Defending MotoGP World Champion Casey Stoner obliterated his own pole position record during qualifying for the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix Saturday afternoon at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Riding his Bridgestone-shod Marlboro Ducati GP8, Stoner ripped off a 1:20.700 on his 28th and final lap. That time not only secured the Australian’s fifth consecutive pole position (a feat only matched in the four-stroke MotoGP era by Valentino Rossi) but it undercut his own pole position record from 2007 (1:22.292) by more than 1.5 seconds. Rossi posted the second-fastest time, a 1:21.147, on his Bridgestone-equipped Fiat Yamaha YZR-M1 and will share the front row with Stoner and Nicky Hayden (1:21.430), the third-fastest man overall and the fastest of several strong Michelin-backed qualifiers. In fact, Hayden led a group of five Michelin riders Jorge Lorenzo, James Toseland, Randy De Puniet and Colin Edwards — who earned the third through eighth slots on the grid, respectively. Earning the ninth spot overall and the final starting spot on the third row was Rizla Suzuki’s Chris Vermeulen, who recorded a 1:21.971 on his Bridgestone-tired GSV-R. Vermeulen’s time, however, came halfway through the session instead of on the very last lap or next-to-last lap, like every other rider on the grid. AMA Superbike Champion Ben Spies jumped from 15th to fourth in the order with less than 16 minutes to go, but his 1:22.127 ended up only being good enough for 13th (row five) during the session. Spies AMA Superbike peer Jamie Hacking ran off track and then later crashed his Kawasaki ZX-RR during the hour-long session, but he was able to run back to his garage, get on his back-up machine and go even quicker. He ended up 17th in the talented field with a lap at 1:23.309. Hacking wasn’t the only rider to crash during the session as both San Carlo Honda Gresini riders, Shinya Nakano and Alex De Angelis, and Alice Ducati’s Toni Elias also fell off their motorcycles. FIM MotoGP World Championship Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca Monterey, California July 19, 2008 Qualifying Results: 1. Casey Stoner (Ducati), Bridgestone, 1:20.700 2. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha), Bridgestone, 1:21.147 3. Nicky Hayden (Honda), Michelin, 1:21.430 4. Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha), Michelin, 1:21.636 5. James Toseland (Yamaha), Michelin, 1:21.848 6. Randy De Puniet (Honda), Michelin, 1:21.921 7. Colin Edwards (Honda), Michelin, 1:21.947 8. Chris Vermeulen (Suzuki), Bridgestone, 1:21.971 9. Andrea Dovizioso (Honda), Michelin, 1:21.974 10. Toni Elias (Ducati), Bridgestone, 1:21.999 11. Loris Capirossi (Suzuki), Bridgestone, 1:22.039 12. Shinya Nakano (Honda), Bridgestone, 1:22.092, crash 13. Ben Spies (Suzuki), Bridgestone, 1:22.127 14. Sylvain Guintoli (Ducati), Bridgestone, 1:22.719 15. Marco Melandri (Ducati), Bridgestone, 1:22.957 16. Alex De Angelis (Honda), Bridgestone, 1:23.035, crash 17. Jamie Hacking (Kawasaki), Bridgestone, 1:23.309, crash 18. Anthony West (Kawasaki), Bridgestone, 1:24.525 19. Dani Pedrosa (Honda), Michelin, did not ride More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda: REPSOL HONDA’S HAYDEN SCORES US GP FRONT ROW Repsol United States Grand Prix, Laguna Seca Qualifying, Saturday July 19 2008 Repsol Honda rider Nicky Hayden will start tomorrow’s US GP from the front row of the grid following a stirring charge in the final stages of this afternoon’s qualifying session. In warm, sunny conditions that followed another misty start to the day, Hayden rode his fastest-ever lap of Laguna Seca, almost 1.2 seconds faster than his 2007 qualifying pace. The American, winner here in 2005 and 2006, will tomorrow aim for his first podium of the 2008 season to back up his first front-row start since June’s Catalan GP. Hayden’s Repsol Honda team-mate Dani Pedrosa this morning decided to withdraw from this weekend’s event due to the injuries he sustained in last Sunday’s Germany GP. (Please see separate media release for further details.). Nicky Hayden, 3rd fastest, 1m 21.430s “Qualifying was difficult, there were many guys crashing. Qualifying is so important here because it’s so hard to pass, so some guys are willing to pay a big price for a good grid position. Our race pace isn’t exactly blazing but it’s really nice to be on the front row in front of the home crowd, the support is awesome. I know tomorrow’s going to be really tough, Casey [Stoner] is on fire right now and we’re having a few little issues, but the team’s done a good job and I feel like we deserve a good result. Hoping won’t get it though, so we’ll come in here tomorrow, ride hard and see if we can’t pull something out. I’m a little bit nervous. Truth is, the tyres we’ve got in our allocation are a little out of the range, so the warmer the better for us. We changed the bike a little bit to make the tyres work more and the qualifying tyres were awesome. Actually I felt like I maybe left a couple of tenths in them but I was running about as hard as I could. Hopefully we can put on a good show tomorrow and not less this guy disappear. A podium would be great, but to try to fight with Casey would be a long shot. We never give up, anything can happen when we line up, so we’ll come in here, try to have fun, try my hardest and I know I’ll have plenty of support. I’m looking forward to it.” Kazuhiko Yamano – Team Manager “Nicky did a good job today, conquering his second front row of the season. He did a good job with qualifying tyres but also his rhythm with race tyres is not too bad, so we are confident and we will try. We know that the race will be tough as there are many strong riders but Nicky is very motivated, the support of the American fans is incredible and we will fight for the win.” More, from a press release issued by JiR Team Scot Honda: Andrea Dovizioso on the third row for the United States Grand Prix At Laguna Seca, the second period of qualifying for the Grand Prix of the United States has ended, leaving Andrea Dovizioso in ninth place, which allows the JiR Team Scot rider to be on the third row. Andrea will have to make an aggressive start and focus on the perfect line around the circuit, along with a large group of opponents who will all be battling for the top positions. Andrea Dovizioso rider JiR Team Scot MotoGP HONDA RC212V 9th- best time: 1’21 “974 “During qualifying, we had planned to develop the technical package better for the race, but to be honest I expected a greater improvement. Starting from the third row, here at Laguna Seca, means that I cannot commit the slightest error because in the first turn it is difficult to overtake, and it is important to gain positions immediately. I predict a tough race, as there are many riders who have the same pace. We will focus on a consistent pace for the entire duration of the race tomorrow.” More, from a press release issued by Fiat Yamaha: FRONT ROW PUTS ROSSI IN PLACE FOR LAGUNA CHALLENGE This afternoon’s qualifying session at Laguna Seca saw Valentino Rossi put his Fiat Yamaha M1 on the front row of the grid for the sixth time this season, qualifying second for tomorrow’s US Grand Prix. Yamaha and Rossi announced last night that he has signed a new deal to continue racing with the factory in MotoGP for two more years, and the Italian is keen to celebrate by taking his first win at this track tomorrow. Heavy fog this morning cast