SETE AND MARCO READY FOR CHINA RAIN SPOILS THE FIRST DAY OF PRACTICES AT THE CHINESE CIRCUIT The Championship debuts on the very modern, science fictional track of Shanghai, built just one year ago to hold the Formula 1 GP. This track can boast a record cost; the Chinese authorities in fact spent over 250 million dollars to build the track and its infrastructures. It is a spectacular sight that left the MotoGP teams and riders speechless cause of the amazing facilities. From a technical point of view the track is complete and presents a various mix of situations by alternating slow and quick stints where the power and velocity of these bikes can be used to their potential. The peculiarity of this track is the two long straights. The starting straight measures 1202 meters in length, the longest of the entire championship, even longer than that of the Mugello track which is 1141 meters long and Barcelona’s which is 1047 meters. The track is also characterized by two nearly 360º corners which will put the tyres to the test. This morning the MotoGP free practice could start only at 12.30 because the helicopter ambulance arrived only at 11.40. Positive debut for the riders of the Movistar team. Marco Melandri did the second best time while Sete Gibernau did the third best time of this morning session. The rain spoiled the second session of free practice. The rain started to fall in the early afternoon and the second free practice of the day was on wet. MARCO MELANDRI (2nd, 2:02.485): “It was a strange day because we started on dry and then in the afternoon on wet, at the end of the session the line has started to dry but the track was dirty. I’m happy because we started well, working in the right direction. This morning I had a good feeling on dry and I had a positive feeling on wet during the second session. This bike gives me a lot of confidence and confidence is the most important thing to race on wet.” SETE GIBERNAU (3rd, 2:02.557 ): “This circuit is spectacular but the track is not among my favourites. The two straights are very long and quick but the corners are not fast. We worked well but the rain spoiled the second part of the day. I hope that tomorrow it will be dry so that we can work for the best setting. As for the race it’s important that is whether wet or dry.” More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki Racing Team: DELAYED START TO HISTORIC FIRST DAY OF MOTOGP IN CHINA Kawasaki riders, Shinya Nakano and Olivier Jacque, finished the first day of free practice in the build-up to Sunday’s Chinese Grand Prix in 12th and 15th positions respectively. The race will be the first-ever road race GP to be staged in China, with the all-new Shanghai International Circuit providing space-age facilities for this historic MotoGP event. However, the combination of unpredictable weather and the delayed arrival of the medical helicopter proved to be a frustrating mix, as the riders and team engineers tried to understand the all-new 5.4 km circuit. The morning free practice session was delayed by two and half hours awaiting the helicopter arrival. This meant that the second session did not start until 4pm, two hours later than usual. By this time rain had hit the Shanghai circuit, which had been dry and humid in the morning when no bikes could take to the track. All the fast times were posted in session one, with times in the mainly damp but drying second session up to 15 seconds slower. A narrow dry line appeared late in the session, although there were still patches of wet track. After spending session one learning the track and checking set-up on his Ninja ZX-RR, Nakano spent the second free practice session trying to second-guess the track conditions without success. Temporary teammate Jacque, subbing for the injured Alex Hofmann, made an impressive debut on his first official day of competition aboard the four-stroke, 990cc Ninja ZX-RR. Initially shocked by the impressive power and performance of Kawasaki’s MotoGP machine in wet conditions the experienced Frenchman, winner of the 250cc world title in 2000, quickly justified the decision by team management to engage his services. Shinya Nakano: #56 – Twelfth – (2’03.687) “That was a difficult afternoon session in the conditions; starting wet and then drying out. I tried a cut slick on the rear too early in the session, the track was not dry enough, and that was a mistake. I then switched back to rain tyres, but the track was too dry, so it was difficult to evaluate tyre performance. The surface grip feels okay, although I am still lacking some confidence in the slow corners, but I think the correct tyre choice is the answer to that problem. The surface and some corners remind me of the Sepang circuit in Malaysia.” Olivier Jacque: #19 – Fifteenth – (2’05.165) “That was a very scary comeback to MotoGP for me. It is so long since I have raced and I am not used to this amount of power in rain! Also this is my first GP on Bridgestone tyres and I am still adapting to them. But overall the bike is feeling very good, the team have given me an excellent set-up and the track has good grip, even in the rain, and this has helped build my confidence. I’m keen to move forward from here.” Ichiro Yoda: Technical Director “Tyre performance has been difficult to understand in these conditions and normally as the track dries out lap times reduce. The rain specification front tyre was very stable, but at the moment the rear tyre is the limiting factor for us. Tomorrow we will try some