FIM MotoGP World Championship Misano, San Marino August 29, 2008 Free Practice Two Results: 1. Casey STONER (Ducati), Bridgestone, 1:34.806 2. Valentino ROSSI (Yamaha), Bridgestone, 1:35.224 3. Loris CAPIROSSI (Suzuki), Bridgestone, 1:35.377 4. Randy DE PUNIET (Honda), Michelin, 1:35.620 5. Chris VERMEULEN (Suzuki), Bridgestone, 1:35.743 6. Jorge LORENZO (Yamaha), Michelin, 1:35.766 7. Alex DE ANGELIS (Honda), Bridgestone, 1:35.861 8. Colin EDWARDS (Yamaha), Michelin, 1:35.913 9. Shinya NAKANO (Honda), Bridgestone, 1:36.100 10. James TOSELAND (Yamaha), Michelin, 1:36.105 11. Nicky HAYDEN (Honda), Michelin, 1:36.189 12. Dani PEDROSA (Honda), Michelin, 1:36.219 13. Andrea DOVIZIOSO (Honda), Michelin, 1:36.356 14. Toni ELIAS (Ducati), Bridgestone, 1:36.425 15. Sylvain GUINTOLI (Ducati), Bridgestone, 1:36.619 16. Marco MELANDRI (Ducati), Bridgestone, 1:37.096 17. Anthony WEST (Kawasaki), Bridgestone, 1:38.239 18. John HOPKINS (Kawasaki), Bridgestone, no time recorded Free Practice One & Two Combined Results: 1. Casey STONER (Ducati), Bridgestone, 1:34.806 2. Valentino ROSSI (Yamaha), Bridgestone, 1:35.224 3. Loris CAPIROSSI (Suzuki), Bridgestone, 1:35.377 4. Colin EDWARDS (Yamaha), Michelin, 1:35.424 5. Randy DE PUNIET (Honda), Michelin, 1:35.620 6. Chris VERMEULEN (Suzuki), Bridgestone, 1:35.743 7. Jorge LORENZO (Yamaha), Michelin, 1:35.766 8. Alex DE ANGELIS (Honda), Bridgestone, 1:35.861 9. Shinya NAKANO (Honda), Bridgestone, 1:36.100 10. James TOSELAND (Yamaha), Michelin, 1:36.105 11. Nicky HAYDEN (Honda), Michelin, 1:36.189 12. Dani PEDROSA (Honda), Michelin, 1:36.219 13. Andrea DOVIZIOSO (Honda), Michelin, 1:36.356 14. Toni ELIAS (Ducati), Bridgestone, 1:36.425 15. Sylvain GUINTOLI (Ducati), Bridgestone, 1:36.619 16. Marco MELANDRI (Ducati), Bridgestone, 1:37.096 17. Anthony WEST (Kawasaki), Bridgestone, 1:37.929 18. John HOPKINS (Kawasaki), Bridgestone, no times recorded More, from a press release issued by Dorna Communications: Casey Stoner was the fastest rider on track on Friday at Misano, making his opening preparations for the Gran Premio Cinzano di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini. The 2007 poleman, racewinner and, lest we forget, MotoGP World Champion clocked a 1´34.806 lap to continue his almost immaculate record of practice session success from the last six races. Just over four-tenths of a second down on Stoner´s marker was local favourite and current World Championship leader Valentino Rossi, making his first on-track appearance at Misano since his ill-fated race last year. With the series´ top two riders of the moment looking to be in fine form, early indications point to another gripping battle for supremacy between Stoner and Rossi on Sunday. Someone who will also want to have a say in matters is Loris Capirossi, third in practice on Friday and himself just over half a second down on Stoner. The soon-to-be holder of the record for most Grand Prix appearances was riding the 2007 Misano podium-taking Rizla Suzuki GSV-R for the first time at his second `home´ circuit in the initial sessions. Another veteran, Colin Edwards gave tyre fabricant Michelin their highest position of the day in fourth, although the Tech 3 Yamaha rider was unable to improve on his morning time in Free Practice 2. LCR Honda´s Randy de Puniet was the fastest rider for the Japanese factory over the course of the day, in fifth ahead of second Suzuki man Chris Vermeulen and Fiat Yamaha´s Jorge Lorenzo. All of the top seven were within a second of Stoner´s time. Home rider Alex de Angelis also featured in the top ten, ahead of San Carlo Honda Gresini teammate Shinya Nakano and Tech 3 Yamaha´s James Toseland. John Hopkins played no part in the day´s events, still sore from a minor but awkwardly placed rib injury. 250cc The leader of the 250cc World Championship, Marco Simoncelli put his best foot forward in Misano to take provisional pole on Friday afternoon. The Italian was the quickest quarter-litre rider on track in the first qualifying session for the San Marino race, aiming for his third consecutive top spot on the grid. Simoncelli´s fastest lap stopped the clock at 1´38.400, on his 17th turn of the circuit located close to his hometown of Cattolica. The Metis Gilera rider will prove a fearsome foe for his rivals this weekend, with only Hector Barbera joining Simoncelli in breaching the 1´39 barrier. Barbera was half a second down on the current 250cc top man in the qualifying run. Emmi-Caffe Latte rider Thomas Luthi and last year´s Misano runner-up Hiroshi Aoyama round off the provisional front row for the Sunday showdown, whilst behind them the foursome of Yuki Takahashi, Julian Simon, Mika Kallio and Mattia Pasini penciled their names onto the second line. Kallio is one of the favourites for the title this year, whilst Pasini hails from Rimini and was the winner of last season´s 125cc race at Misano. 