doubt over whether the day’s proceedings would begin on time and this morning’s practice session was run in very low temperatures, with Rossi finishing second. Luckily however the Californian sun showed its face this afternoon and the qualifying session was a much warmer affair, with Rossi consistently fast throughout, having found an improved suspension set-up this morning. With six minutes remaining a fast lap with a Bridgestone qualifying tyre put him second, although he temporarily surrendered the spot a few minutes later. Rossi’s final flying lap was even faster however and, although he was unable to catch Stoner, it was good enough for second on the grid. It was a successful day all round for the Fiat Yamaha Team as Jorge Lorenzo was able to qualify fourth on what is his first ride at the track, whilst Tech 3 riders James Toseland and Colin Edwards were 5th and 7th respectively. Rossi will start in between Stoner and Hayden, two former winners here, when the lights go out at 1400 West Coast time for tomorrow’s 32-lap race. Valentino Rossi Position: 2nd Time: 1’21.147 Laps: 38 “I’m pleased with this result and I think we’ve done a good job today. This morning, even though it was very cold, we were able to make some good steps forward, especially with the suspension setting, and I was able to be quite fast. This afternoon we were able to do a long simulation and this was very important to help us understand how the tyres will be tomorrow. It seems they are quite good, but this is a very hard race for tyres! It’s also a hard race physically and so I know that tomorrow will be a big challenge. Second place is good for us and I think we’ve done a lot better in the practice this weekend than we have in the last couple of races, so I’m happy about this. Casey is very fast and I don’t know exactly how to beat him maybe I need to start 30 seconds earlier! Whatever happens a good start is going to be very important and then I will just try to stay with him and keep pushing.” Davide Brivio Team Manager “It’s good to be starting from the first row and we’re happy because this is our first target for the weekend. Our pace is very good, but of course we will be looking for ways to improve this even further for tomorrow. Unfortunately there is someone who is faster than us, but you never know in racing and we will just try to stay with him and have a race.” More, from another press release issued by Fiat Yamaha: LORENZO TO LAUNCH LAGUNA BID FROM SECOND ROW Jorge Lorenzo will start his debut US Grand Prix from the second row of the grid, having qualified fourth at Laguna Seca today. The Fiat Yamaha Team rookie was able to make significant strides with his set-up today and is now looking forward to his first American challenge tomorrow. The track was shrouded in heavy fog this morning, which only just cleared in time for the first practice to go ahead. Despite the cool temperatures Lorenzo and his crew improved on his time from yesterday by half a second and the Spaniard went into this afternoon’s qualifying with much more confidence. Bright sunshine made it a cheerier affair and Lorenzo was able to put in some fast laps with his Michelin qualifying tyres, his best and final effort putting him fourth, well inside the pole position record of last year. His team-mate Valentino Rossi secured a front-row start in second place, in between Casey Stoner and Nicky Hayden. Tomorrow’s 32-lap race will start at 1400 West Coast time. Jorge Lorenzo Position: 4th Time: 1’21.636 Laps: 27 “We had a good qualifying tyre from Michelin and I was very happy with my performance this afternoon. The second row is very good, especially since this is my first time here. We know we have a race tyre that is okay for tomorrow, but it is quite hard and therefore it is quite difficult to get temperature into it; this is the problem for our pace. In fact today we improved a lot but we are still a long way off the best time and therefore I think it’s going to be a very hard race and we will struggle to go fast in the early stages, until we can get enough temperature into the tyre. For me the most difficult part of the track is still the first corner, this is where I lack some feeling, so we will try to improve things a bit more in the warm-up. Besides all this I am still having fun riding here, even though it is clear that this is not the best race for our package! I will do my best tomorrow and hopefully I will be able to enjoy myself again.” Daniele Romagnoli Team Manager “This has been quite a good day for us; in the morning session we improved our issues with the rear grip and this afternoon we’ve made another step forward again. The team did a great job to change our base set-up from the previous races and now Jorge is getting back some of his confidence with the bike. Of course we still need to improve and refine our setting because on the entry to the corner we still have a few issues, so we are planning some things for the warm-up. The team and Jorge enjoyed themselves a lot today with the Michelin qualifying tyres and Jorge was able to take a good fourth place. For his first time on this track this is already a good result, so now we hope for a good race tomorrow.” More, from a press release issued by Rizla Suzuki: Rizla Suzuki MotoGP racer Chris Vermeulen was the second quickest rider on race tyres around the 3,610m Laguna Seca circuit during today’s qualifying practice session, in readiness for tomorrow’s American Grand Prix. Vermeulen (P8, 1’21.971, 34 laps) was one of only two riders to lap the circuit in the 1’21s on race tyres pole setter Casey Stoner being the other – and looks to be in good shape ahead of tomorrow’s 32-lap race. He was unable to repeat his blistering pace on qualifying tyres and will start from eighth on the grid, but he is confident of a good start and chasing for his second successive US podium tomorrow. Loris Capirossi (P11, 1’22.039, 30 laps) showed a very strong performance on race tyres during both sessions today and moved into the top-five during the qualifying. He struggled to get the most out of his machine on the qualifiers due the injury to his arm restricting his movement, but promises to give it everything he can in pursuit of a good result tomorrow. Wildcard rider Ben Spies (P13, 1’22.127, 30 laps) was using qualifying tyres for the first time in two years it rained at Donington in the qualifying session and adapted to the extra grip well. He produced a lap within half-a-second of fourth place on the grid, but due to the amazingly close times he will start from the fifth row in 13th place. Tomorrow’s race is round 11 of the season and the action will get underway at 14.00hrs local time (21.00hrs GMT), with all three riders looking to improve on their qualifying berths and bring their respective Rizla Suzuki GSV-Rs home in high-placed finishes. Chris Vermeulen: “Today went a lot better than yesterday and the steps we took worked quite well. We did some longer runs on race tyres and produced some good lap times. The times were a lot closer to Casey today and hopefully we can do that again tomorrow. The qualifiers just didn’t seem to work for me today and I couldn’t go any quicker on them than I did on the race rubber. It sucks starting from eighth position but if I can get a good first couple of laps, I know we can still fight for a podium!” Loris Capirossi: “It would not be good to say I am happy today because in qualifying we struggled a bit, but