Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix/FIM MotoGP World Championship Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca Monterey, California July 28, 2012 Qualifying Results (all on Bridgestone tires): 1. Jorge LORENZO, Spain (YAMAHA), 1:20.554 (new Circuit Best Lap record) 2. Casey STONER, Australia (HONDA), 1:20.628 3. Dani PEDROSA, Spain (HONDA), 1:20.906 4. Ben SPIES, USA (YAMAHA), 1:21.094 5. Cal CRUTCHLOW, UK (YAMAHA), 1:21.268 6. Andrea DOVIZIOSO, Italy (YAMAHA), 1:21.539 7. Alvaro BAUTISTA, Spain (HONDA), 1:21.732 8. Nicky HAYDEN, USA (DUCATI), 1:21.734 9. Stefan BRADL, Germany (HONDA), 1:21.753 10. Valentino ROSSI, Italy (DUCATI), 1:22.544 11. Randy DE PUNIET, France (Aprilia-ART), 1:22.886 12. Aleix ESPARGARO, Spain (Aprilia-ART), 1:23.075 13. Colin EDWARDS, USA (BMW-SUTER), 1:23.699 14. Karel ABRAHAM, Czech Republic (DUCATI), 1:23.704 15. Yonny HERNANDEZ, Colombia (Kawasaki-BQR/FTR), 1:23.769 16. Michele PIRRO, Italy (Honda-FTR), 1:23.877 17. Toni ELIAS, Spain (DUCATI), 1:23.898 18. Mattia PASINI, Italy (Aprilia-Speed Master/ART), 1:24.017 19. Danilo PETRUCCI, Italy (Aprilia-IODA), 1:24.227 20. Ivan SILVA, Spain (Kawasaki-BQR/FTR), 1:24.560 21. James ELLISON, UK (Aprilia-PBM/ART), 1:24.715 Not qualified (Out 107%) 1:26.192 22. Steve RAPP, USA (Kawasaki-Attack Performance APR), 1:26.887 More, from a press release issued by Speed Master : MATTIA PASINI SETS THE 18TH TIME IN THE QUALIFYING PRACTICE AT LAGUNA SECA The third free practice and the qualifying practice for the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix were held today, for the tenth round of the 2012 season of the MotoGP category. In the session of this morning, the riders of the 1’000cc class didn’t have much of a chance to take advantage of FP3. The fog and the low temperatures forced the riders to spend most of the time at disposal inside the pit boxes, and Pasini managed to complete five laps (twelfth time) during the last ten minutes of the practice. The qualifying session was therefore essential to define the choices for the set-up of the ART machine: Mattia and his technicians worked out some modifications to the CRT bike, focusing especially on the pace in view of the race of tomorrow. The Italian ended the session in advance because of a crash, as he holds the 18th position. Mattia Pasini #54 – 18th with 1’24.017 “After all, I’m happy with how things went today. Apart from the crash, which prevented us from improving our grid position, we put together some positive work and achieved a good set-up for our ART: I was trying to improve, but I was quite on the limit and I just crashed out. Despite that, we managed to gather some very useful data, considering that today we had at disposal one session less. Hopefully it’ll be a good race tomorrow, we have a decent pace and the bike has a quite competitive setting. We’ll do anything possible to reduce the gap from the CRT machines that are ahead of us.” More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda: Double front row start for Repsol Honda Team in Laguna Seca Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa qualified second and third respectively for tomorrow’s Red Bull US Grand Prix and it’s the fifth time this season the riders share the first row of the grid. It was a very busy session for both Repsol Honda riders after they sat out the morning’s free practice due to the fog and cold temperatures at Laguna Seca. Casey spent most of the session working on hard tyres and kept the softer slicks for the last five minutes, when he managed to improve his lap times by almost half a second and take second place on the grid with 1’20.628, just 0.074 second from the pole. Dani, instead, went out with the soft rear on his first exit and set a fast lap time of 1’20.906 that secured him the third slot before start working on race pace. Casey, who will use the new engine, and Dani, who has chosen the new engine and chassis for tomorrow’s race, are confident to fight in front and maintain a high pace in the tough 32 lap race. CASEY STONER 2nd 1’20.628 “I’m disappointed as I think we definitely had the potential for pole position. We spent most of the session with the hard tyre trying to improve our pace, we’ve been struggling with it all season when the temperatures aren’t high enough to get it working and we had made a few steps and weren’t too far off the pace. Then we put on the soft tyre and unfortunately we never got a clean lap. There was always a CRT bike in the way and considering we’re 3-4 seconds a lap quicker than them, you come up on them