FIM MotoGP World Championship Donington Park, England June 21, 2008 Final Qualifying Results (wet conditions): 1. Casey STONER (Ducati), Bridgestone, 1:38.232 2. Valentino ROSSI (Yamaha), Bridgestone, 1:38.881 3. Chris VERMEULEN (Suzuki), Bridgestone, 1:39.018 4. Nicky HAYDEN (Honda), Michelin, 1:39.270 5. Colin EDWARDS (Yamaha), Michelin, 1:39.601 6. Andrea DOVIZIOSO (Honda), Michelin, 1:39.783 7. Anthony WEST (Kawasaki), Bridgestone, 1:39.995 8. Ben SPIES (Suzuki), Bridgestone, 1:40.244 9. Dani PEDROSA (Honda), Michelin, 1:40.350 10. Shinya NAKANO (Honda), Bridgestone, 1:40.417 11. John HOPKINS (Kawasaki), Bridgestone, 1:40.539 12. Sylvain GUINTOLI (Ducati), Bridgestone, 1:40.595 13. Alex DE ANGELIS (Honda), Bridgestone, 1:40.667 14. Randy DE PUNIET (Honda), Michelin, 1:41.110 15. Marco MELANDRI (Ducati), Bridgestone, 1:41.379 16. James TOSELAND (Yamaha), Michelin, 1:41.751, crashed twice 17. Jorge LORENZO (Yamaha), Michelin, 1:41.873 18. Toni ELIAS (Ducati), Bridgestone, 1:42.933 More, from a press release issued by Dorna Communications: As the rain continued to fall on Donington Park, Casey Stoner performed the MotoGP equivalent of walking on water in the Saturday afternoon qualifying session. The Ducati Marlboro rider was unstoppable in an amazing hour-long demonstration of 800cc riding en route to his second consecutive pole position of the year, continually lowering his times right up to the final moment. Stoner eventually settled on a 1´38.232 lap as his ultimate offer, some six tenths of a second ahead of nearest rival Valentino Rossi. After dominating in the dry on Friday, the reigning World Champion has proved that he is ready for any eventuality when the lights go out on Sunday. Rossi, however, is the current series leader, and a rider who has also proved his worth at Donington Park in previous years. Rizla Suzuki´s Chris Vermeulen makes his maiden appearance of the season on the front row at the bwin.com British Grand Prix, aiming for a repeat of his 2007 podium, his presence on the front line also marks the first time this year that Bridgestone have taken all three top spots for a MotoGP race. Leading the Michelin charge and making it four different manufacturers in the top four grid spots- Nicky Hayden continued his upturn in fortunes since receiving the pneumatic valve engine from Honda. The factory rider had been told that he could only use the motor on the condition of a top four placing, and the 2006 World Champion once again upheld his part of the bargain, albeit a full second slower than Stoner. Last year´s poleman Colin Edwards was the fastest satellite rider onboard the Tech3 Yamaha M1, whilst JiR Team Scot´s Andrea Dovizioso joins him on row two. The third line features Anthony West so impressive on his 800cc debut at Donington last year and riding for his future- and Rizla Suzuki replacement rider Ben Spies ahead of Dani Pedrosa, currently second in the World Championship. Whilst West came close to a falling when tussling with Dovizioso, home rider James Toseland was the only rider to take a tumble when pushing for an improvement for his Donington race return. Toseland´s rock group `Crash!´ may have wowed the crowds at yesterday´s Riders for Health event, but on Saturday afternoon the ensemble´s moniker was anything but welcome; two falls at the end of the session frustrating the Englishman and leaving him sixteenth on the grid. 250cc As in the 125cc class, the nature of split qualifying sessions played into the hands of the provisional poleman in 250cc. With a wet track with which to set about improving on dry times, Alvaro Bautista was the principal beneficiary in the quarter litre class, taking a fourth pole of the season and continuing his 100% record of front row starts courtesy of his Friday marker. With the chance to take the lead in the overall standings this weekend at Donington Park, and on a run of winning form, Marco Simoncelli joins Bautista on the front row for the fourth time in as many races. The Metis Gilera rider and his Spanish rival will be accompanied by Team Toth´s Hector Barbera and Emmi-Caffe Latte man Thomas Luthi on the first line. JiR Team Scot´s Yuki Takahashi, plus fellow Japanese rider Hiroshi Aoyama and the Spanish duo of Julian Simon and Aleix Espargaro, feature on the second row. Despite recording the fastest time in the second qualifying session, current World Championship leader Mika Kallio will only take off from fourteenth on the grid after a dismal Friday afternoon. Also cursing their comparatively poor initial results will be Alex Debon and Mattia Pasini, in eleventh and twelfth respectively. Lotus Aprilia rider Debon fell from his machine early in the wet run, although the bike continued of its own accord and crossed the track in an incident which thankfully ended without any collision. 125cc Although not a renowned wet weather rider, Simone Corsi likely breathed a sigh of relief when it became clear that Saturday´s second 125cc qualifying session would take place in the wet. The Italian had already claimed the provisional pole spot on Friday afternoon in dry conditions, meaning that he was unlikely to be troubled in the decisive session. Corsi´s 1´37.488 lap proved to be the pole clincher, giving him his first start from the front of the grid since Portugal. The Jack&Jones WRB man emerged victorious from that race, and is looking to do the same in order to keep up the pressure on series leader Mike di Meglio who starts from 21st after some Friday gearing problems. Reigning World Champion Gabor Talmacsi will line up alongside Corsi in his fifth front row start of the year, having picked up a recent run of consecutive podium finishes at Mugello and Catalunya. He remained less than a tenth away from Corsi´s marker. The front row is completed by Talmacsi´s Bancaja Aspar teammate Sergio Gadea and home rider Scott Redding, the first Britain to qualify on the first line of attack at Donington Park since 1988 (when Niall Mackenzie placed on the front row for the 500cc race and Alex Bedford in the 125cc class.). The Blusens Aprilia rider has just one appearance at Donington Park to his name, but commanded the track like a veteran in yesterday´s session. There will be an empty grid space behind Corsi on Sunday afternoon, with Pol Espargaro ruled out of action with a fractured collarbone. The Belson Derbi rider, who has finished fourth, fourth, third and second in the last quartet of races, will now head to Barcelona for a consultation with Dr. Xavier Mir, missing the bwin.com British Grand Prix. I.C. Team´s Andrea Iannone, Corsi´s teammate Nico Terol and Repsol KTM rookie Marc Marquez will line up in a trio on the second row. Marquez suffered a spectacular crash on Saturday afternoon, with no effect on his participation in tomorrow´s race. More, from a press release issued by Bridgestone: Bridgestone riders lock out front row in Donington Round 8: Great Britain Qualifying Donington Park – Saturday 21 June 2008 Bridgestone-shod riders Casey Stoner (Ducati Corse), Valentino Rossi (Fiat Yamaha) and Chris Vermeulen (Rizla Suzuki) have locked out the three front row positions for tomorrow’s British Grand Prix after a highly competitive wet qualifying session at Donington Park this afternoon. Stoner has been on the pace all weekend in dry and wet conditions, and dominated the qualifying hour today, taking pole position by an impressive margin of almost seven-tenths-of-a-second. It is his second consecutive pole position of the season and the third consecutive pole position for a rider on Bridgestone tyres, after Rossi took the top spot in Mugello, and Stoner’s Catalan pole from two weeks ago. Rossi and Vermeulen enjoyed a close battle for second spot today with Rossi taking the position by just over one-tenth-of-a-second. It is Rossi’s fourth front row using Bridgestone tyres, while third place represents Vermeulen’s best qualifying result of the season so far. It is the first occasion since last year’s similarly wet Assen GP qualifying session, at which Vermeulen took pole, that three Bridgestone riders fill the three front row