Rio GP. Rider´s comments

Sebastián Porto: ‘We have to be ready for the race tomorrow; the forecasts say that it’s going to be very hot’.
MotoGP. Nicky Hayden 3rd, 148.580, 23 laps: Im real happy to be on the front row. Ive had a few front rows this season that in the race didnt amount to much but Im hoping to make this one count. As always itll be really important to get a good start; hopefully the inside of the track wont be too dirty. Weve had big front-end problems all weekend and were going to have to get these sorted out if we want to have a chance of going with the leaders tomorrow. The last lap of qualifying I was just holding on. I didnt expect it to be that fast, certainly not to be on the front row. Im really ready to have a good race tomorrow and give the team and the sponsors something to smile about! MotoGP. Alex Barros 4th, 148.675, 26 laps: Im very happy with the results of today; were in a much better shape than yesterday. I make many laps on the race tyre today and it feels really good at the end and we still can make a good fast rhythm. There is really not that much difference in the top times so I am pleased to be in the same group. Our programme for the weekend is working well and the machine improves a little bit with every session. We now have more feel and I think we are ready for tomorrow. The pain in my hand and shoulder is better as well and it is now more possible to concentrate on riding the bike. MotoGP.Rubén Xaus 16th, 150.240, 23 laps: It is clear that were having more trouble trying to find the right path here, but Ive been analysing all data very calm and weve made some changes that allowed us to move a step forward. Weve changed a bit the weight distribution and that went well, but I think that were able to improve even more during the warm-up. Its going to be a hard race and looking at the grid, it will probably be a race in groups. I have a good pace and I made my times on my own, so I hope to do a good job tomorrow during the race. 250. Sebastián Porto 1st, 152.503, 16 laps: Its really been good today; weve worked a lot with regard to the race. The biked worked very well, Ive made many laps to test different things and once I had found the right setting, I put on a softer compound to set the fastest lap. I was actually surprised because I didnt expect to clock his time. I was clever finding a gap were nobody would disturb me during my fast lap. More important than the pole position is the fact that the bike has a very good set-up. We have to be ready for the race tomorrow; the forecasts say that its going to be very hot. It will be a very contended race because there are also De Puniet, Pedrosa and some other riders with good performances in this Grand Prix. Im sure that it will be a nice race. 250. Fonsi Nieto 8th, 153.872, 15 laps: Im not very happy. We have a good rhythm for the race but I had problems during my fast lap again. I came across a slower rider who forced me to slow than. Too bad Im starting from such a back position, but I have a good pace. Ill have to make a good start and push hard from the beginning if I want to be in the front. The tyres will be an important aspect for the race tomorrow because its very hot here, but we will all have the same problem. 125. Pablo Nieto7th, 158.639, 13 laps: Weve had all kinds of problems this weekend and weve had to work hard to get this eighth position. Weve made a lot of changes on the bike and we seem to have found the solution, but were not at a 100% yet. My bike lacks a bit of top speed at the end of the straight and that affects my times. Im sure that if we keep on working hard well find a solution and well be able to make a good race tomorrow. 125. Sergio Gadea 23rd, 159.845, 14 laps: I must say that this weekend has been a bit strange for me. I started the first practice setting good times and then, no matter how hard I tried, I wasnt able to improve them. Ive been working with my mechanics for the second qualifying practice and things went a bit better, because we managed to improve the time set yesterday by a bit over two seconds. I also made big part of the practice in a group with faster riders and I benefited from it. The final result is nothing to be too happy about but I think that we made a good job.