FIM MotoGP World Championship Catalunya, Spain June 2, 2012 Qualifying Results (all on Bridgestone tires): 1. Casey STONER, Australia (HONDA), 1:41.295 2. Jorge LORENZO, Spain (YAMAHA), 1:41.441 3. Cal CRUTCHLOW, UK (YAMAHA), 1:41.548 4. Ben SPIES, USA (YAMAHA), 1:41.552 5. Dani PEDROSA, Spain (HONDA), 1:41.656 6. Andrea DOVIZIOSO, Italy (YAMAHA), 1:41.687 7. Nicky HAYDEN, USA (DUCATI), 1:42.029 8. Stefan BRADL, Germany (HONDA), 1:42.065 9. Valentino ROSSI, Italy (DUCATI), 1:42.175 10. Alvaro BAUTISTA, Spain (HONDA), 1:42.356 11. Hector BARBERA, Spain (DUCATI), 1:42.375 12. Karel ABRAHAM, Czech Republic (DUCATI), 1:43.266 13. Randy DE PUNIET, France (Aprilia-ART), 1:43.500 14. Colin EDWARDS, USA (BMW-SUTER), 1:44.024 15. Aleix ESPARGARO, Spain (Aprilia-ART), 1:44.041 16. Michele PIRRO, Italy (Honda-FTR), 1:44.356 17. James ELLISON, UK (Aprilia-PBM/ART), 1:44.763 18. Mattia PASINI, Italy (Aprilia-Speed Master/ART), 1:44.764 19. Yonny HERNANDEZ, Colombia (Kawasaki-BQR/FTR), 1:44.833 20. Danilo PETRUCCI, Italy (Aprilia-IODA/ART), 1:45.730 21. Ivan SILVA, Spain (Kawasaki-BQR/FTR), 1:45.962 More, from a press release issued by Speed Master: EIGHTEENTH TIME IN THE QUALIFYING PRACTICE OF THE GP OF CATALUNYA FOR PASINI The riders of the MotoGP class got out on the track today for the third free practice session and the qualifying practice for the Catalunya Grand Prix. In the morning, Mattia Pasini and his crew made up for the time they lost yesterday, valuing some last modifications for the setting and the tyres choice for the race. In the QP, Mattia focused, together with his technicians, on some confirmations they needed to define the set-up for the ART machine. The italian ended the session with the 18th best lap time, which puts him in sixth row on the starting grid for tomorrow. Mattia Pasini #54 – 18th with 1’44.764 “In the whole I’m satisfied. Yesterday we didn’t really have the chance to take advantage of the afternoon session as we wanted, and today we had to work to make up for it. We had a good session, we weren’t particularly fast, but we gathered a lot of data that we’re going to put together for tomorrow, in order to try to do better. After all, the race is tomorrow: it’s going to be a long one, but according to me we have a good margin to improve a little more. It’s very hot, so it’ll be important to get ready physically in a proper way. We know we can do better, we have a good potential and we are learning, session after session, to know and work better on this bike.” More, from a press release issued by Ducati: Ducati Team on third row for Catalan GP Both Ducati Team riders will start from the third row of the grid tomorrow in the Catalan Grand Prix, with Nicky Hayden in the seventh spot and Valentino Rossi ninth. The Italian said he was satisfied with the good setup work done on his GP12 for qualifying today, enabling him to lower his lap time by over a second compared to yesterday, and perhaps more importantly, to maintain a decent and consistent race pace. Hayden found a good feeling in the third free practice session, and after making changes to adapt the bike to the higher temperature, he turned in a good performance in the afternoon. Nicky Hayden (Ducati Team) 7th (1:42.029) “This morning I did a pretty decent lap time with a hard tyre and thought I could possibly get on the second row, but this afternoon, right from the beginning, I struggled to get the same feeling and had to change a couple of things. I was able to do an okay lap, but truthfully, I thought I could get into the 41s. We’ll start seventh tomorrow, which isn’t great, but the gap to the front is the smallest it’s been all year. We’ll certainly have to improve our consistency tomorrow, and race distance could be really tough for tyre wear, but maybe the temperatures will be cooler and help us.” Valentino Rossi (Ducati Team) 9th (1:42.175) “I’m pretty pleased because we improved the bike’s setup and we made the third row, which was our goal for today, even if I really lose a lot in the last part of the track, especially on entry in the last two corners. Anyway, we can also be pretty satisfied with our race pace because I was able to ride well and consistently, even on a used tyre. The forecasts say it could rain tomorrow, and of course we know that we can do well in the wet, although it could also be good for us even if we just get a bit cooler temperatures.” More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda: Stoner storms to second pole of 2012 The Repsol Honda Team put on a strong performance in Qualifying today for the Grand Prix of Catalunya, the fifth round of the MotoGP World Championship with Casey Stoner on pole position and Dani Pedrosa in fifth place. Casey, who has won every Spanish race in the last 12 months, secured