loris Capirossi ended the first day of the 2005 MotoGP season in ninth spot. The Ducati Marlboro Team man spent much of both sessions working on the new clutch system, which has undergone minor improvements since the team tested here two weeks ago. “I’m still getting used to the system – it feels very different to ride with, like you’ve switched off the engine when you brake,” said the Italian. “But it already has its good points and I believe it will give us a real advantage by improving stability during heavy braking, that’s why we’re sticking with it. At the moment the new system isn’t quite as the same level of the standard system but it gets better every session. We had some trouble this morning but made a big improvement this afternoon.” CHECA’S SHOULDER IS 80 PER CENT Carlos Checa slid off during this afternoon’s practice session, thankfully not aggravating the shoulder injury he sustained when he tumbled at Catalunya last month. The Spaniard is having to play catch up here because he missed last month’s group Jerez tests, following that fall at Catalunya. “It wasn’t a big crash,” said the Ducati Marlboro Team rider, so far 16th fastest. “I went down at the hairpin at the end of the back straight, just before the gravel trap. My shoulder is probably about 80 per cent at the moment, but I thought it might be even worse before I got here. I have a lot to do here because I missed the tests – I’m getting my feeling back after a few weeks off, as well as working on set-up and the new clutch. I’ve had better days but I’m confident we will improve tomorrow.” More, from another press release issued by Dorna Communications: MotoGP to hold one-minute silence for Pope John Paul II on the grid of the Gran Premio Marlboro de España A one-minute silence to honour the late Pope John Paul II, who passed away last Saturday April 2nd in Rome, will be observed at the Gran Premio Marlboro de España at Jerez on Sunday April 10th. The decision has been agreed by the FIM, Dorna Sports, the leading riders, and other relevant representatives as a proof of respect to the large majority of Catholics amongst the MotoGP family. The one-minute silence will be observed at approximately 13:50 (local time), prior to the start of the MotoGP race. The World Championship’s top riders, together with local and international dignitaries, will stand in front of the starting grid immediately before the beginning of the Gran Premio Marlboro de España, opening round of the 2005 World Championship. More, from a press release issued by Gauloises Yamaha: Spanish Grand Prix Jerez, Spain Friday 8th April, 2005 Gauloises Yamaha Team riders Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards used the first day of practice for the season-opening Spanish Grand Prix to continue working on the setting of their YZR-M1 machines on a cool and cloudy day at Jerez today. A new practice format, which includes just one qualifying session on the eve of the race, meant that the riders and engineers were able to work without qualifying pressure and focus all their efforts on preparing for Sunday’s 2005 curtain raiser at the Andalusian circuit. The Gauloises Yamaha Team riders were quickly on the pace this morning, picking up from three days of IRTA tests at this circuit just over a week ago to lap comfortably inside the top five quickest times. However, cooler track conditions in the afternoon meant that both riders were unable to improve their times in the second session as they experimented with different set-up configurations. Sete Gibernau (Honda), the only man to lap quicker than Rossi in the morning, also failed to improve in the afternoon but his lap of 1’40.800 remained untouched and the Spaniard leads the timesheets overnight. With a time just 0.086 behind Gibernau in the morning, Rossi stayed firm in second place but his team-mate Edwards dropped to eighth after Nicky Hayden (Honda), John Hopkins (Suzuki), Marco Melandri (Honda), Max Biaggi (Honda) and Shinya Nakano (Kawasaki) all improved. The riders will have one more free practice on Saturday morning before the eagerly-anticipated single qualifying session in the afternoon, when Valentino Rossi will look to repeat his pole position from last season. VALENTINO ROSSI (1’40.886, 30 laps) “This morning was good but this afternoon it was more difficult, we had a few problems, so I’m not entirely happy. We made some changes to the settings to try and improve the situation but it seemed to get more difficult to improve my time! However, there was no qualifying today so Friday’s lap time is not as important as it used to be. Our objective today was to work on the setting of the bike and that is what we have done. Tomorrow we will keep going and make some changes to the suspension to find a better feeling with the front end of the bike.” COLIN EDWARDS (1’41.556, 38 laps) “We did a good job this morning, using basically the same setting we found here over the three days of tests. People might wonder why we would change that in the afternoon but the track conditions were quite different today with cooler temperatures and a bit of grime on the surface. We had an idea that we thought would improve the overall performance of the bike but unfortunately that didn’t turn out to be the case and in hindsight it was probably too big a step. The good thing is that we know what we have to do tomorrow. The new practice format is really cool we’ve been able to work calmly today and I think it’s going to be a lot of fun once qualifying gets going tomorrow afternoon.” DAVIDE BRIVIO TEAM DIRECTOR “Today was the first day for us with the new practice format and we found it to be much better. We were able to continue our work from the tests here and work towards finding a race setting for the bike without worrying about a hot lap. It was useful for both riders and their lap times weren’t bad, although neither of them has got the settings of their bike 100% yet. Tonight we have to check over the data and we’ll see if we can improve things in the morning. We have plenty to do but it’s only Friday so we’re definitely not worried!” COMBINED FREE