Dani Pedrosa will start from the second row in the San Marino GP after setting the sixth fastest lap during the definitive MotoGP classification session held this afternoon. The Repsol Honda Team rider improved considerably on yesterday`s time in both the morning – 6th – and in the afternoon. Yesterday he was only able to finish 14th and 12th in the first two free practice sessions, although he expressed his satisfaction with the result because he had been able to ride with confidence again and so get down to some serious work. In the definitive session the Repsol Honda Team rider spent the first 30 minutes preparing for tomorrow`s race, adjusting the bike to his own specifications and working on the tyre selection.
In the final half hour, Pedrosa, like all the other riders, concentrated on finding a good place on the starting grid. On his first attempt, 24 minutes from the end, he was not able to improve his time or his position, 12th on the leaderboard. His second trip out onto the track, 18 minutes from the end, was when he set the fourth best time, a position that he repeated on his third visit when there were only 10 minutes left. The final and definitive one was just 3 minutes from the end, and although he was faster on sections 1 and 2, a small error on the third zone prevented him from setting a better time, he finished in 6th position on the starting grid.
Nicky Hayden, still convalescing from his heel injury, carried on trying to rediscover the pace needed in the top category of racing. He was 15th in the morning in the third free session, but in the afternoon Hayden finished in 16th position, which means that he starts from the fifth row of the grid tomorrow.
JULIÁN SIMÓN IN 250cc AND MARC MÁRQUEZ IN 125cc, START FROM THE SECOND ROW
Julián Simón will start from the second row of the grid tomorrow, as he set the 7th fastest time in the definitive and second classification session. The Repsol rider was one of the fastest today, setting lap after lap times of 1’39, finishing the free session in 3rd position. In the classification round, the heat made it difficult to replicate the times set in the morning, in the end Simón was affected by the amount of bikes on the track, his final attempt to set a better time was ruined by other slower riders. Hiroshi Aoyama and Mika Kallio, riders with Repsol technical support, will start from 5th and 12th positions respectively.
A great day for Marc Márquez in 125cc, who after gradually eliminating the suspension problems he had had, managed to set the 8th fastest time, so tomorrow he is on the second row of the starting grid tomorrow. The Repsol rider had already set the ninth best time in the free session after finding the solution to the problems he had yesterday; and on his final attempt, after changing tyres and adjusting the rear suspension, managed to lower the time he set yesterday by almost two seconds.
His teammate Esteve Rabat also improved his lap times, although in the end he had to make do with 19th position. Rabat was 8th in the morning, confirming that he is getting better sensations from his KTM 125 FRR, but in the final classification session he had tyre problems, meaning that he could not ride confidently.
Dani Pedrosa, 1’34.398 secs, 57 laps, 241 Km. >> Audio
“I am quite happy because we have improved my lap times and tomorrow I will start from the second row, in the same grid position as last year here. It will be important to make a good start because the first corner is very close to the grid and also quite tricky. I’ve improved my rhythm and this is really important to me because I am starting to go fast again. We worked a lot on the suspension today, the new fork gives me a positive feeling and it gives smoother performance during braking. I’m feeling very motivated but I still need some time to get back up to full speed.”
Nicky Hayden, 1’35.584 secs, 54 laps, 228 Km. >> Audio
“Things haven’t gone perfectly smooth here, I’m having a few issues with the front. I was pushing the front quite a lot yesterday, then I crashed and today it’s still pushing. When we put in qualifying tyres it just exaggerated the problem, so I’ve been struggling to find a front tyre I like, though the rear seems to be working pretty good here. Obviously I don’t have a very good starting spot and at 28 laps it’s going to be a long race. We’re going to try a few more ideas in morning warm-up, try to get a good start and try to salvage some kind of result. The heel is okay, not perfect, but I knew it wasn’t going to be easy.”
Julián Simón, 1’39.009 secs, 49 laps, 207 Km. >> Audio
“Today went quite well. I think that in the morning we did a well-planned work program, although in the afternoon we were not able to complete it all. On the final lap I came across a lot of traffic, and as I could not calculate the distance between the leading riders and me I could not find a clear route around the track. Unfortunately I caught Pesek halfway through and that conditioned my time quite a bit, I think I could have been 3rd or 4th. Whatever, we have a good pace, above all this morning when it was not so hot. We have everything ready for tomorrow, the tyre selection too and I am dying to get out there. The team is working very well and we hope to be up with the leaders the whole race.”
Esteve Rabat, 1’45.539 secs, 35 laps, 148 Km. >> Audio
“This morning things did not go too badly. It was not very hot and this helped us a little. I rode fast. But in the afternoon it began to get very hot and I developed tyre problems. I was skidding a little and that made me go a bit slower. On this circuit we saw that the Aprilia where a little faster than usual, although the biggest problem I had is that I could not find a good reference tyre for my classification lap. I waited but nobody came and in the end I did my lap alone. Moreover, on my classification lap I made a couple of mistakes. Tomorrow I will try to make a good start and do all I can right to the very end.”
Marc Márquez, 1’44.668 secs, 34 laps, 144 Km. >> Audio
“This morning we managed to set a good time. We had a good set up on the suspension, and in the classification session the set up was fine too thanks to the good work that we did yesterday. We were lacking a bit more engine, which in general is what the KTM bikes lack. Tomorrow I will try to do my best with what I have and so get a good result. We are pretty sure about the tyres and the set up on the suspension we are going to use, so it will be important to try and get a good start and then try to stay in the leading group.”