pretty quick, no matter how big a gap you give them. Every lap was spoiled which is very frustrating as I really feel we could have been on pole but we’ll have to settle for where we are. Tyre choice for the race will depend on the weather conditions tomorrow, I think we have the pace and longevity in the tyre for the soft, but if it’s hot then we may have to try and make the hard work”. DANI PEDROSA 3rd 1’20.906 “I was a little upset at the end of the session as I wasn’t able to improve my lap time, but happy anyway with another front row. We did a big job this afternoon, considering this morning, in my opinion, there was no meaning to go out with such a track and weather conditions. So we had one hour to work with the tyres and set up the new bike that I finally chose for the race. It was an intense and interesting practice; we know what we have to do for tomorrow. The bike is working well and I’m pretty confident for the race. Let’s see if we have better conditions than today for the warm up tomorrow and we can work on the finer details, although I think we have already a good package”. More, from a press release issued by Bridgestone: Lorenzo sets lap record to take pole position at Laguna Seca Round 10: United States Grand Prix Qualifying Practice Laguna Seca, Saturday 28 July 2012 Bridgestone slick compounds available: Front: Soft, Medium, Hard. Rear: Soft, Medium (Asymmetric) Bridgestone wet tyre compounds available: Hard (Main), Soft (Alternative) Weather: FP3 – Dry. Ambient 14-14°C; Track 19-25°C (Bridgestone measurement) QP – Dry. Ambient 17-18°C; Track 40-43°C (Bridgestone measurement) Current MotoGP™ championship leader Jorge Lorenzo will start on pole position at the United States Grand Prix after the Spaniard set a new lap record of 1’20.554 on the Yamaha Factory Racing M1 in qualifying at Laguna Seca. Lorenzo broke the existing pole position record set by Casey Stoner in 2008 – earlier in the session before Repsol Honda’s Casey Stoner moved to P1 when he also went under his old mark with a few minutes remaining in the session. However, Lorenzo took pole position on his very last lap to relegate Stoner to P2 ahead of his teammate Dani Pedrosa who rounded out the front row. Randy de Puniet qualified in eleventh position, with the Frenchman continuing the dominance of the Power Electronics Aspar team among the CRT entries during qualifying. This morning’s FP3 session was subjected to heavy fog which kept track temperatures low and reduced grip levels due to the high moisture levels. Only a few riders took to the track until the end of the session when the cloud started to lift and more riders ventured out. Just like yesterday, track conditions in the afternoon were much better with sunshine and track temperatures in the low-40°C range for the one hour qualifying session. For qualifying, most riders used the combination of the softer rear and harder front slick for better drive out of corners and improved front-end stability when setting their best lap times. The next session for the United States Grand Prix will be Morning Warm Up at 0940 local time (GMT -7) tomorrow and the thirty-two lap race is scheduled to start at 1400. Masao Azuma Chief Engineer, Bridgestone Motorsport Tyre Development Department “Track conditions today were similar to yesterday, with cloud cover in the morning and clear skies in the afternoon. However, the cloud this morning was much heavier so many riders chose not to go out on circuit until right at the end of FP3 so track time was somewhat limited today. It was clear from yesterday’s and today’s sessions that most riders prefer the harder front slick option so I expect this to be the popular choice for tomorrow’s race, though rear tyre choice at this stage is not as clear cut with both the softer and harder rear slicks viable options for tomorrow’s race. I anticipate that many teams will wait until tomorrow afternoon and make a decision on rear tyre choice depending on what the track temperature is just before the race.” More, from a press release issued by Power Electronics Aspar Team: POWER ELECTRONICS PAIR HEAD CRT CHALLENGE ON LAGUNA GRID Randy De Puniet and Aleix Espargaró again the fastest two riders on new concept MotoGP machinery, qualifying eleventh and twelfth on the grid for tomorrow’s race After an opening day dominated by Dani Pedrosa at Laguna Seca yesterday, today it was the turn of the man he trails in the championship to take over, Jorge Lorenzo setting the pace in the final free practice session this morning before taking pole position with a last lap