his second pole of the season and 40th of his career (36 in MotoGP) on his last exit with a time of 1’41.295 and will be aiming to repeat his win here from 2011. Dani Pedrosa, fastest in morning practice, is confident he can do one of his trademark starts. With Casey on the top of the time sheets and only two minutes remaining, Dani was also fighting for pole but after completing the third sector 0.080 tenths from his team mate, he ran off track in turn 10 and missed the front row of the grid by just a tenth of a second. His ideal lap time from qualifying practice (the combination of fastest lap sections) would have seen him placed second behind Casey. CASEY STONER 1st 1’41.295 “We used the qualifying as an extended practice session as we don’t always have enough time to do everything during the 45 minute sessions. This morning we did a lot of work with the hard tyre, so in the afternoon in these hot conditions, we worked more with the softer one to get a clearer understanding if we can run with it for race distance. We were in and out a lot during the session trying a few different things, hoping to reduce the chatter which is still proving to be a problem, as soon as I touch the throttle the bike starts to chatter in the rear and it’s making things very difficult. Towards the end of the session we managed to improve it slightly but I think we need to make another step before the race. Tomorrow, for sure tyre degradation is going to play a role so we’re going to have to wait and see but I’m happy to start from pole”. DANI PEDROSA 5th 1’41.656 “It was a difficult qualifying session because I spent a major part of the hour testing the used soft tyres and I was down in the classification. But I was not worried because I knew that I had two new soft tyres for the end of the practice. When we put the first one on, I immediately improved my lap times and I jumped to second place then on my final flying lap I braked too late, I had a big shake on the bike and I ran wide. From this side it’s a pity because I missed my chance at pole position or, at least, the front row of the grid. Anyway, I’m happy with the work we did yesterday and today’s preparation for the race and for me this is always the most important thing. Let’s see if together with my team we can improve the bike slightly for tomorrow and be ready to give 100% in a hard race”. More, from a press release issued by Bridgestone: Stoner sets the standard in Catalunya qualifying Round 5: Catalunya MotoGP™ – Qualifying Practice Circuit de Catalunya, Saturday 2 June 2012 Bridgestone slick compounds available: Front: Soft, Medium, Hard. Rear: Medium, Hard (Asymmetric) Bridgestone wet tyre compounds available: Hard (Main), Soft (Alternative) Weather: Dry. Ambient 31-31°C; Track 55-55°C (Bridgestone measurement) Casey Stoner will start on pole position at the Catalunya MotoGP™ after the Repsol Honda rider set a stunning time of 1:41.295 with nine minutes remaining in a highly entertaining qualifying session. In what were scorching conditions, Stoner managed to snatch pole ahead of the Yamaha Factory Racing M1 of Jorge Lorenzo who ultimately had to settle for P2 with a time of 1:41.441. Just behind him in P3 and a further tenth of a second back was Monster Tech3 Yamaha’s Cal Crutchlow. Power Electronics Aspar’s Randy de Puniet was the standout CRT rider in qualifying and will start in P13 for tomorrow’s race. Friday’s very warm conditions continued today with clear, sunny skies lifting track temperatures to a maximum of 55°C during qualifying. Some teams used the morning practice session to evaluate both rear tyre options for the race though when it came to setting a quick lap time in qualifying, almost all riders decided to use the softer rear slick tyre in conjunction with the hard front for the best balance of rear edge grip and braking stability. Despite the excellent weather conditions so far this weekend, forecasts indicate a high chance of rain tomorrow afternoon. The MotoGP™ riders will be back on track for Sunday’s morning warm-up session at 0940 local time (GMT+2) before the race gets underway at 1400 local time. Shinji Aoki Manager, Bridgestone Motorsport Tyre Development Department “Once again we had dry weather and very warm temperatures today which gave the teams the opportunity to try many tyre combinations and build on the data they acquired yesterday. The pace at the front of the field is very competitive with the pole position time more than a second quicker than last year and the top six riders in qualifying were separated by just four-tenths of a second so we could have a very close race tomorrow. “In this morning’s free practice session some teams did long runs on the softer rear slick tyre to evaluate its performance for race distance and I believe this option will be widely used tomorrow, though there is a chance of rain tomorrow as well. I expect all riders to use the harder front slick for the race with the majority of the field opting for this compound in the new specification front slick tyre as this was a common choice in qualifying. I am pleased that the 2012 specification tyres are performing very well here at Catalunya which is a very challenging circuit for tyres and the feedback from riders this weekend has been positive.” More, from a press release issued by Dorna Communications: Under glorious sunshine in scorching hot temperatures the MotoGP™ contingent took to the track to battle it out for grid spots for tomorrow’s Gran Premi Aperol de Catalunya. In the premier class, it was Repsol Honda Team’s Casey Stoner who secured pole position in dominant fashion ahead of Jorge Lorenzo and Cal Crutchlow. With a fast lap in the low 1.41s, set with a soft rear tyre, Stoner relegated Yamaha Racing Team’s local rider Lorenzo into second on the grid, who was just over a tenth down on the current world champion. Stoner stated after the session that he will most likely be racing with the hard rear tyre, after sighting that the soft compound’s wear rate seems too high for the race. Rounding out the front row is Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s Cal Crutchlow, who equalled his best ever start, yet will be looking to convert it into a podium for the first time in his MotoGP career. Contrary to Stoner, Crutchlow confirmed that he would be starting the race with the soft compound, as he believes the hard tyre does not give a significant advantage. Just fractionally slower, Lorenzo’s teammate Ben Spies will start from fourth, putting himself in contention for a much needed positive race result tomorrow. Next to him in fifth is Stoner’s teammate and local favourite Dani Pedrosa, who ran off track in turn 10 on his hot-lap after out-braking himself, and was unable to improve on his time. Tech 3’s Andrea Dovizioso completes row two in sixth place, after having led the qualifying session in the early stages. Seventh on the grid is Ducati Team’s Nicky Hayden, who looked strong all day after posting the fifth fastest time in the morning practice. He ousted LCR Honda MotoGP’s Stefan Bradl into eighth, who recovered from a small crash yesterday to finish as top Honda satellite rider. Ninth spot is occupied by Ducati’s Valentino Rossi, who, following a difficult day yesterday, managed to rediscover some place after reverting back to a carbon fibre swingarm and old settings. San Carlo Honda Gresini’s Álvaro Bautista completes the top ten, failing to emulate his second place in yesterday’s practice. Highest CRT spot went to Power Electronics Aspar’s Randy de Puniet in 13th, who managed to beat his local teammate Aleix Espargaró for the first time this weekend. Apart from Pedrosa’s excursion off track, the only other rider to take a detour through the gravel was Avintia Blusens’ Yonny Hernandez and Cardion AB Racing’s Karel Abraham at the end. Moto2 Team CatalunyaCaixa Repsol’s Marc Márquez will start tomorrow’s Gran Premi Aperol de Catalunya from pole position after setting the fastest lap in Moto2™ qualifying practice ahead of Pol Espargaró and Tom Lüthi. Following some very subdued practice sessions, local hero Márquez silenced any doubters with a hot lap of 1.46’187 to claim the 25th pole position of his career. Just under two tenths behind was Pons 40 HP Tuenti’s Pol Espargaró, making it a Spanish one-two on the front row. Rounding out the front of the grid is Interwetten-Paddock’s pace-setter of yesterday, Tom Lüthi, who looked to be struggling just slightly in the very hot conditions. Starting from fourth is Speed Master’s Andrea Iannone, in front of compatriot Simone Corsi. Corsi, who is one of the few FTR riders with his Came IodaRacing Project team, was a surprise inclusion at the front, after there had been doubts about the bike’s competitiveness. Technomag-CIP’s Dominique Aegerter consolidated a solid weekend with sixth. Heading the third row is Marc VDS Racing Team’s Scott Redding, who will be disappointed with his time after being the pace-man this morning. Redding was too late to put in a final run, as he took the chequered flag just as he was to embark on his final lap. He sits in front of Mapfre Aspar Team’s Toni Elías, who showed a marked improvement over previous sessions. The third row is completed by Espargaró’s teammate Esteve Rabat. The top ten is completed by NGM Mobile Forward Racing’s Alex de Angelis, while Tech 3 Racing’s stand-in rider Jordi Torres recorded a terrific 11th place on his first outing for the team. It was a miserable session for Blusens Avintia’s Julián Simón who crashed for the second time today, yet walked away