FIM MotoGP World Championship Brno, Czech Republic August 15, 2008 Free Practice One & Two Combined Results: 1. Casey STONER (Ducati), Bridgestone, 1:57.231 2. Valentino ROSSI (Yamaha), Bridgestone, 1:57.410 3. Loris CAPIROSSI (Suzuki), Bridgestone, 1:58.000 4. Shinya NAKANO (Honda), Bridgestone, 1:58.228 5. Alex DE ANGELIS (Honda), Bridgestone, 1:58.264 6. Chris VERMEULEN (Suzuki), Bridgestone, 1:58.462 7. Colin EDWARDS (Yamaha), Michelin, 1:58.672 8. John HOPKINS (Kawasaki), Bridgestone, 1:58.830 9. Toni ELIAS (Ducati), Bridgestone, 1:58.881 10. Sylvain GUINTOLI (Ducati), Bridgestone, 1:58.923 11. Jorge LORENZO (Yamaha), Michelin, 1:58.977 12. Andrea DOVIZIOSO (Honda), Michelin, 1:59.094 13. James TOSELAND (Yamaha), Michelin, 1:59.328 14. Randy DE PUNIET (Honda), Michelin, 1:59.405 15. Marco MELANDRI (Ducati), Bridgestone, 1:59.943 16. Dani PEDROSA (Honda), Michelin, 2:00.540 17. Anthony WEST (Kawasaki), Bridgestone, 2:00.621 More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda: DIFFICULT DAY FOR REPSOL HONDA’S PEDROSA Repsol Czech Grand Prix, Brno First day of practice, Friday August 15 2008 The Repsol Honda Team had a tough first day of practice at Brno today, its sole rider Dani Pedrosa completing the first two sessions in 16th position. Pedrosa is still struggling with the broken left wrist and index finger he suffered when he crashed out of the lead of the German GP on July 13. He is also having some issues with tyre choice. Repsol Honda team-mate Nicky Hayden is absent from Brno due to an injury suffered during practice for the X Games Supermoto event in Los Angeles on August 1. The American cracked a bone in his right heel when he landed badly from a jump. He is due to return to action at the San Marino GP on August 29/30/31. Conditions at Brno today were warm and overcast, with heavy rain falling shortly after this afternoon’s session. Further rain is forecast for tomorrow, though race day is expected to be dry. Dani Pedrosa, 16th fastest, 2m 00.540s “Both of today’s sessions were quite difficult for us. My left wrist and index finger are still hurting when I ride the bike, and the tyres are not helping the situation. The asphalt is new, but it’s the same situation for everyone. We have tried several different solutions today and so far we still haven’t found the right tyres for the race. We will keep working tomorrow, looking for the best tyres and working on the machine. We hope we can get some more dry track time and then we will see for Sunday.” Kazuhiko Yamano – Team Manager “Dani is still feeling pain from his left hand injury. But he can ride and we believe that the situation will get better. We are having some difficulties with tyre choice, Dani is lacking contact feeling here, especially from the front tyre. His crew have made some small adjustments today, mainly to the suspension. We hope he will be in better shape tomorrow.” More, from a press release issued by Fiat Yamaha: ROSSI STRAIGHT BACK ON THE PACE WITH STRONG SECOND IN BRNO The MotoGP paddock returned to action at Brno in the Czech Republic today, the first in a final run of seven races across four continents. Fresh from a well-deserved holiday following his stunning Laguna Seca victory, Rossi finished the day a close second behind Casey Stoner. With the newly surfaced track adding an unknown factor to the day’s proceedings, the Italian was pleased to find his Yamaha-Bridgestone package working well from the start this morning and he finished the morning session first. With rain a possibility tomorrow the team were keen to get through as much of their tyre programme as possible today and so Rossi tried several different combinations this afternoon, which saw him improve his pace by half a second. He finished the day 0.179 seconds off Casey Stoner. Jorge Lorenzo had a more difficult time on his return from injury and was only able to manage 11th in the combined standings. Valentino Rossi Position: 2nd Time: 1’57.410 Laps: 44 “I’ve had a good holiday but it’s fun to be back on the bike again! Today has started very well and I am very happy with my bike and with our tyres, it seems the Bridgestones are working very well here so far. The new asphalt is good, much better than last year and the grip improved throughout the day so I think that they have done a good job. Casey is strong again here so it looks like being a hard race, but we have made a good start. Tomorrow it seems it could rain, which is a pity, but we have found a good setting today so hopefully, even if it is wet, then we will be in good shape on Sunday. We have some small engine modifications here to try but mostly we will wait until Monday to try the