effort this afternoon. Heavy fog made the second day’s opening session virtually useless until it lifted for the final few moments but there were no such setbacks or indeed surprises in qualifying practice after lunch, when the top three riders in the current points standings took the three front row positions for tomorrow’s race. It was always going to take more than a little fog to stop the POWER ELECTRONICS Aspar Team from continuing their domination of the CRT revolution, with Randy De Puniet and Aleix Espargaró getting to grips with the Laguna Seca layout on their second day here with the ART machine. Qualifying proved to be a two-way battle between the pair for the top CRT position on the grid, Randy sealing it with a lap of 1’22.886 to edge out his team-mate by two tenths after Aleix was baulked by another rider on his final lap. 11th Randy De Puniet 1.22.886 (29 laps): “I am really happy with the result from qualifying. The electronic problems we had yesterday morning and the fog this morning have basically cost us two sessions but we made the most of the time we had. We made some changes for this afternoon and thankfully they were all in the right direction. I’m happy because my race pace gives me plenty of optimism for tomorrow. I was consistently in the low 1’23s and that is going to be important. I am sure we can improve the set-up of the bike in the warm-up tomorrow and after three really good races the objective for the race is to continue in the same way and if possible finish as the top CRT again.” 12th Aleix Espargaró 1.23.075 (25 laps): “I didn’t manage to get the bike set-up as good as I would have liked today. We couldn’t get it turning as I wanted and I struggled for confidence in the front. Luckily at the end of the session I managed to improve a little. Rear tyre wear is quite severe here and after seven or eight laps it was sliding around a lot. On the last lap of qualifying I was on a hot lap behind Valentino but Elías got in my way and I lost my chance. It was a shame because I think it would have been enough to qualify as the top CRT but anyway I am happy with the way we’re progressing. In the last few races I have qualified as the top CRT only for Randy to beat me in the race so hopefully this weekend works out the other way around.” More, from a press release issued by Brembo: THE BEST OF THE “LATE BRAKERS” AT RED BULL U.S GRAND PRIX MONTEREY, Calif., July 28, 2012 Mazda Raceway at Laguna Seca, which hosts the tenth round of the 2012 MotoGP World Championship, offers many really attractive features, including the famous Corkscrew. The legendary 2.25-mile California circuit is one of the most interesting venues on the MotoGP calendar, not least of all because overtaking is especially difficult. The Laguna Seca track can be very tricky with hazardous bends and bumps to be negotiated with great care, so that the performance of the brakes is particularly important. At the end of the official qualifying session, each team is required to supply the telemetry data for the session and from this data we are able to determine which riders are the best “late brakers” (those who begin braking closer to the chord point of Turn #1). Top Ten “Late Brakers” 1. Jorge Lorenzo (99) Yamaha Factory Racing YZR-M1 2. Casey Stoner (1) Repsol Honda RC213V 3. Dani Pedrosa (26) Repsol Honda RC213V 4. Ben Spies (11) Yamaha Factory Racing YZR-M1 5. Cal Crutchlow (35) Monster Yamaha YZR-M1 6. Valentino Rossi (46) Ducati Team Desmosedici GP12 7. Andrea Dovizioso (4) Monster Yamaha YZR-M1 8. Nicky Hayden (69) Ducati Team Desmosedici GP12 9. Alvaro Bautista (19) San Carlo Honda Gresini 10. Stefan Bradl (6) LCR Honda MotoGP Laguna Seca Brake Facts for MotoGP: Turn #1 2011 2012 Initial Speed (KmH) 265 276 Final Speed (KmH) 100 104 Braking Distance (M) 350 328 Braking Time (Sec) 6.5 4.1 Maximum Deceleration (G) 1.1 1.1 Max. Lever Load (Kg) 3.0 4.2 More, from a press release issued by Yamaha MotoGP Team: Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jorge Lorenzo delivered a signature scorching performance this afternoon to take his fourth consecutive Laguna Seca pole position start ahead of tomorrow’s Grand Prix of USA. The Championship leader was straight into the top spot at the beginning of the qualifying practice and was only challenged by rival Casey Stoner towards the end of the session. Lorenzo responded in the last seconds with an incredible lap, coming from a slow first split to an unbeatable last taking pole 0.074 seconds clear. The time of 1’20.554 stands as a new lap record for the circuit. Ben Spies