Today the Ricardo Tormo Circuit witnessed an exciting classification session in MotoGP, the last one of the 2008 season. The threat of rain in the definitive session caused some uncertainty among the teams in the paddock. In the morning the American Nicky Hayden – who is having a great weekend – dominated again in the third free practice, while Dani Pedrosa occupied the 8th position at the end of the session.
In the afternoon, the practice started normally but black clouds threatened rain. Halfway through the session the first drops fell when the riders were still riding on race tyres trying to finish the set-up on their motorbikes for tomorrow. At a moment when the teams were uncertain what to do, Hayden decided to be the first out with classification tyres, quickly setting the best time in the classification. The American in the Repsol Honda Team practically made sure of a place on the first row of the grid with this first lap and he stayed at the top of the leaderboard from that moment on almost until the end of the session. Meanwhile Pedrosa reacted at the same time as the rest of the riders in MotoGP and his battle to win the pole began with his first set of classification tyres.
Fourth after his first attempt, Pedrosa began to climb steadily, until he was on his fourth and definitive rear tyre. With this last one, the Repsol rider was very close to the best time in the session, but a small skid on the rear end on the first section of the track in Valencia made him lose a little time, in the end he is in second position just behind Casey Stoner. The Australian overtook Hayden, leader at that moment, in the last few minutes and although the American tried to he could not improve the best time set by the Ducati rider. In the end Hayden also had to give way to Pedrosa`s inertia and is in 3rd position. Therefore, both the Repsol Honda Team`s riders will start tomorrow on the first row of the grid in the last MotoGP race of the season 2008.
JULIAN SIMON, THIRD IN 250cc and ESTEVE RABAT, 12TH IN 125cc.
First row of the grid for Julián Simón in 250cc and so he continues to show a great level in the last few races of the season. The Repsol rider was very strong on both the dry and wet tracks, finishing the free practice session in 4th position, and in the end setting the 3rd fastest time of the day. The Repsol was fighting from the start to the finish to get the pole and only the traffic on his final lap prevented him from lowering his fastest time even more. Next to him will be Mika Kallio, a rider with technical support from Repsol as he set the 4th best time. His teammate Hiroshi Aoyama will start just one position behind him, at the front of the second row.
In 125cc Esteve Rabat put in a good performance in today’s sessions after riding a large part of the practice setting very competitive times. The Repsol rider finished 4th in the morning`s free session held in the wet, feeling very comfortable in some very tricky conditions; something that did not tempt the riders to take too many risks. In the definitive classification Rabat finished second in the time ranking, although in the end he will start from the third row after setting the 12th fastest time.
Dani Pedrosa
“Finally, it looked like we might get a dry session this afternoon. The hour started dry but then it started raining again, which spoiled the work we had planned focusing on trying different race tyres. I wanted to continue working with race tyres, preparing for the race, but we made an early switch to qualifying tyres to make sure of a good grid position for tomorrow, in case it started raining more heavily. Finally we made the front row, quite close to pole, and the front row is particularly important at this track. We were only able to try one race tyre this afternoon, so we will need a good warm-up and then we will need to think very carefully about which tyres we will run in the race. I hope we can have a dry race tomorrow, not only for us but also for all the tens of thousands of fans who always pack the grandstands here.”
Nicky Hayden,
“We were close but close don’t count, I guess! We shouldn’t be too bummed out though, because we’re on the front row. It was pretty obvious that we really wanted to be on pole, we’ve been fastest all weekend, the bike is working good and the team did a great job when it started sprinkling, getting one bike ready with qualifiers early on. It was quite a tough session, going to qualifiers and then back to race tyres. On my last qualifying run I did a 32.0 on my first lap and I knew it was going to be tough to get into 31s. I really pushed hard, really hung it out, but the bike was just moving around too much to be fast. The best I could do was a 31.7. I definitely pushed as hard as I could, though maybe I should’ve got the tyre a bit hotter on the out lap. It’s always a compromise – sometimes you get it too hot and sometimes you don’t get it hot enough. I didn’t get the lap time I needed, so I’m a little frustrated because it would’ve been cool to give Michelin a pole position for their last MotoGP race. But we’ve got a good bike and a good set-up, so we’ll just try to go for it in the race. I didn’t get to do many laps on race tyres, what with the drizzle and the qualifiers. I’ve only tried a couple of race tyres, so we’ll definitely talk to Michelin and use every bit of morning warm-up to get the information we need to make our tyre choice.”
Julián Simón, 1’35.964 secs, 47 laps, 188 Km.
“It has been a positive day. We had a chance to ride in the dry, although only during a single practice, the official one in the afternoon. That made us rush and do everything very quickly, but the team has done a magnificent job setting up the bike, since I had some good sensations. We still have to decide which tyres we will use tomorrow, depending on whether we need a harder or softer compound. Anyway, I believe that I will be able to fight and have a good race and to hang on in there till the end. It will be important to be calm and to attack right to the end. Let`s see if tomorrow we fulfill our objectives and we get a podium finish, and in the last race of the year.”
Esteve Rabat, 1’42.654 secs, 38 laps, 152 Km.
“Yesterday I had a good time in the wet, even in spite of the fall, it was a fun day because of the slippery track. This morning was also wet and I rode well again. At the end I couldn’t believe it, I was 4th. In the afternoon I continued to ride calmly, enjoying myself. My team has worked very well and has got a great set up on the bike. I think that the chassis is working very well but the engine lacks a little power, but I am happy with what we have for tomorrow. It is the last race and we are racing at home, so we will do the best we can to get a good result.”
