The negative news was the serious fall suffered by the French rider Guintoli and the German Hofmann, who collided at the entry to the famous curve called The Corkscrew as the former braked too late. The German Ducati rider came off worse as he has seriously damaged his left hand and will not be able to race on Sunday.
The Repsol Honda Team riders Nicky Hayden and Dani Pedrosa, after their successful weekend in Germany, had a positive first outing on the American track. For the local hero Nicky Hayden, who has been showing off the number 1 to his fans for the first time, a number that proves he is the World Champion, today was a special memorable day. In addition to carrying the number 1 Nicky was out on the track at the same time as his younger brother Roger Lee, who will compete with the official Kawasaki team this weekend.
The American Repsol Honda Team rider completed the first free session in eighth position, and he finished in the same place in the second session too. His team mate Dani Pedrosa, eleventh in the morning`s first session climbed up to fifth place in the afternoon, although he is being cautious and is aware that there is still a lot of work to do on the bike`s set up.
Tomorrow Saturday will see the third free training session and the timed classification round which will define the starting grid.