different specification tyres, which Bridgestone have brought to China, as we try to gather more data on our first visit to this track. We had no technical problems today.” More, from a press release issued by Gauloises Yamaha: GAULOISES YAMAHA TEAM GATHER KEY DATA ON DAMP FIRST DAY IN CHINA Gauloises Yamaha Team riders Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards got their first true taste of the Shanghai International Circuit on a tentative first day of action at the inaugural Grand Prix of China today. With the riders using the first free practice session to learn the track layout in the morning, they were denied the opportunity to improve their set-up and lap times in the afternoon due to damp and muggy conditions. Both Rossi and Edwards took things carefully in the second session, with a spell of light rain, ambient temperatures reaching 31ºC and humidity levels of 76% making grip levels unpredictable. The pair set the sixth and eighth fastest times respectively this afternoon, with the constantly changing conditions making life difficult for their Gauloises Yamaha engineers but providing a valuable opportunity to collect a wide range of data with a variable weather forecast for the rest of the weekend. A dry line did begin to form at the end of the session but never enough to allow the riders to challenge Nicky Hayden (Honda) for the best time of the day. Hayden clocked a lap of 2’02.327 in the morning session, which was delayed by two and a half hours due to a technical problem with the circuit’s medical helicopter, although this is sure to be improved on if the conditions are dry for the third free practice and single qualifying sessions tomorrow. VALENTINO ROSSI (2’02.677, 39 laps) “My first impressions of the circuit yesterday were very good but after riding on it today I must admit it wasn’t as much fun as I expected. It is actually quite tight and technical and is very much a Formula 1 track, so all the riders have a lot of hard work to do finding the right setting for the bikes here. It is not ideal for a MotoGP bike. Also the conditions in the afternoon were strange because the track was warm but it woulnd’t dry, so it was like half and half. It was a shame because the asphalt is good and there is plenty of grip in the dry. As far as the setting is concerned we are having some problems in the fast corners. We hope it is dry tomorrow because we have a bit of work to do and also some of my rivals are very fast in the wet. Personally I would really prefer it if it doesn’t rain on Sunday. “ COLIN EDWARDS (2’03.799, 38 laps) “I spent the morning just trying to find my braking markers and pick the best racing line, but when I got fired up and went for a fast lap I ran off the track, so my time wasn’t as good as it could have been. The conditions completely changed in the afternoon but it looks like we haven’t seen the last of the rain this weekend so I guess it was a good chance for us to make some preparations for a wet race. This is an awesome place but the track is not what I expected. It doesn’t really link together and it’s kind of split up into four separate sections. This is probably as good a result as we could have expected at this stage of the weekend there’s plenty more to come. ” DAVIDE BRIVIO TEAM DIRECTOR “We know the conditions are the same for everybody but at the same time the weather today made our job a lot more difficult because it’s a new circuit and we’re just trying to find a basic set-up. Anyway, there is a good possibility it will rain on Sunday so this was a good chance for us to try some different conditions. Apart from the long back straight the circuit is tighter and slower than we expected. We made some changes to the setting of the bike and the gearbox, from the morning to the afternoon but it was impossible to compare the data because of the change in conditions. Hopefully they’ll be more consistent tomorrow.” More, from a press release issued by Dorna Communications: Hayden sets pace on damp first day at Shanghai Nicky Hayden was the fastest man on the first ever day of MotoGP action at the Shanghai International Circuit in mixed weather conditions on Friday. With the riders taking the opportunity to learn the impressive circuit layout in the morning, a spell of light lunchtime rain left track conditions unpredictable in the afternoon and made it impossible for anybody to improve on Hayden’s fastest lap of 2’02.327. “The track is okay, there are a couple of strange corners but overall I like it,” reflected Hayden at the end of the demanding first day. “I especially like the surface the grip is really good and there is a lot of feeling. It was nice to be quickest this morning but this afternoon was pretty tough. We were in good shape with full wets but we had a few problems in the middle of the session when it started to dry.” Whilst Marco Melandri was second fastest in the morning session, delayed by two and a half hours due to a minor mechanical problem with the medical helicopter, Sete Gibernau completed a Honda top three ahead of Carlos Checa on the Ducati and Yamaha’s Valentino Rossi. However, in the damp afternoon conditions it was the turn of Suzuki to top the time sheets with Kenny Roberts, who clocked the fastest time of the session on his last lap with an effort just over 12 seconds slower than Hayden’s dry time. Alex Barros, winner of the second round of the season in similar conditions at Estoril in Portugal two weeks ago, again showed his expertise in the wet