Spain GP. 1st qualifying practice. Driver´s comments

Rossi: ‘The 4-stroke is going well. It is easier to ride than the 2-stroke but it is more difficult to make the difference to make it better!’
Repsol driver´s comments about Spain 1st qualifying practiceValentino Rossi 1st MotoGP: ‘I am pleased to finish the first day in this position. We came here in November and tested the bike so at least we have some data. But the track surface is very different so we are nearly starting from the beginning again. This morning it was especially dirty but will be better tomorrow for sure. The 4-stroke is going well. It is easier to ride than the 2-stroke but it is more difficult to make the difference to make it better!’Tohru Ukawa 3rd GP: ‘Basically I am pretty happy. I went quicker in the afternoon’s session as the track became cleaner. We are still making a lot of changes with the bikes set-up but we seem to be going in the right direction. I feel confident after the win at Welkom and I am sure with what we have learnt today we can go faster tomorrow.’Fonsi Nieto, 6th 250: ‘I have the same suspension problems as in South Africa. The bike doesn’t work as I like, and I am not satisfied with today’s result. In the first session in the morning, the fastest time came easily and I felt comfortable with the bike. In the afternoon, it was much more difficult. I don’t know if this is because of the slippery surface or because of the change of temperature morning to afternoon, but certainly we have to work hard to find the correct solution. I arrived here wanting victory, not to be sixth. We have to find the solution quickly, to find the best set-up towards Sunday’s race.’Toni Elías 10th 250 : ‘Today I am not very satisfied. The bike was much better in the morning, but this afternoon something happened to make the overall response of the suspension much worse, and it made it hard for me to attain my morning lap times. It’s a pity that today things haven’t come good for me, because we are here at home, in front of all our Spanish fans. The only positive thing is that we still have tomorrow to work more and try to find a good set up. Here in Spain I am highly motivated to do a good race and get a good result.’Daniel Pedrosa 3rd 125: ‘The result of this first session is not that bad, considering that the track was very dirty, and we weren’t able to work very much on development, especially in the morning. As usual, we were the ones who swept the circuit clean because we were the first to go out, and the dust has left the track very slippery. We had many tyre problems, and little details of carburetion and gearing. The real problem is that, as they reduced the official session to only 30 minutes, you barely have time to adjust the bike and come to any conclusions. It is difficult to know what percentage of the problems is due to set-up, and what due to the slippery surface.’Joan Olivé 15th 125: ‘The track was very dirty this morning, but in the afternoon I had a little more grip, so I hope tomorrow it will be better again. The bike is okay – the engine is working well, but we made a mistake with the suspension, and it was impossible for me to be aggressive on the entry to the fast corners. We must analyse the situation, but tomorrow I am confident I will be able to ride quicker. All the riders are very close, and as a result if I had improved only one tenth of a second, I would have been five places higher.’