FIM MotoGP World Championship Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca July 21 Free Practice One Results: 1. Kenny Lee Roberts (Honda KR211V) 1:23.951, Michelin 2. Colin Edwards (Yamaha YZR-M1), 1:24.310, Michelin 3. Casey Stoner (Honda RC211V), 1:24.360, Michelin 4. John Hopkins (Suzuki GSV-R), 1:24.608, Bridgestone 5. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha YZR-M1), 1:24.674, Michelin 6. Marco Melandri (Honda RC211V), 1:24.698, Michelin 7. Chris Vermeulen (Suzuki GSV-R), 1:24.739, Bridgestone 8. Nicky Hayden (Honda RC211V), 1:24.943, Michelin 9. Carlos Checa (Yamaha YZR-M1), 1:25.100, Dunlop 10. Sete Gibernau (Ducati GP06), 1:25.150, Bridgestone 11. Dani Pedrosa (Honda RC211V), 1:25.311, Michelin 12. Loris Capirossi (Ducati GP06), 1:25.614, Bridgestone 13. Shinya Nakano (Kawasaki ZX-RR), 1:25.659, Bridgestone 14. Alex Hofmann (Ducati GP05), 1:25.977, Dunlop 15. Toni Elias (Honda RC211V), 1:26.599, Michelin 16. Makoto Tamada (Honda RC211V), 1:26.658, Michelin 17. Randy De Puniet (Kawasaki ZX-RR), 1:26.913, Bridgestone 18. James Ellison (Yamaha YZR-M1), 1:26.984, Dunlop 19. Jose Luis Cardoso (Ducati GP05), 1:27.531, Dunlop More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse: DUCATI MEN GET TO KNOW THE NEW LAGUNA Ducati Team riders Sete Gibernau and Loris Capirossi made their acquaintance with the revised and resurfaced Laguna Seca circuit this morning, completing the first session tenth and 12th fastest. SETE GIBERNAU, tenth fastest, 1m 25.150s “The track is much safer now, that’s the good point. The new surface is slippery, though new surfaces are always slippery so I’m sure it will get better over the weekend. It’s also really bumpy, I thought it would be smoother than before but it’s not. It’s especially bad coming out of the Corkscrew, but it’s like that for everyone. Our bike doesn’t like bumps too much, so we’ll get our heads down and see what we can do. The shoulder isn’t much different from last week, pain isn’t a problem but the strength isn’t there. I’ve just got to deal with that because I really want to ride hard and push as hard as I can, that’s my goal. Over the past few days we have iced it and massaged it to bring down the swelling, though there’s not much you can do in such a short time because you’ll end up stressing the shoulder.” LORIS CAPIROSSI, 12th fastest, 1m 25.614s “From a safety point of view the track is much better, especially at the first turn and at the Corkscrew, where the bike is much less in crisis than before. We can’t say the same about the surface, which seems even bumpier than before and also not very grippy. It seems like they have laid down some kind of resin in some places, not on the straights but at some corners. The surface at the Corkscrew looks like glass, which doesn’t give you confidence. We had some difficulties with our front tyres but we have others here which we think will be better and we will test them this afternoon. This is a very strange track, it’s pretty easy to improve your lap times here. Anyway, after lunch we’ll continue our work.” More, from a press release issued by Fortuna Honda: FORTUNA HONDA RIDERS ADAPT TO TRICKY AMERICAN TRACK FORTUNA HONDA riders Marco Melandri and Toni Elías completed the first free practice session for the USGP at the Laguna Seca circuit this morning in perfect weather, using it to simply adapt to the modified track. Marco, who finished second in the last round at Sachsenring, has arrived in confident mood and spent the session finding a good feeling for the track whilst his team-mate Toni Elias took things steadily as he continues his recovery from injury. Alongside his new crew chief Fabrizio Cechinni for only the second Grand Prix the Spaniard worked out the points he needs to spend time on with the Honda RC211V machine in the afternoon. MARCO MELANDRI (6th, 1’24″698, 29 laps): “I am satisfied with the first session. I got a good feeling and I’m optimistic about the weekend ahead because I think we have started off on the right foot. I like this track a lot and I think they’ve done a great job with respect to improving the security.” TONI ELIAS (15th, 1’26″699, 26 laps): “I like Laguna Seca a lot it’s a legendary place. My physical condition hasn’t improved a lot and this circuit layout is hard on my left shoulder. The session was just a first point of contact with the track alter only previously riding here last season and I used it to find my reference points.”