with the second fastest time behind Roberts. Gibernau, who crashed in the morning but escaped unhurt, was again third fastest in the afternoon ahead of Troy Bayliss and Max Biaggi, who made it four Hondas in the top five. Whilst Rossi was sixth fastest in the afternoon ahead of Marco Melandri and Colin Edwards, the surprise of the session came from Franco Battaini, eleventh quickest riding the Blata WCM machine. Olivier Jacque was also impressive, the former 250cc World Champion lapping twelfth fastest on his return to MotoGP as a replacement for the injured Alex Hofmann at Kawasaki. The drying conditions in the afternoon allowed the majority of 250cc riders to improve on their morning times as they jostled for positions on the provisional starting grid, with the possibility of more rain tomorrow making for an interesting first qualifying session. Casey Stoner continued his recent form, following up victory at Estoril with a provisional pole position time some 0.2 seconds quicker than nearest challenger Andrea Dovizioso. Sebastián Porto, quickest in the morning session, and Dani Pedrosa complete the provisional front row for the quarter-litre class. Fabrizio Lai took provisional pole position for the 125cc race in fully wet conditions, with light drizzle falling throughout the session. Whilst early championship leader Mika Kallio led the way in dry conditions in the morning, Honda rider Lai showed his prowess in the afternoon ahead of Kallio’s KTM team-mate Mika Kallio. The surprise of the session was rookie teenager Aleix Espargaró, who was third fastest, whilst his Spanish compatriot Julián Simón completes the provisional front row. More, from a press release issued by Camel Honda: Alex and Troy go quick in the wet The weekend of the Chinese Grand Prix got under way late for MotoGP today, due to a technical problem for the medical helicopter, which had to be substituted for another, meaning that the first free practice didn’t get going until 12:30pm, and the second not until 4pm. However after the long and unexpected delay, the Camel Honda team began to find the right pace; with Alex Barros going fastest during the practice session which took place in the wet, only to be bettered in the final few seconds by Kenny Roberts’ Suzuki; and Troy Bayliss improving considerably as he set the fourth fastest time, also in the second free hour. The best times of the day were set during the first free however, on the dry track, with Alex and Troy having set the seventh and tenth fastest times consecutively. Sito Pons Camel Honda “This afternoon the track conditions were very strange, and even a little dangerous with the track half-wet half-dry. Nevertheless we still made the most of it to do some hard work and collect data, just in case the race takes place in the same kind of conditions. I am happy, because Alex and Troy have proved they have a good rhythm going here. Both the riders and the team are working really well.” Alex Barros Camel Honda 2’02.816 7th fastest “The Shanghai track is very technical and very slow, practically all the corners are first- or second-gear. There is a long straight where you reach maximum speeds, but then there are some really hard braking areas. It’s good for overtaking manoeuvres, because the braking zone is a lot bigger, and you have more chances to make passes. In the first practice when we worked in the dry, we had a few problems with the front end and with the set-up in general, which I’m sure can be improved. In the wet though, I was ready. I began the second session with wet tyres on and rode well, then I stuck in some intermediates, but needed to be a bit more prudent on them at first. At the end though I was able to go quicker with them. I hope that tomorrow it is dry, because we need to make improvements in those conditions.” Troy Bayliss Camel Honda 2’03.526 10th fastest “I think that everybody is impressed with this track, above all for the buildings which are more like a resort than a circuit. The track is good, even though the corners are generally quite slow. I would prefer there to be a few faster ones, but every track has its characteristics and I like this one. In the dry today things went quite well, but we can improve, whilst in the wet I felt good on board the bike.” More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki: Roberts Jr and Team SUZUKI MotoGP fastest in wet practice session Kenny Roberts Jr posted the quickest lap time at the end of a wet second practice session at the Chinese Grand Prix today. A frustrating day for the MotoGP paddock saw a two and a half hour delay due to a mechanical problem with the medical helicopter and then a heavy thunderstorm soak the track. Roberts Jr used all his Grand Prix experience to the full and decided to take to the drying circuit with a cut-slick Bridgestone front tyre and a slick rear. The ex-World Champion used this tyre choice to maximum effect and recorded the fastest time in the closing seconds of Free Practice Two. Team SUZUKI MotoGP racers Kenny Roberts Jr and John Hopkins were eighth and ninth fastest respectively during Free Practice One which was run in dry but humid conditions. Roberts Jr (2’03.270) quickly adapted to the futuristic Shanghai circuit and topped the leader board on two separate occasions during the first session. Roberts Jr will be racing in his 150th Grand Prix this weekend and was pleased with the first day of testing. He said: “This track is really different to anywhere else I’ve ever ridden at – but in