new parts, when we will have an important test.” Davide Brivio Team Manager “It’s good to be back in action; we’ve made a good start and been fast all day. We’ve tried quite a few different things and some different tyres with the aim of collecting as much information as possible, in case it rains tomorrow. Of course we hope it doesn’t but there is a chance it will be wet and so we wanted to make as much of today as we could so that we are prepared. It’s been a positive day and we hope that we can continue like this.” More, from another press release issued by Fiat Yamaha: LORENZO STRUGGLES FOR GRIP AT BRNO Jorge Lorenzo made a tentative return to action at Brno today, having spent the summer break recuperating from the three broken metatarsal bones he sustained during a crash at Laguna Seca. The Fiat Yamaha Team rider is now walking without crutches and was able to ride without pain today, confident that he is back to 90% fitness on the bike. It was not an easy first day back however as the Spaniard struggled with front-end grip and was only able to put in the 11th fastest round. The team will now work hard, together with Michelin, to find a way to improve the situation for tomorrow. Meanwhile Valentino Rossi had a more successful opening day back at work, finishing the day second fastest behind Casey Stoner in the combined standings. Jorge Lorenzo Position: 11th Time: 1’58.977 Laps: 45 “I am feeling very good physically, and I only feel pain when I walk to the bike in the garage once I’m on it I am fine. I am feeling confident but I need half a second more in order to be at the front. The main problem is in the front tyre; I am worried because the first Michelin is in seventh and this isn’t great, it is clear that we all need to work together to improve this. We are working very closely together with Michelin and Yamaha and we are trying to find a better way for us here this weekend. It is very difficult at the moment to fight for the podium in the dry, and in the wet we don’t know yet. My main aim this weekend is to finish in the top seven. The new asphalt is better than last year so this is a good thing. One more thing I want to say one of my mechanics, Juanito, has just become a grandfather and so I want to say congratulations to him!” Daniele Romagnoli Team Manager “We are quite lucky that Jorge’s physical condition is good better than we expected and in fact it’s the least of our problems today! Our biggest issue is the confidence in the front end; we don’t have enough grip and Jorge can’t go into the turns fast enough. Furthermore, the bike is understeering at full lean and therefore we’re losing a lot of time in the corners. From the morning session we were able to improve our package, but it wasn’t enough to enable us to fight at the top. Tonight we will work closely with Michelin to analyse data in order to help each other to improve our front grip problem.” More, from a press release issued by Dorna Communications: A back-and-forth battle between the top two MotoGP riders of the moment continued in Brno on Friday, as Valentino Rossi and Casey Stoner took turns in leading the way in the first free practice sessions for the Cardion ab Grand Prix Ceske republiky. Having been usurped in the closing stages of the morning run by his Italian rival, it was Stoner who ended the day as the premier class´ leading man, recording a fastest lap of 1´57.231 and edging out Rossi by 0.179. The winner and poleman of the 2007 Czech race has been the dominant force in practice and qualifying runs since late June, and proved that he hadn´t missed a beat over the summer break. He ran off track shortly after clocking his quickest time of the day, but otherwise had little problem in navigating the Brno track onboard his Ducati Desmosedici GP8. He was, however, suffering from a fever. This was made obvious by the image of a spent Stoner slumping into his hands during the afternoon session. This has not put him off in the past; his first MotoGP pole position at Qatar in 2006 was taken under similar circumstances. Catching up with his countryman and his former teammate at the termination of the session, 2006 racewinner Loris Capirossi had his first experience of the circuit onboard Rizla Suzuki machinery. The Italian veteran was half a second down on second placed Rossi on the combined timesheet. Entrusted with a factory spec Honda RC212V from this weekend until the end of the season, San Carlo Honda Gresini´s Shinya Nakano edged out his teammate on the standard bike, Alex de Angelis, in the final moments of the session. The satellite team duo were separated by just 0.036, although Nakano had been very happy with