The final duel for the MotoGP world championship is hotting up, and in the first free practice session of the Australian GP, the various protagonists are beginning to show their hands. Dani Pedrosa finished third today, 361 milliseconds behind home-favourite Casey Stoner, his main rival for third place in the overall standings. On a sunny but cold day at the Phillip Island track, Andrea Dovizioso came in eighth despite suffering a stomach upset, in a session dominated by Valentino Rossi.
Dani Pedrosa has started the weekend in his usual manner of continuous progression. Slowly tweaking the setup of the Repsol Honda RC212V, Pedrosa progressively improved his times throughout the 28 laps, finally clocking 1.38.528, just over four tenths of a second behind Rossi. The Repsol Honda Team rider began cautiously on the Australian track, aware of how the cold temperatures could affect the bike’s grip, increasing the risk of crashing. All-in-all, a positive third-place for this first session on the Australian circuit.
Andrea Dovizioso put in the eighth best time of the day. Andrea arrived at the circuit with stomach problems, preventing him from performing at 100%. This, combined with a less than optimum setup of the Repsol Honda RC212V, which will have to improve along with the rest of the team over the weekend, kept him out of the leading times in this session. The weather, one of the major variables for this GP weekend, has so far been kind to the practice sessions in the three categories.
Dani Pedrosa, 1.31.528 sec, 28 laps, 125 km. >> Audio
“We finally had a bit of luck with the weather today and it’s been great to start here in Phillip Island with a dry session and the right temperatures. This has given us the chance to run some useful tests with the Bridgestone tyres, and even though the track was a bit dirty, I think the grip will get better throughout the weekend. Today we tried two tyres, soft and hard, and this decision will be important, because when we race on Sunday, at four o’clock, temperatures could be low. So we need to look closely at how long the tyres take to warm up, especially the left walls, because there are a lot of left-hand bends here. I’m happy with the way things have gone in this first practice session and I’m sure, weather permitting, that the times will improve considerably tomorrow”.
Andrea Dovizioso, 1.32.502 sec, 28 laps, 125 km. >> Audio
“It’s a good feeling to get on the track here, because the Phillip Island circuit is fantastic and riding here is always a great challenge. This track demands a completely different set up with Bridgestone tyres, and we still haven’t got it completely up to scratch, so I hope tomorrow we will be able to improve. There are a series of things we have to work on. We started with fairly a hard setup, and although we adjusted this down, I think tomorrow we’ll have to make some more changes. Physically, I’m not 100%, but I don’t think that affected the way I rode, and I should be in better shape for the rest of the weekend. We have been lucky with the weather, and it will be great if it stays clear, although we are prepared for anything”.