a good way. It has a great atmosphere and the whole place is just awesome. “We had a good first session and spent time getting settings correct as we had no data to go on. The second session was wet so it was difficult to learn much from the bike settings – especially if the race is dry. “We’re still concentrating on making the bike more consistent for race distance in the dry. As far as being quickest in the second practice, that was down to my team and Suzuki having the right tyre at the end of the session. It shows we are trying hard, but that’s always the same irrespective of position. “We still have a long way to go but hopefully the bad luck I have suffered in the last couple of races will not re-surface.” John Hopkins (2’03.420) was also instantly on the pace aboard his Suzuki GSV-R prototype race bike. He was never out of the top 10 in the first session and used the conditions later on to test in readiness for Sunday’s race, which could possibly be wet. Hopkins commented: “The track is pretty cool and everything today was a learning process for me. I think I can go quite a bit quicker tomorrow if it stays dry, but we could have weather like we had this afternoon in the race so it was great to try all the different combinations. “As Kenny showed at the end, it was drying quickly and that was great of him to try those tyres, as it helps me if that situation happens again.” Team Manager Paul Denning was happy to see a Suzuki GSV-R on top of the time-sheets. He said: I was very pleased for Kenny and his crew and it was great to see our bike at the head of the leader board. “The day as a whole was very interesting for the Shanghai International Circuit, with the unfortunate delay for the helicopter and then the thunderstorm, but it was great to see our riders take on the challenge of such a demanding and different track – it is certainly unlike anywhere else on the MotoGP calendar. “Both guys used their riding abilities to the full today and in very differing conditions. To have both of them in the top 10 is a real positive to take away from the first day.” Team SUZUKI MotoGP will have another practice session on Saturday morning and then a timed qualifier in the afternoon before racing in the Taobao.com Grand Prix of China on Sunday at 15.00hrs (local time) 09.00 (CET), the third round of the MotoGP World Championship. More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse: DUCATI MARLBORO MEN DISCOVER AWESOME SHANGHAI Ducati Marlboro Team riders Carlos Checa and Loris Capirossi rode their first tentative laps of the awesome Shanghai circuit today, placing a promising fourth and sixth quickest in this morning’s dry session. Unfortunately, rainy, misty conditions spoiled this afternoon’s second session for the first-ever Chinese motorcycle Grand Prix. Today’s action at the brand-new circuit, which features the world’s most dramatic racetrack architecture and is situated an hour’s drive outside China’s biggest city, was delayed by a couple of hours because the circuit medical helicopter suffered technical problems. “It’s been a strange day, what with the delay and then the rain,” said Ducati MotoGP project manager Livio Suppo. “But the good thing is that Carlos quickly found a good set-up this morning, then Loris too. The only problem seems to be the weather, but the forecast isn’t too promising.” Checa and Capirossi went into today’s opening practice sessions invigorated by last night’s spectacular ‘Ducati comes to China’ launch party at the city’s uber-cool Three on the Bund fashion emporium, where models showed off the exciting range of Ducati clothing now available in the country. CHECA: ‘LIKE SACHSENRING WITH LONG STRAIGHTS’ Carlos Checa ended this morning’s dry session an impressive fourth fastest, just three tenths down on the fastest man. He was also on the pace in this afternoon’s rain-affected session, eventually finishing that outing in ninth. The Ducati Marlboro Team rider was mostly complimentary about MotoGP’s newest venue, which features the series’ longest straight, at 1.175km/0.73 miles. “The main straight is really long and really fast, so it’s difficult to find a braking point for the first-gear hairpin at the end, especially during your first few laps,” said the Spaniard. “It’s also quite hard to find the best line out of the fast corner onto that straight. Turn one is very, very long and ends off-camber, which isn’t easy, then you’re also at maximum angle for a long time through the next left, with no throttle. In a way this track is a bit like the Sachsenring, with a lot of long, slow turns at maximum angle with no throttle. But then, of course, there’s a couple of very fast straights! Now I just hope that the conditions stay consistent to Sunday, whatever the weather brings.” CAPIROSSI FAST IN THE DRY, SAFE IN THE WET Loris Capirossi was sixth fastest this morning, 0.378 seconds behind pace-setter Nicky Hayden, but chose to take things easier in this afternoon’s tricky wet session because the cracked ankle he sustained at the Spanish GP earlier this month still isn’t fully healed. “The conditions were part-wet, part-dry, which means you can’t make any progress with settings,” explained the Ducati Marlboro Team man, who reckons his left ankle is now 85 per cent healed. “Also, because I still don’t have full strength in that foot I was running wide onto the white lines, which are very slippery. Overall I like the track and it’s pretty grippy. Tomorrow will be very important, our set-up is already