the handling of his new machine. Chris Vermeulen completed an all-Bridgestone top six, with the only Michelin rider featuring in the top ten on day one being Tech 3 Yamaha´s seventh-placed Colin Edwards. The two MotoGP tyre manufacturers had both tested briefly at the newly resurfaced track, but had adopted different strategies for the weekend as they shipped in their compounds. After Bridgestone dominated at Laguna Seca, their French rivals will be hoping to avoid a whitewash this time around. Last year´s runner-up at Brno, John Hopkins, was eighth despite a pair of crashes on his return to action from a leg fracture, whilst Toni Elias and Sylvain Guintoli rounded off the fastest ten riders of the day onboard their satellite Ducati bikes. There were crashes in the session for De Angelis, LCR Honda´s Randy de Puniet and second Tech 3 Yamaha rider James Toseland, without consequences, whilst bigger difficulties came for Repsol Honda´s Dani Pedrosa. Third in the World Championship standings, the Spaniard was once again feeling the after-effects of his Sachsenring crash and hand injuries, finishing sixteenth on the opening timed runs at Brno. 250cc The dark clouds looming over the Brno circuit let loose with a torrent of rain before the first 250cc qualifying session in the Czech Republic, meaning that the quarter-litre category riders were treated to a wet run at the recently resurfaced track. Still looking for a first victory in the 2008 season, Hector Barbera took provisional pole with a 2´16.210 lap onboard his Team Toth Aprilia machine. The Spaniard mimicked Friday´s MotoGP frontrunner Casey Stoner in setting his fastest time before running off-track when pushing for further improvement, and took his RSA into the gravel in the final moments of the session. Nearly seven-tenths of a second down on Barbera´s time, Red Bull KTM´s Mika Kallio pencilled his name on the front row. The Finn was the only rider to go round within a second of the provisional pole marker, with World Championship leader Marco Simoncelli a further four-tenths down in third at the track where he first tested the Metis Gilera RSA. Alex Debon took fourth place to round off the front row, whilst Kallio´s teammate Hiroshi Aoyama headed a second line some way off matching the top quartet. Polaris World´s Mattia Pasini joined Aoyama, with Eugene Laverty impressing for seventh on the temporary grid. Julian Simon bounced back from a run-off to clock the eighth fastest time. Lukas Pesek was the highest placing home rider, in ninth and ahead of late crasher Alvaro Bautista. 125cc Gabor Talmacsi took provisional pole for the 125cc Cardion ab Grand Prix Ceske republiky in a session hit by light rainfall. The Brno track was dry for around half of the qualifying run a dry opening ten minutes followed by rainfall and a final dry series of laps. Fastest before the rain came down, Talmacsi later improved upon his time for a 2´09.870 lap in front of his huge travelling support, filtering in from nearby Hungary. The 125cc World Champion is aiming for his second pole of the season, following on from his duck-breaking top spot in Germany at the last round before the summer break. Talmacsi´s final lap was over seven-tenths of a second faster than that of Nico Terol, the closest rider to his marker. Jack&Jones WRB man Terol´s gap between himself and Iannone was somewhat smaller, at just 0.001. Bradley Smith completes the provisional front row in the lower cylinder class, onboard his Polaris World Aprilia. Row two is headed by series leader Mike di Meglio, joined by Sandro Cortese, Pol Espargaro and Simone Corsi. The session passed without incident, despite the trickiness posed by intermediate conditions. More, from a press release issued by LCR Honda: De Puniet working hard to resolve front-end issues Brno, 15 August 2008: It was a difficult start to the weekend in the Czech Republic for LCR Honda MotoGP Team and their rider Randy De Puniet. Dark clouds hung over the circuit all day, but conditions remained dry for the MotoGP class as De Puniet eventually finished in fourteenth position overall after the two free practice sessions. With the track surface having been relaid in the off-season, the teams are having to work hard to set the machine up to the new character of the asphalt, especially as regards the bike’s front-end settings. The Frenchman improved his time from the morning session significantly, knocking over a second off his lap time to end up with a best lap of 1’59.405, set on his 11th lap in the afternoon. However two strange crashes in that afternoon session put an end to his work on the track for the day just after having set his best