125cc Gunning for his third 125cc pole position in as many races this weekend at Misano, Gabor Talmacsi continued his free practice form with a flying lap in qualifying on Friday afternoon. In the first of two sessions at the circuit to decide the lower cylinder category grid, the Bancaja Aspar rider recorded a fastest time of 1´44.172 to beat out rookie sensation Scott Redding. The 2007 World Champion was nearly two-tenths of a second faster than the Blusens Aprilia teenager, with current series leader Mike di Meglio improving on his morning run to place on the provisional front row. Redding´s fellow Briton Bradley Smith, riding the Polaris World Aprilia used by racewinner Mattia Pasini at Misano last year, joined his countryman on the front line. Jack&Jones WRB´s Nico Terol heads the second row after the opening qualifying session, with Sandro Cortese, Brno victor Stefan Bradl and Ajo Motorsport rider Dominique Aegerter completing the first eight. The highest placing Italian in the category was tenth-placed Simone Corsi, a title challenger and one of the first to have a shot at taking Italy´s 700th Grand Prix win on Sunday. More, from a press release issued by Bridgestone: Stoner sets searing pace in Misano practice Round 13: San Marino and Riviera di Rimini Free Practice Misano World Circuit, Friday 29 August 2008 Reigning world champion Casey Stoner kick-started the San Marino and Riviera di Rimini Grand Prix in style on the opening day of action at the Misano World Circuit today, topping both free practice sessions and ending the day four-tenths-of-a-second quicker than his nearest challenger. The Misano circuit has been slightly modified for this year’s event, extending the overall lap to 4.226km. The new layout has rendered all existing lap records obsolete, but Stoner’s best practice lap today was still just 0.2s slower than the fastest lap in last year’s race, which he himself set. The Ducati rider’s best lap of 1m34.806s made him the only man to dip under the 1m35 mark today with Fiat Yamaha rider Valentino Rossi in second place and Rizla Suzuki’s Loris Capirossi right behind in third. Chris Vermeulen, who scored a podium at last year’s Misano race, was in sixth place at the end of the day after another encouraging performance for the Rizla Suzuki team, while San Carlo Honda Gresini riders Alex de Angelis and Shinya Nakano set the eighth and ninth fastest times of the day. Competition for the top positions is tough with five different teams represented in the top five in the combined practice standings and a closely-matched performance from both tyre manufacturers. Tyre Talk with Tohru Ubukata – Bridgestone Motorsport Manager, Motorcycle Race Tyre Development Were you pleased with the performance in today’s practice? “We have had two trouble-free sessions with some excellent weather conditions, so it has been a positive day’s work. I am quite pleased with the level of our tyre performance and happy to see such a close competition throughout the field. We knew from last year’s event that we would have to work on improving some problems with graining and initial results today suggest this is less of an issue. The slight modifications to the track layout do not really affect tyre performance and we were able to have a solid day of work, following our usual method of tyre evaluation.” What tyres did Bridgestone evaluate over the day? “We tested a range of compounds from soft, medium and hard tyres over the course of the day. We looked at harder compound tyres in this afternoon’s session due to the higher track temperatures which reached over 40 degrees Celsius. Temperatures are similar to what we expected heading into this race weekend, but we hope to carry out longer runs tomorrow to assess the durability of our tyres. Casey has again shown a very competitive pace right from the start and there are other Bridgestone riders who have set good lap times today. A lot of riders set their quickest times towards the end of the afternoon session, and I am sure there is more performance to be found tomorrow.” Bridgestone-shod Riders’ Combined Practice