FIM MotoGP World Championship Catalunya, Spain June 12, 2009 Free Practice One Results: MotoGP (all on Bridgestone tires: 1. Valentino ROSSI (Yamaha), 1:43.038 2. Jorge LORENZO (Yamaha), 1:43.340 3. Casey STONER (Ducati), 1:43.636 4. Andrea DOVIZIOSO (Honda), 1:43.684 5. Randy DE PUNIET (Honda), 1:43.871 6. Nicky HAYDEN (Ducati), 1:44.152 7. Loris CAPIROSSI (Suzuki), 1:44.340 8. Colin EDWARDS (Yamaha), 1:44.419 9. Yuki TAKAHASHI (Honda), 1:44.484 10. James TOSELAND (Yamaha), 1:44.580 11. Marco MELANDRI (Kawasaki), 1:44.649 12. Sete GIBERNAU (Ducati), 1:44.678 13. Chris VERMEULEN (Suzuki), 1:44.744 14. Dani PEDROSA (Honda), 1:45.043 15. Toni ELIAS (Honda), 1:45.101 16. Alex DE ANGELIS (Honda), 1:45.126 17. Mika KALLIO (Ducati), 1:45.394 18. Niccolo CANEPA (Ducati), 1:45.454 19. Gabor TALMACSI (Honda), 1:47.654 250cc: 1. Alex DEBON (Aprilia), 1:47.291 2. Alvaro BAUTISTA (Aprilia), 1:47.329 3. Hiroshi AOYAMA (Honda), 1:47.422 4. Mattia PASINI (Aprilia), 1:47.454 5. Mike DI MEGLIO (Aprilia), 1:47.675 6. Thomas LUTHI (Aprilia), 1:48.153 7. Marco SIMONCELLI (Gilera), 1:48.160 8. Karel ABRAHAM (Aprilia), 1:48.191 9. Hector FAUBEL (Honda), 1:48.418 10. Ratthapark WILAIROT (Honda), 1:48.519 22. Stevie BONSEY (Aprilia), 1:53.168 125cc 1. Julian SIMON (Aprilia), 1:52.311 2. Sergio GADEA (Aprilia), 1:52.806 3. Nicolas TEROL (Aprilia), 1:53.098 4. Pol ESPARGARO (Derbi), 1:53.207 5. Lorenzo ZANETTI (Aprilia), 1:53.220 6. Sandro CORTESE (Derbi), 1:53.307 7. Marc MARQUEZ (KTM), 1:53.316 8. Scott REDDING (Aprilia), 1:53.374 9. Randy KRUMMENACHER (Aprilia), 1:53.565 10. Andrea IANNONE (Aprilia), 1:53.683 25. Cameron BEAUBIER (KTM), 1:55.798 More, from a press release issued by Bridgestone: Harder Bridgestones favoured in hottest track conditions of the season Round 6: Catalunya Free Practice Circuit de Catalunya, Friday 12 June 2009 Tyre compounds available: Front: Medium, Hard. Rear: Hard, Extra Hard (asymmetric) The asymmetric rear Bridgestone slick tyre performed well during the first test session in Catalunya which provided the hottest track temperature of the season, even higher than during the pre-season Sepang test in February. During the session almost all of the riders tested both compounds of front and rear Bridgestone slick, and those finishing at the top of the timesheets used the harder options (the hard front and extra hard rear). The top three, Fiat Yamaha’s Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo and Ducati Team’s Casey Stoner, all went faster on this combination. Both the hard and the extra hard compound asymmetric rear slicks comprise a soft compound left shoulder, specifically designed to provide optimum grip at a lower working temperature as the nature of the Spanish circuit uses the right side of the tyres much harder than the left. Following a request from Dorna, Bridgestone is supporting a nineteenth rider on the MotoGP grid for the Catalunya Grand Prix. Hungarian Gabor Talmacsi makes his MotoGP debut this weekend with the Scot Racing Team. Tohru Ubukata Bridgestone Motorsport Manager Motorcycle Race Tyre Development “Even with the hottest track temperature we have seen this season our tyres delivered good consistency and durability. Most riders started with the softer options (medium front and hard rear) and then ended the session on the hard compound front and the extra hard rear. The track was quite dirty at the start of the session and got cleaner throughout the hour so this helped improve the times towards the end. “We had no problems with grip through left – and right-hand corners and the riders had a consistent feeling throughout the lap so this shows that our asymmetric tyres are working well here. There are two very long right-handers at this circuit which use the rear tyres very hard and in these we see high tyre temperatures being generated, so this is the primary reason we need to use harder compound rear Bridgestone slicks this weekend.” Top ten from free practice (Friday 13:55 14:55 GMT+2) Pos Rider Team Practice Time Gap 1 Valentino Rossi Fiat Yamaha Team 1m43.038s 2 Jorge Lorenzo Fiat Yamaha Team 1m43.340s +0.302s 3 Casey Stoner Ducati Team 1m43.636s +0.598s 4 Andrea Dovizioso Repsol Honda Team 1m43.684s +0.646s 5 Randy de Puniet LCR Honda MotoGP 1m43.871s +0.833s 6 Nicky Hayden Ducati Team 1m44.152s +1.114s 7 Loris Capirossi Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1m44.340s +1.302s 8 Colin Edwards Monster Yamaha Tech3 1m44.419s +1.381s 9 Yuki Takahashi Scot Racing MotoGP 1m44.484s +1.446s 10 James Toseland Monster Yamaha Tech3 1m44.580s +1.542s Weather: Dry. Ambient 28-29°C; Track 50-55°C (Bridgestone measurement) More, from a press release issued by Rizla Suzuki: Rizla Suzuki’s first practice session for the Catalan Grand Prix at Montmelo near Barcelona today showed signs of better things to come, with