continued to show the consistent fast pace in evidence from the first practice yesterday, moving quickly up to the top five early in the session. The Texan was provisionally on the front row for some time before dropping just outside it to fourth. A big high side at turn three threatened to bring an end to his qualifying however he made it back and out again on his second bike to complete the heat. He starts on the second row in fourth, 0.54 seconds from pole. Jorge Lorenzo Position : 1st Time: 1’20.554 Laps: 33 “I knew Casey and Dani were going to try and take pole but I really wanted it here in America so I tried my best for Yamaha. I pushed to the limit, especially in the last corner, I was at full lean and opened the throttle really soon. In my first two tries for a perfect lap there was a lot of traffic so I had to wait for the right moment. The important thing is tomorrow, pole position is nice but anyway the race is what counts.” Ben Spies Position : 4th Time: 1’1.094 Laps: 27 “Today was ok, we obviously had a crash which was unfortunate as I think we could have got on the front row. I was feeling really good I just maybe didn’t let the right side of the tyre heat up to quite the right temperature and had a pretty big high side. Anyway we got back out and were able to do the same times as before the crash. I need to get some x-rays to check my heel as I took a big hit on it in the crash.” Wilco Zeelenberg Team Manager “A fantastic qualifying and a spectacular last lap by Jorge making a new lap record. We have a good pace and a good package to fight for victory tomorrow. We’ll have to wait and see what the temperature is going to be as it’s very cold in the morning then warms up a lot!” Massimo Meregalli Team Director “A great pole from Jorge, he’s putting a lot of pressure on the Honda guys. Ben had a big crash using the second soft tyre during the qualifying. Anyway, he’s pretty consistent and happy with the bike set up and hopefully tomorrow he will be 100% fine to ride. I’m pretty confident because he’s finished all the practices in the top four and we know which tyre he is going to use.” More, from a press release issued by Honda: 2012 FIM MotoGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS ROUND 10, SATURDAY, JULY 28, MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA Weather: Warm and sunny Temperature: Ambient 20 degrees C / Track 27 degrees C STONER AND PEDROSA ON FRONT ROW AT LAGUNA SECA Casey Stoner (Repsol Honda RC213V) nearly earned his fourth pole of the season before being denied the spot after time had expired in MotoGP qualifying for the U.S. Grand Prix at the scenic Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Stoner went to the top of the time charts with less than two minutes to go and was on pace to lower his lap time when he was balked by slower riders on his final laps. That gave an opening to Yamaha rider Jorge Lorenzo, who edged out the world champion by a mere .074s when he crossed the line 28 seconds after the hour had expired. Stoner will now try to win the race for the second year in a row, and third time overall, from the middle of the front row, just in front of team-mate Dani Pedrosa. Stoner won from second on the grid last year and from the pole in 2007. Pedrosa was not happy about not being able to improve his time at the end of the hour, but was happy to be on the front row for the seventh time this season. Pedrosa confirmed that he will race the newest spec Repsol Honda RC213V, with the updated chassis and engine, while Stoner will race with the previous chassis and the new engine. Both Stoner and Pedrosa sat out Saturday morning’s FP3 because of foggy conditions, while most of the other riders spent some time on the track. The session began with only a few CRT riders making laps, but in the final 14 minutes the rest of the field trickled out. The decision by the Repsol Honda team to skip the session, which both riders endorsed because of the marginal conditions, put added emphasis on qualifying, where they not only had to work on a set-up, but also decide whether to use the soft or hard Bridgestone rear tyre in Sunday’s tenth round of the MotoGP World Championship. Spaniard Alvaro Bautista qualified seventh fastest in his first visit to Laguna Seca as a member of the San Carlo Honda Gresini team. It was his best qualifying effort at the twisty track by five positions. Like the Repsol Honda riders, Bautista lost valuable set-up time by missing most of the morning’s free practice, though he did venture out near the end of the hour. Stefan Bradl (LCR Honda