Tomorrow, at 2:00 pm, the Jerez Circuit will be the setting for the chief event of the Spanish Motorcycling Grand Prix. This Sunday’s MotoGP race has all the ingredients to become a spectacular event, after Dani Pedrosa today secured a key role for himself.
The Repsol Honda Team rider today managed to improve on yesterday’s performance, running the second best time in the timed session, six tenths behind Lorenzo, who again took pole position. American Repsol Honda Team rider Nicky Hayden gave a good performance again today, running the fourth best time, thus securing his start from the second row on tomorrow’s grid. In the quarter-litre category today things did not run as well as yesterday in the Repsol KTM Team ranks, though Julián Simón is optimistic regarding tomorrow’s race.
The Repsol rider will start tomorrow from the second row on the starting grid, after taking fifth position today in the second and definitive timed training session. The Repsol rider improved on yesterday’s time, though he almost hit the ground in his last attempt at riding a good time when the rear tyre of his Repsol KTM FFR 250cc skidded dangerously.
The riders receiving support from Repsol, Mika Kallio and Hiroshi Aoyama, finished in second and and sixth position, respectively. In the 125cc category, Repsol rider Esteve Rabat is getting more and more comfortable on his KTM FRR 125cc. Today Rabat took sixteenth position – fourth row -, in a timed session dominated again by Bradley Smith. Competition in this category is fierce, and a good indication is the fact that between the second rider classified for tomorrow’s grid, Nico Perol, and the sixteenth, Rabat himself, there is not even half a second’s difference.
Dani Pedrosa, >> Audio
1’38.789 sec, 54 laps, 239 Km.
‘I’m happy with today’s result, because we have made a big improvement to our performance on qualifying tyres. I didn’t really expect to be as high as second, but I’m happy because this is a tight track, so it’s particularly important to start from the front row. Looking at the race, we still need to make a few improvements, working to get the best compromise from the chassis and the tyres. We haven’t yet made our final decision on race tyres but the situation is quite clear for us, so everything is fine. Tomorrow the atmosphere at Jerez will be fantastic, with maybe more than 130,000 fans watching the race. We know the race will be difficult because there are many fast riders here. We will just try and get a good start and make the most of that.’
Nicky Hayden, >> Audio
1’39.061 sec, 53 laps, 234 Km.
‘We’ve made a bit of progress, but this afternoon a lot of guys went quicker and we didn’t quite have the feeling I was looking for to get the rhythm I need to be dangerous tomorrow. Definitely need to try to step it up in warm-up; me, the bike, everything’s going to need more speed if we want to be up there. It’s mainly getting the front working better over the bumps, though the bike/tyre combination’s not so bad. Qualifying, I wasn’t thrilled with my lap, I felt the bike had a bit more potential. I used a different front tyre than I’ve used in the past and maybe in these hot conditions it wasn’t ideal. The Michelin rear qualifier was really good today and definitely had more in it, so big thanks to Michelin. I’m looking forward to the race. Jerez is always unbelievable experience and I’m sure tomorrow’s going to be no different. Man, I just want to be up there and experience it.’
Julián Simón, >> Audio
1’43.620 sec, 44 laps, 195 Km.
‘I think we’ve done our best with this bike, Though maybe my time should have slightly better. I made a mistake during the last lap and was close to falling. I used a very soft tyre, went out there feeling confident, and in the second curve my rear wheel skidded. But to be honest I’m happy, though I would have liked to be on the first row. The important thing is that we’ve done some good work on the basic setup of the bike and tomorrow we have an excellent opportunity to run a good race. We are very motivated about it.’
Esteve Rabat, >> Audio
1’48.520 sec, 36 laps, 159 Km.
‘This morning was a bit tough, but in the afternoon the sun was shining and we were able to make some progress. I don’t know why I can’t ride faster. It’s actually quite a shame, because both the team and the bike are performing very well. The one who is letting us down is me, though I’m giving it my best. Our aim tomorrow is to get off to a good start in order to follow the leading group. I think tomorrow’s race will be ran in one big group, because between the second classified rider and the sixteenth there is only half a second’s difference. It would be good for me if no one escaped ahead. Smith might do so, though let’s hope nobody escapes and we have the chance to fight for a leading position.’