both Loris Capirossi and Chris Vermeulen making significant progress. Capirossi was one of the busiest riders on track as he completed 27-laps of the 4,727m circuit. He tried two different geometry settings in his Suzuki GSV-R and also had a run with some of the new engine components that Suzuki has brought to this Grand Prix. His best time of 1’44.340 was good enough for seventh place on the leader board, with the experienced Italian convinced he can improve considerably over the weekend. Vermeulen (P13, 26 laps) used the same set of Bridgestone race tyres for the whole hour-long session and, as he and his crew made constant improvements to his bike, his times improved alongside. His quickest lap of 1’44.744 was recorded on tyres that had been used for a race distance and certainly gives Vermeulen and the team a clear direction for tomorrow and the rest of the weekend. Glorious sunshine greeted the riders at the Montmelo Circuit today as air temperatures rose to 35ºC and the clear air and low humidity helped track temperatures to get up to 50ºC. With much of the same forecast for the rest of the weekend, the huge crowds that are expected to pack the massive trackside grandstands will certainly be hoping that the action on track is just as hot. Today’s fastest time was set by Valentino Rossi with local hero Jorge Lorenzo second quickest. Rizla Suzuki has one free practice session tomorrow morning when Capirossi and Vermeulen will continue with their preparations for Saturday afternoon’s qualifying to decide grid positions for Sunday’s 25-lap race. Loris Capirossi: “It has been an interesting practice for us because we tried many different settings and found quite a lot of things out. At the end of the session I tried the engine with the new specification and it seemed to be a bit of an improvement on what we are using at the moment, but we have to check the data because it makes the bike perform a bit differently. Overall it has been a good session, but we still need to work a bit more on the set-up to get it perfect for here. The engine does seem to be an improvement and I want to thank Suzuki for all the hard work, because for us this is very important!” Chris Vermeulen: “It’s been good to get a full session in sunny and warm conditions. I went out with the hard front and the softer of the two rears – which I kept in for the whole session. I tried some different chassis set-ups between both of my bikes and we have certainly got a good direction. At the end – with more than race distance on the tyres – I did my fastest laps and moved up the order. The bike has felt reasonably good all day, but like I said we now have a direction to follow and we are sure that will help with both rear grip and durability of the tyres, because with such high temperatures that will be important this weekend. Hopefully we still have a long way to go and I am sure we will be making big steps tomorrow.” Paul Denning – Team Manager: “It’s nice to see the sun shining again after the last few Grands Prix, and the atmosphere here in Barcelona is already buzzing in anticipation. We are reasonably pleased with today’s performance and feel that there is still quite a lot to come from both the guys – for a variety of reasons. We managed to try the different specification engine today and in its first run it showed good promise and, if we use it, it could be helpful to the riders come race-day. The pace at the front is as hot as ever and we have a lot of work to do to get to that level, but I think we have a good platform to build on.” More, from a press release issued by Fiat Yamaha: ROSSI AND LORENZO ENJOY BRILLIANT OPENING DAY IN BARCELONA Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo dominated the opening session at Montmeló today, holding the top two spots between them for the entire 45-minute practice. It was eventually the Italian who topped the time sheets with his team-mate and local-hero just three tenths behind him, leaving the Fiat Yamaha duo looking in fine form for the weekend. Blazing sunshine made a change from the recent tricky weather conditions and with track temperatures getting as high as 49 degrees, it was a hard day for tyres and riders. The heat proved no problem for the Yamaha pair however as they went straight to the top of the time sheets and remained there throughout, swapping places between them a few times but never looking in danger of being bettered by any of their rivals. Rossi and his crew made a slight change to their base setting before they got started today and the fruits of their labours were immediately clear. Lorenzo, who is carrying a special FC Barcelona livery this weekend in honour of the Champions League-winning club, feels in similarly good shape but is hoping that a few further alterations tomorrow will close the small