positions. Other notable performances from Kawasaki’s Anthony West, Rizla Suzuki’s Ben Spies, who is making his MotoGP debut as a stand-in for injured Loris Capirossi, and San Carlo Honda Gresini’s Shinya Nakano have ensured six Bridgestone-shod riders in the top ten. With no dry running in either of today’s two practice sessions, data from yesterday’s rain-free sessions will be crucial if tomorrow’s race is held in dry conditions, while wet weather running today will also allow teams and riders to prepare diligently if the wet weather makes a return tomorrow. Tyre Talk with Tohru Ubukata – Bridgestone Motorsport Manager, Motorcycle Race Tyre Development You must be very satisfied with three riders on the front row? “I am very pleased with the outcome of today’s qualifying session and with the overall performance of our wet weather tyres. Casey has been on fantastic form this weekend, and to take pole position with such an advantage is a great achievement. Valentino and Chris also had a competitive session to take second and third places, and it is the first time for almost one year since we have seen our riders complete the first row of the grid. With six riders from five different teams in the top ten shows that our wet tyres work well with a variety of different machinery.” Will the lack of dry running be detrimental in the event of a dry race tomorrow? “The forecast said that it would rain today, so we carried out our slick tyre evaluation fully yesterday in order to gather as much data as possible. Of course, if the race will be held in dry conditions, as we hear is currently forecast, it would have been preferable to have more dry running today, in order to carry out longer runs. There is a chance we could have a dry warm-up session, but there is only sufficient time to carry out a short run, so tyre performance over the complete race distance will once again be an unknown factor heading into the race itself. Nevertheless, I draw optimism from our consistency in Mugello and Catalunya, and hope we can return to winning ways in Donington tomorrow afternoon, regardless of weather conditions.” Bridgestone-shod Riders’ Qualifying Session Results Pos. Rider Team Qualifying Time (pos) Gap to Pole P1 Casey Stoner Ducati Corse 1m38.232s Pole P2 Valentino Rossi Fiat Yamaha Team 1m38.881s +0.649s P3 Chris Vermeulen Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1m39.018s +0.786s P7 Anthony West Kawasaki Racing Team 1m39.995s +1.763s P8 Ben Spies Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1m40.244s +2.012s P10 Shinya Nakano San Carlo Honda Gresini 1m40.417s +2.185s P11 John Hopkins Kawasaki Racing Team 1m40.539s +2.307s P12 Sylvain Guintoli Alice Team 1m40.595s +2.363s P13 Alex de Angelis San Carlo Honda Gresini 1m40.667s +2.435s P15 Marco Melandri Ducati Corse 1m41.379s +3.147s P18 Toni Elias Alice Team 1m42.933s +4.701s Weather: Dry Air 13°C, Track 16°C (Bridgestone measurement) More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda: REPSOL HONDA’S HAYDEN READY TO RACE PNEUMATIC-VALVE RCV ENGINE The British Grand Prix, Donington Park Qualifying, Saturday June 21 2008 Repsol Honda riders Nicky Hayden and Dani Pedrosa today qualified fourth and ninth fastest for tomorrow’s British Grand Prix, round eight of this year’s MotoGP World Championship. Following yesterday’s two dry sessions, rain dominated today. This morning’s practice outing was run in heavy rain while this afternoon’s qualifying session was run on a wet but drying track. Pedrosa and Hayden were second and third fastest in the morning but found the damp conditions more challenging. Hayden, using the pneumatic-valve RC212V engine for the first time at a race, was once again impressive, ending the day just a quarter of a second off the front row. The American is very much looking forward to racing the pneumatic-valve engine for the first time. Pedrosa could only manage a third-row start, though the Spaniard is confident he can ride a good race in the dry. Latest weather forecasts predict some overnight rain but a dry race day. Nicky Hayden, 4th fastest, 1m 39.270s “I had hoped to be on the front row. Fourth here isn’t so bad and we will be okay so long as we can get some stuff sorted out for the race. If it’s wet tomorrow we’re lucky it rained because we’re using a completely different engine and today was the first time I rode it in the rain. It took some adjusting to, just a few laps to get comfortable on it. The engine is a little bit aggressive but I was able to control it okay. We certainly need more time to understand it some more but all in all it’s not too bad. We knew this weekend we were going to be a little bit in the dark because we don’t know what this bike is going to do on tyres over race distance and we could’ve done with some more time on fuel consumption. This morning things felt good in the wet, but when things dried out this afternoon we were struggling to go fast, that’s where we’ve got to work with Michelin to improve. The track’s slippery, but it’s cold too and that can make as much different as the surface. The race will be fun nonetheless, see what happens when that light goes out”¦” Dani Pedrosa, 9th fastest, 1m 40.350s “The race won’t be easy tomorrow because I’ve got to start from the third row of the grid. This is a tight, one-line racetrack where overtaking can be quite difficult. But the main unknown is the weather. If it’s dry we already have some fairly clear ideas about machine set-up and tyre choice from yesterday’s two dry sessions. Today the bike felt fine in the wet but some of the riders were going very fast with an impressive rhythm. So we will wait and see what the morning warm-up session brings. If I could choose, I would much prefer a dry race. As far as my physical condition goes, my back and hand are still hurting from yesterday’s crash, though I do feel a bit better today.” Kazuhiko Yamano – Team Manager “This morning the rain was quite heavy and we had a good result Dani second fastest and Nicky third fastest. But this afternoon the track conditions were more difficult, especially towards the end of the session when the rain had stopped. At least we have had practice in all conditions, so we are ready whatever the weather on race day. Today was very positive with Nicky and the pneumatic-valve engine, he has been competitive in all four sessions and we have gained lots of data. It will be tough for Dani starting from the third row but we are confident he can get a good start and he seems happy with his machine in all conditions.” More, from a press release issued by Marlboro Ducati: SECOND STRAIGHT POLE FOR STONER, MELANDRI PRAYING FOR A DRY RACE For the sixth time in eight rounds the MotoGP paddock was hit by rain today as the clouds burst over Donington Park for the final free practice and qualifying sessions. Casey Stoner, the fastest man in the dry yesterday, splashed his way to pole position for the second time in as many races whilst his team-mate Marco Melandri will start from the fifth row after qualifying fifteenth fastest. The Italian is hoping for dry conditions after finding a more promising set-up yesterday, whilst the Australian is ready to charge into battle whatever the weather. CASEY STONER (Ducati Marlboro Team) Pole Position – 1’38.232 “We’ve always had a good setting with this bike for wet conditions but we managed to find a little bit extra today and I was able to get into a fast and consistent rhythm with a good feeling. Obviously I’m happy to have set this pace in the wet and to be on pole position by such a margin but the most pleasing aspect for us so far this weekend has been the bike’s performance in the dry yesterday. The work we did at Barcelona has made it a lot easier to ride, it’s a lot smoother and that gave me confidence to push it in wet conditions, which is important. You can never trust the weather forecast here so we’ll just sleep on it and see what we get in the morning. Whatever it is I’m confident.” MARCO MELANDRI (Ducati Marlboro Team) 15th fastest – 1’41.379 “I couldn’t ride the bike during practice this morning but