time. Casey Stoner (Ducati) was the fastest rider of the day with a 1’57.231. De Puniet 14th: “It has been a very difficult start because straight from the off this morning we were struggling for front-end feel. In the first session I destroyed the front tyre and was not able to lap as I would like. Then in the afternoon I tried to change my riding style and the bike set-up, but crashed after just 4 laps – it was a very strange crash! After that I jumped onto the second bike two but crashed again after a few laps. I lost a lot of track time and made only 11 laps in total. The overall package is good but the main problem is the front feeling. We tried to fix it but nothing worked properly. It has been a tough first day of practices but I know that the crew is working hard to solve the problem for tomorrow’s sessions”. More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki Racing Team: TOP TEN RETURN FOR HOPKINS FOLLOWING KAWASAKI IMPROVEMENTS John Hopkins showed today that an enforced seven week lay-off through injury hasn’t blunted his skills, as he made his racing return aboard an evolution version of Kawasaki’s Ninja ZX-RR MotoGP racer during today’s opening practice sessions at Brno. Despite a fall in each of the one-hour sessions, Hopkins felt confident that the revised specification engine and chassis components added to his Ninja ZX-RR for this weekend have made a vast improvement. The 25-year-old Kawasaki pilot finished the day eighth overall at the 5.403km Brno circuit, after posting his fastest time on his last lap. Hopkins will work with his crew overnight to find an improved setting for a better front-end feeling from his Kawasaki, as it was this lack of feedback that caused the Anglo-American to crash in both sessions. Hopkins is feeling confident ahead of tomorrow’s qualifying and is looking forward to capitalising on the upgrades that the Kawasaki engineers have made to his machine during the summer break. Teammate Anthony West was disappointed not to have made more of an impression as he suffered with turning and stability issues during both sessions today. The 27-year-old Australian was struggling to change direction smoothly and also complained of a lack of feedback from his Ninja ZX-RR. West’s crew will look to find a solution to give the Kawasaki pilot, who finished the day 17th overall, more confidence in his machine and improve the turning performance to alleviate the problems he has faced today. The weather could play a big part in tomorrow’s proceedings as rain is forecast at the Czech circuit, which could mean tomorrow’s final free practice and qualifying sessions are held in wet conditions. John Hopkins #21 – 8th – 1’58.830 “It’s a shame we had two minor falls today; I just lost the front while finding the limit, but it was nothing major. The new engine parts have made a huge difference as the bike has more horsepower and improved power management. The chassis upgrade has helped us to turn better, especially into the corners, but we need to work on getting a little more feedback from the front-end. My knee is quite sore, especially when I have to put a lot of weight on it to change direction, but it’s holding out well and I’m looking forward to getting back out there tomorrow to continue with what we’ve learnt today.” Anthony West #13 – 17th – 2’00.621 “This is not exactly how I’d hoped to make a return following our recent summer break. The bike has plenty of grip, which is where we’ve suffered in the past, but I just can’t get it to turn. Unfortunately this lack of stability means there is very little feedback from the machine when cornering and I don’t have much confidence, which is reflected in our lap time. We’ve identified the areas where the problems are more significant and hopefully overnight we can find a solution to this. I think the weather will have a big part to play tomorrow, I just have to stay positive and hope we can turn it around in qualifying.” Naoya Kaneko Kawasaki Technical Manager “Today we introduced some new specification engine parts and chassis components. Unfortunately John crashed in both sessions, so we need to improve the stability and feeling of his machine to enable him to push more. The overall review from practice is that these upgrades have made a big improvement; we just need to refine some areas further. Anthony has been struggling throughout the sessions with a lack of stability in the turns. We will look to find a solution to this, but it means he will have some catching up to do in tomorrow’s sessions. The weather is quite unpredictable at this stage and I also think this could affect everyone’s performance in qualifying.” More, from