gap to his team-mate. Valentino Rossi Position: 1st Time: 1’43.038 Laps: 25 “We made some changes to our base setting here and already it feels much better to ride. This practice went very well for us, we were strong from start to finish and to be in first position feels good. We have found out some very interesting things, especially about my feeling with the bike, but we need to keep on working because there are still some parts that we want to make better for tomorrow. I am really happy to be able to ride the bike how I want to finally but there is still plenty more work to continue with to make sure we’re in the best possible shape for tomorrow afternoon and Sunday.” Jorge Lorenzo Position: 2nd Time: 1’43.320 Laps: 28 “I always have a few doubts coming to each new track but today everything felt really good, my bike and my Bridgestone tyres. I feel very comfortable and we can see that we have the potential to put on a really good performance here. We have a few things which we can improve so we will try to do that tomorrow but this is another good start for us. It’s very early to be making any conclusions about who will be fighting on Sunday though and for now we just have to stay focused. It feels great to be out in front of all my home fans here and I am really happy to have the FC Barcelona stickers on my bike!” Davide Brivio Team Manager “We started out today by trying some different things with our base setting and the balance and we had good feedback straight away which translated into a very strong session for us. It looks like we have found a better feeling for Valentino and this might help him to reach his potential. We were fast all through the session and now we have a good base setting to work from for this weekend. Now we just need to work on fine-tuning it tomorrow.” Daniele Romagnoli Team Manager “This is a very good start for us here at Jorge’s home Grand Prix. We already have a good base-setting but we have identified one or two areas in which we can improve further still, especially in the hard acceleration. We will work on that tomorrow and hopefully we can build on this great first day.” More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda: DOVIZIOSO LEADS THE WAY FOR REPSOL HONDA TEAM AT CATALUNYA The first practice session for this weekend’s Grand Prix of Catalunya took place today with the Repsol Honda Team beginning its meticulous machine set-up process at the Montmelo circuit near Barcelona. It was a positive day for Andrea Dovizioso, who finished the hour-long practice period in a competitive fourth place with a lap time of 1m 43.684s – just 0.646s back from today’s pace-setter, Valentino Rossi. This is a track that Dovizioso enjoys and the 23-year-old Italian is intent on making further improvements tomorrow. The day was less productive for local hero Dani Pedrosa who wasn’t able to ride at 100 per cent pace today as he nurses his problematic right hip. The 23-year-old Spaniard received a pain-killing injection prior to this afternoon’s session but remained in considerable discomfort from the unfortunate injury he picked up at the last round in Italy. Pedrosa won the race in Catalunya last year and, in spite of his injury, remains determined to pursue the best possible result here in front of his home fans in Sunday’s 25-lap race. Due to low grip conditions here today, all the riders’ lap times today were well off the pace of Pedrosa’s lap record. The Grand Prix of Catalunya continues with a further hour of practice tomorrow morning before the qualifying session at 13.55. ANDREA DOVIZIOSO 4th 1m 43.684s “Today’s result was pretty good and we are not too far from the front which is encouraging – though we still need to close the gap. This afternoon we worked on the set-up of the bike to improve the handling during corner entry and in the turn, which remains our main issue. We tried a different set-up solution on the second bike that worked well and I was able to improve the lap time and reduce the gap to the frontrunners. Fourth place today is a good start but we are still too far from the first three top riders, so we’ll continue to work on this tomorrow.” DANI PEDROSA 14th 1m 45.043s “It’s my home race and already the atmosphere and support is incredible, but of course this wasn’t one of the best days of riding for me. I had a pain-killing injection before I rode this afternoon but it’s still very uncomfortable on the bike and this means I wasn’t able to ride at my normal pace. MotoGP machines are very physical to ride – it’s not like a street bike – so it’s tough when you are not at full strength. It’s frustrating because this is one of my favourite circuits of the season and also one where I have had a lot of good results. However, we certainly aren’t going to give up. It’s a long season and although