Session Results Pos. Rider Team Session 1 (pos) Session 2 (pos) Gap P1 Casey Stoner Ducati Corse 1m35.422s (P1) 1m34.806s (P1) Fastest P2 Valentino Rossi Fiat Yamaha Team 1m36.464s (P5) 1m35.224s (P2) +0.418s P3 Loris Capirossi Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1m37.355s (P13) 1m35.377s (P3) +0.571s P6 Chris Vermeulen Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1m36.608s (P8) 1m35.743s (P5) +0.937s P8 Alex de Angelis San Carlo Honda Gresini 1m36.145s (P3) 1m35.861s (P7) +1.055s P9 Shinya Nakano San Carlo Honda Gresini 1m36.883s (P10) 1m36.100s (P9) +1.294s P14 Toni Elias Alice Team 1m37.099s (P11) 1m36.425s (P14) +1.619s P15 Sylvain Guintoli Alice Team 1m37.534s (P15) 1m36.619s (P15) +1.813s P16 Marco Melandri Ducati Corse 1m37.669s (P16) 1m37.096s (P16) +2.290s P17 Anthony West Kawasaki Racing Team 1m37.929s (P17) 1m38.239s (P17) +3.123s NC John Hopkins Kawasaki Racing Team No Time No Time Weather: Session 1 / Dry Air 28°C, Track 30-35°C (Bridgestone measurement) Session 2 / Dry Air 31°C, Track 45°C (Bridgestone measurement) More, from a press release issued by Fiat Yamaha: ROSSI BEGINS HOME CHALLENGE IN MISANO SUNSHINE Valentino Rossi made a strong start to his second home race of the season today, finishing second on the opening day of action at the San Marino Grand Prix. The Misano circuit is just 15km north of the Fiat Yamaha rider’s home town of Tavullia on the Adriatic coast, and the local hero is keen to delight his hordes of fans by adding another Italian win to his victory in Mugello earlier this year. The bad weather that has followed the paddock around Europe finally gave way to the Italian summer today, with temperatures in the low 30s soaring to 45 degrees on track. This morning saw Rossi in fifth but a few set-up changes and some work on Bridgestone tyres this afternoon saw him improve and he finished the session 0.418 seconds off Casey Stoner in second. His team-mate Jorge Lorenzo also had a positive day, finishing seventh in the combined standings. Valentino Rossi Position: 2nd Time: 1’35.224 Laps: 54 “We made quite a good start today but not as good as we could have hoped, so we still have some work to do in order to close the gap to Casey. At the moment the main problem is T4, where I am quite slow and so we really need to look at the data and work out why. Anyway we’re still second so we’re close, but I hope tomorrow to be closer because it seems that everyone is quite competitive here so we’re going to have to work hard. We have some ideas and we will see what we can do. It’s great to be racing in the sunshine so close to my home, on the track which was the first one I ever rode on, and I really hope we can make it a fantastic weekend for all of the fans.” Davide Brivio Team Manager “For the first day it hasn’t been so bad and we’re in quite good shape. It’s clear that there are some areas in which we can and need to improve, so now we will use the information we have gathered today to work on those areas and refine our set up. We have worked through a few different things today on the setting and we have also tried some different tyres, and we’re confident that we have good potential. Luckily, for once, we can expect the same weather again tomorrow so this will give us the chance to check everything we’ve learnt today.” More, from another press release issued by Fiat Yamaha: LORENZO MAKING STRIDES FORWARD IN MISANO Following on from his recent successful test in Brno, when he made some positive steps forward with his Michelin tyres, Jorge Lorenzo was in good shape today on the first day of the Grand Prix of San Marino at Misano. The Fiat Yamaha Team rider finished the day in seventh overall and, more importantly, feeling confident and positive about the weekend’s task. The 21-year-old, who won the 250cc race here last year, made a good start to the morning with the fourth fastest time and then improved by just under four tenths this afternoon. He will be hoping to make some further set-up improvements tomorrow morning, when the hot weather looks set to continue, before attempting to return to the front row in the afternoon’s qualifying session. Lorenzo’s team-mate Valentino Rossi was second fastest today, 0.418 seconds behind Casey Stoner. Jorge Lorenzo Position: 7th Time: 1’35.766 Laps: 56 “I’m very happy today. We had a good test after Brno and now here today I feel that the tyres are much better at this track than they were there, so I am feeling even more confident. I don’t