The two Repsol Honda Team riders are the only ones able to ride under the 1-minute 57 seconds mark, with Andrea Dovizioso fifth, a bit more than one second behind
The return to competition after the short summer holidays saw the best version of the Repsol Honda Team riders, who were among the top five during the whole day, with Dani Pedrosa firmly on the lead of the times sheet. His team mate Casey Stoner was the only one able to get close to the impressive times of the Spaniard, who at the end of the day was one second ahead of the third rider of the team, Andrea Dovizioso.
From the first moments of this first practice day at the Czech Republic, the three riders of the Repsol Honda Team were among the top five fastest riders on this track. Pedrosa, showing a huge physical improvement from the previous rounds, was immediately competitive, being the first rider to set a time under 1 minute and 57 seconds. In the first session he finished only two tenths away from the track record, almost one second ahead of the second, Casey Stoner.
The Australian was the only rider able to get close to his team mate in the second free practice session, where he also got under the 1 minute 57 seconds mark. Pedrosa showed his good relationship with one of his favourite tracks, keeping a consistent pace at 1 minute and 56 seconds, a time he was able to set seven times.
Stoner finished 377 thousandths behind, while Andrea Dovizioso stopped the clock 1 second and 87 thousandths behind Pedrosa and finished fifth in both sessions. Undoubtedly a great start of the Czech Republic Grand Prix for the Repsol Honda Team riders.
Dani Pedrosa >> Audio
FP1 – 1:56.328, 17 laps, 92 km.
FP2 – 1:56.454, 17 laps, 92 km.
“The feeling was very good today from the beginning. The bike was working well from the first round and we could move ahead, improving little by little in both practice sessions. I think the main difference I felt is that I’m fresh after the summer break, the rest I had has helped me a lot.I can feel the energy I didn’t have in the races before the break, so I hope I can keep the pace for Saturday and Sunday and be strong for the race. I’m very happy with the job we did in both sessions and I think we can still improve and be ready for both the qualifying practice and the race.I guess the other rivals will also do the same, so we have to keep focused. Today I rode alone all the time, maybe tomorrow I can compare a little with other riders to see where are they stronger or weaker than me”.
Andrea Dovizioso >> Audio
FP1 – 1:57.776, 18 laps, 97 km.
FP2 – 1:57.535, 15 laps, 81 km.
“Today we struggled a lot with engine braking. This is a new engine brake that we used for the first time on Monday in Mugello after the Grand Prix, and that we have been using since. It’s very helpful but it’s difficult to set up and today we struggled a lot to get the correct set up. We lost time and we couldn’t do many laps. In the last lap I tried to push even if I was not so comfortable with the setting. I’m a little angry because I could be faster and I’m not satisfied with the fifth fastest time. Now we will study the data and then we will decide the direction to take. I hope that tomorrow we will continue with dry conditions as today and I’m confident we can improve”.
Casey Stoner >> Audio
FP1 – 1:57.294, 14 laps, 76 km.
FP2 – 1:56.831, 15 laps, 81 km.
“Today hasn’t been that positive to be honest, we seem to be having a similar start to our weekend in Laguna and aren’t sure which direction to take at the moment. The feeling in the front is very vague, our corner entry and mid-turn isn’t that great. We also need to find a lot more grip in the rear as I’m struggling on the edge of the tyre and exit of the corner. We have a long way to go before I feel happy with the set up and there are many areas we can improve, so tomorrow we will be trying a lot of different things on both bikes and prepare as best we can for Qualifying”.
