FIM MotoGP World Championship Shanghai, China May 12 Friday’s Best Combined Practice Times: 1. Valentino ROSSI (Yamaha) 2:09.393, Michelin 2. Loris CAPIROSSI (Ducati) 2:09.748, Bridgestone 3. John HOPKINS (Suzuki) 2:10.007, Bridgestone 4. Sete GIBERNAU (Ducati) 2:10.187, Bridgestone 5. Nicky HAYDEN (Honda) 2:10.247, Michelin 6. Marco MELANDRI (Honda) 2:10.411, Michelin 7. Dani PEDROSA (Honda) 2:10.815, Michelin 8. Casey STONER (Honda) 2:11.016, Michelin 9. Makoto TAMADA (Honda) 2:11.313, Michelin 10. Randy DE PUNIET (Kawasaki) 2:11.425, Bridgestone 11. Chris VERMEULEN (Suzuki) 2:11.438, Bridgestone 12. Kenny Lee ROBERTS (Roberts/Honda) 2:11.615, Michelin 13. Colin EDWARDS (Yamaha) 2:11.838, Michelin 14. Shinya NAKANO (Kawasaki) 2:12.496, Bridgestone 15. Toni ELIAS (Honda) 2:12.807, Michelin 16. Carlos CHECA (Yamaha) 2:14.914, Dunlop 17. James ELLISON (Yamaha) 2:15.880, Dunlop 18. Alex HOFMANN (Ducati) 2:15.897, Dunlop 19. Jose Luis CARDOSO (Ducati) 2:19.416, Dunlop More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki Racing Team: TOP TEN FOR DE PUNIET IN RAIN SOAKED SHANGHAI Kawasaki’s Randy de Puniet got another opportunity to display his wet weather prowess in Shanghai this afternoon, finishing the day tenth fastest as near constant rain meant that both of today’s hour-long free practice sessions were run in damp conditions. Making his first appearance at the Shanghai International circuit as a MotoGP rider, the 25-year-old Kawasaki ace quickly got to grips with learning the circuit in difficult conditions, to finish this morning’s free practice seventh fastest. Changes to the engine and chassis settings on de Puniet’s Ninja ZX-RR for the afternoon free practice session didn’t result in the improvements expected, but the Kawasaki pilot was quick to improve upon his lap times after switching back to a set-up he was more comfortable with. De Puniet’s Kawasaki teammate, Shinya Nakano, ended this afternoon’s free practice session 14th fastest, after losing confidence in the front end of his Ninja ZX-RR once a dry line had started to appear around the 5.281 km Shanghai International circuit. Although disappointed not to have placed higher on the timesheet, the 28-year-old Japanese star remains confident that changes to the set-up of his Ninja ZX-RR overnight will allow a significant improvement in his lap times tomorrow, regardless of whether conditions are wet or dry. Randy de Puniet: 10th – 2’11.425 “This afternoon we tried some changes to the chassis and engine set-up to see if we could improve upon the feeling in the wet conditions, but I think we went a little bit in the wrong direction. We switched back to a set-up closer to that of this morning and my feeling was good, so at the end I was able to improve with each lap and I’m happy with what we’ve achieved. Today wasn’t qualifying, and it is important that we use free practice to explore all the options with the set-up of the bike, which we did. Okay, so we came back to similar settings, but we now have a very clear direction for tomorrow if practice and qualifying is again wet. I also had some chattering at the three first gear corners, which makes the bike a little difficult to control, but I’m confident that we can find a solution for this also tomorrow.” Shinya Nakano: 14th – 2’12.496 “When the conditions were completely wet then I was okay, but as soon as a drying line started to appear I wasn’t so confident and I didn’t have a good feeling as to how hard I could push. The grip here is impressive in the wet, I had my knee down through every turn and the rear was gripping rather than spinning, but I just seemed to lack confidence in the front, especially under braking, which meant I wasn’t able to carry the speed through the faster corners. And the high-speed corners are critical to a good lap time here, so this is something we need to address tomorrow. The weather forecast is predicting a dry race on Sunday, so hopefully we will also have dry conditions for tomorrow’s practice and qualifying sessions.” Naoya Kaneko: Technical Manager “We still need to make some refinements to the wet set-up of the new bike. Already we are looking to improve the power delivery in wet conditions, making it more linear so that the bike is easier to control when grip levels are low. On the chassis side we have focused on finding a good balance, to reduce weight transfer when the rider comes off the throttle and onto the brakes, as excessive pitching makes the bike unstable on corner entry. But I’m confident that we can find a solution to both these problems with some more time spent refining our wet weather settings.” FREE PRACTICE – COMBINED TIMES 1. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Camel Yamaha Team 2’12.060§; 2. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati Marlboro Team +0.355; 3. John Hopkins (USA) Team Suzuki MotoGP +0.614; 4. Sete Gibernau (SPA) Ducati Marlboro Team +0.794; 5. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team +0.854; 6. Marco Melandri (ITA) Fortuna Honda +1.018; 7. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team +1.422; 8. Casey Stoner (AUS) LCR Honda +1.623; 9. Makoto Tamada (JPN) JIR Konica Minolta Honda +1.920; 10. Randy de Puniet (FRA) Kawasaki Racing Team +2.032; 14. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Kawasaki Racing Team +3.103 More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse: Chinese Grand Prix, Shanghai Practice, Friday May 12 2006 DUCATI MARLBORO MEN SHINE IN THE RAIN. Ducati Marlboro Team riders Loris Capirossi and Sete Gibernau shone brightly in miserable conditions during today’s rain-lashed opening practice sessions for Sunday’s Chinese motorcycle Grand Prix. Capirossi ended the day a close second, with Gibernau just behind in fourth spot after leading most of this afternoon’s outing. Both men focused on riding plenty of laps with their Bridgestone rain tyres, looking for the best wet-weather tyre in case the race is also run in the rain. But latest weather forecasts suggest that while tomorrow will be wet, race day is likely to be overcast but dry. If that forecast is correct, riders will only have Sunday’s 20-minute warm-up session in which to work on dry set-up and tyre choice. LORIS CAPIROSSI, 2nd fastest, 2m 09.748s “The visibility got worse at the end of this afternoon’s session, so during my final run I pulled over to the side of the track, cleared my visor, then pushed harder on my last lap and everything was okay. This morning we worked a lot on wet set-up, we made a lot of progress with engine-management settings and we tried Bridgestone’s three different rear rain tyres. All three are okay but I already prefer one over the others. We are good in the wet, thanks to all the work we’ve done on engine management, but in the dry, when the tyres are working well, we can be even better! “I’m happy with today’s results, it’s surprising how many riders are going very fast in these conditions. Tomorrow, I hope the weather will be the same as it will be on Sunday, wet or dry. But there’s not much point talking about what the weather will do, we’ll just see what happens and make the most of it.” SETE GIBERNAU, 4th fastest, 2m 10.187s “We’ve been doing a lot of wet-weather riding at the last couple of races. We are chipping away at things and the bike seems to be working okay here, the tyres too. During the morning and afternoon sessions I did a lot of laps on the same tyres because I wanted to put race distance on them and we managed to do that. This afternoon I did have some problems with helmet fogging, which is very rare, but I know Arai will get that fixed for tomorrow because they’re the best. “We will have to see what the weather brings, but if it stays wet for tomorrow and then dries out for Sunday, everyone will be gambling on bike settings and tyre choice. Plus, we don’t really know much about this track in the dry because it rained most of the time here last year. The surface seems grippy enough in the wet, but it doesn’t drain too well, so when it rains really hard you get a build up of surface water, then you don’t have so much grip.” More, from a press release issued by Dorna Communications: Rossi on top in Shanghai downpour Polini Grand Prix of China – Friday 12th May 2006 Valentino Rossi continued where he left off a year ago at the Shanghai Circuit today, as the first day of practice for the Polini Grand Prix of China got underway. Last year’s race winner in the wet, the reigning world champion was able to top the timesheets in both sessions under similar conditions to the first ever Chinese race in 2005. The Italian Yamaha rider’s time of 2’09.393 was enough to put him above Ducati’s Loris Capirossi by over three tenths of a second, whilst John Hopkins (Suzuki), Sete Gibernau (Ducati) and Nicky Hayden (Honda) completed the top five. The lap was over four seconds quicker than last year’s fastest lap of the race, although conditions were not quite as treacherous as back then. It had looked as though Hopkins would start from pole after a scorching lap just seconds before the flag. However first Capirossi and then Rossi, who looked extremely comfortable allowing his Yamaha M1 slide across the puddles, took top spot from him. The race winner from the last round in Istanbul, Marco Melandri, finished in sixth place more than a second off Rossi’s time, ahead of Dani Pedrosa, Casey Stoner, Makoto Tamada and Randy de Puniet. The rain, which had held off during the 125cc qualifying session, had begun to fall again during the opening minutes of the second MotoGP session, and continued to pour down for the rest of the day. 250CC Anthony West overcame all the complications created by the weather in 250cc to once again head the timesheets in Shanghai. The Kiefer BOS rider, a renowned wet weather specialist, was fastest in the morning session, and confirmed his position in the afternoon to take provisional pole. With a time of 2’16.726, West took top spot despite suffering a small crash, ahead of fellow faller Yuki Takahashi. Jorge Lorenzo came in third, with Sylvain Guintoli, Shuhei Aoyama and Andrea Dovizioso completing the top six. 125CC Mika Kallio earned provisional pole in Shanghai for Sunday’s 125cc race, with a time of 2’21.545 nearly two and a half seconds under the circuit record. The Finn overtook Alvaro Bautista on his final lap, with this morning’s fastest rider Lukas Pesek finishing third. The first qualifying session was undertaken without heavy rain but with a track soaked by earlier downpours. Luthi, Masbou and Chow suffered crashes, although none as nasty looking as Sergio Gadea’s early morning highside. 