want to make any predictions about the race or talk about results; first of all we have to wait until tomorrow to see if we can continue like this. I think I can improve even more because everything feels better than two weeks ago, so tomorrow we will try to keep going in this way. The surface here is not new, like it was in Brno, and this is better for Michelin, but we need to make one more step in order to be at the level that we want.” Daniele Romagnoli Team Manager “This is definitely a different situation form the last two races! Here, as expected from last year’s data, Michelin tyres are more competitive and they are giving us the chance to be back at the top end of the classification. The test in Brno was very important to improve the tyre situation, but we still need to work more with Michelin to further improve the grip level because we’re still not as fast as we would like to be. We need to improve our set-up more for this track because the front of the bike is still not stable enough on the hard braking and we need to work more on the suspension.” More, from a press release issued by Rizla Suzuki: Rizla Suzuki MotoGP racers Loris Capirossi and Chris Vermeulen finished third and sixth respectively at the end of a positive first day’s practice for this weekend’s San Marino Grand Prix at Misano in Italy. Both riders used the two hour-long sessions to dial in the new chassis on the Suzuki GSV-R for the 4,226m Italian track. Capirossi improved on his lap-times consistently throughout the day as he worked with his crew to get the best settings. His time of 1’35.377 from his 56 laps came on his final lap of the second session, and Capirossi is convinced there is still more to find from machine and rider tomorrow. Vermeulen recorded 51 laps today and was only marginally behind his team-mate with a best time of 1’35.743. He also spent time heading towards the optimum setting for the new chassis to complement the Bridgestone tyres and he too is confident of yet more improvements as the weekend progresses. Today’s practice was held in warm and sunny conditions with track temperatures reaching 46ºC. Reigning World Champion Casey Stoner set the fastest time on his Bridgestone-shod Ducati, but with less than a second separating the next 11 riders, Sunday’s 28-lap race looks likely to be a close affair. Rizla Suzuki MotoGP now has one more practice session tomorrow morning to prepare for Saturday afternoon’s qualifying and Sunday’s race. Loris Capirossi: “I am really happy with the way things went this afternoon because this morning things didn’t go quite right at the start and the bike didn’t work so well. We then changed to the new chassis and it was better straight away. We made sure we set it up the best we could and I am really happy with how it worked! The team is working really hard and we have never lost our way today and this is important because after the great weekend we had in Brno we need to continue with that kind of performance. I am sure we will all improve tomorrow, and in the race, and that we can carry on the great run the team is having!” Chris Vermeulen: “The bike worked pretty good straight out of the crate and some of the new parts we tested at Brno worked well here. I am really happy with the way Suzuki has worked to make the bike more competitive and it feels like we have taken a big step forward today. We’ve changed some things to get the tyres working well with new frame and that is all now coming together. We tried a new rear tyre towards the end of the session and I was happy with the grip and consistency. Tomorrow we have a few more chassis set-up changes and the aim is to qualify on at least the front two rows!” Paul Denning Team Manager: “It’s been a really positive first day for the whole team in Misano and it’s been a great relief to find that the improvements that were found at the Brno test were confirmed by both riders during the sessions today. Now that Loris is fit, his confidence is coming back to the highest level and this afternoon I really have to thank Stuart and his guys for making a huge step in the setting which enabled Loris to ride at his best. Chris is also very close to Loris and only needs a few detailed changes to take a decent step forward. He looks very confident at this track and will be aiming to repeat last year’s performance. Thanks must also go to Suzuki for letting the riders use what are essentially prototype parts here this weekend, and although it’s not the complete answer, it’s