a press release issued by Rizla Suzuki: Rizla Suzuki MotoGP began the first day back after the mid-season break in fine form at Brno in the Czech Republic today, with both riders in the top-six. Loris Capirossi led the way for the boys in blue as he clocked a time of 1’58.000 from his 46 laps to give him third place on the timesheets at the end of day one. Capirossi is still nursing the injury he sustained in Assen in June, but he appeared untroubled by the wound as he consistently improved his times around the newly re-surfaced 5,403m Brno circuit. Chris Vermeulen continued with his good run of form – which has seen him take two podiums in the last two races at the Czech track today. He was constantly in touch with the leaders in both sessions before finishing in sixth place with a time of 1’58.462 from his 46 laps, just over a second behind today’s fastest time set by current World Champion Casey Stoner on his Bridgestone shod Ducati. The new surface at Brno looked likely to be a severe test for the Bridgestone tyres as little data about performance was available before this weekend, but the Japanese tyres certainly got to grips with the recently laid asphalt, as the top-eight bikes were on Bridgestones. Today’s practice was held in warm but overcast conditions with the ground temperatures reaching the mid 30ºC mark, but that could all change when Capirossi and Vermeulen take to the track for tomorrow’s final practice session in the morning and the qualifying in the afternoon, with rain forecast over the weekend. Sunday’s race is round 12 of the MotoGP season and the race gets underway at 14.00hrs local time (12.00hrs GMT). Loris Capirossi: ‘I am really happy with today’s performance because after the first couple of laps this morning I was a bit worried, because we just hadn’t got the setting right. I think that was mostly down to the new surface and it was a bit dirty and made it very difficult to control the bike. I came into the box and we made some changes to the bike and by the end of this morning’s session the feeling was good. We made a lot more changes this afternoon and with the new setting I felt really good on the bike. My lap-time is not too bad, but I think we can improve on that, we have the power and I need to work on my rhythm a bit. One of the best things today is that I am nearly at 100% after the injury, my condition is great and this weekend I want to give the team something good because after recent races they really need it!” Chris Vermeulen: “I really enjoy it here and it was great to get back on the bike because the last week or so I’ve started to get itchy feet. The bike worked well straight out of the crate and we used the base setting that we have had success with at the last couple of races. We are working on a few modifications and doing some longer runs on the tyres to test the durability on the new surface. It seems to be going really well and we have a couple more things to work on tomorrow. I’m quite looking forward to the weekend and just hope the weather stays good.” Paul Denning Team Manager: “The first thing I have to say is that it’s great to have the original spec Loris back in the garage! His arm is still causing him some pain and it doesn’t look too good, but it is at a level now where it isn’t restricting his riding and he is able to concentrate on the bike and his own performance. Being in the top-three today is a great encouragement for the team and tremendous personal boost for Loris after all the pain of the recent Grands Prix. “Chris has also been on the pace all day, he’s been consistently quick and able to maintain a very good lap-time even on tyres that have done more than race distance. I think he’s still got a bit more left in him and his crew will be looking to make the job easier with a few detailed changes to the bike overnight. “Bridgestone has done a fabulous job to prepare tyres for this completely new surface. We expected some abrasion problems with the front, but this is now reasonably well under control and the rear tyre is working very well and very consistently. The front two guys as in Laguna are a bit ahead, but the rest of the field is very close and we will need to keep our focus to stay in the fight for the podium positions.” More, from a press release issued by Bridgestone: Bridgestone riders get to grips with resurfaced Brno on opening day Round 12: Czech Republic Free Practice Automotodrom Brno, Friday 15 August 2008 Bridgestone-shod GP riders had their first taste of the newly resurfaced Brno race track in today’s opening free practice sessions in preparation for Sunday’s 22-lap Czech Republic Grand Prix. Ducati’s Casey