Pedrosa, Gadea and Hayden, main characters in Cheste.
Pole for Sergio in the 125cc, first pole of the Valencian rider in this circuit, and for Pedrosa in the 250cc. Hayden third in MotoGP, four tenths behind the fastest clock.
The work done yesterday bore fruit today. Sergio Gadea, Dani Pedrosa and Nicky Hayden have played leading roles in the second practice day of the Comunitat Valenciana Grand Prix, which despite the weather forecasts was held under splendid sunshine and on a dry track. Sergio Gadea confirmed the good performance of yesterday with an excellent pole, the first pole set by a rider from Valencia on the Ricardo Tormo circuit. Gadeas time together with his performance of the two practice days, have turned him into a firm candidate for the podium tomorrow. The second pole of the day for the Repsol riders was taken by Dani Pedrosa.
The World Champion took the leading place on the time sheets after a spectacular final lap at the official practices pushing Héctor Barberá back to second in the last instants of the session. Nicky Hayden, highly efficient was third, four tenths behind the fastest time, showing his chances to get on the podium tomorrow as well. The fastest time in the premier class was set by Sete Gibernau. The North-American rider showed himself very hopeful ahead of the GP, because he could have even improved his time. The performance of the bike has been excellent throughout the weekend and Nicky may finish the season on the podium. Max Biaggi, showed also a better performance than in previous GPs.
Good and bad result in the 250 cc with Pedrosa on pole and Aoyama fifth improving during the practices and in high spirits for the race tomorrow. Several problems however for Randy de Puniet and Sebastián Porto. The French rider suffered several problems and a crash, while the Argentinean could only make three laps in the afternoon session due to neck problems.
In the 125cc, the only class to crown its world champion in Cheste, Sergio Gadea had a brilliant performance and although he is conscious about the fact that its going to be a grouped race, he has good reasons to hope to be fighting for the victory together with his team-mate Héctor Faubel.
Rider´s comments:
MotoGP. Nicky Hayden,
3rd on the grid.
Third free practice 4th, 133.132, 29 laps
First qualifying practice 3rd, 132.217, 30 laps
Im real happy to get on the front row. Its so important round here this must be one of the hardest tracks in the calendar to pass on. After the first qualifiers I tried a bit too hard with the second set and the time just didnt come so I was real happy to end up on the front row, especially as our pace hasnt been that hot so far this weekend. Really looking to have a good race tomorrow. Marco will need to have to have a major problem not to keep second slot but were going to give it our best. I know everyone will bring their A game as a lot of guys are going real fast out there. I expect a barn-stormer of a race.
MotoGP. Max Biaggi,
5th on the grid.
Third free practice 11th, 133.891, 29 laps
First qualifying practice 5th, 132.384, 33 laps
We have improved over every session so far this weekend and Im pretty happy to finish where we are at the moment. This morning was not so good but we make some adjustments in the right direction and things come better. My main problem is on the entry into the corners the same as it has been all season but we are not so far off the front as we have been in the last few races. It will be hard to improve much before tomorrow but we start the race with the same drive and enthusiasm as if it was the first round of the season.
250 GP. Dani Pedrosa,
1st on the grid.
Second free practice 1st, 135.862, 29 laps
Second qualifying practice 1st, 135.298, 23 laps
Weve made a good job during todays practices, although the race is still ahead, and thats the most important. I think that weve found quite a good set-up, although well finish fine-tuning some things this afternoon and tomorrow morning. As regards the race, we still have to wait for the weather and the track conditions. Here it is very important to make a good start and well give our best to finish as much in the front as possible. Lets hope that everything works out fine.
250 GP. Hiroshi Aoyama,
6th on the grid.
Second free practice 5th, 136.658, 28 laps
Second qualifying practice 6th, 136.038, 20 laps
Were still having a bit of problems with the front end, although weve been able to adapt and improve the time set yesterday by half a second. We made some changes on the front fork in the afternoon but it didnt work well so we went back to the mornings configuration. In the end, when I went out for my fast lap, there was a lot of traffic and I didnt have time left to wait for the track to get clearer, so I couldnt get a better place on the grid, but second row isnt bad. I think that Ive been constant during the weekend and now we only have to keep this rhythm, though a couple of tenths faster.
250 GP. Sebastián Porto,
9th on the grid.
Second free practice 9th, 136.951, 26 laps
Second qualifying practice, DNQ, 142.942, 3 laps
I didnt feel able to lap at the beginning of the qualifying session and thats why I decided to get back to the garage. My neck is hurting and we preferred not to take any unnecessary risk. Now Ill go to the doctor for a check and lets see how I feel tomorrow.
250 GP. Randy De Puniet
10th on the grid.
Second free practice 8th, 136.827, 27 laps
Second qualifying practice 8th, 136.537, 14 lapsIts been a bad day for me, because the problems have been following us all day. In the morning I had problems with the engine and now, in the afternoon, when the bike seemed to work better, I crashed. I lost a lot of time, because my second bike wasnt ready. I dont know what is going to happen tomorrow, the practice didnt work out as expected and therefore Im not able to make any forecast. But Ill give 100% as always to finish the year in the best possible way.
125 GP. Sergio Gadea,
1st on the grid.
Second free practice 1st, 139.825, 18 laps
Second qualifying practice 1st, 139.830, 14 laps
I am really delighted with my first pole, and even more so because its my home race. I think I could even have gone a bit faster than I did if I had not hit traffic on my last lap. I have a good rhythm which will be really important for the race tomorrow. Im sure it will be a group race, very close where the times are very equal and where it will be difficult to get away.
125 GP. Héctor Faubel,
6th on the grid.
Second free practice 6th, 140.913, 20 laps
Second qualifying practice 6th, 140.114, 14 laps
I can be up with the top riders with the rhythm I have for which reason I dont think starting from the second row tomorrow will be a problem. The bike is working well but I would like to improve the front suspension a bit more. I expect it to be a group race with a lot of riders fighting for victory which will make it a great spectacle for the fans.
MotoGP
- S.Gibernau, 1.31.874
- M.Melandri, 1.32.111
- N. Hayden, 1.32.217
- C.Checa, 1.32.374
- M.Biaggi, 1.32.384
250cc.
- D.Pedrosa, 1.35.298
- H.Barberá, 1.35.530
- A.de Angelis, 1.35.768
- J.Lorenzo, 1.35.942
- H.Aoyama, 1.36.038
8. R. de Puniet, 1.36.537
NC: Sebastián Porto
125cc.
- S.Gadea, 1.39.830
- M.Pasini, 1.39.833
- M.Kallio, 139.899
- T.Luthi, 1.39.994
- F.Lai, 1.40.101
- H.Faubel, 1.40.114