definitely a step forward!” More, from a press release issued by JiR Team Scot Honda: Andrea Dovizioso in search of better set up at Misano The Grand Prix of San Marino and Riviera di Rimini began in the best weather conditions possible today. Conditions which are expected to remain throughout the weekend. Andrea Dovizioso riding his JiR Team Scot Honda, concluded the first day of free practice in thirteenth place, collecting as much information to reduce the instability he found in the fast corners at the Misano circuit. The Romagna rider is confident that there will be room for improvement to better prepare for the race and is satisfied with the newfound competitiveness of his Michelin tyres. Cirano Mularoni – Team Manager JiR Team Scot “Despite our position in the standings, the first day of free practice gave us lot of information that we can exploit to improvement things in practice and qualifying tomorrow. Overall we have a good technical package, which is maybe not the strongest on a fast track. We are satisfied with the reaction of Michelin, which has made provision of suitable material to allow us to fulfil our potential.” Andrea Dovizioso – Pilot JiR Team Scot MotoGP HONDA RC212V 13 ° time: 1’36 “356 “Throughout the first day of free practice I found the bike wasn’t very stable in the fast curves with the gas open especially on the corner after the straight, Curvone and the Carro corner. This makes my trajectory through the corner different and has forced me to adapt my riding style so I cannot ride the Honda as I want at the moment and cannot be consistent. I did one fast lap and that gave me some ideas about how to improve the package for tomorrow. Today’s position does not reflect our value or potential. We will give the maximum as always and use the material at our disposal to the maximum. A positive sign has come from Michelin that after some difficult times, they have returned to their previous level of performance.” Gianni Berti – Technical Coordinator JiR Team Scot “The work now is focused on the search for a good balanced package as far as the tyres, suspension and chassis are concerned. From this morning we are constantly improving, but we must move forward especially in the case of the fast parts of the track. We must analyse the behaviour of the bike and define the test programme for tomorrow to improve the package.” More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki Racing Team: KAWASAKI LOOKING FOR IMPROVEMENTS AT MISANO Anthony West was the sole Kawasaki rider on the timesheet after today’s two free practice sessions at Misano Adriatico, after complications with the rib injury he sustained in a practice crash at Brno forced John Hopkins to sit out the opening track sessions. Following his career-best MotoGP result last time out at Brno, West was looking forward to boarding his Ninja ZX-RR this weekend at the San Marino circuit. However, the 27-year-old Australian has been plagued with a lack of confidence in the front-end of his race machine around the 4.20km track, and was disappointed not to have made more of an impression on the rest of the field. West utilised the two hour-long practice sessions to revise his race set-up to suit the relatively bumpy and tight features of the Misano circuit, while finding a suitable Bridgestone tyre option for Sunday’s 28-lap Grand Prix. The Kawasaki pilot ended the day 17th on the time sheets, and will work closely with his crew tomorrow to find a solution to improve the front-end feedback from his machine. Hopkins suffered a displaced intercostal muscle in the Brno crash two weeks ago, and despite the injury healing well over the last week, the Anglo-American accidentally aggravated the injury on Thursday evening, with the accompanying pain resulting in a restless night for the Kawasaki pilot. It was decided that, on safety grounds, Hopkins would not board the bike today, as the distraction of the injury, combined with the lack of rest that the Kawasaki pilot has suffered, would hinder his ability to focus one-hundred percent while on track. Hopkins, who is still in some discomfort, will be back on track for tomorrow’s qualifying if he responds well enough to the intense treatment he has been receiving at regular intervals during today. Anthony West #13 – 17th – 1’37.929 “We came here in good spirits following the last race, but it’s been quite a frustrating day for us. We worked closely with Bridgestone throughout both sessions to find improved confidence