Intense heat playing the lead in Mugello.
Italian riders dominate the first day. Rossi second in MotoGP, Fonsi Nieto second in the 250cc and Pablo Nieto third in the 125cc.
The intense heat snatched the show from the riders during the first practice day in Mugello, with temperatures over thirty-two degrees in the air and forty on the asphalt. In the premier category, three Italian riders set the three fastest times of the day with a difference of only some thousands of a second between them. Despite setting the fastest time during almost the whole session, Valentino Rossi finished second, right behind Loris Capirossi, followed very closely by his fellow-countryman Max Biaggi.
The North American Nicky Hayden, still getting used to the Italian track he has visited for the first time, set already the nineteenth fastest time. Toni Elias, winner of the last two races, suffered a heavy crash this morning that conditioned the performance of the Repsol rider in the first qualifying practices of the 250cc class, finishing fifth. The fight for the pole this afternoon was a duel between local rider Manuel Poggiali and Frenchman Randy De Puniet, with the victory finally taken by the Italian with an advantage of a bit over three tenths. De Puniet crashed shortly before the end of the session, falling back to the third final position after a fast last lap from Fonsi Nieto who managed to clock the second fastest time of the session. Sebastián Porto, conscious of the existing differences between his Honda and the faster Aprilias, used this first day to prepare his bike for a race he considers to be very hard for it due to the high temperatures.
The tyre choice and good frame and engine settings have been his main targets. Good performance of Joan Olivé this afternoon, staying almost throughout the session on seventh place, finally finishing tenth, closely followed by his team-mate and fellow Aspar pupil Héctor Faubel, who finished eleventh. The intense heat has also conditioned the results of the first qualifying session in the minor category. Pablo Nieto, already recovered from his sacrum injury, managed to be third fastest behind Ui and Stoner, with Dani Pedrosa fifth and Héctor Barberá twentieth, after a session under high temperatures, heavy traffic and several crashes towards the end of the practice.