thanks to a few changes to the setting the situation was improved for qualifying. At the end of the session I pushed to improve my position but I was lacking rear grip in the fast section, where it was spinning up a lot, whilst in the slow section I was struggling with the front and couldn’t brake as hard as I wanted. Unfortunately the track conditions are always really tricky in the wet here, probably worse than any other track we go to because of the virtually non-existent levels of grip. So, tomorrow I’m hoping for a dry race because we definitely found a better set-up for those conditions yesterday.” More, from a press release issued by Rizla Suzuki: Vermeulen splashes to the front row at Donington Rizla Suzuki MotoGP racer Chris Vermeulen piloted his Suzuki GSV-R to his first front row grid position of the season, as he again showed his true class as one of the world’s best wet weather riders. Vermeulen (1’39.018, 29 laps) will start from third on the grid for tomorrow’s race at Donington Park after a near faultless performance on the wet 4,023m circuit that saw him in pole position several times in the hour-long session. Vermeulen had a crash in this morning’s practice that saw him lose valuable track time, but Suzuki’s Australian star was able to return to the track uninjured this afternoon and challenge for the front row, which leaves him well placed for tomorrow’s race whether it is wet or dry. Ben Spies (1’40.244, 25 laps) produced a fantastic performance on his Rizla Suzuki GSV-R as he rode the MotoGP machine in the wet for the very first time. The American Superbike Champion raced to eighth position on the grid to give him a third row start in-front of many experienced Grand Prix racers. Today’s heavy rain meant track temperatures never rose above 15 degrees C making conditions extremely difficult for all riders. World Champion Casey Stoner took pole position on his Ducati with current Championship leader Valentino Rossi second. Vermeulen’s third position gave Bridgestone total tyre dominance on the front row of the grid for the first time this season. Tomorrow’s event is round eight of the MotoGP World Championship and the action gets underway at 15.00hrs local time (14.00hrs GMT), when both riders will be looking to score impressive results at the team’s home Grand Prix. Chris Vermeulen: “I’m happy to be back on the front row, it’s the first time this year – so it was about time it happened! The team gave me a great bike to do the job on in the wet conditions. This morning I made a bit of a mistake in the wet and crashed, so that cost me a bit of track time. It made this afternoon a bit of a gamble as far as set-up goes, but as I say my guys gave me the tool to do the job. I just went out and reeled off some laps and felt very comfortable doing those times. If it’s wet tomorrow we’ve got a good tyre, and if it’s dry we’ve got our tyres sorted as well so hopefully in all conditions we’ll be strong we now have to wait and see what the weather does!” Ben Spies: I am pretty pleased with the result today, but I still want to be up front! I know I’ve got to take it step-by-step, but every session we are getting better and better again so things seem to be going good. If it’s wet again tomorrow morning and the race is in the dry it’s going to be pretty tough, but I think we will be able to cope with it, the crew are doing a real good job and I think everyone was pleased with how things went today. I’m pretty happy to get in the top 10 at my first GP qualifying and I’ve got to keep moving on from here.” Paul Denning – Team Manager: “I am really pleased that Chris has made the front row. The crash this morning was not an ideal way to prepare for qualifying and he was able to put that behind him and do a really solid job this afternoon. Casey did a great time at the end and I think we could have been second with another lap, but Chris made the right decision – when he thought he’d received the chequered flag – to abort the chance of a final lap right at the end of the session. Well done to him and the crew on the front row result, it was well deserved and puts Chris in good shape for tomorrow. “As for Ben, I think it is an amazing result today and a performance that he should be proud of! It doesn’t matter what the conditions are and what the circumstances are, it’s the same for everyone out there – he’s gone quicker today than some of the world’s very best riders on his first visit ever to Donington and his first time on a GP bike in the wet. If the weather is dry tomorrow I think we are all very realistic that it will be tough for Ben to run the pace of the riders around him, simply because of his lack of experience of both the bike and the circuit, but his confidence will certainly have been lifted by today’s result. We just hope he now brings the bike home, enjoys his first Grand Prix and continues with his learning process. “We’re all looking forward to seeing Loris here tomorrow. He phoned straight after the session to congratulate the guys on the qualifying positions, and I think his presence will give us another boost towards challenging for a good result tomorrow.” More, from a press release issued by Fiat Yamaha: FRONT ROW START FOR ROSSI’S 200TH RACE Fiat Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi will start his 200th Grand Prix from the front row of the grid tomorrow, after a consistent performance in the wet this afternoon put him second for tomorrow’s British round at Donington Park. The Italian will be bidding for his eighth career win at this track but tomorrow promises to be no easy challenge, with today’s wet weather expected to give way to high winds. After a dry day yesterday today was wet throughout, a steady British drizzle soaking the track and making the already-slippery surface even more difficult to deal with, a situation that gave rise to several crashes in this morning’s free practice. Rossi stayed upright but struggled with set-up issues and remained two seconds off the pace in ninth position. Some hard work from his engineers and mechanics proved fruitful this afternoon however and he was immediately more comfortable in this afternoon’s qualifying session, lapping consistently in the top five. Half way through the session the rain ceased and the track began to dry further and, although a dry racing line never appeared, Rossi was able to put a string of fast laps together in the last twenty minutes and his best time was good enough for second, behind Casey Stoner and just ahead of Chris Vermeulen. It was a difficult day for Rossi’s team-mate Jorge Lorenzo, who was unable to find a comfortable setting this afternoon after looking promising in this morning’s session. The Spaniard will be in 17th position, on the sixth row, when the British Grand Prix gets underway at 1500 GMT tomorrow. Valentino Rossi Position: 2nd Time: 1’38.881 Laps: 30 “I’m so happy with this qualifying result and it’s very important for us that we’re on the front row tomorrow. We know that our Bridgestone tyres are very fast in the wet but this morning we had some problems with the setting and honestly I was quite concerned! Anyway, we made some important changes to the set-up for the afternoon and straight away the balance was better and I was able to open the throttle when I wanted to, in fact I had a lot of fun! With more small modifications throughout qualifying things got even better and lap-by-lap we were able to get faster, especially at the end. Now we are waiting for the weather in order to decide the tyres. If it’s dry we have quite a big question mark about some things but we have some good ideas and I am not too worried. It’s my 200th race and it’s very exciting for me to reach another landmark in my career but for now I think about it as just another race.” Davide Brivio Team Manager “This was a very good session for us and the team and engineers have done an excellent job after this morning, when we had some problems. They had some good ideas and we have made a strong recovery to come back and qualify on the front row. Valentino was riding very well