today didn’t go too well, we’ll come back tomorrow and see what we can do.” KAZUHIKO YAMANO – REPSOL HONDA TEAM MANAGER “It was a mixed day for us today. Andrea was able to make some good progress with the settings for his machine and his final lap time is quite competitive. He’s made a strong start to the weekend and has given himself a good platform on which to build. For Dani, the situation is more complex. Unfortunately he wasn’t able to ride to his maximum potential which is a shame because he is extremely strong at this circuit in normal circumstances. We’ll have to monitor his physical condition tomorrow and hope that he can move forward step by step.” More, from a press release issued by Dorna Communications: Valentino Rossi stamped his authority on the opening MotoGP practice session of the weekend with the fastest time of Friday afternoon at Barcelona, lapping the track used for the Gran Premi Cinzano de Catalunya in 1’43.038 on his Fiat Yamaha M1 in conditions in which ambient temperatures reached 35°C and the asphalt 50°C. Behind Rossi on the timesheet was his factory Yamaha colleague Jorge Lorenzo, who was 0.302s off the World Champion’s pace on a far better Friday than last year at his home track. In 2008 he crashed in practice and missed the race due to a concussion. Third on the timesheet was Mugello racewinner and 2007 Barcelona victor Casey Stoner, who went round just over half a second slower than Rossi on his Ducati Desmosedici, despite a small crash near the end of the session. Fourth on the timesheet just as he has been in the last two MotoGP races, Andrea Dovizioso put in a similar time to Stoner under the intense heat. Dovizioso’s injured Repsol Honda teammate Dani Pedrosa, however, was down in 14th place as he tested the condition of his injured hip. At one of his favourite tracks, Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda) was fifth fastest, whilst a big improvement by Ducati Marlboro’s Nicky Hayden saw him finish sixth quickest in one of his best sessions of the season so far around a second off the pace. Veteran riders Loris Capirossi (Rizla Suzuki) and Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) were seventh and eighth respectively. Yuki Takahashi was number nine on the timesheet, joined by new MotoGP recruit Gabor Talmacsi in the Scot Racing Team for the session and the remainder of the season in the surprise development of the season. 250cc In the 250cc practice Spaniard Alex Debón (Aeropuerto-Castello-Blusens) picked up the pace at his latest home round in the final outing of the day. He was on pole at the last Spanish visit, which took place in Jerez. As the 250cc men jostled for positions right at the end of the practice, Debón’s 1’47.291 time was enough to put him at the head of the timesheet by just a 0.038s margin, in front of compatriot Álvaro Bautista (Mapfre Aspar Team). Japan’s Hiroshi Aoyama (Scot Racing Team), Italy’s Mugello race-winner Mattia Pasini (Team Toth Aprilia) and Frenchman Mike di Meglio (Mapfre Aspar) the reigning 125cc World Champion were also in the top five. 125cc With sunny conditions expected all weekend in Barcelona the 125cc riders commenced the action earlier in the afternoon on an already hot track, with Bancaja Aspar’s Julián Simón showing no signs of wilting as he marked a 1’52.311 time, on the 15th of his 19 laps. It was an all-Spanish dominated top four in the session, courtesy of the efforts of Simón’s team-mate Sergio Gadea, Nico Terol (Jack & Jones Team) and local rider Pol Espargaró (Derbi Racing Team), who all lapped within a second of the paceman, whilst Italian Lorenzo Zanetti (Ongetta Team I.S.P.A.) also featured in the top quintet. Practice in Barcelona continues on Saturday, with qualifying to follow in the afternoon. More, from a press release issued by Monster Yamaha Tech 3: Promising start for Monster Yamaha Tech 3 in Catalunya Colin Edwards and James Toseland were in encouraging form today as preparations for Sunday’s Catalunya MotoGP race kicked off in scorching hot conditions at the Montmelo circuit. Edwards rode his Monster Yamaha Tech 3 YZR-M1 to the eighth best time, the American clocking a quickest lap of 1.44.419 to finish just over half-a-second away from a top five placing. The 35-year-old was as high as fourth place at one stage as he spent the session trying to iron out a small front-end issue he encountered as track temperatures peaked at 49 degrees. British rider Toseland provided further evidence that he is close to being back to brilliant best as he ran in the top five inside the final 20 minutes of a closely fought session, with just 1.7s splitting the top 12 riders. Quickly adapting to a new rear shock setting to help his Monster Yamaha Tech 3 machine cope with the notoriously bumpy Montmelo surface, Toseland ended the session