Stoner leads the proceedings at the end of the first day, having set a best lap time almost one second quicker than the existing record lap, set by Loris Capirossi aboard a Bridgestone-shod 990cc Ducati back in 2006. Fiat Yamaha rider and championship leader Valentino Rossi claimed the second best time, less than two-tenths off Stoner’s pace, with the lead duo enjoying a considerable margin over the rest of the field. Rizla Suzuki MotoGP made a promising start to the weekend with Loris Capirossi in third and Chris Vermeulen in sixth place, sandwiching San Carlo Honda Gresini riders Shinya Nakano and Alex De Angelis in fourth and fifth. Nine Bridgestone riders scored promising top ten results in today’s combined standings with Kawasaki’s John Hopkins making a welcome return from injury in eighth place, and the Alice Team pairing of Toni Elias and Sylvain Guintoli rounding out the top ten. Tyre Talk with Tohru Ubukata – Bridgestone Motorsport Manager, Motorcycle Race Tyre Development Were you surprised by the pace in today’s practice sessions? “Both Casey and Valentino have set very quick times today which are a big improvement over the existing record set by Loris and Ducati back in 2006. We could see from the two-day test that the tyre manufacturers had back in June that the lap times appeared quicker as a result of the resurfacing, because the track has become less bumpy, but nevertheless these lap times are very encouraging. All our six teams are well represented in the top ten but we must remember it is just the first day. The weather outlook for tomorrow does not look good but we hope for a dry morning practice so that we can look at the performance of our slick tyres over longer runs.” What effect is the new surface having on tyre performance? “The new surface has less grip than before and it is more severe on the front tyre. This is something that we have had to look into carefully to give riders the best feeling in the middle sectors of the lap where there is a lot of emphasis on the front. Based on the data that we obtained from the test riders in June, we have prepared tyres for this weekend’s race in an effort to cope with these new demands and the initial results from the GP riders today have been promising.” Bridgestone-shod Riders’ Combined Practice Session Results Pos. Rider Team Session 1 (pos) Session 2 (pos) Gap P1 Casey Stoner Ducati Corse 1m57.911s (P2) 1m57.231s (P1) Fastest P2 Valentino Rossi Fiat Yamaha Team 1m57.782s (P1) 1m57.410s (P2) +0.179s P3 Loris Capirossi Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1m59.770s (P8) 1m58.000s (P3) +0.769s P4 Shinya Nakano San Carlo Honda Gresini 1m59.021s (P3) 1m58.228s (P4) +0.997s P5 Alex de Angelis San Carlo Honda Gresini 1m59.134s (P4) 1m58.264s (P5) +1.033s P6 Chris Vermeulen Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1m59.400s (P6) 1m58.462s (P6) +1.231s P8 John Hopkins Kawasaki Racing Team 1m59.220s (P5) 1m58.830s (P8) +1.599s P9 Toni Elias Alice Team 1m59.756s (P7) 1m58.881s (P9) +1.650s P10 Sylvain Guintoli Alice Team 2m00.083s (P11) 1m58.923s (P10) +1.692s P15 Marco Melandri Ducati Corse 2m00.082s (P10) 1m59.943s (P15) +2.712s P17 Anthony West Kawasaki Racing Team 2m01.128s (P16) 2m00.621s (P17) +3.390s Weather: Session 1 / Dry Air 27°C, Track 35°C (Bridgestone measurement) More, from a press release issued by JiR Team Scot Honda: First day of free practice for Andrea Dovizioso at Brno The Grand Prix of the Czech Republic MotoGP kicked off this weekend under an ominous overcast sky which saw the JiR Team Scot work hard to develop the ideal package, trying out different tyre options on the newly resurfaced track. Andrea Dovizioso, in anticipation of tomorrow’s wet weather, has not been chasing the fastest lap today, but has focused on finding a better setup to be used in the event of a dry race on Sunday. Cirano Mularoni – Team Manager JiR Team Scot “Given that tomorrow is a day of rain, the work done today has given us important data we could exploit if the race were to be run in similar dry conditions. I believe, as we’ve seen before, the standings don’t necessarily reflect what can happen later in the race. So despite today’s final position, we’re confident there is room for improvement and the chance of a positive result. If tomorrow’s rain arrives as forecast, we must study the conditions of the new asphalt”. Andrea Dovizioso – Pilot JiR Team Scot MotoGP HONDA RC212V 12 ° time: 1’59 “094 “Today we tried different tyre solutions which has meant we’ve had a lot more work to do today because of the expected rain tomorrow. If on Sunday we were to run in dry conditions, we will have a better idea of the ideal