in the wet and it’s very important for him to be on the front row here. Tomorrow could be difficult because it looks like the warm-up will be dry but we’re not so sure for the race, it may be very windy but we will just have to deal with whatever comes!” More, from another press release issued by Fiat Yamaha: RAIN COMPOUNDS COMEBACK DIFFICULTIES FOR LORENZO Jorge Lorenzo’s return from injury continued in unforgiving conditions today, with the 21-year-old having to cope with a rain-hit Donington Park as he tried to find his confidence and feeling after his recent run of bad luck. The Michelin-shod Fiat Yamaha rookie was unable to make much headway today and could only manage 17th on the grid, the first time he has qualified off the first two rows since he joined Yamaha. In the first, very wet session this morning things seemed to be looking up with Lorenzo seeming to find a rhythm and finishing a creditable ninth. The rain eased up throughout the middle part of the day however and, although he improved his time by over three seconds, others improved more and his grid position suffered as a result. With tomorrow’s forecast promising drier weather but high winds, Lorenzo’s aim will be just to finish safely and try to gain some confidence back on the bike in the process, looking ahead to the next race in Assen just seven days away. Lorenzo’s team-mate Valentino Rossi meanwhile had a more successful day and will start his 200th Grand Prix from the middle of the front row in second position. The race will begin at the later time of 1500 GMT, 1600 in Europe. Jorge Lorenzo Position: 17th Time: 1’41.873 Laps: 23 “This morning I was riding quite well but in the afternoon the track changed; it dried out a bit and it became more difficult for me. I improved by three seconds but it wasn’t enough because the others improved by six or seven seconds! I’ve never started so far back in MotoGP and it’s a very different experience for me. I would have liked to have done one more session in the dry conditions but it hasn’t been possible, and now I must be very focused tomorrow. For me it will be a success to finish the race, because for sure it’s better to finish than to crash! We have to keep going step-by-step and then I know that we can improve in Assen. Yesterday we made a mistake because we wanted to change a lot of things on the bike but in fact the problem was me; this is a bad time for me but I can’t let it get me down because I know this will pass and that sooner or later things will be better.” Daniele Romagnoli Team Manager “This was a difficult qualifying session for us despite an encouraging morning, when things went quite well and we were able to find a good balance and lap time. This afternoon the track was drier and we lacked rear grip; it was very difficult for Jorge going into the fast corners and also under acceleration. These conditions are making a difficult weekend even harder for him, when he is already lacking confidence after coming back from injury, and he has to take even more care to avoid mistakes. Now we will have a long meeting and we must find some solutions to improve things for tomorrow, because for sure the sixth row is not the right place for us.” More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki Racing Team: THIRD ROW FOR WET WEATHER WEST Kawasaki’s Anthony West will start tomorrow’s British Grand Prix from the third row of the grid, after qualifying his Ninja ZX-RR in seventh position during this afternoon’s rain soaked timed session at Donington Park. The slippery conditions at the 4.023km track caught out many leading riders during the two, hour-long sessions today, although following the developments made in yesterday’s dry practice, West managed to find a good set-up aboard his Kawasaki Ninja ZX-RR. The 26-year-old looked set for a front row start after lapping quickly and consistently around the notoriously unforgiving circuit in qualifying, but the Australian rider lost out as his main rivals took advantage of Bridgestone’s softer compound wet tyre, an option that wasn’t possible for West to use due to limited availability. West eventually finished in seventh position as the highest placed qualifier on Bridgestone’s harder compound rear rubber. The Kawasaki pilot feels confident that he has a good race pace in both the wet or dry, and he is looking forward to fighting for positions at the front of the field during tomorrow’s 30-lap race. John Hopkins, who is still suffering from the back injury sustained in Catalunya, cautiously lapped the Leicestershire circuit in qualifying after a minor crash at turn seven during this morning’s practice. The Anglo-American concentrated on refining his machine set-up and was careful to avoid aggravating his already painful injury in the particularly greasy conditions. Hopkins will make some adjustments overnight to his Ninja ZX-RR, but the 25-year-old is reasonably happy with his machine set-up and will be looking for a strong result during the race. The weather forecast is for showers during tomorrow’s warm-up session at Donington Park, but with the rain scheduled to clear in time for the race, which gets underway at 15.00 local time. Anthony West #13 – 7th – 1’39.995 “It’s great to be back in the top ten and fighting for decent positions. The bike is working well and we have a good pace in both the wet and dry. The track was very slippery and we were top three for a lot of the session, but we weren’t allocated a soft tyre for my final run, which meant some of the other riders had an advantage. I’m feeling confident for tomorrow; we’re not going to make many major changes to the machine, although there are some areas in the turns where we need to improve the rear traction of the bike. I am pleased with how things are going, as we’re moving forwards, and I hope we can finally gain a strong result in the race.” John Hopkins #21 – 11th – 1’40.539 “The conditions were really tough out there because the track was incredibly slippery. The bike and Bridgestone tyres were both working really well, but I had a crash this morning and to be honest, with the back injury I have, I’ve been riding quite tentatively this afternoon. I know we are capable of more, but I’m feeling pretty confident with our race setting whatever the weather tomorrow. We have some improvements to make overnight, but we just need to get a good start and then aim for the leading group.” Naoya Kaneko Kawasaki Technical Manager “Anthony did a good job today and he made the best of what he had. He was lapping consistently with no mistakes and he will start the race from a reasonably strong grid position. The conditions out on track weren’t ideal, but I believe we have a good machine set-up in both the wet and dry. John is suffering somewhat with his injury and the crash this morning certainly didn’t help things, but his race pace isn’t so bad and we will analyse the areas that we need to improve overnight. For tomorrow we can only hope that it is either wet or dry for the race rather than mixed conditions, which can make setting up the machine more complicated.” More, from a press release issued by Honda: HAYDEN HEADS ROW TWO AS STONER RULES IN RAIN Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC212V) did his level best in wet conditions to secure a front row start but there was no catching reigning World Champion Casey Stoner (Ducati) here at a rain-lashed Donington Park. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) qualified second fastest and Chris Vermeulen (Suzuki) completes the front row. Stoner plainly had the measure of this track to an extent his rivals can only worry about. The Aussie champ was three-quarters of a second quicker than anyone else yesterday and he began this final hour of timed qualifying in similar vein with a 1m 40.809s time that became the early target. Nicky showed well early, employing the new pneumatic-valve engine, and the 2006 World Champion was closing on Stoner’s time along with Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda RC212V) and Kawasaki rider Anthony West. Vermeulen was at the sharp end of things too. Less so Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC212V) who ended the day ninth. The track was soaking and showed no signs of drying out as the halfway point approached. Riders had no option but to fine tune wet set-up in the belief tomorrow will be wet too. But forecasts suggest the race (scheduled for 3:00pm) might get underway in the dry after overnight showers. Either way it means no one on the grid has had the chance to maximize the effectiveness of either wet or dry race trim and the warm-up session tomorrow morning thus assumes huge importance (that is if the weather remains unchanged from morning to afternoon). At the halfway stage Stoner headed Vermeulen and West with Rossi fourth fastest, Hayden in fifth, home hope James Toseland (Yamaha), who would endure two late session crashes in as many minutes, in sixth with Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC212V) seventh. Honda man de Puniet was 11th, Shinya Nakano (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V) 12th, Andrea Dovizioso (JiR Scot Honda RC212V) lay 13th and Alex de Angelis (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V) was 14th fastest. All would latterly improve, but only ‘Dovi’ to any great extent. Vermeulen soon began to get the measure of Stoner’s increasing speed, matching his new time exactly with a neat 1m 39.980s lap just before the final 20 minutes showed on the clock. Vermeulen’s temporary team-mate American Ben Spies, standing in for the injured Loris Capirossi, held seventh at this stage. Vermeulen then grabbed pole with a 1m 39.876s time with 15 minutes to go before Stoner regained number one slot with a 1m 39.464s lap. This, however, was mere preamble to the 1m 38.869s he would ride to one lap later. This was now more than a second quicker than anyone else on track. As the final minutes drew on, Colin Edwards (Yamaha) snatched second before Rossi relieved the Texan of that spot with a 1m 39.568s time. The rain was now easing off but the track remained damp and consequently short on grip throughout. Dovizioso rocketed to sixth in the closing minutes and Nicky snatched second from Vermeulen with a swift 1m 39.270s lap before being bumped down to the second row. But Stoner was simply untouchable here today, carving a 1m 38.783s time, then a 1m 38.232s time to nail pole in convincing fashion 0.6 seconds faster than anyone else. Nicky said: “I had hoped to be on the front row. Fourth here isn’t so bad and we’ll be OK so long as we can get some stuff sorted out for the race. If it’s wet tomorrow we’re lucky it rained because we’re using a completely different engine and today was the first time I rode it in the rain. It took some adjusting to, just a few laps to get comfortable on it. The engine is a little bit aggressive but I was able to control it OK. We certainly need time to understand it some more but all in all it’s not too bad. We knew this weekend we were going to be a little bit in the dark because we don’t know what this bike is going to do on tyres over race distance.” Sixth-placed Dovi said: “If it’s wet we’re in good shape for a very good race. In the afternoon the rain finally stopped, the grip conditions totally changed and we came to damp asphalt conditions. We had some difficulty finding the proper tyre for the most part of the afternoon session, which is why at the start we weren’t up at the top, but then I grabbed the final position on the second row. In dry conditions I don’t think we have the pace of the leaders but it will be crucial to get a good start and handle the race from there.” Dani (9th fastest) said: “The race won’t be easy tomorrow because I’ve got to start from the third row of the grid. This is a tight, one-line racetrack where overtaking can be quite difficult. But the main unknown is the weather. If it’s dry we already have some fairly clear ideas about machine set-up and tyre choice from yesterday’s two dry sessions. Today the bike felt fine in the wet but some of the riders were going very fast with an impressive rhythm. So we’ll wait and see what the morning warm-up session brings. If I could choose, I would much prefer a dry race. As far as my physical condition goes, my back and hand are still hurting from yesterday’s crash, though I do feel a bit better today.” Shinya Nakano qualified tenth and said: “Unfortunately the bad weather affected my riding in both free practice and qualifying today. Heavy rain this morning made it really difficult to control the bike and I had a small crash, fortunately escaping without injury. In the afternoon we changed the setting of the bike, improved the grip and that allowed me to go faster and set more respectable times. I lost my feeling with the bike a little bit, though, in the final few laps of qualifying because the track conditions were changing and there was less water on the surface.” His team-mate De Angelis managed 13th on the grid and said: “Usually in wet conditions we are faster than this. Unfortunately we suffered some rear traction problems the bike was spinning up under acceleration and we couldn’t find a solution before the end of qualifying. Now we’ll work on the information we’ve gathered to try and come up with something that suits my riding style. We’re strong under braking so if we can improve the rear traction then we can look forward to a good race. A comeback is not impossible because there are a lot of places to overtake at this track.” Randy de Puniet starts from 14th. He said: “This morning I crashed twice and we could not improve our machine in the wet because we spent a lot of time adjusting both bikes. Then in the afternoon session we fixed some points in the chassis set-up but it’s still not perfect. At the end of the session the track surface was still wet but getting better and we probably didn’t choose the right tyre in those conditions. Basically we are paying for the track time we lost this morning and maybe it’s cost us some grid positions.” 250cc Rain compromised this three-quarter hour final session of qualifying but Alvaro Bautista maintained his 100% record of front row starts this season with his fourth pole setting the best time of 1m 31.834s. The Spaniard heads Marco Simoncelli who was second fastest, Hector Barbera in third and Thomas Luthi (all Aprilia) completing the front row. Yuki Takahashi (JiR Scot Honda RS250RW), who was second fastest in the morning session qualified fifth, just over a second shy of the pole time. He heads row two while Ratthapark Wilairot (Stop And Go Racing RS250RW) qualified 18th. Takahashi said: “I’m satisfied with these two days of practice because I was able to go fast in all conditions. Yesterday, with the sun out we identified some good technical solutions and today I was confident that I could do even better. Unfortunately it rained and I was unable to gain any grid positions. I was so close to the front row! Despite that, today I went well on wet tyres and when the afternoon rain had stopped, with the wet then damp track, I did not have difficulties. Unfortunately on the last lap at the right-hander at Melbourne I lost the rear and slid off. I didn’t hurt myself, but I’m sorry for the team. They have to repair the bike. Tomorrow I am ready to have a good race, whatever the weather conditions.” Wilairot said: “I crashed in free practice this morning and I hurt my back again, but not too badly. I lost some time over that and we had to concentrate on finding a good setting for the qualifying practice. We changed the throttle setting and front and rear suspension. In the morning the front-end felt like it was turning in but we improved it for qualifying, also the rear which is now steady. It’s a pity about the rain because I could have improved on 18th place on the grid but I will be OK for the race.” 125cc Rain ruined today’s session and Simone Corsi secured his second pole position of the season when he sped to a 1m 37.488s lap yesterday in the dry to outpace reigning World Champion Gabor Talmacsi, who was second fastest, third quickest man Sergio Gadea and British hope Scott Redding