Nicky Hayden, Dani Pedrosa and Sebastián Porto present their credentials to take the victory in Qatar
Repsol Honda Team rider Nicky Hayden is third in MotoGP; Pedrosa second and Porto third in the 250cc.
Heat and more heat, in addition to a dirty and dusty track, reaching almost 50 ºC is what the riders were faced with on the first day of the exotic Qatar Grand Prix. With temperatures reaching almost 40º C, only the decrease of the high humidity levels makes the difference with the round in Malaysia staged only four days ago. In the premier class, Nicky Hayden made a very good start of the weekend. Fastest in the mornings free practice, the Repsol rider showed again in the afternoon that he is in his best shape, setting the third fastest time. The North American rider remembers that he missed the chance to be on the podium in Malaysia and he doesnt want things to repeat here. Moreover, Hayden has made it clear that he will keep on fighting for the overall runner-up position which is now in the hands of his team-mate Max Biaggi. In the morning, and on a still dirty track, the MotoGP riders lapped almost two seconds slower than the circuit record set last year.
In the afternoon’s second free practice session, the significant improvement of the track conditions allowed them to improve their times. Valentino Rossi was fastest in the afternoon, followed by a surprising Toni Elias, 1 tenth of a second behind, and Repsol Honda Team rider Nicky Hayden, 3 tenths behind. However, Nickys team-mate has not had good practice so far. The Italian Max Biaggi finished both sessions more than one second behind the fastest time. The Roman was eleventh in the morning and ninth in the afternoon. Dani Pedrosa and Sebastián Porto were the Repsol riders who benefited most from this first practice day in Qatar. In the morning, the fastest time was set by Stoner, followed by Aoyama. Sebastián Porto was fourth, Dani Pedrosa sixth and Randy De Puniet ninth. In the afternoon, the first qualifying session was lively and contended, with several changes in the lead, becoming more and more intense towards the end of the practice.
Stoner, Pedrosa, Lorenzo, Porto and De Angelis took turns at the top of the time sheets, and it was finally Lorenzo, who is back into action after missing the Malayan round due to a sanction imposed by the Race Direction at the Japanese Grand Prix, who took the provisional pole. Dani Pedrosa was finally second, one tenth of a second behind Lorenzo, Sebastián Porto was third, two tenths behind, with De Angelis making up the first row of the grid after finishing fourth. The other rider of the Aspar Repsol Team, Randy De Puniet, set the seventh fastest time in the afternoon and Hiroshi Aoyama was ninth. In the minor class, good start of the weekend for Repsol riders Sergio Gadea, Héctor Faubel and Joan Olivé. In the morning session, Joan Olivé, very active on a track where he finished tenth last year in the 250cc, set the seventh fastest time, and was ninth in the afternoons first qualifying practice, after keeping himself constantly among the top five.
Sergio Gadea, who has received some improvements for his new bike in Qatar after wrecking his usual one in Japan, is back in the top positions After taking the provisional pole only five minutes before the end of the qualifying session, he finally had to settle for fifth. Joining him on the second row of the provisional starting grid is his team-mate Héctor Faubel, who was seventh fastest today.
Rider´s comments:
MotoGP. Nicky Hayden
First free practice 1st, 201.212, 21 laps
Second free practice 3rd, 159.044, 21 laps
This morning we came out really strong. Ive been needing to do that over the last couple of weeks. If you get behind early here youre playing catch-up all weekend. I quite like the track here. The layout is really good. Its got some fun, fast corners. It also reminds me of my dirt track days when you just have to ride in the grooves. Just stay on the line and not slip off! It was real windy out there this afternoon and made it hard to stay on line. Our speed is down a bit but we can work on that. Weve made good progress today – Im definitely happier that I have been for some time on the first day we just need to keep improving things tomorrow.
MotoGP. Max Biaggi
First free practice 11th, 202.634, 22 laps
Second free practice 9th, 159.978, 23 laps
Really the same comments as I have had to make for some time now and it is so frustrating. We seem to have made no progress for quite a few races. Things are not good and they dont improve. I can accept that if we are 0.2s down on the lap time then we can make a small adjustment here and there but one second come on! It cannot be correct. We had a bad time in Malaysia and I like the track. I hoped to go well here and we are ninth fastest and 1.2s off the front. There is nothing more frustrating for a racer than to be trying 100% on the bike and to see people who I know I should be faster than, just disappear in the distance.