unhurt. Another incident saw Arguiñano Racing Team’s Ricky Cardús crash out after Italtrans Racing Team’s Takaaki Nakagami pulled in front of the Spanish rider. Cardús was unhurt in the crash, while Nakagami only suffered some bike damage. Moto3 At the Gran Premi Aperol de Catalunya in the Moto3™ class it was Blusens Avintia’s Maverick Viñales who set the fastest lap to grab pole position ahead of AirAsia-SIC-Ajo’s Zulfahmi Khairuddin and Louis Rossi. A lap of 1.52’160, the fastest lap of the class all weekend, was enough to displace a surging Khairuddin, who has had a tremendous weekend so far. Completing the front row is last race winner, Racing Team Germany’s Rossi, still brimming with confidence after his victory in Le Mans. However, the story of the day was Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Sandro Cortese, who starts from fourth, after suffering a heavy crash in this morning’s practice session. He suffered heavy bruising to his right hand, and had to have blood drained during the session. Fifth place went to Estrella Galicia 0,0’s Miguel Oliveira, who was at the centre of drama late on in the session, as a swift move across the track took out Technomag-CIP-TSR’s Alan Techer and RW Racing GP’s Brad Binder. None of the riders were hurt in the incident. The second row is rounded out by Binder’s teammate Luis Salom, who will aim to mix it up at the front to please the home crowd. Leading row three is Caretta Technology’s Alexis Masbou in seventh, ahead of JHK T-Shirt Laglisse’s Efrén Vázquez in eighth. Bankia Aspar’s Héctor Faubel and San Carlo Gresini Moto3’s Niccolo Antonelli complete the top ten. Team Italia FMI’s Romano Fenati, who had been expected to be further up the field, could only manage 13th. Apart from the last minute crash involving Oliveira, TT Motion Events Racing’s Niklas Ajo crashed out after seven minutes, yet managed to re join the session later on. More, from a press release issued by LCR Honda: STRONG EIGHT POSITION FOR BRADL AHEAD THE CATALAN RACE Montmeló, 2nd of June: LCR Honda MotoGP rider Stefan Bradl clocks a remarkable 8th fastest lap time (1’42.065) today in a physically demanding 60-minute qualifying session at Montmeló circuit in readiness for tomorrow’s 25-lap Catalan GP. The German riding the RC213V was clearly enjoying the Catalunya circuit lapping with a fast and consistent pace since yesterday first run out. Together with his hard-working crew Bradl responded very well to the fast traits of the 4.727km race track tweaking the set up of his Honda machine. Stefan: “Well… this is not bad for us and we are in a good shape. Finishing in eight position considering the hot track conditions is quite positive but I was expecting something more: maybe the sixth or the seventh placement. During the session we could handle that position easily but at the end everybody went out on soft tyres pushing at 100%. I am happy with the bike package and our race pace is good so I am really optimistic ahead tomorrow’s race. We will try to follow the top guys for a while and we will see considering the tough conditions: everything is possible”. More, from a press release issued by Power Electronics Aspar Team: POWER ELECTRONICS ASPAR RIDER RANDY DE PUNIET TOP CRT QUALIFIER IN CATALONIA Frenchman claims 13th on the grid, two seconds off pole. Teammate Aleix Espargaró fifteenth for home race The big question ahead of qualifying for the Catalan Grand Prix revolved around which tyre compound would be used by the MotoGP riders. The best times in practice had been recorded by the top three in the championship (Stoner, Lorenzo and Pedrosa), and when the Saturday afternoon run came around it was Casey Stoner who ended up on pole position with a time of 1’41.295. Crutchlow and Dovizioso had been amongst the frontrunners in the session, taking the lead before Stoner came within touching distance of his own 1’41.186 record time from 2008. With their preparatory work done and their base settings established, the POWER ELECTRONICS Aspar riders are eagerly awaiting tomorrow’s race. Randy de Puniet and Aleix Espargaró are both experiencing a lack of rear grip with their ART machines, but that did not stand in De Puniet’s way as he recorded the best time of the CRT competitors. Teammate Espargaró was close behind, as the two placed thirteenth and fifteenth, respectively. Both have high expectations for tomorrow’s MotoGP race at the Montmeló circuit, with it’s long straights and corners demanding maximum attention from the riders. 