in fourth (all Aprilia). Series points leader Mike Di Meglio (Derbi) starts from a lowly 21st after enduring set-up problems yesterday. Rookie Louis Rossi (FFM Racing Honda RS125R) starts from 32nd place after crashing without injury in this second timed session held in tricky wet conditions. Rossi said: “My back wheel slid on the last bend. I’d had a few moments already with the track made very slippery by the rain. I started again halfway through the session, but it is hard to regain confidence in such conditions. It’s a shame because I felt confident when I arrived, especially as I rode here last year in the British Championship and reached the podium. I was faster yesterday than last year, and I can measure just how great the gap is.” Honda rider quotes. GP GB qualifying June 21, 2008. MotoGP: Nicky Hayden, Repsol Honda: 4th – 1m 39.270s. “I had hoped to be on the front row. Fourth here isn’t so bad and we will be okay so long as we can get some stuff sorted out for the race. If it’s wet tomorrow we’re lucky it rained because we’re using a completely different engine and today was the first time I rode it in the rain. It took some adjusting to, just a few laps to get comfortable on it. The engine is a little bit aggressive but I was able to control it okay. We certainly need more time to understand it some more but all in all it’s not too bad. We knew this weekend we were going to be a little bit in the dark because we don’t know what this bike is going to do on tyres over race distance and we could’ve done with some more time on fuel consumption. This morning things felt good in the wet, but when things dried out this afternoon we were struggling to go fast, that’s where we’ve got to work with Michelin to improve. The track’s slippery, but it’s cold too and that can make as much different as the surface. The race will be fun nonetheless, see what happens when that light goes out”¦” Andrea Dovizioso, JiR Team Scot Honda: 6th: 1m 39.783s. “The heavy rain in the morning made for a spectacular session that myself and the team used at the maximum in case of a wet race tomorrow. If it’s going to be wet we are in good shape for a very good race. In the afternoon the rain finally stopped and the grip conditions totally changed and we came to damp asphalt conditions. We had some difficulty finding the proper tyre for most part of the whole afternoon session, which is why at the start we weren’t up at the top, but then close to the end of the qualifying session I was in the condition to jump up to sixth place, grabbing the final position on the second row. In dry conditions I don’t think we have the pace of the leaders but it will be crucial to get a good start and handle the race from there.” Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 9th – 1m 40.350s. “The race won’t be easy tomorrow because I’ve got to start from the third row of the grid. This is a tight, one-line racetrack where overtaking can be quite difficult. But the main unknown is the weather. If it’s dry we already have some fairly clear ideas about machine set-up and tyre choice from yesterday’s two dry sessions. Today the bike felt fine in the wet but some of the riders were going very fast with an impressive rhythm. So we will wait and see what the morning warm-up session brings. If I could choose, I would much prefer a dry race. As far as my physical condition goes, my back and hand are still hurting from yesterday’s crash, though I do feel a bit better today.” Shinya Nakano, San Carlo Gresini Honda: 10th- 1m 40.417s. “Unfortunately the bad weather affected my riding in both free practice and qualifying today. Heavy rain this morning made it really difficult to control the bike and I had a small crash, fortunately escaping without injury. In the afternoon we changed the setting of the bike, improved the grip and that allowed me to go faster and set more respectable times. I lost my feeling with the bike a little bit, though, in the final few laps of qualifying because the track conditions were changing and there was less water on the surface. Tenth place on the grid was at least an improvement on my position this morning, when I was seventeenth. Now we have to look and see if we can improve on anything for tomorrow because the general feeling with the bike isn’t bad.” Alex De Angelis, San Carlo Gresini Honda: 13th 1m 40.667s. “Qualifying today was a little unlucky and a fourth-row start is going to determine our race a little tomorrow. I’m clearly unsatisfied with the result because usually in wet conditions we are faster than this. Unfortunately we suffered some rear traction problems the bike was spinning up under acceleration and we couldn’t find a solution before the end of qualifying. Now we will work on the information we have gathered to try and come up with something that suits my riding style. We’re strong under braking so if we can manage to improve the rear traction then we can look forward to a good race. Another comeback is not impossible because there are a lot of places to overtake at this track.” Randy De Puniet, LCR Honda: 14th 1m 41.110s. “This morning I crashed twice and we could not improve our machine in the wet because we spent a lot of time adjusting both bikes. Then in the afternoon session we fixed some points in the chassis set-up but it’s still not perfect. At the end of the session the track surface was still wet but getting better and we probably didn’t choose the right tyre in those conditions. Basically we are paying for the track time we lost this morning and maybe it’s cost us some grid positions.” 250cc: Yukio Takahashi, JiR Scot Honda: 5th 1m 32.853s. “I am very satisfied with these two days of practice because I was able to go fast in all conditions. Yesterday, with the sun out we identified some good technical solutions and today I was confident that I could do even better. Unfortunately it rained and I was unable to gain any grid positions. I was so close to the front row! Despite that, today I went well on wet tyres and when the afternoon rain had stopped, with the wet then damp track, I did not have difficulties. Unfortunately on the last lap at the right-hander at Melbourne I lost the rear and slid off. I didn’t hurt myself, but I’m sorry for the team who have to repair the bike. Tomorrow I am ready to do a good race, whatever the weather conditions.” Ratthapark Wilairot, Thai Honda PTT SAG: 18th – 1m 34.039s. “I crashed in free practice this morning and I hurt my back again, but not too badly. I lost some time over that and we had to concentrate on finding a god setting for the qualifying practice. We changed the throttle setting and front and rear suspension. In the morning the front end felt like it was turning in but we improved it for qualifying, also the rear which is now steady, not so bad. It’s a pity about the rain because I could have improved on 18th place on the grid but I will be OK for the race.” 125cc: Louis Rossi, FFM Honda: 32nd 1m 41.320s. “My back wheel slid on the last bend. I’d had a few moments already with the track made very slippery by the rain. I started again half way through the session, but it is hard to regain confidence in such conditions. It is a shame because I felt confident when I arrived, especially as I rode here last year in the British Championship and reached a place on the podium. I was faster yesterday than last year, and I can measure just how great the gap is.” More, from a press release issued by JiR Team Scot Honda: Andrea Dovizioso on the second row at Donington Park The second day on the circuit of Donington Park and heavy rain in the morning led to a wet practice session, which showed how Andrea could ride in the rain. Always staying in the upper part of the classification, Andrea ended in first position making a virtual front row packed with Honda machinery. In the afternoon the JiR Team Scot rider in the qualifying session for the British Grand Prix ended with the sixth fastest time his best qualifying this season thanks to this he will start on the second row of the grid. Gianluca Montiron Team Director JiR Team Scot “The changing conditions of the weather completely changed the characteristics of the track. Obviously this made the choice of the tyres extremely important and we can say that these were difficult conditions and that the team had to react very fast to make this very positive result. It’s the best qualifying of the year so far for us, which is good. Everybody in the top positions was trying hard, but no-one in those conditions had a perfect lap. The strategy for the races tomorrow will really depend on exactly what weather conditions we experience for the race itself.” Andrea Dovizioso Rider JiR Team Scot MotoGP HONDA RC212V 6th: 1’39″783 “The heavy rain in the morning made for a spectacular session that myself and the team used at the maximum in case of a wet race tomorrow. If it’s going to be wet we are in good shape for a very good race. In the afternoon the rain finally stopped and the grip conditions totally changed and we came to damp asphalt conditions. We had some difficulty finding the proper tyre for most part of the whole afternoon session, which is why at the start we weren’t up at the top, but then close to the end of the qualifying session I was in the condition to jump up to sixth place, grabbing the final position on the second row. In dry conditions I don’t think we have the pace of the leaders but it will be crucial to get a good start and handle the race from there.” Gianni Berti Technical Co-ordinator JiR Team Scot “The qualifying session was held under difficult grip conditions. It was very difficult to understand, as when the rain stopped the surface was very slippery and it was drying very slowly and only in some areas of the track was it drying out. To achieve sixth place is very important, as it’s a good grid position here for us, and our best so far this year. We tried a lot of tyres today, and we did this to put Andrea in the best condition for the race wet or dry. The weather forecast is mixed for tomorrow so we will see in warm-up what we can do and then look to the race.” More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Racing: Front row start for Rossi’s 200th race Fiat Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi will start his 200th Grand Prix from the front row of the grid tomorrow, after a consistent performance in the wet this afternoon put him second for tomorrow’s British round at Donington Park. The Italian will be bidding for his eighth career win at this track but tomorrow promises to be no easy challenge, with today’s wet weather expected to give way to high winds. After a dry day yesterday today was wet throughout, a steady British drizzle soaking the track and making the already-slippery surface even more difficult to deal with, a situation that gave rise to several crashes in this morning’s free practice. Rossi stayed upright but struggled with set-up issues and remained two seconds off the pace in ninth position. Some hard work from his engineers and mechanics proved fruitful this afternoon however and he was immediately more comfortable in this afternoon’s qualifying session, lapping consistently in the top five. Half way through the session the rain ceased and the track began to dry further and, although a dry racing line never appeared, Rossi was able to put a string of fast laps together in the last twenty minutes and his best time was good enough for second, behind Casey Stoner and just ahead of Chris Vermeulen. Valentino Rossi – Position: 2nd Time: 1’38.881 Laps: 30 “I’m so happy with this qualifying result and it’s very important for us that we’re on the front row tomorrow. We know that our Bridgestone tyres are very fast in the wet but this morning we had some problems with the setting and honestly I was quite concerned! Anyway, we made some important changes to the set-up for the afternoon and straight away the balance was better and I was able to open the throttle when I wanted to, in fact I had a lot of fun! With more small modifications throughout qualifying things got even better and lap-by-lap we were able to get faster, especially at the end. Now we are waiting for the weather in order to decide the tyres. If it’s dry we have quite a big question mark about some things but we have some good ideas and I am not too worried. It’s my 200th race and it’s very exciting for me to reach another landmark in my career but for now I think about it as just another race.” Davide Brivio – Team Manager “This was a very good session for us and the team and engineers have done an excellent job after this morning, when we had some problems. They had some good ideas and we have made a strong recovery to come back and qualify on the front row. Valentino was riding very well in the wet and it’s very important for him to be on the front row here. Tomorrow could be difficult because it looks like the warm-up will be dry but we’re not so sure for the race, it may be very windy but we will just have to deal with whatever comes!” Rain compound comeback difficulties for Lorenzo Jorge Lorenzo’s return from injury continued in unforgiving conditions today, with the 21-year-old having to cope with a rain-hit Donington Park as he tried to find his confidence and feeling after his recent run of bad luck. The Michelin-shod Fiat Yamaha rookie was unable to make much headway today and could only manage 17th on the grid, the first time he has qualified off the first two rows since he joined Yamaha. In the first, very wet session this morning things seemed to be looking up with Lorenzo seeming to find a rhythm and finishing a creditable ninth. The rain eased up throughout the middle part of the day however and, although he improved his time by over three seconds, others improved more and his grid position suffered as a result. With tomorrow’s forecast promising drier weather but high winds, Lorenzo’s aim will be just to finish safely and try to gain some confidence back on the bike in the process, looking ahead to the next race in Assen just seven days away. Jorge Lorenzo – Position: 17th Time: 1’41.873 Laps: 23 “This morning I was riding quite well but in the afternoon the track changed; it dried out a bit and it became more difficult for me. I improved by three seconds but it wasn’t enough because the others improved by six or seven seconds! I’ve never started so far back in MotoGP and it’s a very different experience for me. I would have liked to have done one more session in the dry conditions but it hasn’t been possible, and now I must be very focused tomorrow. For me it will be a success to finish the race, because for sure it’s better to finish than to crash! We have to keep going step-by-step and then I know that we can improve in Assen. Yesterday we made a mistake because we wanted to change a lot of things on the bike but in fact the problem was me; this is a bad time for me but I can’t let it get me down because I know this will pass and that sooner or later things will be better.” Daniele Romagnoli -Team Manager “This was a difficult qualifying session for us despite an encouraging morning, when things went quite well and we were able to find a good balance and lap time. This afternoon the track was drier and we lacked rear grip; it was very difficult for Jorge going into the fast corners and also under acceleration. These conditions are making a difficult weekend even harder for him, when he is already lacking confidence after coming back from injury, and he has to take even more care to avoid mistakes. Now we will have a long meeting and we must find some solutions to improve things for tomorrow, because for sure the sixth row is not the right place for us.” Mixed fortunes for Tech 3 Yamaha at damp Donington A rain-hit second day at Donington Park, venue for tomorrow’s 30-lap British GP, produced contrasting fortunes for Tech 3 Yamaha duo Colin Edwards and James Toseland. In treacherous conditions, Edwards was one of the fastest men on track as the American qualified fifth on the grid. But it was a frustrating day for home star Toseland, who will start 16th after preparations for his British GP debut didn’t go as smoothly