setup. But today I did not find the feeling that I want on the front tyre especially through the long corner. This has inevitably slowed down the general development but tomorrow it is likely to rain and we will have to start from scratch again. The new asphalt offers better grip than last year but there are several bumps on a line that just should not have been rebuilt. The important thing however is to have had the opportunity to try out as many different new tyre compounds as possible”. Gianni Berti – Technical Coordinator JiR Team Scot “The first day of free practice was used to try out the new rubber supplied by Michelin. We know we have room for improvement in race conditions and we will get working on the technical development of the package. It was important to understand how we could make progress in dry conditions today as tomorrow we may have to face qualifying in the rain”. More, from a press release issued by Tech 3 Yamaha: Tough return for Tech 3 Yamaha in Brno After a well-deserved summer break, the Tech 3 Yamaha team had a tough return to MotoGP action today, with Colin Edwards and James Toseland seventh and 13th fastest respectively on the opening day of free practice in Brno. Under a layer of heavy cloud that greeted the paddock for the start of round 12 of the 2008 series, Edwards and Toseland got their first chance to evaluate the performance of an upgraded Yamaha YZR-M1 engine. The pair were also able to assess new tarmac at the Czech Republic venue in full dry conditions, with rain forecast for tomorrow. Edwards and Toseland both declared their delight with the engine upgrade, which features an increased rev ceiling and more horsepower, but other issues prevented them from taking full advantage of the improvements made available by Yamaha. Edwards ended the day fastest Michelin rider with a creditable time of 1.58.672, confident with further front-end improvements he can mount a challenge for the top six in Sunday’s 22-lap race. Toseland managed to force his way into the top ten with 13 minutes remaining, but had to settle for 13th after a small crash when he ran into the gravel at the downhill Kevin Schwantz corner. Colin Edwards 7th 1.58.672 37 laps “The new engine is awesome although it feels a little bit different than what I’ve been running. What I had was obviously developed to the maximum and it was real smooth and real linear with the power delivery. The new motor has a bit of a different feel but it is faster. It’s a little bit peaky but its not hurting us at all so thanks to Yamaha for rolling that over here to Tech 3. We got some electronics stuff too so that is helping calm things down. It’s just a little bit more aggressive on the throttle, which the way I’m having too ride this bike is actually good at the moment. With some of the small issues I have got with the front tyre, the only way I can ride is brake as hard as I can and almost back it in like a Supermoto. And as soon as I get full lean angle I just roll to maximum throttle opening because I can’t carry lots of momentum with 250 lines like I need to. I need to get the rear to come round to steer the bike. The rear tyre feels fantastic and I’m really happy with that. I did 15 laps on a rear without any problems and good and consistent grip, but the front tyre that I normally use and that I love, it is good but only for a short distance. I’ll sit down with my guys again tonight and talk things through with Michelin to see if we can improve again tomorrow.” James Toseland 13th 1.59.328 41 laps “It looks a little bit worse than it actually is because we have moved in a good direction with the set-up. And the new engine is fantastic, so a massive thanks to Yamaha for giving the team and me this level of support. It just feels stronger and you seem to be getting through the gearbox a lot more progressively. And it keeps on pulling once you get into fifth and sixth gear. You see the red gear change light flash up a bit quicker than usual and up the hill you can certainly feel the bike is still pulling and it is a big improvement. We have just got a lot of hard work to do with Michelin. Now the track is cleaning up a little we are getting more life out of the tyre and the grip level is not so bad. But we can still make it better and I am staying positive and trying to work as hard as I can with Michelin. When I ran off I just braked a bit too late down the hill. I thought I was going to be able to stay on it but it high-sided me in the gravel. It was only a small tip off but then the chain fell off so I had to put that back on. I cleaned it all off and I went quicker on the last two laps even with that. But with the