pretty good but I want to work some more on low-rpm performance in the slow corners.” More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Racing: Gauloises Yamaha Team riders Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards got their first true taste of the Shanghai International Circuit on a tentative first day of action at the inaugural Grand Prix of China today. With the riders using the first free practice session to learn the track layout in the morning, they were denied the opportunity to improve their set-up and lap times in the afternoon due to damp and muggy conditions. Both Rossi and Edwards took things carefully in the second session, with a spell of light rain, ambient temperatures reaching 31ºC and humidity levels of 76% all making grip levels very unpredictable. The pair set the sixth and eighth fastest times respectively this afternoon, with the constantly changing conditions making life difficult for their Gauloises Yamaha engineers. However the team still took the opportunity to collect a wide range of data, which may prove especially useful with variable weather forecast for the rest of the weekend. A dry line did begin to form at the end of the session but never enough to allow the riders to challenge Nicky Hayden (Honda) for the best time of the day. Hayden clocked a lap of 2’02.327 in the morning session, which was delayed by two and a half hours due to a technical problem with the circuit’s medical helicopter. It proved to be a complicated day for Fortuna Yamaha duo Toni Elias and Rubén Xaus; the former felt that the poor weather seriously hindered his ability to make the most of the new track, with it being such a technical circuit and this being the Rookie’s learning year. Meanwhile Xaus felt good in both the wet and the dry and was looking forward to day two. Valentino Rossi (Gauloises Yamaha Team) 5th, 2’02.677 “My first impressions of the circuit yesterday were very good but after riding on it today I must admit it wasn’t as much fun as I expected. It is actually quite tight and technical and is very much a Formula 1 track, so all the riders have a lot of hard work to do finding the right setting for the bikes here. It is not ideal for a MotoGP bike. Also the conditions in the afternoon were strange because the track was warm but it wouldn’t dry, so it was like half and half. It was a shame because the asphalt is good and there is plenty of grip in the dry. As far as the setting is concerned we are having some problems in the fast corners. We hope it is dry tomorrow because we have a bit of work to do and also some of my rivals are very fast in the wet. Personally I would really prefer it if it doesn’t rain on Sunday.” Colin Edwards (Gauloises Yamaha Team) 13th, 2’03.799 “I spent the morning just trying to find my braking markers and pick the best racing line, but when I got fired up and went for a fast lap I ran off the track, so my time wasn’t as good as it could have been. The conditions completely changed in the afternoon but it looks like we haven’t seen the last of the rain this weekend, so I guess it was a good chance for us to make some preparations for a wet race. This is an awesome place but the track is not what I expected. It doesn’t really link together and it’s kind of split up into four separate sections. This is probably as good a result as we could have expected at this stage of the weekend – there’s plenty more to come.” Davide Brivio, Gauloises Yamaha Team director “We know the conditions are the same for everybody but at the same time the weather today made our job a lot more difficult because it’s a new circuit and we’re just trying to find a basic set-up. Anyway, there is a good possibility it will rain on Sunday so this was a good chance for us to try some different conditions. Apart from the long back straight the circuit is tighter and slower than we expected. We made some changes to the setting of the bike and the gearbox, from the morning to the afternoon but it was impossible to compare the data because of the change in conditions. Hopefully they’ll be more consistent tomorrow.” Toni Elias (Fortuna Yamaha Team) 14th, 2’04.381 “In the morning we didn’t do too much work because first of all we needed to learn the track. It’s new for everybody, but a track as technical as this one is difficult to learn in just one session. You need more time, and the track to be dry of course. It rained in the afternoon, but the track was never completely dry or wet, making it hard to learn the lines. If it continues to rain tomorrow I hope it pours down so we can work with the full wet settings. I don’t dislike the track, there’s only one line around it and it’s complicated, but it’s very modern.” Ruben Xaus (Fortuna Yamaha Team) 16th, 2’05.490 “In the second free practice we had a few technical problems on one of the machines, and it coincided with the rain. Later we weren’t sure whether to put on slicks or cut slicks, and when I went out with the latter the feeling was pretty good. I even had a few riders following behind me. We are pushing hard and to be fair, with the track as wet as it was in certain places, it was best to be cautious. The track has lots of grip, but if you go too far you can easily fly off it, so it’s important to go sensibly. Generally I feel good. During the morning free we didn’t get the gearing quite right, but we still kept bringing our times down. It’s a shame that we couldn’t test what we wanted in the afternoon, but we’ll see what happens tomorrow.”