with the 10th best time on his final lap. His best time of 1.44.580 was just over 0.4s away from a top six finish, with Toseland confident he can repeat the stunning top six finish he claimed in Catalunya in 2008. Colin Edwards 8th 1.44.419 24 laps “Today I didn’t feel very comfortable at all and I was having an issue with the front-end feeling. Nothing feels natural and being a front-end guy as much as I am, when the front is not quite right it causes me a problem and today I just couldn’t get a comfortable feeling. Keeping the front tyre loaded and generating corner speed is the biggest issue and I’m going to sit down with my guys tonight because we need to try and figure out a way to solve it with a better setting. We’ve always been able to quickly solve our issues this year so I’m confident we’ll come out fighting closer to the front tomorrow. Today though I hit a bit of a brick wall because I was making some changes to the bike that should have improved my feeling but the lap time wasn’t any better. I was having a problem getting the bike to turn and it just wasn’t comfortable for me to push. If I did push the bike would just run wide and that was costing me time.” James Toseland 10th 1.44.580 – 22 laps “On paper it doesn’t look spectacular but I’m really pleased with today because it was easily my best start to a weekend this season. I was seventh until the final minutes so that’s encouraging and at the end I was out on quite an old rear tyre, which was moving around quite a bit. With a new tyre I’m sure I could have got a bit further up, but I wanted to get some information on the hard tyre for the race. We tried a slightly different setting on the rear shock, softening the spring to try and help the bike cushion the bumps a little bit better here because the track is quite bump to be fair. At the beginning we’d gone a bit too soft and that was making the rear of the bike sit a bit too low and we had to make a couple of small changes, but my team did a great job as always because it improved the feeling. We found a bit more grip at the end and I did my best lap on a rear tyre that had already done 16 laps and I was nearly half-a-second quicker than my previous best time, so it shows we’re moving in the right direction. After today I feel quite confident for the weekend. It looks like we’ll get a good dry weekend and I had a good result here last year. So I’m pleased to have something to build on.” More, from a press release issued by Playboy LCR Honda: RANDY 5th FASTEST AT CATALUNYA GP OPENING DAY Barcelona, 12 June: The opening day of free practice for Sunday’s Catalunya Grand Prix was conducted in perfect summer weather today with ambience temperature of 34°C, with LCR Honda MotoGP racer Randy De Puniet in a sparkling form setting the 5th fastest time. Randy circulated the Spanish circuit 25 times throughout the 60-minute free session clocking his fastest lap time on 1’43.871 less than nine tenths off the quickest lap of the day. The Frenchman riding the Honda RC212V no. 14 worked with his crew to adjust his machinery in the dry setting consistent lap times on race set-up showing his potential around the 4.727 km Catalan track where he already experienced the victory in 250cc class with LCR Team. Today’s frontrunner Rossi set a 1’43.038 fastest lap time. De Puniet 5th- 1’43.871 De Puniet 5th: “I am very satisfied about the first run out. From the beginning I was up there making my life easier. I could concentrate on the bike set up trying different front rims sizes and the harder compounds from Bridgestone: it seems to be better for me. The engine is working well and lapped consistently fast throughout the whole session. We are behind the “aliens” and this makes us very pleased but I believe we could adjust the engine brake and the traction control to improve our pace for tomorrow’s sessions”. More, from a press release issued by Marlboro Ducati: STONER ON THE PACE AS HAYDEN TAKES HUGE STEP FORWARD Ducati Marlboro Team riders Casey Stoner and Nicky Hayden both enjoyed a positive first practice session at the Catalunya Grand Prix, with the American joining the Australian at the top end of the time sheets on an encouraging opening day: Stoner lapped third fastest, Hayden clocked the sixth fastest time. A small crash towards the end of the session did little to dent the confidence of Stoner, who reported improved corner speed and turning from his machine at a circuit where he celebrated victory on his way to becoming MotoGP World Champion in 2007. Hayden, the title-winner in 2006, has shown signs of a major breakthrough were evident from as early as the fourth lap, when he dipped into the 1’45s before improving to a low 1’44. CASEY STONER (Ducati Marlboro Team) 3rd (1’43.636) “We didn’t have such a good feeling in the beginning. We’re trying