in the front-end of my machine, yet we’ve ended the day in only 17th place. The bike feels very nervous, particularly in the bumpy sections of the circuit, which means I just can’t get hard on the brakes and into the turns. Our set-up from Brno just isn’t working here so we need to revise our direction to suit this circuit, and hopefully, as we did last time out, we can make a big improvement tomorrow.” John Hopkins #21 – Not Classified “To be sidelined by something so simple is really disappointing, but while the injury isn’t serious it is really painful, especially when you’re on the bike. I thought I was back to full fitness after resting up since Brno, but then I managed to tweak the same Intercostal muscle during a light training session on Thursday evening, and the pain kept me awake most of the night. The injury has responded well to treatment, and is now much improved, but the lack of sleep meant that it was difficult to concentrate fully ahead of this afternoon’s practice session. Rather than risk further injury by riding at less than 100 percent, together with the team, I made the decision to sit out this afternoon’s practice. Tomorrow I’ll be good to go, and I hope that the lack of track time today won’t stop us picking up where we left off at the last round.” Michael Bartholemy Kawasaki Competition Manager “Today we made the decision for John not to ride as an injury he sustained at Brno, which seemed to be healing well, has caused him a tremendous amount of discomfort in the last few days. Although the treatment seems to be going well, he’s had very little sleep and we felt it would be too much of a risk to let him out on track, particularly as he’s still recovering from the recent surgery on his leg injuries. It’s a difficult decision to make, particularly because he also missed the post-race test last time out, but we hope that tomorrow he will be fit enough to ride. Anthony is struggling with a lack of front-end confidence today and we have to look closely at how we can make radical improvements to his set-up. After his impressive race performance last time out in Brno, it’s disappointing to see him at the bottom of the timesheet once again.” More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda: REPSOL HONDA MAKE STEADY START AT MISANO Repsol San Marino Grand Prix, Misano First day of practice, Friday August 29 2008 Repsol Honda riders Nicky Hayden and Dani Pedrosa made a steady start to this weekend’s San Marino Grand Prix, ending the first day of practice 11th and 12th fastest. Hayden is making his return following a foot injury sustained in a Supermoto incident at the Los Angeles X Games on August 1. The American cracked two bones in his right heel and is still walking with the aid of a walking stick or crutches because the less weight he puts on the foot, the quicker the bones will heal. Foot injuries are a significant handicap for bike racers, because they pressure the footrests to steer the motorcycle. Pedrosa is working to regain his normal rhythm following the injuries he suffered at July’s German Grand Prix and his difficult Czech Grand Prix two weeks ago. The Spaniard is confident he can improve his pace tomorrow as he continues to rebuild confidence aboard his Repsol Honda RC212V. Nicky Hayden, 11th fastest, 1m 36.189s “Things went pretty decent, considering. Not fantastic or nothing, but the bike was working pretty good, the tyres were working a lot better than they have the last couple of weeks, so a big thanks to Michelin for doing a good job here. It’s not the most pleasant ride of my life, but I expected that. In some of the right-hand corners I’m probably not as quick as I should be, but in T2 and T4 which are pretty much all left-hand corners I’m one of the quickest. In some of the rights the injury is a little bit of a hindrance, but it’s not a big deal. I don’t want to be a drama queen and make a big deal of it, I’m not the first guy who’s ridden injured. It’s just the way it is and the main thing is that it’s good to be back. I crashed in the last left, it was an easy little crash, I just held my foot up so it didn’t touch the ground. I was pushing hard, it was my best lap so far, I just hit a bump and lost the front. I’ve been pushing the front a bit most of the day, so I wasn’t really shocked by it.” Dani Pedrosa, 12th fastest, 1m 36.219s “It’s been a difficult but important day. We’re not happy with the result but I am happy because we are working to get me back into my rhythm