front tyre we are just trying to find a combination between having out and out grip and the endurance. You can go as soft as you want to find some grip but you have also got to finish the 22-laps.” More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse: STONER SETS THE PACE ON DAY ONE, MELANDRI IN FIFTEENTH Casey Stoner set the fastest lap on the opening day of the Czech Republic Grand Prix despite suffering the effects of an illness, which has left him weak and unable to ride to the maximum of his ability. The Australian still managed to lap a second inside circuit record pace this afternoon under cloudy skies, which eventually gave way to heavy rain shortly after the end of the second MotoGP free practice. Marco Melandri made a promising start this morning but dropped down the time sheets this afternoon, despite improving his best lap time. The Italian’s target tomorrow is to improve his feeling with the bike, particularly with the rear end. CASEY STONER (Ducati Marlboro Team) 1st – 1’57.231 “Unfortunately I’ve not been feeling well for a few days and I felt very weak today – I even felt sapped of energy just putting my gloves on. I can deal with a bit of tiredness but this afternoon I could only ride a handful of laps before I started to feel cramps in my stomach. That doesn’t help my crew because I’ve not been able to put many consecutive laps together and this morning wasn’t too good for us, we struggled to find the right set-up for this new surface. To look at you’d think it would be smooth on the tyres but it’s actually quite aggressive, particularly on the front. This afternoon we went with a harder compound front tyre – similar to what we used at Laguna and Sachsenring, which is about the hardest we’ve got – and we had to work on the geometry to get the most effective load on the front tyre. The guys improved the bike every time I came in so it was frustrating not to be able to put it all together with a long run. We still have a lot of work to do so hopefully I’ll feel better tomorrow and the weather holds out for us.” MARCO MELANDRI (Ducati Marlboro Team) 15th – 1’59.943 “We started out well this morning and did some decent lap times but in the afternoon we didn’t manage to make progress with the set-up and as the other riders improved we lost more and more ground. The bike is moving around a lot, especially on the rear, so that’s an area we have to work on tomorrow – weather permitting. The new surface has improved the track overall although there are still a few bumps here and there.” More, from a press release issued by Alice Ducati Team: ALICE TEAM RIDERS IN THE FREE PRACTICE TOP TEN Good begin of the weekend for the Alice Team rides, Toni Elias and Sylvain Guintoli, who in Brno, in Czech Republic, have respectively finished in ninth and tenth position. The Spanish rider is in front of his teammate by only 42 thousands of a second. Both riders have maintained interesting lap times since the first laps and tomorrow, during qualifying which will begin at 1.55pm local time, will do their best to improve and obtained a good starting grid position. Fabiano Sterlacchini — Alice Team Technical Director “This has been for us a positive day. Bridgestone tyres are performing really well. We made it to constantly improve and this gives us good hopes for the rest of the weekend. Toni is trying to find a good feeling with the front part of the bike: if we make it to solve this problem he could improve his lap times by half of a second. Also Sylvain has registered interesting lap times. A pity that he lost the last six minutes due to a small technical problem while he was sensibly improving his best performance. Now we have to check what happened but it seems nothing to worry about.” Toni Elias — Alice Team rider (9th best lap time in 1:58.881 Total laps 41) “I feel good on the bike. I only have some small problems with the front part but I am sure that tomorrow, also thanks to the work of my Team, we will make it to find a good solution to be faster. To be in the top ten since the beginning is very important. The tires are working really well. We can really have a good racing weekend.” Sylvain Guintoli — Alice Team rider (10th best lap time in 1:58.923 Total laps 38) “This is surely a good start for us. Valentino and Casey are registering amazing lap times, but the other riders in front of us are not so far. It has been a strange start, we have encountered many small complications during the all day and probably without them I could have been in a much better position. I remain trustful to reach a good result tomorrow. The Team is working really well and I will try to do my best also for them.”