we certainly did improve the bike in race set-up. We went a lot better on race tyres and I was in the top-five. The whole team has done a great job to find a good setting and we are confident that we have a good rhythm for tomorrow. Like I said yesterday, this track is not so easy with my arm, but I will certainly be giving it my best tomorrow and I think it will be a really interesting race and we could be right up there!” Ben Spies: “It went good today overall, I haven’t used qualifiers for a couple of years now and if I could have found a few more tenths I would have been a lot further forward, but I got blocked on a couple of my qualifying laps and made a mistake on my last one. It should be good for the race tomorrow as we’ve figured a few things out with the bike and we got down to a good time on the race tyres. The race set-up is certainly getting better and better and I am getting more comfortable on the bike every time I ride it, and I think I can get it in the top-10 tomorrow!” Paul Denning Team Manager: “The three guys made a huge effort this afternoon. Ben got used to the qualifying tyres very quickly, Loris overcame the injury and pushed to the maximum and Chris showed that on race tyres he was easily the second quickest. Unfortunately as has sometimes been the case this year Chris couldn’t make the qualifiers work for him. Again, when they are first and second on the grid there is nothing bad about the tyres but there is just something between the match of rider, bike and qualifier that isn’t quite working for Chris. We will certainly have to work on that in the Brno test. The good thing is that he is absolutely fine on race tyres and I’m sure he’ll show a lot of fight tomorrow and challenge for the podium. “Loris and Ben have a bit of an uphill battle from the fourth and fifth rows respectively, this is all the more frustrating when two-tenths of a second would have put Loris fifth on the grid. It is so close from fifth backwards and I’m sure both the guys will be giving everything they’ve got over 32 laps tomorrow to do the team and themselves proud.” More, from a press release issued by Bridgestone: Stoner continues pole run in Laguna Seca, Rossi second Round 11: USA Qualifying Laguna Seca Raceway Saturday 19 July 2008 Ducati’s Casey Stoner has claimed the top spot in this afternoon’s United States GP qualifying session to extend his recent run of pole positions. Stoner has now taken five consecutive pole positions, the sixth in a row for a rider on Bridgestone tyres, in a competitive qualifying hour which saw the top thirteen riders break the existing pole record, set by Stoner in last year’s US GP. Stoner’s best lap, 1m20.700s, represents a 1.5s improvement over his previous pole record. Fiat Yamaha rider Valentino Rossi took the runner-up spot, his sixth front row start of the season, four-tenths-of-a-second adrift of Stoner, but three-tenths clear of third-placed man Nicky Hayden. Rossi’s result makes it only the second occasion this season that Bridgestone-shod riders occupy the front two positions on the starting grid after Donington Park in Britain three races ago. Rizla Suzuki’s Chris Vermeulen will start tomorrow’s 32-lap Laguna Seca race from eighth position, setting his best time on Bridgestone race tyres, while Alice Team rider Toni Elias was the only other Bridgestone rider to claim a top ten result today. The mid-field was closely-fought with half-a-second separating Jorge Lorenzo in fourth from Ben Spies in 13th with many Bridgestone riders only marginally missing out on higher grid positions. Bridgestone has continued looking at its race tyre options for Sunday’s GP with some encouraging performances by a number of riders in today’s practice. Tyre Talk with Tohru Ubukata – Bridgestone Motorsport Manager, Motorcycle Race Tyre Development Are you pleased with the results of qualifying today? “In general, I am quite satisfied with the qualifying tyre performance today with Casey’s pole position and Valentino’s second place giving us only our second 1-2 of the year in qualifying. Many of our riders were able to mark a reasonable improvement on their race tyre lap time when using the qualifiers, which is certainly encouraging. The midfield was very close and I think some of our riders were unfortunate not to get higher grid positions today. We still have to work more on the qualifying tyres to allow all our teams to extract the maximum performance, especially when everyone is so tightly-packed.” How is race tyre performance? “The performance of our race tyres continues to show promise for tomorrow afternoon, and over mid-range runs, the lap times seem quite consistent. I believe our riders have a good idea on what tyres to use in the race if the weather and track conditions are similar to what we have faced today.” Bridgestone-shod Riders’ Qualifying Session Results Pos. Rider Team Qualifying Time (pos) Gap to Pole P1 Casey Stoner Ducati Corse 1m20.700s Pole P2 Valentino Rossi Fiat Yamaha Team 1m21.147s +0.447s P8 Chris Vermeulen Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1m21.971s +1.271s P10 Toni Elias Alice Team 1m21.999s +1.299s P11 Loris Capirossi Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1m22.039s +1.339s P12 Shinya Nakano San Carlo Honda Gresini 1m22.092s +1.392s P13 Ben Spies Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1m22.127s +1.427s P14 Sylvain Guintoli Alice Team 1m22.719s +2.019s P15 Marco Melandri Ducati Corse 1m22.957s +2.257s P16 Alex de Angelis San Carlo Honda Gresini 1m23.035s +2.335s P17 Jamie Hacking Kawasaki Racing Team 1m23.309s +2.609s P18 Anthony West Kawasaki Racing Team 1m24.525s +3.825s Weather: Dry Air 19°C, Track 40°C (Bridgestone measurement) More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki Racing Team: IMPROVEMENTS LEAVE HACKING EXCITED ABOUT MOTOGP DEBUT Jamie Hacking is looking forward to making his MotoGP race debut in tomorrow’s USGP at Laguna Seca, after major changes made overnight to the set-up of his Ninja ZX-RR paid dividends for the Kawasaki pilot during today’s practice and qualifying sessions. Hacking and his crew made changes to the chassis geometry and suspension settings in a bid to improve feedback from the front tyre, and to give the 37-year-old AMA Superbike star more confidence in the front-end of his Ninja ZX-RR. The transformation compared to yesterday was obvious from the start, with the increase in confidence allowing Hacking to cut almost half-a-second from his lap time during this morning’s final free practice session, and then improve that by a further three-tenths during this afternoon’s qualifying session. The Kawasaki pilot suffered a minor fall on his first qualifying run this afternoon after losing the front at Rainey Curve due to the extra grip offered by Bridgestone’s rear qualifying tyre, which Hacking experienced for the first time today. With his lap times consistently in the low 1’23s bracket throughout today’s two hour-long sessions, Hacking is looking forward to tomorrow’s race, where he’s determined to finish higher than his final qualifying position of 17th. Anthony West’s crew also made major changes the set-up of his Ninja ZX-RR overnight, but unlike his temporary teammate, the 27-year-old Australian felt little improvement in the front-end of his Ninja ZX-RR today. A lack of confidence in the front grip available meant that West was unable to qualify higher than 18th place and, as a result, he faces a tough