which I had lost after missing Laguna, doing no real training in the summer break and then having lots of problems at Brno. We had a long debrief at the end of today, analysing all the data, and for sure we can improve our lap times tomorrow. Conditions here are quite extreme, it’s very hot. We have been testing some new tyres and we still have more to test tomorrow, when we will see what kind of shape we’ll be in for the race. We will keep working hard. Qualifying will be extra important because the first corner is so close to the grid and tricky too. Last year another rider took me out at the first corner and I want to avoid any problems there on Sunday, so I want to get the best grid position possible. I am feeling positive that I can regain my usual rhythm.” Kazuhiko Yamano – Team Manager “everyone in the team is happy that Nicky is back and it’s also good to see that he is very happy to be back. He still feels some pain, so he is not 100 per cent, but he is very determined. Dani is coming better rider, tyre, machine but there is still a big gap to the top, so we must improve tomorrow.” More, from a press release issued by LCR Honda: POSITIVE OPENING DAY AT MISANO FOR DE PUNIET Misano, 29 August 2008: In a hot and crowded opening day of San Marino and Riviera di Rimini Grand Prix, LCR Honda MotoGP racer Randy de Puniet set the fourth fastest time at the 4.226 km track. Both free practices were held in sunny conditions with an air temperature of 32°C, and the premier class riders had to battle hard against the hot conditions. The Frenchman aboard the Michelin-shod Honda RC212V got the 12th position in this morning first free session trying to find the base set-up on these conditions and testing different tyres. The LCR crew made some adjustments together with Michelin and Öhlins and the 27-year-old completed 27 laps clocking his fastest lap time of 1’35.620 less than nine tenths off the fastest lap of the day set by Stoner (1’34.806). De Puniet 4th: “This is a positive opening day for me and the Team. I like this track and when I came out this morning we started to work on tyres as the asphalt temperature was high but honestly we did not find the best choice on these conditions. Then, for the afternoon’s session, we made some adjustments on engine brake, traction control and tyres getting a good overall package. After that I felt more comfortable on the bike and could run as I would like. Everybody in the Team did a good job and at the end I gained the 4th position. Probably I could improve my lap time but I feel quite satisfied now and hope to continue like this”. More, from a press release issued by Tech 3 Yamaha: Solid start for Tech 3 Yamaha in Misano The Tech 3 Yamaha team returned to the top ten in scorching hot conditions in Misano today, with Colin Edwards fourth fastest on the opening day of free practice. And boosted by improvements with the performance of Michelin’s tyres, British team-mate James Toseland was tenth quickest after logging fast and consistent times throughout the opening day. Looking to strengthen his bid for fourth place in the championship in the final third of the season, Edwards made a brilliant start this morning when he clocked the second fastest time. Edwards lapped within 0.002s of reigning world champion Casey Stoner, and his best time of 1.35.424 secured him fourth overall, as further tests on his Yamaha YZR-M1 race settings this afternoon failed to see an improvement in his lap time. Toseland capitalised on the improvements made by Michelin as he ended the day with a best lap of 1.36.105. He’s confident of further improvements tomorrow having completed his 23-laps in this afternoon’s session on the same set of Michelin tyres, gaining valuable endurance information ahead of Sunday’s 28-lap race. Colin Edwards 4th 1.35.424 48 laps “I was really fired up this morning and it all felt pretty natural and the bike felt good. The tyres seemed to work great for ten laps but when I went out on them again to check the endurance this afternoon it didn’t feel as good. Maybe it was the temperature because it was a bit hotter this afternoon but I went out thinking it would be the same as this morning. I felt like I was riding well, but the pace just wasn’t there as it had been this morning. I rode my second bike this afternoon and while they are always supposed to be the same, it is always different in some small way and it felt more rigid than this morning with the chassis. So I don’t know if that also might