a few different things on one of the bikes and it’s working really well apart from in two areas. One is when I’m at full lean on the way into the corner, it feels a bit vague and wants to push me a metre or so wide. When I’m on the gas again it turns really well. The other point is that we’re not getting much traction, but we’re getting loads of corner speed and it’s turning really well. It’s a case of working to find a balance and unfortunately we lost a bit of time at the end because I tipped off it in the hairpin at the end of the back straight. Basically I’d had a couple of moments before that so I was being a little careful probably too careful because I didn’t push the front hard enough in that corner and it went a little light and tucked. Anyway, we’ve ended up with some reasonably competitive lap times and I’m confident we can go much faster tomorrow. I’m happy because we know what we’re capable of and it’s just a matter of getting it done now.” NICKY HAYDEN (Ducati Marlboro Team) 6th (1’44.152) “I know it’s only sixth position but still I’m pretty happy because I was running up front throughout the session and having fun, which is what racing is supposed to be about! Basically “Vitto” (Guareschi) stayed on in Mugello and tested a lot and we have changed almost everything on the bike other than the handgrips! We’ve altered the electronics and the geometry a lot to help me get the bike turning and we’ve taken a big step. I don’t want to get too excited because it’s only Friday and we’ve got to keep working hard but I want to say that I am very grateful to the team and to “Vitto”, Filippo (Preziosi) and “Pippi” (Cristhian Pupulin) and the Test Team in particular. Nobody here has given up on me even after a few bad races and I have always made it clear I won’t give up on them. We have had to stay mentally strong and keep positive, even though that hasn’t been easy. Hopefully we’re on to something here and all the hard work will start paying off.” More, from a press release issued by Pramac Racing Team: Kallio’s bike hitted by a stone in the last free practice lap of the day in Barcelona. Canepa eighteenth Not the easiest start for the Pramac Racing Team in the first day of free practice in the Grand Prix of Cataluña. Mika Kallio has begun with interesting lap times, but in the last part of the session he couldn’t make it to improve concluding in seventeenth position. The Finnish rider has also been really unlucky because just before the last lap at his disposal, when he had new tyres, the bike in front went just off track and launched a small stone at his bike. Niccolò Canepa made it to improve lap by lap in his first Grand Prix in Barcelona concluding in eighteenth position. Tomorrow the white and red riders will try to use in the best way the new technical updates to conquer a good position in Sunday’s starting grid. Fabiano Sterlacchini – Pramac Racing Technical Director “Today we have tried various technical solution and notwithstanding lap times aren’t the best we remain trustful for the rest of the weekend. Mika has also been really unlucky: De Angelis, who was in front of him, went just off track in a turn and with the rear tyre launched a small stone at him braking his front glass and turning down one of his electronical control lever. Mika saw the electronic light flashing and preferred to don’t push too much thinking there were some problems. Think how unlucky to hit one of those control level that are smaller then half of a finger. I am sure that we will improve a lot tomorrow with both riders. Niccolò is improving race after race, we can see he believes in himself much more.” Mika Kallio – Pramac Racing rider – 17th in 1’45.394 “Just like almost all other weekends of race, in the first half of the first session we manage to stay in a good position, but after we changed set up of the bike we lose too many positions. Anyway the feeling with the bike has improved a lot compare to the last race in Mugello. I think that tomorrow, if we will manage to find the right balance on the bike we will make it to enter the top ten. With the new technical solutions the bike seems to have less power, most of all in the first three gears, but in the turns is much more easier to control. Tomorrow we will try to increase the power in the first three gears to understand the bike’s reaction.” Niccolò Canepa – Pramac Racing rider – 18th in 1’45.454 “When we have some technical updates we need some time to adapt to it, but we have to consider our self satisfied on how things went today. As base set up we have done a really good job and race after race we get closer to the other riders. This is a track where I have ridden before for only a few laps, but I liked it straight away. Tomorrow we will fight to improve our position for Sunday’s starting grid.”