race. Despite the setback, the Kawasaki pilot is determined to put in another points scoring performance tomorrow. Jamie Hacking #12 – 17th – 1’23.309 “We definitely went in the right direction with the set-up changes last night, as the bike was transformed and I was able to push much harder today. We made some more small improvements during this morning’s practice session, and I felt pretty comfortable running laps in the low 1’2 bracket this afternoon. I’ve never used Bridgestone qualifiers before, so the extra grip came as something of a surprise. On my first run on the soft tyres I overrode the front at Rainey Curve and low-sided, which meant a run back to the pit box for the spare bike. I managed to improve my lap time with my last flying lap, but I think I’d need much more time on the qualifiers before I was able to get the best from them. We have some more small changes we want to make tonight and I’m pretty confident that if these work as expected, then it should be possible to drop into the low 1’22’s during tomorrow’s race. With the progress we made today with the bike, I’m really excited about racing it tomorrow.” Anthony West #13 – 18th – 1’24.525 “We made similar changes overnight to Jamie, but we didn’t seem to get the same improvement today. The front still feels vague, especially when I’m braking on the edge of the tyre, which you have to do a lot of here at Laguna. I couldn’t even stand the bike up to brake before turning in, because that meant I missed the apex almost every time. We will look again at the set-up of the bike tonight; Jamie tried a few things today that might also work for us, but we won’t know until we try them out during warm-up tomorrow. If will be a difficult race, but it should still be possible to finish in the points if I just get my head down and push as hard as I can.” Fiorenzo Fanali Hacking Crew Chief “Jamie’s comments yesterday were very clear, and it was easy to understand exactly what he needed from the bike. Last night we changed the set-up to put more weight on the front tyre in a bid to increase the working temperature, and also to increase feedback for Jamie. We saw straight away this morning that we were going in the right direction and we were able to make some further improvements ahead of qualifying. Qualifying was always going to be difficult for Jamie, because he’s never used our qualifying tyres before. What impressed me was that, despite his inexperience on the super-sticky tyres, he still pushed really hard. I’m sure he will improve further during the race tomorrow, as he’s progressed each time he’s taken to the track. He is a rider with a big heart and I’d like to thank him for all his hard work this weekend.” More, from a press release issued by Dorna Communications: Casey Stoner continued his pole-to-pole run on Saturday afternoon in Laguna Seca, with his fifth consecutive qualifying top spot and a breathtaking series of laps at the scene of the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix. The 2007 MotoGP World Champion winner of last year´s race from pole position- had been peerless throughout the free practice sessions, and confirmed his superiority at the American circuit in the hour-long qualifying run. Having broken his own circuit record continually with every session, it took just nine laps for Stoner to do so again. Three laps later and the Ducati Marlboro man was down to 1´21.374 without the aid of qualifying tyres, and he finally settled on the definitive pole position record time for the weekend with a jaw-dropping 1´20.700 in the final ten minutes. In doing so he cut the previous best by just over 1.5 seconds. Nine riders were able to break the 1´22 barrier for the first time in the Saturday session, but none were able to do so over an extended series of laps as the reigning titlist did. His imposing pace will pose plenty of problems for those attempting to stop another victory and an ongoing World Championship fightback from Stoner. Before Stoner´s remarkable feat only one rider had taken five successive pole positions in the history of the World Championship, and he will start Sunday´s race from second on the grid. Valentino Rossi was nearly half a second slower than his title rival, but achieved his important goal of earning a front row start and a better position from which to challenge the form rider of the moment. The American fans will have a home rider on the front line for the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix, with Nicky Hayden making the most of his Michelin qualifying tyre to battle his way into the top three. The 2005 & 2006 winner at Laguna Seca is chasing his first podium of the year, and to take it in his `backyard´ would delight both the public and the Repsol Honda rider himself. Second Fiat Yamaha man Jorge Lorenzo heads the second row, joined by satellite Yamaha rider James Toseland and LCR Honda´s Randy de Puniet. All four Yamaha riders will start from the front three rows, although Tech 3 rider Colin Edwards was perhaps expecting more from his qualifying run. With Michelin making an afternoon comeback after a worrying morning performance, the American was nudged down to the third line by just 0.026. 2007 race runner-up Chris Vermeulen and Laguna Seca first-timer Andrea Dovizioso complete the third row. There were crashes for both San Carlo Honda Gresini riders in the qualifying session; Shinya Nakano was first to hit the ground, lowsiding and hitting the airfence in similar fashion to Anthony West´s Friday tumble, whilst Alex de Angelis highsided soon after. He was nursing a sore left hand after the impact, and performed just two additional laps before time ran out. Also crashing out was Kawasaki replacement rider Jamie Hacking, who had a few nervous moments throughout the run. Both he and Rizla Suzuki wildcard Ben Spies were left to concentrate on their MotoGP setups on Saturday, with the AMA Superbike practice session cancelled in the morning due to fog. Alice Team´s Toni Elias had looked on course for a second row start until the final five minutes, but some fast rivals and a late fall meant that he would have to settle for tenth still his best qualifying result of the season to date. More, from a press release issued by LCR Honda: SECOND ROW FOR DE PUNIET AT LAGUNA SECA Monterey, 19 July 2008: LCR Honda MotoGP rider Randy De Puniet will start tomorrow’s U.S. Grand Prix from sixth position following today’s qualifying session at Laguna Seca Raceway which hosts the eleventh round of the season. The Frenchman aboard the Michelin-shod Honda RC212V clocked a 1’21.921 fastest time on Q-tyres at the 3.610 Km American track and improved also his yesterdays’ lap time on race trim of one second. The second day of practices started out with cloudy skies and mist with air temperature of 16°C (ground 24°C) and the 27-year-old struggled with rear grip ending the free session in 16th position. Luckily the weather improved for the qualifying practice and the ground temperature rose up to 36°C with De Puniet setting consistent and fast lap times throughout the 60-minute session. Stoner gained the pole position (1’20.700) followed by Rossi and Hayden. De Puniet 6th: “I am very happy today and want to thank my crew for their good job. We had a tough start yesterday but we did not give up. We adjusted the bike set-up (gear ratio, engine mapping, braking stability and suspensions) and, once the grip level improved, I could lap consistently