PRACTICE TIMES: Sete Gibernau (SPA) Movistar Honda MotoGP 1’40.800 VALENTINO ROSSI (ITA) Gauloises Yamaha Team 1’40.886 Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team 1’40.894 John Hopkins (USA) Team Suzuki MotoGP 1’40.934 Marco Melandri (ITA) Movistar Honda MotoGP 1’41.212 Max Biaggi (ITA) Repsol Honda Team 1’41.424 Shinya Nakano (JPN) Kawasaki Racing Team 1’41.424 COLIN EDWARDS (USA) Gauloises Yamaha Team 1’41.556 Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati Marlboro Team 1’41.658 Alex Barros (BRA) Camel Honda 1’41.728 More, from a press release issued by Gresini Racing: GIBERNAU LAPS INSIDE 2004 POLE ON FIRST DAY The MoviStar rider sets the pace in the first practice sessions at Jerez, with Marco Melandri lapping fourth fastest SPANISH GP – MOTOGP 1st day Sete Gibernau made a strong start to the Spanish Grand Prix as the starting gun fired for the 2005 MotoGP World Championship at Jerez today. The quality of his preseason preparations and the latest information gathered at this circuit just two weeks ago was reflected today as Sete Gibernau stood out as the most consistent rider every time he took to the track. Runner-up in the championship last season, Sete lapped inside last year’s pole position time and was some two seconds under the circuit record, held by Valentino Rossi since the 2003 race with a time of 1’42″788. The new MotoGP rules which have been introduced this season mean that the two practice sessions on the first day don’t count for the formation of the grid. The team therefore worked solely on the set-up of the bike and the riders will go in search of the best possible grid position in tomorrow afternoon’s final session. Hopes are high after Sete! dominated the time sheets throughout today whilst Marco Melandri lapped less than half a second slower than his team-mate in fourth place. SETE GIBERNAU (1st, 1’40″801): “I was looking forward to riding at my home circuit after all the hard work we have done. I think the good preseason the team have had, together with Honda and Michelin, is starting to show. We have to be satisfied with the first day because we’re on top and we’ve still got room for improvement. It’s the first time the afternoon session hasn’t counted for qualifying and we used it to find a good race setting, completing as many laps as possible on the race tyres, and the pace we set was very satisfactory.” MARCO MELANDRI (4th, 1’41″212): “We started off with the setting we found here at the MotoGP Test, although the track conditions were quite different. In the afternoon I felt better and we concentrated on working tow! ards race distance with the tyres, even though I still haven’t picked one for the race. I need to improve my rhythm a little but in general I’m happy.” LAP TIMES 1. Sete Gibernau (Esp/Honda) 1’40″801 2. Nicky Hayden (USA/Honda) + 0″093 3. John Hopkins (USA/Suzuki) + 0″133 4. Marco Melandri (Ita/Honda) + 0″411 5. Valentino Rossi (Ita/Yamaha) + 0″417 6. Max Biaggi (Ita/Honda) + 0″623 More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki MotoGP: Hopkins battles illness to record top four position Team SUZUKI MotoGP racer John Hopkins battled against a severe bout of the flu during the first practice day at the Spanish Grand Prix in Jerez to register the fourth quickest time. Hopkins showed true grit and determination to ride through the pain barrier and get within just two-tenths of the fastest time of the day in the first practice sessions of the new 2005 season. Speaking directly after the second free practise session, Hopkins commented: “I’m a bit disappointed in my time today – we tried many types of tyres but never seemed to have the right ones in for the right conditions. It’s nobody’s fault, it was just such a guessing game with the way the track felt. “I am personally feeling very low with a bit of flu – all my bones and muscles ache and I was having trouble breathing. I will get some good rest tonight and I know that I can better my time in tomorrow’s qualifying.” Kenny Roberts Jr used both of the sessions to improve his bike for the race on Sunday, but came up against a range of small problems – and bad luck – in session two which stopped him getting the best from the Suzuki GSV-R prototype race bike. Many useful lessons were learnt, however, and his 14th place gives him a solid start base to build on for tomorrow’s final practice and qualifying. “There’s a lot more to come from both the bike, and from me, and I’ll be doing my best to make a big step forward tomorrow” said Roberts Jr. For both riders, the ideal setting was difficult to find at the 4.4km Spanish circuit as overcast conditions and the constant threat of rain kept track temperatures low. The fastest time of the day was recorded by local favourite Sete Gibernau. Team SUZUKI MotoGP have one more free practice session on Saturday morning before timed qualifying takes place at 14.00CET to determine the starting grid for Sunday’s race. Paul Denning- Team Manager: “John showed that he is completely committed, despite his illness. He set a fast time on a soft compound tyre towards the end of the second session, the target now is to find the right balance on race tyres. “The weather has changed a lot since the test here and that caused us a few head- scratching moments over tyre choice, but we were able to meet that challenge head on and with the help of Bridgestone make some informed decisions. “Kenny made distinct improvements to his chassis in the first session compared to the recent test here, but had a difficult afternoon session. We’ve found out why and I’m sure he will be eager to bounce back for tomorrow.” Spanish Grand Prix Free Practice Classification: 1. Sete Gibernau (Honda) 1’40.800: 2. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 1’40.886: 3. Nicky Hayden (Honda) 1’40.894: 4. JOHN HOPKINS (TEAM SUZUKI MOTOGP) 1’40.934: 5.Marco Melandri (Honda) 1’41.212: 6. Max Biaggi (Honda) 1’41.424: 7. Shinya Nakano (Kawasaki) 1’41.424: 8. Colin Edwards (Yamaha) 1’41.556: 9. Loris Capirossi (Ducati) 1’41.658: 10. Alex Barros (Honda) 1’41.728: 14. KENNY ROBERTS JR (TEAM SUZUKI MOTOGP) 1’42.138: