FIM MotoGP World Championship Jerez, Spain April 30, 2010 Free Practice One Results (all on Bridgestone tires): 1. Casey STONER, Australian, (Ducati), 1:39.731 2. Jorge LORENZO, Spain, (Yamaha), 1:39.875 3. Nicky HAYDEN, USA, (Ducati), 1:40.148 4. Dani PEDROSA, Spain, (Honda), 1:40.200 5. Valentino ROSSI, Italy, (Yamaha), 1:40.359 6. Loris CAPIROSSI, Italy, (Suzuki), 1:40.716 7. Colin EDWARDS, USA, (Yamaha), 1:40.913 8. Hector BARBERA, Spain, (Ducati), 1:41.034 9. Alvaro BAUTISTA, Spain, (Suzuki), 1:41.093 10. Marco MELANDRI, Italy, (Honda), 1:41.190 11. Ben SPIES, USA, (Yamaha), 1:41.200 12. Andrea DOVIZIOSO, Italy, (Honda), 1:41.277 13. Randy DE PUNIET, France, (Honda), 1:41.293 14. Mika KALLIO, Finland, (Ducati), 1:41.297 15. Marco SIMONCELLI, Italy, (Honda), 1:41.533 16. Aleix ESPARGARO, Spain, (Ducati), 1:41.742 17. Hiroshi AOYAMA, Japan, (Honda), 1:41.837 More, from a press release issued by Monster Yamaha Tech 3: Edwards and Spies satisfied with early Jerez pace The much-anticipated European phase of the 2010 MotoGP world championship kicked off in Jerez today with Monster Yamaha Tech 3 duo Colin Edwards and Ben Spies clocking the seventh and 11th fastest times respectively. Edwards worked tirelessly on improving the set-up of his YZR-M1 machine in preparation for Sunday’s 27-lap race, the Texan setting a best time of 1.40.913 as he got more comfortable with a stiffer front and rear suspension setting. The 36-year-old was less than two tenths away from claiming a place in the top six and he’s confident overnight gearing changes to improve acceleration will help him challenge closer to the front in t omorrow’s final practice and qualifying. American team-mate Ben Spies once again highlighted what a fast learner he is after he started the tough challenge of learning the 4.423km circuit in breathtaking fashion. The Andalucian circuit is one of nine tracks on the calendar that Spies has never raced at previously. But boosted by his brilliant fifth place in the opening race at Qatar earlier this month, Spies wasted no time in mastering the Jerez circuit. He needed only ten laps to break into the top seven and at the end of the session he was a respectable 11th fastest and less than a second away from the top five with a best time of 1.41.200. This weekend’s Spanish GP at the Andalucian city of Jerez is round two of the 2010 MotoGP world championship following the recent postponement of the Twin Ring Motegi race in Japan due to an Icelandic volcano. Colin Edwards 7th 1.40.913 26 laps “We got through a lot of work in a short amount of time and it wasn’t terrible but it wasn’t great either. We can make some improvements with the gearing because we were struggling a little bit for acceleration out of some of the tight sections. We haven’t come close to finding the limit of the bike yet and with the new stiffer suspension settings, I just need a bit more time to get comfortable with that. I’m confident that the base package is close but we can definitely make it better, particularly with the gearing. I followed a couple of guys today and they definitely had the jump on me out of the corner and I was losing a little bit of ground. But it’s a decent start to the weekend and as always I know my guys at Monster Yamaha Tech 3 will improve my bike and put me in good shape for Sunday when it counts.” Ben Spies 11th 1.41.200 28 laps “I’m super-happy with today. It’s 11th and I’m over a second off the pace but after only one hour at this track I’m really happy and I don’t think it could have gone too much better than it did. I’m only one second away from being really competitive and my quickest lap was one of those when I didn’t really nail it and could say it was a great lap. And I didn’t follow anybody either. I wanted to learn by myself and I know there is a lot of time to come from me and I’m sure we can make the bike better too. There is definitely more time I can find with the fast section of right-handers at the end of the lap. They aren’t really hard but you’ve got to be in a good rhythm to really make up some time. Now I’m really looking forward to tomorrow because I like the track. It’s one of those tracks if you mess a turn up, three turns later you’re still scratching your head trying to get it back. But that is good for me because I really like flowing tracks and this is definitely one of them. I’m a lot more relaxed going into tomorrow knowing I’ll be pretty competitive, so thanks to Yamaha and the Monster Tech 3 Team.” More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda: REPSOL HONDA TEAM BACK ON EUROPEAN ASPHALT AT JEREZ Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa finished today’s first MotoGP practice session at Jerez in a promising fourth place as the weekend’s track action began in preparation for Sunday’s Grand Prix of Spain – the first European race of the 2010 season. Pedrosa’s factory Honda team-mate Andrea Dovizioso finished in twelfth place, in a close session where the seventeen MotoGP riders were split by just a little over two seconds. Riding with the latest chassis updates to his Honda RC212V, Pedrosa made a positive start to the weekend, progressively bringing down his lap times and climbing to within half a second of today’s fastest rider, Casey Stoner, as the one-hour session drew to a close. Jerez is a circuit Pedrosa loves – he won the MotoGP race here in 2008 – and the 24-year-old Spaniard put that pedigree to good use as he and his crew went in search of the handling improvements he’s seeking in order to mount a challenge for victory again in Sunday’s 27-lap race. After his impressive podium finish at round one of the World Championship in Qatar three weeks ago, Dovizioso made a more steady start to the weekend at a circuit which, in contrast to Pedrosa, is not one of his favourites. Working with his crew to find the right machine balance for the varied nature of the Jerez track, the Italian set a best lap time of 1m 41.277s. Although it was just 1.5s behind the fastest time, this placed Dovizioso in 12th and the 24-year-old will be looking to take a step forward in tomorrow’s two sessions to give him the best chance of qualifying near the front. The Spanish Grand Prix weekend continues tomorrow with a further hour of free practice in the morning before the qualifying period, which commences at 13.55. DANI PEDROSA 4th 1m 40.200s +0.469s “Well, it feels great to be riding at Jerez in front of the Spanish fans again and already we can begin to feel the special atmosphere that builds up here. We tried a new chassis today and there is an improvement in some areas which meant we could finish the session not too far from the front. There seemed to be a lack of grip today though and we need to look at the data and work out if the problem is our set-up or just the condition of the track. We haven’t found all the solutions we’re looking for with the new parts on the bike yet, so we need to work hard in tomorrow’s two sessions and try to qualify well. Every race is important of course, but because this is my home race I really want to do well on Sunday.” ANDREA DOVIZIOSO 12th 1m 41.277s +1.546s “I knew that the characteristics of this track could increase some of our issues and that’s what happened today. Compared to Sepang and Qatar, Jerez is a slow track and it requires strong braking performance and strong acceleration. We knew that I might struggle a little here but today the practices didn’t go as we expected. From the beginning it was quite hard to find a good feeling and I struggled to improve my lap times through the session. At the moment there’s a fair gap to the first riders and we need to find some improvements in a few areas. We have already had a meeting with the technicians to analyse the data and decide on a plan for the rest of the weekend so I’m confident about making improvements tomorrow.” TOSHIYUKI YAMAJI – REPSOL HONDA TEAM MANAGER “After the cancellation of last weekend’s race in Japan, it’s a very good feeling for the team to be back in action and the motivation is very high for a good result here. It’s the first race in Europe and this means it’s important for us to build and maintain momentum. Dani has tried a new chassis and achieved some progress with the RC212V today and there is more to come from him and the machine. He is always strong at this circuit and that’s how it has proved today. Andrea has some work to do to find the best set-up, but he too can move forward considerably tomorrow. We must maximise our progress in both sessions to close in on our rivals – we’ll be working hard towards that goal.” More, from a press release issued by Marlboro Ducati: STONER SETS EARLY BENCHMARK AT JEREZ, HAYDEN ON THE PACE AGAIN Casey Stoner set an early target that his rivals were unable to follow in this afternoon’s opening free practice for the Grand Prix of Spain, clocking what proved to be the fastest time of the session after just four laps. An effort of 1’39.731 was inside the quickest lap of last year’s race and secured the Australian’s position at the top of the timesheet overnight, despite a crash at the end of the session from which he escaped unharmed. His team-mate Nicky Hayden also made an impressive start to the weekend, racking up 25 laps and clocking the third fastest time of the session. Hayden’s form continues a positive start to his season, having been challenging at the top of the time sheets throughout winter testing and battling for the podium at the opening race in Qatar three weeks ago. CASEY STONER (Ducati Marlboro Team) 1st (1’39.731) “My first run was okay but we had some problems in braking so we spent the rest of the session trying to improve this area, comparing the two bikes. The crash at the end was a similar situation to Qatar – I went into the corner with less pressure on the front and it closed. It’s never nice to crash but at least it gives us a better understanding of what happened in Qatar and which direction we need to take with the set-up over the rest of the