fast. We solved our rear grip problems obtaining a good pace on race tyres and we are very happy about our tyres choice for tomorrow’s 32-lap race. Honestly I think this race could be the interesting for me”¦” More, from a press release issued by Honda: Weather: sunny Temperature: ambient 22-degrees, track 36-degrees RESURGENT HAYDEN HITS THE FRONT ROW AT HOME With World Championship challenger Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC212V) ruling himself out of this weekend’s race due to injuries sustained in Germany last weekend, it was left to Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC212V) to take the fight to pole-man Casey Stoner (Ducati) and second fastest Valentino Rossi (Yamaha). And Hayden was not found wanting. The Kentucky Kid powered his RCV to the front row as third quickest qualifier in a typically intense hour-long session and ended the day 0.730 seconds away from Stoner’s 1m 20.700s lap. Stoner began the stint in dominant form and made sure his current run of form continued here in the USA. But Hayden was never about to surrender his reputation as the main man at his ‘home’ track. Riding the latest pneumatic-valve-engined version of the RCV, he was fifth fastest man at the halfway stage. He then moved up to second quickest with ten minutes to go and stayed put on the front row despite the frenzied efforts of his rivals. Stoner whittled down his times from an opening 1m 22.204s lap to the final record time that was his pole effort, but the manner in which his rivals improved suggests that he will have a tricky race on his hands tomorrow. Without Dani the Honda men will ride hard to deprive Stoner of the points he needs to press home his claim for a second World Championship. One of his potential challengers, the Suzuki rider Chris Vermeulen looked strong at the mid-point of the session, but he faded to eighth in the second half and will have to make do with a third row getaway. So too will Andrea Dovizioso (JiR Scot Honda RC212V) who qualified ninth fastest. Dovi has proved he has the ability to launch cleanly and quickly from down the grid in his rookie season and he will need to rely on this skill when the lights go out for the start of this encounter. Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda RC212V) made a better qualifying effort this weekend with an encouraging second row performance to line up as sixth fastest man at this challenging 3.610km track. This is his sixth top six qualifying job so far this season. There was no lack of application from Alex de Angelis (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V) and his hard-charging team-mate Shinya Nakano (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V). The duo hit the deck in their endeavours to continue the team’s recent strong showings. But both should be fit to ride tomorrow. They will have to start from way down the order however; Nakano from 12th and De Angelis from 16th. Although far from ideal grid-slots, the rookie revelation De Angelis has proved this year that an unfortunate qualifying session is no barrier to a shining race performance. The San Marinese man has netted two fourth places (at Mugello and at the Sachsenring) from tenth on the grid and he will be fired up to repeat this pattern, or perhaps better it tomorrow. If he does it will be another impressive effort from the 250cc class graduate. Hayden, who rode 1.2 seconds faster than his 2007 qualifying time, said: “It was difficult, there were a lot of guys crashing. Qualifying is so important here because it’s so hard to pass, so some guys are willing to pay a big price for a good grid position. Our race pace isn’t exactly blazing but it’s really nice to be on the front row in front of the home crowd, the support is awesome. I know tomorrow’s going to be really tough, Casey’s on fire right now and we’re having a few little issues, but the team’s done a good job and I feel like we deserve a good result. Hoping won’t get it though, so we’ll come in here tomorrow, ride hard and see if we can’t pull something out.” De Puniet, sixth quickest, said: “I am very happy today and want to thank my crew for their good job. We had a tough start yesterday but we adjusted the bike set-up (gear ratio, engine-mapping, braking stability and suspension) and once the grip level improved I could lap consistently fast. We solved our rear grip problems, working a good pace on race tyres and we’re very happy about our tyre choice for tomorrow’s 32-lap race. Honestly I think this race could be very interesting for me”¦” Dovi, who made ninth on the grid, said: “During qualifying, we planned to develop the technical package better for the race, but to be honest I expected a greater improvement. Starting from the third row, here at Laguna Seca, means that I can’t commit the slightest error because in the first turn it’s difficult to overtake, and it’s important to gain positions immediately. I predict a tough race, there are many riders who have the same pace. We will focus on a consistent pace for the entire race tomorrow.” Nakano, 12th on the grid, said: “I’m disappointed with this session because we’ve managed to set a fast pace throughout free practice, lapping consistently in the top six, so to be starting from twelfth is not the best. This afternoon we went out on the tyres we’ll use for the race and I set a good pace, with a good feeling. Unfortunately on my first lap with a qualifier I was going a little faster than usual through turn four and lost the front, although I was lucky not to be injured. I got straight back to the box and went back out on the second bike but couldn’t improve my lap time as much as I would have hoped.” De Angelis, down in 16th, said: “Unfortunately I crashed when we were trying out the race tyre. I tried to go back out but the pain in my left thumb was too much, so after just one lap I came back in with twenty minutes still remaining of the session. Obviously that meant I didn’t get chance to put in a qualifier.” The 32-lap race is the last before the MotoGP season breaks for summer and resumes at Brno in the Czech Republic on August 17th Honda rider quotes. GP USA qualifying. July 19, 2008. MotoGP: Nicky Hayden, Repsol Honda: 3rd 1m 21.430s. “Qualifying was difficult, there were many guys crashing. Qualifying is so important here because it’s so hard to pass, so some guys are willing to pay a big price for a good grid position. Our race pace isn’t exactly blazing but it’s really nice to be on the front row in front of the home crowd, the support is awesome. I know tomorrow’s going to be really tough, Casey [Stoner] is on fire right now and we’re having a few little issues, but the team’s done a good job and I feel like we deserve a good result. Hoping won’t get it though, so we’ll come in here tomorrow, ride hard and see if we can’t pull something out. I’m a little bit nervous. Truth is, the tyres we’ve got in our allocation are a little out of the range, so the warmer the better for us. We changed the bike a little bit to make the tyres work more and the qualifying tyres were awesome. Actually I felt like I maybe left a couple of tenths in them but I was running about as hard as I could. Hopefully we can put on a good show tomorrow and not less this guy disappear. A podium would be great, but to try to fight with Casey would be a long shot. We never give up, anything can happen when we line up, so we’ll come in here, try to have fun, try my hardest