1st, Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) : “Today was much better. finally I was able to ride the bike at 100%, like I want to. we found some good things at our test on Monday in Istanbul and we’ve made some good modifications, and now I am very happy. Today was great fun, I had a good feeling with the bike in the wet, and I am confident that this setting we have can also work well in the dry. Now we see how the weather is tomorrow.” More, from a press release issued by Camel Yamaha Team: Grand Prix of China Shanghai International Circuit, China Friday 12th May 2006 ROSSI FLOATS BACK TO THE TOP AT WET SHANGHAI Camel Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi returned to the top of the MotoGP time sheets today as hard work during practice and testing following the last round at Istanbul began to bear fruit on the opening day of the Grand Prix of China. In soaking conditions caused by a steady downpour of fine rain throughout the day, Rossi repeated the form that saw him take a wet victory at the Shanghai circuit last season with the fastest times in both today’s free practice sessions. After setting the pace by just 0.002 seconds from Casey Stoner (Honda) in the morning, the Italian moved up a gear in the afternoon to improve his time by almost three seconds, holding off the challenge of Loris Capirossi (Ducati) by 0.355 seconds with an exemplary display of wet-weather riding. Meanwhile, his Camel Yamaha team-mate Colin Edwards also reported improved feeling with his YZR-M1 machine following positive progress during the Turkish test session, although the American was struggled to turn that into outright pace this afternoon. VALENTINO ROSSI (1st; 2’09.393, 36 laps) “In Turkey we were able to understand some of the problems we were having with the bike and we found some good solutions. The modifications we made using that data here this morning were really good and now I can ride the bike at 100%. Even though it was wet the grip levels were very good, I was able to get a lot of lean angle in the corners and it was really good fun to ride as I want to. I’m really happy because I was fastest in both free practices today and this is a good sign for the weekend. The bike is working well in the wet but I think the solutions we have found for the setting will also work in the dry. Hopefully we will get the chance to find out tomorrow because the worst scenario would be to have another day of wet practice and then a dry race on Sunday.” COLIN EDWARDS (13th; 2’11.838, 24 laps) “I’m reasonably happy with today. We did some good work on the setting of the bike but when we got it to where I wanted to push for a good time we had a minor setback with the tyre and I had to go for a different compound, which didn’t quite work out. The main thing is that I’m comfortable with the bike and I’m confident I can go much quicker tomorrow whether it’s wet or dry. We basically started out with the dry setting we found in Turkey and made small adaptations for the wet conditions here. We found a really good suspension solution at the end so now we just need to put the whole package together with the right tyres tomorrow and run with it.” DAVIDE BRIVIO CAMEL YAMAHA TEAM DIRECTOR “That was a very good session, especially after the problems we had in Istanbul. The engineers made some good steps with the setting and, thanks to their good work at the test in Turkey, Valentino was able to be fast again today. Watching him ride to the best of his ability is always very enjoyable and the situation here is clearly very different to what we found when it rained in Turkey. As far as Colin is concerned his lap time today does not reflect his true potential here. He has found a good setting and, although he couldn’t finish the session off as he would have liked, there is a lot more to come from him. We have started off well at other races this year and not ended up with the right result so we have to make sure this good work continues right through until Sunday afternoon.” Combined Free Practice Times: 1. VALENTINO ROSSI (ITA) Camel Yamaha Team, 2’09.393 2. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati Marlboro Team, 2’09.748 3. John Hopkins (USA) Team Suzuki MotoGP, 2’10.007 4. Sete Gibernau (SPA) Ducati Marlboro Team, 2’10.187 5. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team, 2’10.247 6. Marco Melandri (ITA) Fortuna Honda, 2’10.411 7. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team, 2’10.815 8. Casey Stoner (AUS) Honda LCR, 2’11.016 9. Makoto Tamada (JPN) Konica Minolta Honda, 2’11.313 10. Randy de Puniet (FRA) Kawasaki Racing Team, 2’11.425 13. COLIN EDWARDS (USA) Camel Yamaha Team, 2’11.838 More, from a press release issued by Team Fortuna Honda: RAIN HITS FIRST DAY OF QUALIFYING AT CHINESE GRAND PRIX The rain, which was present throughout the day, dominated the first day of qualifying at the 2006 Grand Prix of China. Just as forecasts had predicted the riders had to adapt to wet conditions as they got their first taste of the Shanghai International circuit. FORTUNA HONDA riders Marco Melandri and Toni Elias ended the day in sixth and fifteenth positions respectively. After his spectacular race in Turkey, which saw him claim a first victory of the season, the Italian rider managed 21 laps as he attempted to get to grips with the Chinese track designed by Herman Tilke. Team-mate Toni Elias, who completed the same number of laps, spent the day trying to make improvements to the set-up of his bike. Forecasts are predicting more rain tomorrow. MARCO MELANDRI (2’10″411, 6th, 21 laps): “Despite the conditions that we had to lap in, I feel very satisfied with my work. We had a good set-up to work from and that helped. Ten minutes before the end of the session we made a small change to the rear suspension which did not give us the results we had hoped for. But I am satisfied and think we have taken a step forward in these conditions. I think forecasts are saying it will be overcast for Sunday’s race, if that is the case we’ll have to work with Michelin and use the experience we gained last season. I am happy, we have a good base to work from.” TONI ELIAS (2’12″807, 15th, 21 laps): “It was quite a hard day – we worked hard to improve my feeling with the bike. We can still improve the rear end of the bike in these conditions. I am not happy, but know there is still another day of qualifying, and what’s more I rode a good race here in the wet last year.” OFFICIAL TIMES 1. V.Rossi (Ita/Yamaha) 2’09″393 2. L.Capirossi (Ita/Ducati) 2’09″748 3. J.Hopkins (Usa/Suzuki) 2’10″007 6. M.Melandri (Ita/Honda) 2’10.411 15. T.Elias (Sp/Honda) 2’12″807 More, from a press release issued by PRAMAC D’ANTIN: Grand Prix of China Shanghai Circuit, China (GMT+8) Friday 12 May 2006 Free practice DEBUT UNDER THE RAIN FOR PRAMAC D’ANTIN MOTOGP RIDERS IN CHINA A day characterized by the rain on the Chinese circuit, as it already had been predicted last week. Today, the two PRAMAC D’ANTIN MOTOGP riders discovered the circuit of Shanghai under the rain; ALEX HOFMANN obtained the 18th time and JOSE LUIS CARDOSO classified himself 19th, unfortunately victim of two crashed (without consequences) that didn’t allow him to make more than 23 laps during the whole day. For tomorrow, the Team is hoping dry conditions. There will be another session of free practice in the morning, before the single qualifying session reserved to the MotoGP class riders, at 2 p.m. (GMT+8). ALEX HOFMANN #66 (18th – 2’15.897): “We’re making the maximum, the Team is really working at 100%. Today, under the rain, we had some difficulties in the exit of the corners, when you open the throttle: I need more adherence. For tomorrow, let’s hope the weather will be good, to get the opportunity to ride on a dry track and try some new slick tyre. About the track, I can say I like it, it’s fast though it has all slow corners. On the dry, my sensations would surely change and I really hope to get to know it tomorrow”. JOSE LUIS CARDOSO #30 (19th – 2’19.416): “Unfortunately, today I only made 23 laps and had no opportunity to make lots of km. I crashed twice at the end of the long straight, losing the front with the motorcycle still upright and, tomorrow, if it will go on raining, we will need to work a lot to find more grip and allow me to get more confidence on the front. The situation would surely be better if the track would be dry. We will see it tomorrow, anyway I can say I like this circuit, it’s quite slow but it’s nice”. EMANUELE MARTINELLI – Track Engineer of Alex Hofmann: “Today, on the wet, things didn’t go very well, Hofmann needs more adherence on the rear in the exit of the corners, to be able to use the full power our DUCATI has got in acceleration. In conclusion, if it will go on raining, we will concentrate ourselves on finding more grip; and if it will be dry, we will have the occasion to try a new tyre of our official supplier, DUNLOP, and this would be great to get the chance to go on with the work we did in Turkey”. 1. Valentino Rossi 2’09.393 2. Loris Capirossi 2’09.748 3. John Hopkins 2’10.007 4. Sete Gibernau 2’10.187 5. Nicky Hayden 2’10.247 18. Alex Hofmann 2’15.897 19. Jose Luis Cardoso 2’19.416