MotoGP RC213V) finished with the ninth fastest time in his first official qualifying session at the track in the hills east of Monterey. This was Bradl’s first trip to Laguna Seca on a MotoGP machine, though he had learned the track earlier in the year when he took part in a track day aboard a Honda CBR1000RR Fireblade. That helped orient him on the first day, but he still lacked the experience needed to get the most out of the LCR Honda MotoGP RC213V in such a limited time. Michele Pirro (San Carlo Honda Gresini FTR Honda) was also making his first visit to Laguna Seca, yet another new track where he had no data for the CRT machine, and the only one this season where he has had no experience. The track is unlike any other in the world, with constant changes of direction and elevations, and a gradually bumpier surface. Riders often struggle to learn the track’s idiosyncrasies in their first forays on the 3.61Km, 11-turn circuit. Sundays’ U.S. Grand Prix is the final race before the summer break, after which the series returns to the U.S. for the Indianapolis Grand Prix in three weeks’ time. MotoGP Rider Quotes: Casey Stoner, Repsol Honda: 2nd “I’m disappointed as I think we definitely had the potential for pole position. We spent most of the session with the hard tyre trying to improve our pace. We’ve been struggling with it all season when the temperatures aren’t high enough to get it working and we had made a few steps and weren’t too far off the pace. Then we put on the soft tyre and unfortunately we never got a clean lap. There was always a CRT bike in the way and considering we’re three, four seconds a lap quicker than them, you come up on them pretty quick, no matter how big a gap you give them. Every lap was spoiled, which is very frustrating as I really feel we could have been on pole, but we’ll have to settle for where we are. Tyre choice for the race will depend on the weather conditions tomorrow. I think we have the pace and longevity in the tyre for the soft, but if it’s hot then we may have to try and make the hard work.” Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 3rd “I was a little upset at the end of the session as I wasn’t able to improve my lap time, but happy anyway with another front row. We did a big job this afternoon, considering this morning; in my opinion, there was no meaning to go out with such a track and weather conditions. So we had one hour to work with the tyres and set up the new bike that I finally chose for the race. It was an intense and interesting practice; we know what we have to do for tomorrow. The bike is working well and I’m pretty confident for the race. Let’s see if we have better conditions than today for the warm up tomorrow and we can work on the finer details, although I think we have already a good package.” Alvaro Bautista, San Carlo Honda Gresini: 7th “Today went quite a lot better than yesterday the only disappointment is that we hardly got any laps in this morning because of the fog and that probably cost us the opportunity to take another step forward. Anyway, we managed to try a couple of different settings out and in the end we found something positive which improved my confidence on the bike. My pace also improved, so that’s good. Obviously, we are still not at 100%, but we have taken an important step. A third row start isn’t bad and if we can get away well off the line we can hope to stay with the second group because the front three are on a different level. My objective is to rediscover the feeling I had before Mugello and have a good race.” Stefan Bradl, LCR Honda MotoGP: 9th “Not great and not so bad… in between. It’s more difficult for me compared with the past races, because yesterday I had to find my pace and orient myself on this new track. Then this morning we lost the session due to the bad weather, so we started working on the bike package this afternoon. I am not really happy about the front end feeling, because we are losing too much time in braking and in corners entries, so actually I miss the perfect confidence to go faster. We need to analyse the data and make a change for tomorrow, because the surface is pretty bumpy. Starting from the third row is not so bad but I am aware it will be a long race and I will try to follow the guys in the front.” Michele Pirro, San Carlo Honda Gresini: 16th “The lap times have improved quite a lot from yesterday, but we need to take another step if we are going to be competitive in the race. The guys will work hard as always to put me in a position to score a good result and I will do my