and I know I’ll have plenty of support. I’m looking forward to it.” Randy De Puniet, LCR Honda: 6th 1m 21.921s. “I am very happy today and want to thank my crew for their good job. We had a tough start yesterday but we adjusted the bike set-up (gear ratio, engine-mapping, braking stability and suspension) and once the grip level improved I could lap consistently fast. We solved our rear grip problems, working a good pace on race tyres and we’re very happy about our tyre choice for tomorrow’s 32-lap race. Honestly I think this race could be very interesting for me”¦” Andrea Dovizioso, JiR Scot Honda: 9th 1m 21.974s. “During qualifying, we had planned to develop the technical package better for the race, but to be honest I expected a greater improvement. Starting from the third row, here at Laguna Seca, means that I cannot commit the slightest error because in the first turn it is difficult to overtake, and it is important to gain positions immediately. I predict a tough race, as there are many riders who have the same pace. We will focus on a consistent pace for the entire duration of the race tomorrow.” Shinya Nakano, San Carlo Gresini Honda: 12th 1m 22.09s. “I’m disappointed with this session because we’ve managed to set a fast pace throughout free practice, lapping consistently in the top six, so to be starting from twelfth is not satisfactory. This afternoon we went out on the tyres we’ll use for the race and I set a good pace, with a good feeling. Unfortunately on my first lap with a qualifier I was going a little faster than usual through turn four and lost the front, although I was lucky not to be injured. I got straight back to the box and went back out on the second bike but couldn’t improve my lap time as much as I would have hoped. Anyway, my pace is good and the objective is to get a good start and make up positions as early as possible.” Alex De Angelis, San Carlo Gresini Honda: 18th 1m 23.035s. “Unfortunately I crashed when we were trying out the race tyre. I tried to go back out but the pain in my left thumb was too much, so after just one lap I came back in with twenty minutes still remaining of the session. Obviously that meant I didn’t get chance to put in a qualifier.” Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: Will not start due to injuries sustained at the German GP last weekend. “This has been a very difficult decision to take, but there really is no alternative. Yesterday I struggled a lot. I rode in the morning using only painkilling pills and the pain was incredible, so I had an anti-pain infiltration before the afternoon session. Despite that, I still had a lot of pain. I did a nine lap run and it felt like 40 laps. When I woke this morning I had a lot of pain and the fingers were very swollen. I knew that I couldn’t finish the race in these conditions. To face 32 laps would have been impossible, especially since this track is very physically demanding, with many uphill and downhill sections and many left-handers which demand a lot of effort from the left hand and arm. At least I tried if I had stayed at home I would never have known if I could have ridden. Now I have three weeks to recover and do all the necessary rehabilitation to be ready to race in Brno in the best-possible condition. More, from a press release issued by Marlboro Ducati: FIFTH POLE IN A ROW FOR STONER, MELANDRI LOOKING GOOD IN RACE TRIM Casey Stoner collected his fifth consecutive pole position at Laguna Seca today, equalling a MotoGP record held by Valentino Rossi who, along with Nicky Hayden, will join the Australian on the front row for tomorrow’s US Grand Prix. Stoner became the first and only rider ever to lap inside 1’21 at the Californian circuit, using his third qualifying tyre to set a stunning time of 1’20.700. Marco Melandri was unfortunately unable to carry his good from over the three free practice sessions into qualifying, although his constantly improving pace on race tyres makes him optimistic of his chances in tomorrow’s race. CASEY STONER (Ducati MotoGP Team) Pole Position, 1’20.700 “I’m happy with how we’re looking in race trim and with the fact we’re on pole again. I didn’t manage to get the most out of the first two qualifiers because the front tyre, which is working perfectly with the race rear, was a bit too soft for the qualifying and I wasn’t confident enough push it 100%. With the third one I gave it my best shot and we’ve come out with another pole. Congratulations to the team, who are working as hard as always, and Bridgestone for another fantastic job.” MARCO MELANDRI (Ducati MotoGP Team) 15th: 1’22.957 “I’m disappointed not to have taken advantage of two great days’ work with a better time on a qualifier. We tried a few different tyres this afternoon but I couldn’t get the same feeling on them that I had this morning and we lost a bit of time. But for the race tomorrow I’m confident we can recover because we know we can be faster than we showed today.” More, from a press release issued by Michelin: MICHELIN MEN EXPECT TOUGH LAGUNA GP Five of Michelin’s six riders at Laguna Seca placed in the top seven in this afternoon’s US GP qualifying session, local hero Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC212V-Michelin) making the front row with third-best time. Behind front-row starter Hayden, row two is an all-Michelin affair with Laguna newcomer Jorge Lorenzo (Fiat Yamaha Team YZR-M1-Michelin), James Toseland (Yamaha Tech 3 YZR-M1-Michelin) and Randy de Puniet (Honda LCR RC212V-Michelin). Texan Colin Edwards (Yamaha Tech 3 YZR-M1-Michelin) was seventh fastest this afternoon, to share the third row with another Laguna first-timer Andrea Dovizioso (JiR Team Scot Honda RC212V-Michelin). “Today’s qualifying session was very important because we had to continue the work we had already done with our race tires,” said Jean-Philippe Weber, Michelin’s director of motorcycle racing. “The conditions here are very different to those at last year’s US GP when we struggled with high temperatures and a new and aggressive surface. This year the surface is much less aggressive and the conditions aren’t so hot. We brought some hard constructions and hard compounds to prevent a repeat of the problems we had last year, so our riders have had to work on the settings of their bikes to get good warm-up from the tires and to use the tires’ maximum potential. Casey Stoner is once again very fast, but we are happy that five of our riders are in the top seven positions on the grid. Tomorrow’s race is very long ? 32 laps ? and it seems that it may be cloudy, which will mean a different track temperature, so during morning warm-up some further adjustments may be necessary. It will be tough but we hope for a nice race.” Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC212V-Michelin) withdrew from the event this morning due the injuries he suffered when he crashed out of the lead of last Sunday’s German GP. The Spaniard fractured his left index finger and his left wrist, which required surgery on Monday. The tough Spaniard rode yesterday but the severity of his injuries made the 32-lap race an impossible challenge. Qualifying practice results 1. Casey STONER (Ducati Marlboro Team), 1:20.700 2. Valentino ROSSI (Fiat Yamaha Team), + 0.447 3. Nicky HAYDEN (Repsol Honda Team-Michelin), + 0.730 4. Jorge LORENZO (Fiat Yamaha Team-Michelin), + 0.936 5. James TOSELAND (Tech 3 Yamaha-Michelin), + 1.148 6. Randy DE PUNIET (LCR Honda MotoGP-Michelin), + 1.221 7. Colin EDWARDS (Tech 3 Yamaha-Michelin), + 1.247 8. Chris VERMEULEN (Rizla Suzuki MotoGP), + 1.271 9. Andrea DOVIZIOSO (JiR Team Scot MotoGP-Michelin), + 1.274 10. Toni ELIAS (Alice Team), + 1.299 11. Loris CAPIROSSI (Rizla Suzuki MotoGP), + 1.339 12. Shinya NAKANO (San Carlo Honda Gresini),+ 1.392 13. Ben SPIES (Rizla Suzuki MotoGP), + 1.427 14. Sylvain GUINTOLI (Alice Team), + 2.019 15. Marco MELANDRI (Ducati Marlboro Team), + 2.257 16. Alex DE ANGELIS (San Carlo Honda Gresini), + 2.335 17. Jamie HACKING (Kawasaki Racing Team), + 2.609 18. Anthony WEST (Kawasaki Racing Team), + 3.825 More, from a press release issued by Alice Ducati: BEST QUALIFYING OF THE SEASON FOR ELIAS, GUINTOLI FOURTEENTH Alice Team rider Toni Elias has made it to conquer the best starting grid position of the season notwithstanding a slip while he was about to begin the last fast lap at his disposal. The Spanish rider didn’t suffer any injuries and he still feel trustful for tomorrow’s race after seen the good lap times registered during the all race weekend. Also his teammate, Sylvain Guintoli, is positive for tomorrow’s race. The French rider didn’t make it to use in the best way qualifying tires and encountered a small technical problem in the last lap at his disposal that blocked him to improve, but the race rhythm isn’t so far from the fastest and he will try to repeat the performance done in Germany last weekend. Fabiano Sterlacchini — Technical Director “We have obtained the best qualifying of the season with Toni, but I am convinced that if we would have done also the last lap we could have done even better. Toni was in really good form today. Probably the final rush played a bad joke for us. Toni is really focused and he wants to do well here in America before summer break. Sylvain, unluckily, will start a bit back tomorrow, but with his race rhythm he can do a good race if he will start well. A pity about the small technical problem we had in the last lap, otherwise he could have sensibly improved.” Toni Elias — Alice Team rider (10th best lap time in 1:21.999 — Total laps 29) “Silly slip. I was at the limit because I wanted to try to reach the finish line to be able to have another lap without getting the chequered flag and I slipped. This fact doesn’t worry me and I am still really trustful for tomorrow’s race. From the fifth to the tenth place there is only a little bit more than a tenth of a second, if I’ll start well, we can fight with the leading group.” Sylvain Guintoli — Alice Team rider (14th best lap time in 1:22.719 — Total laps 28) “The race rhythm is really good. On this track it isn’t easy to overtake therefore it will be important to don’t lose too much time in the beginning from the front group. Also in Sachsenring I started behind, from fifteenth position, and then everyone knows how it went. I will try my best to do the same on this marvelous circuit.” More, from a press release issued by Ben Spies’ publicist: SPIES REMAINS POSTIVE AFTER QUALIFYING 13TH Hoping for improvement Sunday MONTEREY, Calif. (July 19, 2008) Ben Spies qualified in 13th for Sunday’s Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix on the Rizla Suzuki GSV-R with a lap at one minute, 22.127 seconds around Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca’s scenic road course. Spies admitted that he expected to earn a better starting position, but he’s encourage by the fact that he’s close in terms of lap times with the top runners. “We didn’t end up in the position we wanted to, but we’re only about 3/10ths (of a second) out of fifth-place,” Spies said. “We’ve got our work cut out for us at the start tomorrow for sure, but the bike is getting better. We’ve worked out a few things, so I’m looking forward to see how everything comes together.” In addition to his MotoGP wildcard ride this weekend Spies is turning double duty, racing the AMA Superbike event as well, where he leads the championship. “It’s a bit of an issue jumping off one bike on to the other,” Spies conceded. “It is what it is. We still need to try to make the best of it and try to win the Superbike race. If that’s not possible we can do some points gathering this weekend and still be in a strong position for the championship.” Spies ranked second in practice for AMA Superbike Saturday, behind his Rockstar Makita Suzuki teammate Mat Mladin. Spies has a busy day ahead of him on Sunday. He’ll be doing a warm-up session on the MotoGP machine before going straight into Superbike qualifying in the morning. He then races the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix at 2:00 pm local time before going directly to the grid for the start of the AMA Superbike race. “It’s going to be hectic,” Spies said. “I knew what I was getting into with this weekend. It’s not an issue of conditioning so much, but the transition from one bike to another that really keeps my attention.” Spies says he’s a little stiff after suffering a crash on the MotoGP machine on Friday, but adds “It’s nothing I won’t be able to deal with come race time. I’ll be alright.” The Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix from Laguna Seca will broadcast live on CBS at 5:00 pm Eastern (2:00 pm Pacific). The AMA Superbike race will air tape-delayed on SPEED at 10:00 pm Eastern (7:00 pm Pacific). More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Racing: Front row puts Rossi in place for Laguna challenge This afternoon’s qualifying session at Laguna Seca saw Valentino Rossi put his Fiat Yamaha M1 on the front row of the grid for the sixth time this season, qualifying second for tomorrow’s US Grand Prix. Yamaha and Rossi announced last night that he has signed a new deal to continue racing with the factory in MotoGP for two more years, and the Italian is keen to celebrate by taking his first win at this track tomorrow. Heavy fog this morning cast doubt over whether the day’s proceedings would begin on time and this morning’s practice session was run in very low temperatures, with Rossi finishing second. Luckily however the Californian sun showed its face this afternoon and the qualifying session was a much warmer affair, with Rossi consistently fast throughout, having found an improved suspension set-up this morning. With six minutes remaining a fast lap with a Bridgestone qualifying tyre put him second, although he temporarily surrendered the spot a few minutes later. Rossi’s final flying lap was even faster however and, although he was unable to catch Stoner, it was good enough for second on the grid. It was a successful day all round for the Fiat Yamaha Team as Jorge Lorenzo was able to qualify fourth on what is his first ride at the track, whilst Tech 3 riders James Toseland and Colin Edwards were 5th and 7th respectively. Rossi will start in between Stoner and Hayden, two former winners here, when the lights go out at 1400 West Coast time for tomorrow’s 32-lap race. Valentino Rossi – Position: 2nd Time: 1’21.147 Laps: 38 “I’m pleased with this result and I think we’ve done a good job today. This morning, even though it was very cold, we were able to make some good steps forward, especially with the suspension setting, and I was able to be quite fast. This afternoon we were able to do a long simulation and this was very important to help us understand how the tyres will be tomorrow. It seems they are quite good, but this is a very hard race for tyres! It’s also a hard race physically and so I