Repsol riders take the leading positions of the Grand Prix of Portugal.
Hayden, Pedrosa, De Puniet and Porto, main actors of the first practice session in Estoril. Three Repsol riders on the top three positions of the 250cc.
The morning session did not start well for the MotoGP riders, with the rain showing up during a couple of minutes, enough to leave the asphalt of the Portuguese track completely wet. Backward positions for both Repsol Honda Team riders in this first free practice, with Nicky Hayden eighth and Max Biaggi thirteenth. Nicky was back on his Honda this morning, only five days after the crash suffered in Jerez during the race while on a lonely third position.
The discomfort on his right thumb didnt hinder him however from setting the third fastest time in the afternoon under splendid weather, only five tenths behind Alex Barros, leader of both sessions, and only seventh thousands of a second from Sete Gibernau. His teammate Max Biaggi, who is slowly but steadily solving the chattering problems suffered in Jerez with the help of his team, finished the second free practice session setting the seventh fastest time, nine tenths behind Brazilian rider Alex Barros.
In the 250cc, the two fastest men of the pack, Repsol riders Dani Pedrosa and Sebastián Porto, were joined by a third companion, also Repsol rider Randy De Puniet. The French rider showed himself very fast and competitive along the first practice day of the Grand Prix of Portugal. In the morning, and despite a light crash, De Puniet set the second fastest time, one tenth behind the fastest time set by his teammate Sebastián Porto. Dani Pedrosa was third and his teammate Hiroshi Aoyama finished in a back thirteenth position.
In the afternoon, the Repsol riders monopolised again the leading places, with Dani Pedrosa fastest, Randy De Puniet second, less than one tenth behind and Sebastián Porto third, almost three tenths behind the fastest time. Porto had a complicated and troubled first qualifying session. The Argentinean rider crashed twice during the 45 minutes of the timed session, both times after loosing grip in the front end of his Aprilia. Both crashes took place on the same spot of the circuit, a left-hand corner in the last section of the Portuguese track. The second crash happened while the Argentinean was on his way to take the provisional pole.
Fortunately the crashes were light and tomorrow, Porto will be able to continue with his scheduled work plan. In the minor class, Héctor Faubel was again fastest of the Repsol riders, both in the mornings free practice and in the afternoons qualifying session. The Repsol rider set the eighth fastest time in the morning, closely followed by Sergio Gadea, ninth. In the afternoon, during the timed session, Jorge Martínez Aspars pupil was seventh, one second behind the fastest time set by Miko Kallio and his KTM.
Repsol rider´s comments
MotoGP. Nicky Hayden
3rd, 139.072, 28 laps:
It was a shame the conditions were bad this morning as it would have been good to get a good hour in having not been here last year but it all came along okay this afternoon really. We made a few changes to the bike and it sure feels a little more comfortable now. Everyone will improve tomorrow so we need to find some more speed. The track looks pretty easy on paper but there are some sections that really take some time coming together and Im sure that will be the difference between an average lap and a good lap.
MotoGP. Max Biaggi
7th, 139.477, 27 laps: Analysing the lap times we can tell that the fastest guys dont seem so far anymore. With Erv Kanemoto and my team we are pushing to come out of the problems we had in Jerez. Some adjustments to the suspension and the electronics had positive results. Hopefully we are on the right track. The real problem is the handling: engine braking and power output management. Maybe the top speed is good, but we want to be able to be fast all around the track. Thats our goal: for me and my team.
250.Dani Pedrosa fastest,
141.285, 20 laps:
The track has improved a lot from the morning to the afternoon; there was more grip and that allowed us to improve the times set last year, thats always positive. There was strong wind as well, maybe a bit stronger than in the last years, although its bearable for the moment. We still have to fine-tune the bikes setting to improve the pace for the race, although we havent tried to ride constantly yet; weve been working to find the best setting. The weather conditions are quite unstable here; lets hope to be able to continue working without water.
250. Randy De Puniet
2nd, 141.314, 22 laps:
I had good feelings with the bike today and Ive felt really comfortable on it. Weve set a good pace throughout the practice and the fast lap was also very good, although I was hindered by another rider towards the end of the last section and couldnt set the pole. The most important is that my bike is responding well under these conditions. Tomorrow Ill try to improve my times and the bikes setting.
250. Sebastián Porto
3rd, 141.576, 13 laps:
Its been a complicated day for me, but it hasnt been bad at all. I had two somehow strange crashes and now the team and I are going to check the possible cause. Theres a problem that doesnt let me enter the corners with ease. The bike is working well, the only thing we have to do is to keep on working, trying to improve. Although the crashes have been in the same corner, both times loosing the front end, they have been different. In the first one I lost the bike while braking and in the other I crashed in the second half of the corner. Lets see what happens tomorrow; if it rains, bad luck, but at least we have a good place on the provisional starting grid and we got a good pace as well.
125. Héctor Faubel
7th, 146.992, 14 laps:
The practices went quite good today. Ive been testing different tyre and suspension solutions and, as regards the front end, we got things quite clear. Now I want to improve the behaviour of the rear end, and therefore were going to keep on testing tomorrow. As regards my times, I think that we can improve, but we also have to be careful with the weather.