as planned. Edwards maintained his impressive 100 per cent top six qualifying record in 2008 with a best lap of 1.39.601. At one stage that time moved him as high as second in the decisive final minutes as he opted to run a set-up on his YZR-M1 similar to the one he used to finish second in a weather disrupted Donington clash last year. Despite being dropped off the front row, Edwards is confident he can be a serious contender tomorrow as he goes in search of a third podium in the British GP. Having previously qualified in the top eight in his first seven races, Toseland will need one of his famous aggressive starts after a lap of 1.41.751 left him in unfamiliar territory on the sixth row. Sporting a new St George’s Cross helmet design for his home race, Toseland seemed certain to claim another top six start when he crashed unhurt exiting the final corner in the closing stages. He remounted but crashed again at Schwantz Curve, having earlier tumbled out at Coppice in tricky conditions this morning. Despite a disappointing day, Toseland remains upbeat that he can mount a challenge in front of a large home crowd tomorrow. Ignoring the poor weather conditions today, the vast spectator areas at Donington were awash with Toseland fans roaring on the 27-year-old. Colin Edwards 5th 1.39.601 – 23 laps “My team did an awesome job today and I just keep getting more and more impressed with them. We all did about 10 days of work in two hours to get to where we were this afternoon because this morning it just wasn’t right. It was a disaster to be honest and it felt like I was sitting on the rear tyre with no front contact. It felt like if something was going to move I was going over the high-side. We played around with the bike and basically went to the set-up I had last year when I finished second and it worked, even though the chassis and engine is different on this bike. Once I got the right feeling I was dropping a second a lap this morning and we didn’t really touch the bike much this afternoon. The front tyre I used this morning is the same front tyre I used all afternoon, so I did about 50 laps on a front tyre. We have obviously got no problem with front tyre endurance in the rain and the rear I’m pretty happy with. To me the track is not that bad for grip. The track is very flat but it has probably more grip than most other places. As long as you have load and you can squash the tyre onto the track it probably has more grip than any track. But we worked a lot on the electronics and thanks to my guys again because we got a much better feeling and more grip. I’m confident I can run at the front if it is full wet. Michelin has been doing a lot of work with the performance of the rain tyres on a drying track, so if it does get half and half I should be at the front. Rain or shine we are looking good and I want to get on the podium. This is my most successful track in MotoGP and I’m definitely looking to continue that good record.” James Toseland 16th 1.41.751 – 22 laps “Basically I made a mess of it. It was difficult conditions and the potential was there for a top six. Everything was going in the right direction but unfortunately I tried a few things that didn’t work. Although sixth place was okay I felt like I was on the edge of the setting. I tried to change some things but we never really went in a positive direction. We were running out of time and put ourselves under pressure to get a lap in right at the end and I got on the throttle too early out of the last corner and high-sided myself. I got back on but it damaged the rear brake. I was going through Schwantz Curve and I think it engaged the rear brake and decided to chuck me off again. I think somebody was telling me they didn’t want me to do the lap. I’d like to say thanks to the marshals because where I crashed at the last corner was in a bit of dodgy place and they risked a lot to try and get me going. They were true heroes. I’ve got to look at the positives and if it all went well we’d have been in the top six. The problem is in this class if you don’t get it right you are 16th and I’m devastated that these conditions came in June in England. I was eighth yesterday but comfortable in the dry and another dry day I know I could have done a lot better. I had a lack of contact with the rear on the entry again and we really need to find this balance, especially at this track where there is so little grip. Unfortunately with only one hour you don’t have the time to take a risk. Both my knees are a bit sore. In the crash this morning a handlebar hit me in the right knee and the second one this afternoon was in a fast place and it bashed me up a bit. It is going to be tough but my fans can be rest assured that I will still be giving it everything tomorrow.” More, from a press release issued by Ben Spies’ publicist: SPIES QUALIFIES EIGHTH IN MOTOGP DEBUT CASTLE DONINGTON, England (June 21, 2008) Texan Ben Spies turned in an impressive performance in his MotoGP debut on Saturday by qualifying eighth in wet conditions on the Rizla Suzuki GSV-R in the British Grand Prix at Donington Park. Spies, who is known as a top-notch rain rider in the AMA Superbike Championship, proved that he is among the world’s best in the wet with his qualifying run in the top category of motorcycle racing. Spies, 23, of Longview, Texas, was happy, if not totally satisfied, with his debut qualifying performance. “This whole weekend I’ve been gradually learning the track and the motorcycle,” Spies said by phone from England. “I’m happy with how things went in qualifying. Running on a wet track I think has helped neutralize the advantage most of the other riders have knowing this track. I want to be up front with the leaders, but I understand this is a learning process and my goal is to have a solid weekend.” Spies was named as a last-minute substitute rider for injured veteran MotoGP rider Loris Capirossi of Italy. Spies was originally slated to make his MotoGP as a wildcard rider at the first U.S. round in Monterey, Calif., on July 20, followed by an appearance in the second American round on September 14 in Indianapolis. Spies feels that he has a better opportunity for a good finish should it rain in the GP on Sunday. “Racing in the rain would probably be better for me as far as my ultimate result,” he said. “On the other hand I would like to get more experience on the bike in typical dry conditions. Suzuki has made it clear that there’s no pressure for me to do anything spectacular. The only pressure is what I put on myself. So I’ll take whatever conditions we get for the race.” Many riders have complained of the lack of grip in the wet at Donington, but Spies said it’s better than what he’s experience in the States. “It’s slick no doubt,” he says, “but it’s a much better racing surface than some of the tracks we race on in America.” Spies is also impressed with Suzuki’s MotoGP bike, the GSV-R. “It feels physically smaller than a 600 Supersport bike,” Spies said. “We’ve made some small adjustments on the bike’s settings and I’m getting more comfortable on it with every lap. It’s a great motorcycle and I’m happy to get this chance to ride before going to the U.S. rounds. It’s going to give me a solid base of knowledge that I wouldn’t have if this opportunity didn’t come up.” Spies has maintained his rigorous training schedule in England. Specialized Bicycles has supplied him with bikes to ride while in England. With the addition of Spies there will be four Americans in the British Grand Prix. Spies will join Nicky Hayden, of Owensboro, Ky., fellow Texan Colin Edwards and Californian John Hopkins, with whom Spies raced against since his amateur days. “I’ve gotten a lot of support from my fellow riders and fans over here,” Spies said. “They’ve made me feel like I belong here. It’s been pretty hectic with all the media attention. This is a great opportunity and I’m thankful to Suzuki for giving me the chance to do this.” The British Grand Prix will air on SPEED on Sunday at 4:00pm Eastern. Action can also be followed live on the series website www.motogp.com.