Spain GP. First practice. Driver´s comments

Pablo Nieto: ‘The most important thing now is that we’re all doing a great job and that we can look forward to a podium finish’.
MotoGP. Valentino Rossi, 1.46.624 (4th): ‘We actually have a few problems here today. The bike in place feels completely at sea. We really have a grip problem. There are places on the circuit that with little traction I feel like bike will fall away. But I have a good and experienced team here and we all know Jerez well and I like very much. I know what a bike should feel like here and it is not like this! I think we need to look at the suspension. For tomorrow we need some good ideas to make it better and I’m sure we will!’MotoGP. Nicky Hayden, 1.44.017 (15th): ‘A bit of a frustrating day really. I’m going better but not as fast as I want! Guess that’s being a racer and wanting everything to happen quickly! This morning I was really finding my way around and was beginning to hit a few of the spots. I managed to get into a good rhythm and towards the end of this afternoon’s session I was beginning to feel pretty good. I’ve ridden here in testing in the wet before which didn’t help me much today – but I guess at least I knew which way the track went. The team’s working well and we have a few ideas about how to go forward tomorrow in preparation for the race on Sunday.’250. Toni Elias, 1.45.968. (4th): ‘I wanted to go for a fast time today. I was testing a new tyre, I didn’t know how it reacts and I flew off the bike at the Sito Pons corner. Fortunately it hasn’t been a heavy crash and I didn’t get hurt, but what hurts me a lot is the finger. When braking, the handlebar touches the injury and now it hurts even more than in South Africa. But I’m happy with my fourth position and despite the problems with my hand I’ve been able to work on some settings, such as the front suspension. Too bad for the crash but I’m happy.’250. Fonsi Nieto, 1.46.195. (6th): ‘I’m not happy with today’s results, I have to sit down with the mechanics and analyse what is going on. We have to find solutions for tomorrow, find a good rhythm and choose the right tyres to make the best possible times in the race. It’s a difficult moment, but we’re working hard to solve the problems. The track is getting complicated due to the heat, it’s very slippery, the tyres suffer a lot and it’s difficult to get the same grip as under cold conditions. There’s still tomorrow, and there’s a lot of work to do. The set-up will be crucial to let the tyres last as long as possible.’250. Héctor Faubel, 1.47.608. (14th): ‘We had a very bad start this morning. In South Africa, when I crashed, the rocker switch broke and we had mounted a new one that turned out to be defect. I’ve only been able to make ten laps this morning and therefore we had to make the whole set-up work in the afternoon session and we haven’t been able to improve times. We still have to work a lot on the settings to be ready for the race.’250. Joan Olivé, 1.47.731. (16th): ‘I’m still far away from the times I made here during the winter testing. We’ve had a lot of problems with the suspensions we didn’t have then, but we’ll try to solve them tomorrow during the practice sessions to be able to start from a better position and make a good race.’250. Sebastián Porto, 1.46.897. (8th): ‘A very complicated day. We had clutch problems in the morning, which made us loose more than half an hour. In the afternoon, the bike wasn’t at a 100% but bit-by-bit we managed to set it up. The last tyre we mounted was maybe a defect one, because I had a strange feeling two laps before crashing in a fast left-hand corner. I didn’t have time for anything, the bike just slid from behind in a very strange way; I’m sure something abnormal happened. Fortunately I only have a burnt spot on the neck, probably caused by the tyre.’125. Pablo Nieto, 1.47.711. (1st): ‘I’m happy with the result of the practices. Taking the pole on the first day is reason enough to be satisfied, but it’s no reason to relax. We have to keep on moving forward and try to improve times tomorrow and especially on Sunday. The most important thing now is that we’re all doing a great job and that we can look forward to a podium finish.’125. Dani Pedrosa, 1.48.319. (3º): ‘We’ve had a lot of mechanical problems. The brake broke down and that made us loose a lot of time considering that we have a thirty-minute session, which doesn’t leave much time with regard to the settings anyway. Besides, the problem with the brake made it more difficult to work on the suspensions. It’s difficult to get on the track towards the end of the session, as happened today, and try to clock a good time in only three laps.’125. Héctor Barberá, 1.50.325. (22º): ‘The truth is that things didn’t work out well today, I hardly could do any lap during the free practice due to the new chassis. The other broke down in Japan and we have mounted a new one, but it didn’t work well so there’s been a delay in our working plan today. I took the timed session of the afternoon as a free practice because I didn’t have the possibility to ride in the morning and was delayed in the settings with regard to the other riders. But I know this circuit well and I think that we’ll be able to improve times tomorrow.’