weekend. Other than that I am really happy – I think this is the first time I’ve been fastest in any MotoGP session at Jerez. We’ve started out strongly, we have no worries and I’m looking forward to tomorrow.” NICKY HAYDEN (Ducati Marlboro Team) 3rd (1’40.148) “The session went well and I’m really happy right now because this is a big one for us. I was fast in Malaysia and Qatar but that was after a lot of testing at those tracks, experimenting with many different settings, but we’ve come here and been fast out of the gate, which was one of my goals for this season to be on the pace on Fridays. We didn’t set the world on fire or break any track records so we’re not getting carried away but the bike is close and if we can get it a little better in the fast corners we should have a good package. The team made one little change today that helped a lot and on my last exit I was able to stay in the 1’40s from the first lap to the last. It’s a good start and if we keep working in this way we can have a good weekend.” Circuit Record: Valentino Rossi (Yamaha – 2009), 1’39.818 – 159.518 Km/h Best Pole: Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha – 2008), 1’38.189 – 162.164 Km/h More, from a press release issued by Pramac Racing: AN UNDER TONE START IN THE GRAND PRIX OF SPAIN FIRST FREE PRACTICE FOR KALLIO AND ESPARGARO’ Is not the best approach for the Green Team to the second leg of the MotoGP 2010, after the end of the first free practice Mika Kallio has clocked the fourteenth fastest time after being for most of the first free practice in the top ten. Same goes for Aleix Espargarò that ended with the sixteenth fastest time but he had, lap after lap, reduced the gap with the drivers ahead of him. He had close the free practice with almost 2 seconds from the fastest time recorded by Casey Stoner on the official Ducati. The Catalan rider said that he is, however, confident for tomorrow qualification, good for second in the MotoGP grid for 2010. Fabiano Sterlacchini – Pramac Racing Technical Director “It’s not the approach to the circuit that we had hopped, we know that this is always a difficult circuit for us. But the good lap recorded by both riders of the official team make us hope for a better result on the tomorrow’s qualifying. We’ve changed the motorbike set-up reducing our gap from the best riders times. This evening we will face the official Ducati technical team and we will try to get a better balance for our motorbike.” Mika Kallio – Pramac Racing Team – 14th best time in 1’41 .297 “I am disappointed for not having completed the practice in the top ten, I know that this is a result that I can easily reach so I’ll commit tomorrow to get a good result in the second free practice and then in the qualifying. I have a good feeling with the third part of the circuit that is one of the most driven of the track, I’ve got the sixth time overall. I have to improve in other parts. Seeing the official Ducati riders ahead gives me enormous confidence in the motorbike and I hope to be able to get a good qualifying tomorrow. ” Aleix Espargaro – Pramac Racing Team – 16th best time in 1’41 .742 “I still have some problems with the load on the front wheel as in Qatar. During the tests we have changed a bit the set-up and I bought a little feeling with the track and the bike, reducing my gap lap after lap. Unfortunately, the first free practice continue to be a bit difficult for me. Certainly the sixteenth time is not a good result, but I consider very positive that there is less than one second gap between me and the seventh rider of the classification. ” More, from a press release issued by Dorna Communications: Casey Stoner was the pace setter in the opening practice for the Gran Premio bwin de España today, but despite clocking the fastest lap of the day, a late front-end slip sullied his copybook. Looking to bounce back from disappointment in Qatar where he suffered a similar spill, the Australian led for virtually the entire session, setting his fast time of 1’39.731 on just his fourth lap on track, before sliding out at the Angel Nieto corner with two minutes to go. The Ducati Marlboro rider emerged unscathed and will continue his charge for pole tomorrow. Fiat Yamaha rider Jorge Lorenzo, who has started the past two races at this circuit from pole position, was second fastest of the session as he lapped at just over a tenth of a second off Stoner’s pace. Meanwhile, Stoner’s team-mate Nicky Hayden completed the top three times as he followed on from his impressive outing at round one by pacing at just over 0.4s off his colleague’s lap time. Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa will be one of the Spanish contingent looking to make home advantage count this weekend as he seeks a vast improvement from the opening weekend in the Middle East. He was fourth in the hour-long session as he took his RC212V around at just under half a second slower than Stoner’s marker. Reigning World Champion Valentino Rossi was fifth quickest, occasionally grimacing in the garage as he found his level of comfort affected by the injured shoulder he sustained in a motocross training accident a couple of weeks ago. The Italian, who won the opening round in Qatar, placed ahead of compatriot Loris Capirossi (Rizla Suzuki) and Monster Yamaha Tech3 rider Colin Edwards. Impressive home showings from Héctor Barberá (Páginas Amarillas Aspar) and Álvaro Bautista (Rizla Suzuki) placed the Spanish rookies eighth and ninth respectively in the order of times, after both had experienced minor crashes; Barberá after just ten minutes and Bautista in the latter half of the session. Marco Melandri (San Carlo Honda Gresini Team) completed the top ten, hoping to make up for the disappointment of finishing thirteenth and last in the curtain raiser with Ben Spies (Monster Yamaha Tech3), Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda) and Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda) next on the timesheet. Moto2 Hard-charging home-rider Alex Debón (Aeroport de Castello Ajo) was the fastest rider in what is quickly becoming an ultra-competitive Moto2 class. The experienced Spaniard, who started the 250cc race from pole here last year, lapped the circuit nearly half a second quicker than anyone else, stopping the watches at 1’44.419. A multitude of riders challenged for the fastest times as the pace picked up, with former 125cc World Champion Gabor Talmacsi (Fimmco Speed Up) eventually emerging as the best of the rest in second spot, ahead of impressive American Kenny Noyes (Jack & Jones by A. Banderas) who is familiar with Jerez after his lengthy stint in the Spanish national championships. Former MotoGP rider and GP winner Yuki Takahashi (Tech 3) was fourth as he looked to make up for his crash in Qatar, with another Spaniard Sergio Gadea (Tenerife 40 Pons) behind in fifth. Colombia’s Yonny Hernandez wowed the crowds as he slipped and slid his Blusens STX BQR machine into sixth spot, with Julian Simón (Mapfre Aspar), Claudio Corti (Forward Racing), Tom Lüthi (Interwetten Moriwaki) and Jules Cluzel (Forward Racing) completing the top ten. 125cc Pol Espargaró made sure that he secured the early psychological boost in the first practice session of the 125cc class, leading an all-Spanish, all-Derbi top three which was almost a second faster than the remainder of the field. Posting a super quick time of 1’47.327 on his 20th and final lap of the session, Espargaró was nearly a second quicker than Julián Simón’s 2009 pole position time, and was followed by Marc Márquez (Red Bull Ajo Motorsport) and Tuenti Racing team-mate Efrén Vázquez, who were 0.121s and 0.247s respectively further down the timings and the last two to get under the 1’48″ mark. Another rider on Derbi machinery, Sandro Cortese (Avant Mitsubishi Ajo) was fourth fastest with the race winner from the opening round in Qatar Nico Terol (Bancaja Aspar) maintaining a predominantly Spanish theme in the fastest times as he slotted in at fifth. Esteve Rabat (Blusens-STX), Bradley Smith (Bancaja Aspar), Alberto Moncayo (Andalucia Cajasol) and Jasper Iwema (CBC Corse) were all inside the top ten lap times in the session. More, from a press release issued by Bridgestone: Stoner sets early pace in Jerez on harder option Bridgestone slicks Round 2: Spain GP Free Practice Circuito de Jerez, Friday 30 April 2010 Bridgestone slick compounds available: Front: Medium, Hard. Rear: Soft, Medium Ducati Team’s Casey Stoner started the Spanish Grand Prix strongly, finishing at the top of the timesheets after the first practice session, 0.1seconds ahead of Spaniard Jorge Lorenzo of Fiat Yamaha. Stoner’s fellow Ducati rider Nicky Hayden was third just ahead Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa, making for two Spaniards in the top four. Most riders favoured the harder option front and rear slicks, owing to the high ambient and track temperature. The top four were separated by fewer than 0.5seconds, and the midfield was also very competitive, with fewer than 0.4seconds separating 7th placed Colin Edwards from 14th placed Mika Kallio. Stoner’s best time came just four laps into the hour-long session, and was faster than the existing lap record set by Valentino Rossi last year. Conditions for the session were as expected of the region; hot and dry with a track temperature that reached 46 degrees. Following the session each rider will choose the compound split of his final two front tyres based on the data that his team gained from the session, allowing him either five of one option and three of the other or four of each. Tohru Ubukata Manager, Bridgestone Motorcycle Tyre Development Department “The track temperature was quite high for the session, but rider feedback from both specs of our improved rear compound was very good, both in terms of fast warm-up performance and good level of outright grip. Many riders preferred the harder option rear, but the softer option was also working well in these conditions. Every rider preferred