know that tomorrow will be a big challenge. Second place is good for us and I think we’ve done a lot better in the practice this weekend than we have in the last couple of races, so I’m happy about this. Casey is very fast and I don’t know exactly how to beat him – maybe I need to start 30 seconds earlier! Whatever happens a good start is going to be very important and then I will just try to stay with him and keep pushing.” Davide Brivio – Team Manager “It’s good to be starting from the first row and we’re happy because this is our first target for the weekend. Our pace is very good, but of course we will be looking for ways to improve this even further for tomorrow. Unfortunately there is someone who is faster than us, but you never know in racing and we will just try to stay with him and have a race.” Lorenzo to launch Laguna bid from second row Jorge Lorenzo will start his debut US Grand Prix from the second row of the grid, having qualified fourth at Laguna Seca today. The Fiat Yamaha Team rookie was able to make significant strides with his set-up today and is now looking forward to his first American challenge tomorrow. The track was shrouded in heavy fog this morning, which only just cleared in time for the first practice to go ahead. Despite the cool temperatures Lorenzo and his crew improved on his time from yesterday by half a second and the Spaniard went into this afternoon’s qualifying with much more confidence. Bright sunshine made it a cheerier affair and Lorenzo was able to put in some fast laps with his Michelin qualifying tyres, his best and final effort putting him fourth, well inside the pole position record of last year. Jorge Lorenzo -Position: 4th Time: 1’21.636 Laps: 27 “We had a good qualifying tyre from Michelin and I was very happy with my performance this afternoon. The second row is very good, especially since this is my first time here. We know we have a race tyre that is okay for tomorrow, but it is quite hard and therefore it is quite difficult to get temperature into it; this is the problem for our pace. In fact today we improved a lot but we are still a long way off the best time and therefore I think it’s going to be a very hard race and we will struggle to go fast in the early stages, until we can get enough temperature into the tyre. For me the most difficult part of the track is still the first corner, this is where I lack some feeling, so we will try to improve things a bit more in the warm-up. Besides all this I am still having fun riding here, even though it is clear that this is not the best race for our package! I will do my best tomorrow and hopefully I will be able to enjoy myself again.” Daniele Romagnoli – Team Manager “This has been quite a good day for us; in the morning session we improved our issues with the rear grip and this afternoon we’ve made another step forward again. The team did a great job to change our base set-up from the previous races and now Jorge is getting back some of his confidence with the bike. Of course we still need to improve and refine our setting because on the entry to the corner we still have a few issues, so we are planning some things for the warm-up. The team and Jorge enjoyed themselves a lot today with the Michelin qualifying tyres and Jorge was able to take a good fourth place. For his first time on this track this is already a good result, so now we hope for a good race tomorrow.” Toseland claims brilliant fifth, Edwards on third row for home race Tech 3 Yamaha rider James Toseland produced his best qualifying performance since his MotoGP debut in Qatar today to claim an impressive fifth place on the grid for tomorrow’s 32-lap American GP. A best lap 1.21.848 on Michelin’s qualifying rubber secured him the second best grid position of his rookie campaign. He missed a second career front row start by just 0.4s after his best lap had moved him into third spot in the final two minutes. Delighted to put a tough recent spell behind him, the British rider is also confident that he can run a competitive race pace tomorrow and challenge for the top six having evaluated a softer compound rear tyre this afternoon. The softer compound was much more suited to the cooler conditions. Edwards will start just two places further back in seventh. The Texan encountered problems in finding a set-up to absorb some of Laguna Seca’s notoriously bumpy sections. Seventh place ended Edwards’ impressive 2008 qualifying record as he finished outside of the top six for the first time this season. He did gain five valuable places on the grid with his last Michelin qualifying tyre, having been uncharacteristically outside of the top ten for most of the session. James Toseland 5th 1.21.848 – 27 laps “With the way we have worked today with the set-up, I was confident that once we got on the qualifiers with a bit more grip that I could get up there. I had to pin it and to do a 21 around here is not easy but I got the job done. I’m just so pleased for my team because we have been working really well and so hard that I feel we have deserved it after our bad luck over the last two rounds. We have all kept plugging away and nobody has dropped their heads and now we are on the second row, which is great. When I went out on my last tyre I saw 21.9 was third and I came across the line and saw 21.8 on the dash and I was hoping that would be good enough for the first two rows. You can get two laps on a qualifier here but on my second lap I ran wide at the first corner and I knew I couldn’t really get that time back. I was just hoping that was going to keep me on the first two rows and it did. I have got that softer race tyre which I saved for today and kept one back for the race. I can do mid to low 23s on that and that could be a possible top six finish. With some of the issues we have had this weekend I’d be satisfied with that. I just need a decent start to try and get away with the leaders. I’m getting the hang of the starts and I’m not as nervous as before because it is quite a technique to get these bikes off the line. When you’re flat-out at 14,000 revs and you want to dump that clutch as fast as you can, you really need to know what you’re doing.” Colin Edwards 7th 1.21.947 – 27 laps “It wasn’t great to be honest given how well I’ve qualified all year, but considering I thought I was going to be on the plane home last night, I can’t complain too much. My neck was really bad yesterday but today it was unbelievable. I had some injections and also a couple of sessions of massage at the Clinica Mobile and I feel great. But it has been a tough weekend so far and I’m expecting a tough race tomorrow. I don’t remember the track being this bumpy but on the qualifiers when you need to go so much faster, I could barely see where I was going. My head was bouncing around all over the place on the bumps. We have been working hard to change the bike to try and find some more grip but everything just feels really rigid. I’m just hanging on in some places and in the last two sections I’m terrible. It is not through a lack of trying because my guys have been working incredibly hard as usual. But we’ve taken weight off the front, put more weight on the front and put weight on the rear, but nothing has really improved the situation. Hopefully I can get a good start to try get away with the leading bunch, because I really want to get a good result for my home fans. I will be giving it everything I’ve got that’s for sure.”