have contributed to the times just not being as fast. I need to back-to-back the bikes tomorrow and see which one I am going to race because I’ve also got some small issues with wear on the rear tyre and it is similar to Brno. I’ve never really seen a wear pattern like that before so I’ll sit down with Michelin and my guys tonight and see if we can figure something out. We have still got some work to do but I feel more confident that at the last few races and I’ll looking to get that challenge for fourth in the championship back on track.” James Toseland 10th 1.36.105 45 laps “I’m pretty pleased to be back in the top ten and we worked hard on the race set-up, only running one set of tyres through the whole session. I did 23 laps on the tyres and I was still doing low and consistent 36s. We have had some issues with the tyres and I really wanted to make sure we have got the endurance for the race. I think if we had put a fresh set of tyres in at the end there was definitely a 35 in there, so I’m not too worried about being in tenth because it feels like there is plenty more to come. It is good because I’m able to do the pace quite comfortably. At the last three races I have been uncomfortable on 12 or 13 corners where here it’s just two! It’s a good base to start from and a big thanks to Michelin. We knew they had the capabilities to do it and they are working hard. There is still a lot to do but at least it shows they are pushing hard. I am sat here knowing that with hard work we might have an outside chance of fighting for a podium and that’s what I’m here for. At the last three rounds I’ve had no chance of that and I’ve known it on Friday afternoon, so I feel well up for it. We need good and consistent grip to give Michelin good feedback and give them a direction they want and that’s what we have done today.” More, from a press release issued by Marlboro Ducati: STONER SETS EARLY PACE AT MISANO, MELANDRI SIXTEENTH Casey Stoner , the only rider to breach the 1’35 barrier, topped the time sheets in both of the opening free practice sessions for the San Marino GP, lapping just outside the previous circuit record despite the track being slightly lengthened at the Variante del Parco corner and a bizarre hand injury. The Australian went to visit Doctor Costa at the Clinica Mobile at the end of the afternoon session, with x-rays showing that the scaphiod break he suffered in 2003 appears to have re-opened. The injury will make it extremely painful and awkward for Stoner to ride tomorrow, although the Australian will undergo physio and wear a special support in order to give it his best shot. Marco Melandri was sixteenth fastest today but is confident of making improvements with the front-end set-up of his bike. CASEY STONER (Ducati Marlboro Team) 1st: 1’34.806 “The scaphoid is a really strange one because there has been no impact on it. I was just adjusting my back protector before going out for one of my runs this afternoon and I felt some pain. It got worse as the session went on so we decided to check it out with the Clinica Mobile and I couldn’t believe it when they showed me the x-ray – it seems the bone I broke in 2003 has re-opened. It’s not going to be easy and I’ll have to take care not to cause any further damage but my plan is to compete tomorrow. It’s a shame because other than that everything else went really well today. It’s nice to get off to a good start at this circuit, we went well here last year and the bike and tyres seem to be working well already. I’m not a big fan of the changes to the track. Last year turn two and turn three were a lot of fun but this year it’s too tight. You can’t flow so well, the grip isn’t so good it’s a bit of a shame. Even so there are some points of the track that are still a lot of fun and in general I enjoy riding here. Hopefully we can continue like this tomorrow.” MARCO MELANDRI (Ducati Marlboro Team) 16th: 1’37.096 “This is one of the hottest events we’ve had this year and the temperatures are making the track quite slippery. We’ve worked really hard to counteract this and we’ve found decent grip on the rear. The feeling on the front is not as good, however, and I can’t be precise with my lines or fast. That is the only real problem at the moment so I’m confident that if we can solve it we can take a big step forward tomorrow. The changes they’ve made to the track will make it more difficult to overtake in that section, which is a shame, although I do think it is more fun to ride.”