the harder option front slick tyre because of the increased stability it allowed under braking, and given the expected conditions for the rest of the weekend this is likely to be the favoured front tyre compound. Overall I’m happy with the performance of our tyres today, and they showed good durability as several riders used a single tyre front and rear for the whole session.” Top ten from free practice (Friday 13:55 14:55 GMT+2) Pos Rider Team Practice Time Gap Tyres 1 Casey Stoner Ducati Team 1m39.731s Bridgestone slicks 2 Jorge Lorenzo Fiat Yamaha Team 1m39.875s +0.144s Bridgestone slicks 3 Nicky Hayden Ducati Team 1m40.148s +0.417s Bridgestone slicks 4 Dani Pedrosa Repsol Honda Team 1m40.200s +0.469s Bridgestone slicks 5 Valentino Rossi Fiat Yamaha Team 1m40.359s +0.628s Bridgestone slicks 6 Loris Capirossi Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1m40.716s +0.985s Bridgestone slicks 7 Colin Edwards Monster Yamaha Tech3 1m40.913s +1.182s Bridgestone slicks 8 Hector Barbera Paginas Amarillas Aspar 1m41.034s +1.303s Bridgestone slicks 9 Alvaro Bautista Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1m41.093s +1.362s Bridgestone slicks 10 Marco Melandri San Carlo Honda Gresini 1m41.190s +1.459s Bridgestone slicks Weather: Dry. Ambient 26-30°C; Track 42-46°C (Bridgestone measurement) More, from a press release issued by Rizla Suzuki: Rizla Suzuki got back to MotoGP action at Jerez in Spain today with both riders inside the top 10 after the first free practice session. Loris Capirossi’s fastest time of 1’40.716 from his 23 laps of the 4,423m Spanish circuit gave him sixth place overall in the standings. He made some big changes to the set-up of his GSV-R in preparation for this weekend’s event and from the first evaluation he is pleased with the new settings, but also knows there is extra to come to make his machine more competitive. Álvaro Bautista is making his home MotoGP debut this weekend and acquitted himself well during the first day. He recorded a quickest time of 1’41.093, to give him ninth place overall after his 25 laps of the Jerez track. He is eager to make a good impression in front of his home fans and will be determined to continue to improve over the weekend. Today’s single hour of practice was held in warm and sunny conditions, with air temperatures getting up to 26ºC and track temperatures in the high 40s. Casey Stoner on a factory Ducati set the fastest time of the day with a lap of 1’39.731. Rizla Suzuki has one more practice session on Saturday morning followed by qualifying in the afternoon. Sunday’s 27-lap race will get underway at 14.00hrs local time (12.00hrs GMT). Loris Capirossi: “We decided to take a bit of a risk today and make some big changes to the bike in the hope that it would help us take some big steps and for sure it has certainly helped us. I have to give a big thanks to everyone involved for letting us make the changes. We had a big meeting between my guys and Sahara san and it looks like we have solved one of the biggest problems we have. Overall we need to continue to work in this direction and I think we will make yet more discoveries that will help us. Today has been a good day for me and Suzuki and I think there is more to come!” Álvaro Bautista: “This is a new circuit with new reference points for me on a MotoGP bike, so it felt like I had to start working all over again. I tried to find a good line on the track and worked with the team to get a good base setting. At the end of the session I tried the softer compound tyres and I had a lot of grip from the rear and I was able to exit the corners much quicker, but I think I felt a bit too much movement from the front and I wasn’t able to enter the corner like I could on the harder tyres, so that is something we have to work on tomorrow. We have a lot of work to do tomorrow and we will have to work very hard to get everything right. I think we are in a good position in the classification because we are in the top 10 and at my home GP I want to have a good race, but before that we have a lot of work to do on the bike and we must get a good setting so I can compete and enjoy myself!” Paul Denning Team Manager: “It’s been a solid start to our preparations for the Jerez Grand Prix. There is not a lot of space around this circuit for the big bikes to stretch their legs and I’m sure the GSV-R felt a bit of an animal to Álvaro on his first run around here on anything bigger than a 250. He certainly didn’t look out of place during the course of the session and to be in the top 10 at the end is a very encouraging result. “Loris has tried a very different set-up to that which he has used over the winter and there are some advantages, but as ever, there are also some disadvantages. Top six with a couple of problems is very reasonable and if we can make the bike a little easier and stable to ride through the fast stuff – but keep the rear grip that this setting has generated then we can expect Loris to have a very competitive weekend.”