13th Randy De Puniet 1.43.500 (22 laps): “It is very important to be the best CRT, so I am happy about that. However, we shouldn’t lose track of the fact that the most important moment is tomorrow when we start the race. We have tried loads of things in search of the best setup. I wasn’t completely satisfied with the rear traction, so that’s why we made so many changes today. With fifteen minutes to go I decided to put on the soft tyres and I improved my times considerably as a result. I am satisfied with the result today, but I still believe that we need to take another step forward to find more rear traction. Tomorrow in the warmup we will try to improve things a little more and I hope to be at my best. It’s going to be a long race, in which we will have to pay attention to tyre wear.” 15th Aleix Espargaró 1.44.041 (22 laps): “I would have liked to have finished a bit higher up the order. We have worked hard all weekend, but we still haven’t found anything to give us more grip on the rear. The heat is forcing us to ride with the hard tyre tomorrow, and the positive thing is that we have good pace with that and are closer to Randy. The race will be a long one, we will need to be able to manage it in order to try and get into the fight to be the best CRT. I hope that it will be a straight fight between my teammate and I, as we have both done a good job this weekend. We have been told that maybe temperatures will drop tomorrow, and even that there is a chance of rain. We will try to be ready to race in any conditions.” More, from a press release issued by Monster Yamaha Tech 3: Crutchlow storms to front row at sweltering Catalunya The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team’s impressive qualifying streak in 2012 continued in sweltering heat at the Catalunya track today, with Cal Crutchlow powering to a third front row start in the opening five races. Air temperatures peaked at a punishing 31 degrees but Crutchlow set a blisteringly hot pace on his YZR-M1 machine to battle for a front row position in a typically exciting conclusion to qualifying. The British rider briefly led the timesheets with just over 10 minutes left on the clock when he posted a time of 1.41.922. Lap times continued to plummet and Crutchlow was briefly bumped off the front row before he produced a stunning late attack with just over two minutes remaining to secure third spot on the grid for the third time this season. Taking full advantage of the extra grip from a new soft Bridgestone rear tyre, Crutchlow improved his pace to a 1.41.548, which put him second behind reigning World Champion Casey Stoner. Only 0.107s stood between Crutchlow and a career best MotoGP grid position after Jorge Lorenzo snatched second in the final moments. Andrea Dovizioso started qualifying in confident mood after he’d finished practice with the third fastest time of 1.41.966. The Italian’s form continued this afternoon and he put up a strong fight for his second successive front row for the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team. When the time attack commenced in the final 20 minutes, Dovizioso wasted no time in demonstrating his potential by surgin g to the top of the timesheets with a lap of 1.41.931. He improved his pace to a 1.41.687 and will start from sixth, the former 125cc World Champion optimistic that he will be able to battle for the podium in the 25-lap race. Cal Crutchlow 3rd 1.41.548 24 laps “I am really happy to be back on the front row again and it feels great considering this is only the second time I have been to this track. I expected to be up there challenging but wasn’t sure where and my Monster Yamaha Tech 3 crew did another fantastic job with the bike today. It proves again that I’ve got the raw speed and consistency and now I am really looking forward to the race. It will be really tough if the conditions are the same with the temperature so hot but I am ready for it. This morning I only used an old soft rear tyre and I was still really fast, so I knew when I put in a new soft rear this afternoon that I could be much quicker. I got in a good lap even though I’m not completely comfortable with the set-up and I will definitely run the hard front and soft rear for the race. The hard doesn’t give a big advantage over race distance. Today is a great result and hopefully I can do the same job tomorrow when it really counts.” Andrea Dovizioso 6th 1.41.687 24 laps “I am really satisfied with the work we have done this weekend but I can’t deny it would have been nice to be on the front row again. Being sixth on the grid is not bad and the most pleasing aspect for me is that my race pace is very fast and consistent. This morning I was able to be much faster than yesterday and hopefully all the work we have put in will pay off tomorrow. The second half of the race is going to be really important if the conditions are as hot as today and tyre c hoice is going to critical. It seems the Yamaha can’t use the hard rear tyre as well as the soft, but Lorenzo can’t use the soft, so this is a little bit