Catalunya GP. First practice. Driver´s comments

Elias: ‘Today’s second place is good for the team and for me as well, because they are working hard and this is a reward for it’.
Valentino Rossi, 1.43´927 sec, 1st: ‘We work very well on the bike today and we make a good improvement from this morning. We move on from the settings we had in the winter tests and have made a good result. It was possible to go for a fast flying lap at the end and it would be possible to go a little bit better but I find a Kawasaki in the way. I’m not quite sure what happened with the rear fender at the start of the session. It is possible we picked up something from the circuit and it melted the guard.’Nicky Hayden, 1.46´300 sec, 17th: ‘That was a lot harder this afternoon than this morning. I was 11th in the first session and really thought I could improve this afternoon but I really seemed to take a step backwards more than anything. I did find a little something in the middle of the session and improved by 0.8 of a second but couldn’t improve on it. Still got a couple of days though and we’ve go a lot of data to go through this evening. The track here is really good; I love the circuit – just need to get a little more comfortable!Toni Elias, 1.47´551 sec, 2nd: ‘I’m happy because we’re on the right way. We have improved a lot this afternoon compared to the morning. At the end of the qualifying session Poggiali helped me to set the time, but the most important is that I’ve had a good rhythm during the whole session. There are still some things we can improve for tomorrow. The pole isn’t my aim. The most important is to work on a good set-up for the race. It’s going to be a 23-lap race and both the rhythm as well as the tyres are going to be the most important thing. I had some frights this morning and I almost crashed, but fortunately nothing happened. Today’s second place is good for the team and for me as well, because they are working hard and this is a reward for it. I want to thank Jorge Martínez Aspar, because he got very involved during the time we were having problems.’Fonsi Nieto, 1.49´095 sec, 7th: ‘I’m not happy about the afternoon’s qualifying session. I’m not worried, because we where in the front this morning, I was making fast times keeping a constant rhythm. We made some set-up changes in the afternoon that did not have the expected results. Besides, the heat is really intense, there is less grip on the tack and therefor I’m having problems to set faster times. Tomorrow we’ll be using the same settings as in the morning and I’m sure that I’ll be able to improve times. I’m in high spirits because we recently managed to get a podium finish in Italy. ‘Sebastián Porto, 1.48´371 sec, 5th: ‘I’m happy, it’s been a good practice. We’ve changed several settings of the chassis as well as the general set-up with regard to Mugello. I already noticed in the morning that the bike was working better and in the afternoon I managed to set a very fast time. A 1.48’ with this bike is a very good time. The bike is quite balanced and it allows me to keep a good rhythm. I’m satisfied and now we have to keep on working. We’ve made a big step forward today and we still have tomorrow to improve even more.’Héctor Faubel, 1.49´978 sec, 13th: ‘We’re still having the same problems with the suspensions we already discovered three races ago, although we’ve been testing several new settings and we think that we’ve found the right way. We’re trying to find a balance for the bike; it’s working very well at the rear, but the front is still giving a lot of trouble. On the other hand I’m very happy with the team and with myself, because we’re working a lot. Let’s see if we manage to solve the rest of the problems tomorrow to get a place close to the leading group.’Joan Olivé, 1.50´325 sec, 15th: ‘I’m happy, we’ve made a good job with regard to the settings for the race during the practices. Despite not having made a fast lap yet, partially because I found myself surrounded by other riders while trying to do so, I think that I’ve found the right rhythm for Sunday. Tomorrow I’ll focus on making a faster lap keeping that same rhythm.’Dani Pedrosa, 1.51´453 sec, 3rd: ‘I crashed during this morning’s free practice while heading for the garage, fortunately I was riding slow and nothing happened. But this circuit is very bumpy and it’s difficult to find the right set-up. We could have finished a bit further ahead but I was hindered by other riders during my last lap. But I’m happy anyway, because we’ve been able to improve the bike’s setting. Until now, we were always having problems on Friday and we were always located much further back. We’ve had a good start of the weekend and I hope to keep on improving.’Pablo Nieto, 1.51´636 sec, 4th: ‘We’re working on a good line, and that’s important for the race. But we still have to push a bit harder to get a place as much in the front as possible. It’s been very hot today and you can feel it on the track. The engine does not perform as usual, although it’s the same problem for all of the riders. The weather forecast announces intense heat for Sunday, so we’ll have to put special care on the tyres and the engine. The chassis is also going to be an important aspect because the track is very bumpy due to the Formula 1 testings. I have a good rhythm and I’m satisfied, although I hope to be able to improve. ‘Héctor Barberá, 1.51´908 sec, 6th: ‘It’s been quite a good day, we’ve solved the problem we had and I’m sixth for the moment. I’m back on the place I belong. The team has been working very hard and I’m very happy about how the practices worked out, both in the morning and in the afternoon. I have a good rhythm and I’m happy because we’ve managed to find a good setting for the suspensions and the engine. We’ll continue working tomorrow in order to get a place on the front row.’