part. (Randy) De Puniet and (Aleix) Espargarò have a big gap over the rest of the CRTs here, but it will be a long race and anything is possible.” More, from a press release issued by Avintia Blusens MotoGP Team: Good QP for Yonny in the CRT’s. Silva to start from seventh row. Laguna Seca, 28 of July 2012. Yonny Hernández performed a good QP at the difficult circuit of Laguna Seca. Although the Avintia Blusens Colombian rider was not familiar with the track he stuck with the top three throughout the practice and around the end Colin Edwards eventually passed him as he knows the layout by heart. Yonny has been competitive throughout the weekend and he showed that he was capable of adapting to such a difficult track. Things got a bot more complicated for Iván and he could not reach the positions that he expected. He qualified in the twentieth position before Ellison and Rapp as he was not familiar with the track and he tried different adjustments looking for the right setting-up. 68 Yonny Hernández (15º 1’23.769 +3.215): “It was a pity Colin eventually passed me because it would have been great to cross the finish as the best CRT right after Espargaró and De Puniet’s Aprilia’s. But Edwards is brilliant and he was riding at home so him fighting until the end was more than expectable. In site of it all I am happy with the overall performance and our quick adaptation to the track. The team has done a great job with the bike and I am feeling comfy riding it. I have great expectations for tomorrow and I´ll attempt to end up on the CRT podium”. 22 Iván Silva (20º 1’24.560 +4.006): “It was no easy task. It is a complicated track and it is difficult to get familiar with it. This morning I dramatically crashed out of the track in the « corkscrew ». I have personally experienced how it feels to crash in this famous bend. My qualifying position is not what I expected but our pace was much better than on many previous occasions. I tried a different fork and we made progress against the free practices but we were short with time to improve it. Tomorrow if the fog allows we’ll keep on trying in the warm-up and I hope I´ll get the right adjustment that will allow me to stick with the fastest riders in the class.” More, from a press release issued by LCR Honda: BRADL NINTH FASTEST AT CHALLENGING LAGUNA SECA GP QUALIFYING Monterey, 28th July: misty conditions known as “marine cloud” welcomed the MotoGP contingent this morning at Laguna Seca race track for the final free practice. Luckily the afternoon qualifying session matched yesterday’s sunny skies and ninth spot on the grid went to LCR Honda racer Stefan Bradl (1’21.753). Completing the third row ahead tomorrow’s 32-lap race, Bradl fully utilized the afternoon session to fine tune his RCV chasing important front end feeling improvements to better cope with the bumpy Californian track. Stefan: “Not great and not so bad… in between! It’s more difficult for me compared with the past races because yesterday I had to find my pace and orient myself on this new track: then this morning we lost the session due to the bad weather so we started working on the bike package this afternoon. I am not really happy about the front end feeling because we are losing too much time in braking and in corners entries so actually I miss the perfect confidence to go faster. We need to analyze the data and make a change for tomorrow because the surface is pretty bumpy. Starting from the third row is not so bad but I am aware it will be a long race and I will try to follow the guys in the front”. More, from a press release issued by Dorna Communications: Last-gasp pole for Lorenzo in thrilling Laguna qualifying Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jorge Lorenzo was on record-breaking form during qualifying for the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix at Laguna Seca this weekend as he stole pole position in the final seconds for tomorrow’s race ahead of Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa. Lorenzo left it until his last lap to take his fourth consecutive pole at the track from Repsol Honda Team’s Stoner, who had posted a new track record just a few laps before. Completing the front row in third is his teammate Dani Pedrosa, who had shone in yesterday’s practice sessions, but was unable to match the two at the front, who were on blistering form. Stoner, who bemoaned the heavy traffic out on track after the session, had spent the majority of qualifying dialling his bike into the harder rear tyre along with Pedrosa. Most other teams had tried the softer rear