Everything is now decided and so tomorrow at 20:00 (19:00 in Spain) the first round of the 2009 World Motorcycling will begin. When the red lights go out Marc Márquez and Scott Redding will be on the third row of the grid, thanks to their ninth and eleventh places, respectively, they got in the only official classification session held on the day before a race, one of the new rules this season. Esteve Rabat, with problems on his chassis setup, was fifteenth, and Cameron Beaubier, in a better physical state after dislocating his right shoulder last Tuesday, will start from twenty-second position.
There was a surprise guest, rain, and it may condition what happens out on the track tomorrow just as it did today when just one hour before the classification session started it was feared that all the practice sessions might be lost. Fortunaately only a few drops fell and the riders went out onto the track on a dry surface. The Repsol riders had to battle to get a good setup on their motorbikes because the weather conditions were very changeable; the sensations out on the track varíed and the setup for the chassis and the suspension became crucial factors.
In free practice Scott Redding was the fastest of the Repsol riders, seventh, improving his time from yesterday by one second and a half, but still some way behind the fastest time set by Julián Simón, once again. His teammate Esteve Rabat, had a positive session and improved his time from yesterday by eight tenths of a second, and Marc Márquez also improved his time slightly, but the front wheel setup is still not to his liking. Cameron Beaubier also improved his times significantly, by two seconds, although his physical condition is still conditioning his performance quite a lot.
Marc Márquez 9th, 2’08.417 secs, 29 laps, 156 km >> Audio
“I am pleased because I finished ninth in both the free practice and in classification. I would have liked to have been on the second row but you can`t have everything. In the afternoon we tried different setups; some worked well and others not so well because today the track conditions were quite changeable. It took me some time to have a fast lap but we found the solutions for tomorrow. The team has worked well and in the end I went quite well so I must thank them for all their good work. We still have something to try out in the warm-up, although we have things quite clear concerning what we will use in the race. We will see tomorrow in the race, I feel I can get off to a good start and be as close to the leaders as possible”
Esteve Rabat 15th, 2’09.076 secs, 31 laps, 167 km >> Audio
“I am not very pleased because the practice did not go too well. It was a difficult day with some chassis problems. The front wheel was really bouncing around and that I meant that I could not ride with the total confidence that is needed to take corners fast. Both the mechanics and I did the best we could but at the moment of truth we did not know how to tackle things and that is why we are so far down the field. Tomorrow, in the warm-up, we will have to decide on the setup that we will use on the chassis and refine a little more the engine settings, although these are not too bad.”
Scott Redding 11th, 2’08.681 secs, 30 laps, 161 km >> Audio
“Things did not go too bad. Classification was a bit more difficult than the two previous sessions because we had some chassis problems and the sensations were very different from the free practice. The engine worked well, but I do not know why the sensations from the tyres and the suspension on the track were a little different. Tomorrow we will have to start really well if we are to catch the leading group and try to stay up with them. That is the plan and I think I can carry it out.”
Cameron Beaubier 22nd, 2’10.248 secs, 28 laps, 151 km >> Audio
“Things definitely went better for us today and the truth is that I rode with a lot more confidence because this morning I was still not completely happy on the bike. In classification I did more laps and I began to feel better on the bike, which is what I need for tomorrow. We have everything decided for tomorrow`s race regarding the setup and the tyre selection, and I just need to take things step by step. In the race I will try to follow a group and fight to cross the finishing line. My shoulder is a little better and when I ride I feel more relaxed; it hurts most in the middle of the straight.”