250. Dani Pedrosa
First free practice 6th, 206.787, 20 laps
First qualifying practice 2º, 203.905, 16 laps
This has been a rather complicated first day, although better than last year. The track is cleaner than in 2004, but its still quite dirty, even if we were the ones who had the cleanest track, because we were the last ones to start. As regards the times set, we already clocked similar times last year and I think that well be able to do better. Lets hope that the wind doesn’t get stronger to bring more sand onto the track. We still have a day to work, lets see how we do tomorrow. Ill try to forget about the shoulder, although it is still bothering me.
250. Sebastián Porto
First free practice 4th, 206.594, 18 laps
First qualifying practice 3rd, 203.933, 13 laps
There are a few differences to last year although we already have some data to help us find a good set-up. Last year we did a very good job and this time around, considering its the first day, we have started well. The bike responded well and although we have changed a lot of things from the last race here, I think the result could be as good. However, we still have to improve and we are a second off my pole from last year at the moment. I am happy because it is important to be up there on the first day and we are just two tenths away right now.
250. Randy De Puniet
First free practice 9th, 207.243, 22 laps
First qualifying practice 7th, 204.561, 17 laps
I am happy with the result of the qualifying session and by the job weve done. We have been working on our race tyres, looking for a good set-up as the track is quite difficult in that respect. In the latter stages I made a small mistake with the qualifying tyres, but I hope to improve tomorrow. However, the most important thing is Saturday and the race and that is what we focused on today.
250. Hiroshi Aoyama
First free practice 2nd, 206.071, 20 laps
First qualifying practice 9th, 204.715, 14 laps
Nothing worked out today. I have no confidence on the front end on this circuit and things don’t work out like that. The track was dirty in the morning and therefore the lap time was a bit of a fiction. We made several changes in the afternoon, but I didn’t manage to find the confidence that will allow me to be fast. Now we have to check the data; I hope to lap better tomorrow.
125. Sergio Gadea
First free practice 11th, 214.868, 15 laps
First qualifying practice 5th, 212.070, 10 laps
It was a very positive session although the heat here in Qatar was suffocating. In the end I got the bike just as I had it before the crash in Japan and that showed in my qualifying. We are all giving 100 percent and want to get some good results in the races that remain this year.
125. Héctor Faubel
First free practice 14th, 215.239, 16 laps
First qualifying practice 7th, 212.250, 10 laps
Today everything went quite well apart from a few chassis problems that, if we can resolve, will allow us to get on the front row. The track is quite dirty but got better as the session progressed. I hope the conditions are a little easier tomorrow and allow us to improve our times.
125. Joan Olivé
First free practice 7th, 214.584, 16 laps
First qualifying practice 9th, 212.522, 12 laps
Im quite satisfied with how things worked out at the practice today. The truth is that weve had a much better start than in the two previous GPs. The practice went well in Malaysia already, but the race didnt reflect the whole work we had done. Today we’ve been competitive from early in the morning, and in the afternoon, after some fine tuning of the bike, we were even better. Well use tomorrow morning to prepare the race and get the right pace and in the afternoon well try to set a good time. On this track, it is very important to get a position as much in the front as possible to avoid the dust. Were in the right path.
Track conditions
- Weather: sunny
- Air: 36º-40º
- Asphalt: 47º-49º
- Humidity: 10%-11%
- Wind: 18 Km/h
Standings:
MotoGP:
- V.Rossi 1.58.714
- T.Elias 1.58.860
- N.Hayden 1.59.044
- L.Capirossi 1.59152
- C.Checa 1.59.466
9. M.Biaggi 1.59.978
250
- J.Lorenzo 2.03.727
- D.Pedrosa 2.03.905
- S.Porto 2.03.933
- A. de Angelis 2.04.056
- C.Stoner 2.04.072
7. R.de Puniet 20.4.561
125
- M.Simoncelli 2.11.209
- M.Poggiali 2.11.225
- L.Zanetti 2.11.485
- F.Lai 2.11.673
- S.Gadea 2.12.070
7. H.Faubel 2.12.250
9. J.Olivé 2.12.522