tyre for race-pace, with Lorenzo in particular highlighting the importance of tyre choice before tomorrow’s race depending on the weather conditions. Row two is headed by Lorenzo’s teammate Ben Spies, who suffered a heavy crash 12 minutes before the end. Despite walking away gingerly with a injured heel and slight concussion, he re-joined for the final few minutes of the session. Next to him in fifth, Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s Cal Crutchlow showed no signs of his crash yesterday, finishing just under two tenths off the American. Tech 3’s Andrea Dovizioso rounds out the second row in sixth, making it an all-Yamaha affair, though will be looking to once again get the better of his teammate in tomorrow’s race. Seventh spot on the grid went to San Carlo Honda Gresini’s Álvaro Bautista, who will be pleased with his slight improvement, after a somewhat subdued weekend so far. Alongside him in eighth, Ducati Team’s home favourite Nicky Hayden wrung the neck of his machine to start tomorrow’s race as highest placed Desmosedici. Completing the third row is LCR Honda MotoGP’s Stefan Bradl, who recovered well from a first lap run off into the gravel at the infamous corkscrew. Hayden’s teammate Valentino Rossi rounds out the top ten, after another disappointing qualifying session for the Italian saw him struggling with corner entry. He will once again be looking for his race consistency to make his way up the order tomorrow. Highest CRT finisher was Power Electronics Aspar’s Randy de Puniet, who ended the day in 11th. NGM Mobile Forward Racing’s Colin Edwards put in one of his better qualifying performances in 13th, after the team carried out a big modification to his seat, allowing for better agility on the bike. Wildcard Steve Rapp, on board the Attack Performance CRT machine, did not qualify for the race, as he set a time outside of the 107% marker off the top time. This means that Rapp must post a time within this limit during tomorrow’s warm-up to be able to contest. Apart from Spies’ crash, Speed Master’s Mattia Pasini also suffered a fall, but fortunately walked away unhurt. More, from a press release issued by Ducati: Difficult qualifying session for Ducati Team at Laguna Seca Laguna Seca’s thick, wet fog typically burns off relatively early in the morning, but it persisted for today’s final free-practice session for the United States Grand Prix, reducing the useful track time and prompting most riders to wait until the final ten minutes or so before leaving the garages. The afternoon qualifying session took place in normal conditions, but Nicky Hayden and Valentino Rossi didn’t manage to find the best setup to ride the California circuit effectively. Tomorrow will see them starting from the third and fourth rows, respectively. Nicky Hayden (Ducati Team) 8th (1:21.734) “After the performance we had in the race at Mugello and then again in the test, we expected to be a lot closer to the front than this. It’s a bit frustrating to be over a second back, especially at a little track like this where even three or four tenths is a lot. Tonight we’ll decide if we want to make big changes for tomorrow or try to refine what we have, and the main priority will be to settle on a tyre. The morning warm-up might not be very useful if it’s foggy again, but we’ll see what tomorrow brings and give it our best shot.” Valentino Rossi (Ducati Team) 10th (1:22.544) “As long as we ride at our race pace, we’re close to the two or three other riders in the second group. Unfortunately though, just like at the last race, when we try to do a fast time, we’re not able to improve enough. When I put on the soft tyre, it creates more problems, which are always the same, really: to avoid having the tyres start sliding too much after a few laps, we must load the rear a lot, and that causes us to lose feeling with the front. As long as I ride at a 1:22 pace, I’m able to be pretty consistent, but when I have to push harder, the front starts to close. The bike moves a lot and I go wide. Anyway, we’ll see. I’m tenth, but my rhythm is a bit better. Obviously, I’m expecting a difficult race tomorrow.” More, from a press release issued by Monster Yamaha Tech 3: Crutchlow and Dovizioso qualify inside top six in Laguna Seca Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team riders Cal Crutchlow and Andrea Dovizioso will start next to each other on the second row of the grid for tomorrow’s 32-lap US Grand Prix at the spectacular Laguna Seca track. Crutchlow powered his YZR-M1 machine to the fifth fastest time in a