Nicky Hayden close to the fastest time in the MotoGP and new pole position for Dani Pedrosa in the 250 cc.
Sebastián Porto and Randy De Puniet, both on the second row, with more optimistic ambitions after today’s practice sessions.
Important improvement of Nicky Hayden on this second practice day, clinching a place on the front row of the grid, after setting the second fastest time in this afternoon’s qualifying session. The young Repsol rider almost managed to set the pole time, but only 47 thousands of a second hindered him from setting the fastest clock of the session. Fifth in the morning, Hayden was already warning about his intentions during the third free practice session of the weekend, putting them to practice in the afternoon’s qualifying session, showing himself highly competitive at all times. With Nicky among the top riders, the last minutes of the session were an intense fight for the fastest time between Rossi, Hayden and Gibernau. Gibernau, who was leading the time sheets, saw how Hayden moved up to the lead in the last instants with his last set of qualifying tyres.
But the Spaniard did not give-up and took back the leading position in his last fast lap with an advantage of only 47 thousands of a second ahead of Hayden, with Rossi third. Max Biaggi, eighth fastest in the morning, was tenth in the afternoon and will consequently start from the fourth row of the starting grid.Positive performance of the Repsol riders in the 250cc class, with Dani Pedrosa second, only 3 thousands of a second slower than pole time set by Lorenzo, De Puniet fifth and Porto sixth, both on the second row. Aoyama, who had a positive performance yesterday setting the third fastest time, wasn’t able to keep the position this afternoon, falling back to eighth. An intense fight for the pole position was held however during the final instants of the session between Pedrosa, Lorenzo, De Angelis, Porto, Dovizioso, Stoner and De Puniet, meaning that we will be looking forward to a very even and contended race tomorrow.
Grey day for the Repsol riders in the minor class. Héctor Faubel, seventh fastest yesterday during the first qualifying practice, fell back this afternoon to the sixteenth place on the starting grid, so that his chances for a good race tomorrow will obviously include an optimal start that will allow him to be among the leading group of the race. His team-mate Sergio Gadea, third fastest in the morning during the second free session, was not able to repeat his fastest times in the afternoon, falling back to the twentieth place. Julián Miralles, who continues recovering the competition rhythm after more than two months off the tracks due to an injury, set the thirty-ninth fastest nine this afternoon.
Rider´s comments:
MotoGP. Nicky Hayden,
2nd on the grid.
Third free practice 5th, 1’59016, 23 laps
First qualifying practice 2nd, 1’57.551, 23 laps
‘That feels real good. I’m so happy for the team. It all feels so much better today than yesterday. We made a few small adjustments; nothing major – but it all helped. Feels much more comfortable today and I’m really looking forward to the race. The bike feels really loose around here race. My lap timer quit working half way through the session and I was real hoping to get into the 57’s. My last Michelin tyre felt so good. You just kinda’ let it hang out a bit with a qualifier on – no risk – no reward. I’ll take that.’
MotoGP. Max Biaggi,
10th on the grid.
Third free practice 8th, 1’59.333, 24 laps
First qualifying practice 10th, 1’58.337, 26 laps
‘This is again a very bad situation. Things are not right and I’m very frustrated. As usual I try 100% at a circuit I know so well and we have this result. I just have to keep positive and fight like I always do in the race tomorrow and look forward to Monday when we test here and I hope to find an answer to the problems we have at the moment – the problem of chatter and that the machine is not working in the way I want into the turns and out of them. We lose too much time. It will be a hard race for sure.’
250.Dani Pedrosa,
2nd on the grid.
Second free practice 2nd, 2’03.306, 21 laps
Second qualifying practice 2nd, 2’02.264, 17 laps
‘The bike improved a lot compared to yesterday. We’ve been making a lot of tests during the practice sessions and we managed to improve the set-up we had. We also know quite clear which tyre we’re going to use for the race. We’ll take the final decision tomorrow during the warm-up. The bike is working well, let’s hope for a dry track tomorrow to be able to make a good race. In principle, it should be a grouped race although we’ll have to wait for tomorrow to see if we’re right. I hope to make a good start. The times are very close in all classes, so it’s going to be a great show.’
250. Sebastián Porto,
6th on the grid.
Second free practice 9th, 2’04.577, 18 laps
Second qualifying practice 6th, 2’02.822, 14 laps
‘It hasn’t been bad but I’m not satisfied yet. We’re having a lot of problems with the engine and the chassis, but at least we managed to improve compared to yesterday. There’s a lot left to do, the bike is at a 70% but at least we seem to have found the right path to follow. If we manage to improve, I think that we’ll able to make a good race. The class is highly contended and as we’ve been able to see, there are several riders with a chance to win, but we have to focus on the victory. Tomorrow’s race will be grouped, Pedrosa and Lorenzo have set the pace, but it will be difficult for them to escape. If we manage to find a good set-up, we’ll surely be able to be with them.’
250. Randy De Puniet
5th on the grid.
Second free practice 7th, 2’04.179, 23 laps
Second qualifying practice 5th, 2’02.813, 16 laps
‘I’m happy because we’ve found a good solution for the race. The bike is set for the race and I’ve made a good lap-by-lap average, so I think that I’ll be able to make a good race tomorrow.’
125. Héctor Faubel,
16th on the grid.
Second free practice 20th, 2’11.054, 16 laps
Second qualifying practice 17th, 2’10.193, 12 laps
‘Things haven’t gone well today, yesterday it seemed that everything was well, but it wasn’t. We used a different gearbox than yesterday in the afternoon, that had brought good results to Gadea in the morning, where he had finished third. But it didn’t have the expected result. Starting from this position it is going to be a hard race. The plan for the race tomorrow is to make a good start, make up as many positions as possible and stick to the leading group.’