confusing. I will sit down with my Monster Yamaha Tech 3 crew to carefully consider what the strategy will be with the tyres. I have always been strong at this track and after today’s performance I am expecting a good race.” More, from a press release issued by Yamaha: Lorenzo Battles for Catalunya Front Row It was tight at the top in Catalunya today as the MotoGP elite battled in sweltering temperatures to qualify for tomorrow’s Grand Prix. Yamaha Factory rider Jorge Lorenzo was on typically fast form, breaking into the low 1’41s to take second on the grid. The Championship leader’s qualifying time of 1’41.441 was just 0.146 seconds from pole man Casey Stoner. Ben Spies was also on form for qualifying, narrowly missing the front row by just 0.004 and pole by just 0.257 seconds. The Texan starts from fourth place on the grid for tomorrow’s race having beaten local hero Dani Pedrosa by 0.104 seconds for the grid slot. Jorge Lorenzo Position : 2nd Time: 1’41.441 Laps: 24 “It was very important to finish on the front row today because I knew all the riders would be pushing to the limit in qualifying. The lap times were very close but I managed to make a good lap. I almost crashed in T3 on my first hot lap on the bumps so second place is good for tomorrow. We still need a little good feeling on the front; we are struggling on some corners so we need to improve the feeling or it’s going to be difficult in the race. We would have liked to be on pole, but we are happy with the position.” Ben Spies Position : 4th Time: 1’41.552 Laps: 24 “That was a pretty good qualifying session. I’m a little frustrated as I lost a couple of tenths on one of the splits which would have put me on the front row. I think I had almost too much grip through T1 and T2 with the soft tyre! The bike is working really well, the team’s worked hard to deliver a good set up so I’m confident we can run a competitive pace and stay with it tomorrow. It’s going to be a tough race and I’m hoping the rain stays off!” Wilco Zeelenberg Team Manager “A very exciting qualifying, second position on the front row is great and lap times were really good. There’s still some space for improvement as we are not completely happy with the base set up. Jorge had to fight hard for the front row and it was a spectacular session, let’s see what happens tomorrow.” Massimo Meregalli Team Director “I’m satisfied with today’s results. For sure pole is the target but we have a good pace in general. Ben was reasonably happy with the set up yesterday but the team managed to improve it even more for today. We are pretty optimistic for tomorrow. The weather forecast means it might be a little different but we are ready in any case.” More, from a press release issued by Pramac Racing: AN ELECTRONIC ISSUE SLOWED DOWN THE GREEN TEAM After a brilliant morning free practice session, in which Hèctor was able to achieve a great 4th place, The White and Green rider will start tomorrow’s 25-laps of the Catalunya GP only from the 11th spot of the grid after a tricky qualifying session. The 25-year-old clocked a best time of 1’42.375 to claim a place on the 4th row, but he was just 0.6 of a second away from 6th place Andrea Dovizioso on a scorching hot afternoon that saw air temperatures around 30 degrees. In the last ten minutes of the qualifying practice, while Hèctor was pushing hard to set his fast lap time, his Ducati GP12 had some issues with the electronic setup and it switched off. The Spaniard, who went out with his second bike after the technical issue on the best one, tried to improve his lap time, but he didn’t have the same feeling with this machine and he wasn’t able to lower his time. Despite that , tomorrow, when the lights go out at 14:00 CET, Hèctor and the Pramac Team will try to make a good start and fight for a satisfying place in this Grand Premi de Catalunya. Hèctor Barberà Rider Pramac Racing Team 11th place in 1’42.375 “I’m bitterly disappointed with today. The 11th place is too far from what I was looking for. Unfortunately, toward the end of today’s qualifying practice, I struggled with a technical issue, which forced me to use the second bike, that I had never ridden during this Spanish weekend so I obviously didn’t have a suitable setup to ride at 100%. I lost a great chance today, but the most important appointment will be tomorrow with the race, and I’m ready to fight for a position that suits me and my crew.” Francesco Guidotti Pramac Racing Team Manager “Unfortunately, after the promising result this morning in the last free practice session, we made a step back during the qualifying. The electronic issue on the bike slowed down our work and this result is definitely not up to our capacity. Tomorrow Hèctor should make a great start to fight for a good final place.”