record-breaking qualifying session this afternoon, while Italian team-mate Andrea Dovizioso will line-up one place further back on the grid in sixth position. Factory Yamaha rider Jorge Lorenzo claimed a stunning pole position with his 1.20.554 the fastest ever lap of the California track, but Crutchlow and Dovizioso were able to set an impressive pace in a s ession run in gloriously sunny conditions. This afternoon’s weather couldn’t have been a bigger contrast to those that greeted the paddock this morning when Crutchlow and Dovizioso virtually missed a whole session because of cold and foggy conditions. Both quickly made up for lost time this afternoon and concentrated on analysing the soft and hard compound Bridgestone rear tyre options ahead of tomorrow’s race. Crutchlow was once again the top non-factory qualifier with a best lap of 1.21.268 securing him a place on the second row for the sixth time in 10 races and he finished just over 0.3s away from Dani Pedrosa in third position. Dovizioso was only 0.271s further back in sixth place, his best time of 1.21.538 clinching him his best starting position since he was sixth for the Catalunya round in Spain last month. Cal Crutchlow 5th 1.21.268 32 laps: “We made a good improvement from yesterday even though I coul d only do eight laps this morning because of the conditions. I have been inside the top six all weekend and that is a huge step forward compared to last year when I had a really tough weekend and was riding around outside of the top 10. The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team did a fantastic job last night to repair the bike I badly damaged in the crash in practice and hopefully a fifth place on the grid and a strong performance today repaid them. The second row is a good starting position and I’ve had decent pace all weekend, so I’m looking forward to the race. I’ve been consistent and fast on both the hard and the soft tyre so the final decision will depend a lot on air and track temperature tomorrow.” Andrea Dovizioso 6th 1.21.539 34 laps: “We improved the bike a lot this afternoon and it was quite a busy session because we lost a complete practice this morning with the weather conditions. We had to change the work p lan a little bit but we got everything we needed to accomplish done in the afternoon and I am happy and ready for the race. My race pace is good and I think I had the potential to be a bit higher up the grid but each time I tried to push on the soft tyre I encountered some traffic and couldn’t get a clear track to put a whole lap together. It is going to be a very tough race tomorrow because the top three are so fast and I hate to say it but it looks impossible to beat them. I have worked a lot on the soft and the hard tyre and I like both, so we will have to decide which one we take for the race based on the conditions.” More, from a press release issued by Cardion AB Motoracing: Abaja on the 14th place after U.S. GP qualification Difficult weather conditions at Laguna Seca circuit influenced the last free MotoGP practice in the Saturday morning. Misty track, cold and high air humidity caused a lot of problems to many riders. In spite of these conditions was Karel Abraham able to improve his best time from the previous day. In the afternoon the weather was much better and the ideal conditions prevailed for the qualifying session. The Czech rider appeared on the rear positions of the result sheets during the whole qualifying. In the last laps he went much faster and he achieved the best lap time 1’23,704. This time brings him the 14th place on the starting grid. Karel Abraham “ž I´m not satisfied with the results today. Even if I went little faster in the last lap, but still I´m not completely ready yet. I feel quite nervous and disgruntled. Tomorrow will be definitely hard day. The Laguna Seca circuit belongs to those very difficult ones, it is very technical track with no long straights. My hand was getting worse today, which means more painful. I had to go for a massage. On the other hand I assume this will not affect the race at all. ” Marco Grana, chief mechanic Cardion AB Motoracing “ž We are really disappointed today, mainly we don´t like the achieved times. Karel went little faster in the last lap, but it is still more than one second behind the slowest MotoGP rider. We need to be in closer contact with them. The bike setting was good, maybe we will try to change something for tomorrow, but it will depend on weather. My prediction for the race is that it´s gonna be one of the most difficult races of the season. “