Australian GP. 1st qualifying practice

Nieto: ‘I am very focused on getting the bike the best possible for the race, and on Sunday I am going all out for victory’.
Valentino Rossi, 5th: The clutch problems we have been suffering with in the last few races seem a little better now. The bike does not feel exactly the same as at the beginning of the year but it is beginning to feel more like it. Hopefully we will have one less thing to think about soon and we can get on with working on the set-up of the rest of the bike. I think we now have potential again. I never really got a good run in the session but Im pretty happy with the result. It is now possible to arrive faster into some corners, which has been the problem over the last few races. The team is very focussed at the moment and we have a big determination to get things right.  The wind had a big effect as well. Sometimes I can only use the throttle 60% – 70% as if I go too hard the front lifts. It is difficult to understand the overall machine setting as you have to ride very much more sweet. Tohru Ukawa, 7th: This morning we started with the settings we had from the tests back in December. The main difference between December and now is the wind. When we were here last it was still. This morning the wind effects everything – and this afternoon it seemed even stronger. We worked on the suspension settings and the bike feels a lot better. You really have to work here for a race set-up. Qualifying is always important but I think less so here as racing is always so close and the important thing is to get good constant lap times which is what we are aiming for. We work for Sunday and the race. We could make a whole load of changes to counter-act the wind but if it drops tomorrow we will be back to square one. A pretty good day really. Toni Elias, 1st: This morning I had some setting problems, but in the qualifying we found the right direction. I am very happy with provisional pole, especially since I am not feeling very well. I have a sort throat, but Dr Costa has given me some treatment, and I hope to be 100 percent on Sunday. So far, the team hasnt discussed any strategy for the race. I am working alone, and Fonsi is doing the same. After warm-up on Sunday we will sit down and make a plan. Whatever the team says to me I will respect. At the moment, I am just looking for the best settings for my Aprilia. I hope the weather forecast is wrong, and that Sundays race will be in normal conditions. Fonsi Nieto, 4th: Today we did a good job. In the morning I was fastest, and in the afternoon I was fourth, only three tenths from provisional pole. I am very focused on working on my settings for the race, and also the best tyres for Sunday. If the weather forecast is correct, tomorrow we wont be able to test in normal dry conditions. I am very focused on getting the bike the best possible for the race, and on Sunday I am going all out for victory. Daniel Pedrosa, 5th: I am not every satisfied with todays sessions. The high winds made it very difficult to turn the bike. When I was in the corner and opened the throttle, the wind was pushing me wide – but in any case the wind is the same for everyone, and it meant that we were on average half-a-second slower in the afternoon than in the morning. The bike is working perfectly. We only need to fine tune the suspension, to find something that allows us to turn better in spite of the wind. If it is raining tomorrow, Im not worried about being on the second row, because recently Ive been getting good starts. As for the consequences of my crash in Malaysia, I have almost completely recovered, thanks to some days of rest at Phillip Island along with the work of the physiotherapists at the Clinica Mobile. Joan Olive, 17th: High wind dictated conditions in the session. The key was to find a lap in which the wind helped you down the straight, but didnt bother you on the other sections. The wind was more than 50km/h, and maybe because of my physical size that meant I wasnt able to ride comfortably. The bike was moving around, and going light at the front, and I was constantly fighting with it. This makes it hard for us to know exactly where we are in finding good settings, but I feel optimistic, because I really like this track, and I think I still have a big margin of improvement. As long as it doesnt rain.