Various press releases unleashed in the Laguna Media center:
Friday Jul 18 2008
Round 11 - USA GP - Free Practice 1
STONER INSIDE 2007 POLE PACE AS MELANDRI MAKES GOOD START
Casey Stoner set the pace in the opening free practice sessions for the USGP, which started out under uncharacteristically grey Californian skies and amidst fresh temperatures of 14°C, before the sunshine finally broke through to warm things up for the afternoon. The Australian was quickly into the groove around the Laguna Seca circuit, located just north of Monterey, and in the final couple of minutes of the morning session he was already lapping inside his pole position time from last season. In the afternoon he improved still further to leave the field trailing by 0.8 seconds.
Marco Melandri also did an excellent job this morning as he started out with the same setting he found at Sachsenring, continuing to make constant progress before ending with the fifth fastest time. In the afternoon he dropped to twelfth overall but he is now looking forward to continuing his progress tomorrow.
CASEY STONER (Ducati MotoGP Team) 1st: 1'21.826
"This morning the track surface was a little cool but grip wasn't bad and after a few laps it was back to a normal level. It took a few laps to get used to the new bumps that have emerged since last season though. In general the track is in good shape and I enjoyed riding because it's a fun layout and we found a good set-up pretty quickly, using the base from last year. In the afternoon when the track temperatures rose further we put a harder tyre on and managed to improve a little bit more, so I'm really satisfied with the first day's work."
MARCO MELANDRI (Ducati MotoGP Team) 12th: 1'23.317
"Finally we've had a 'proper' free practice - I'm pleased. This morning the circuit was tricky but that was probably because of the fact it was cool, because suddenly the grip came in. I had a good feeling from the start with the bike, I was getting decent feedback from the tyres and that is something I've been missing a lot this year. I was able to ride well and stay on the good line. From then on we made constant progress, refining the base set-up that we used at Sachsenring. Now we need to try and continue like this over the next two days because I want a good race here."
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REPSOL HONDA'S HAYDEN SECOND ON DAY ONE, PEDROSA BATTLES THE PAIN
United States Grand Prix, Laguna Seca
First day of practice, Friday July 18 2008
Repsol Honda riders Nicky Hayden and Dani Pedrosa completed today's first two US GP practice sessions second and 15th fastest aboard their RC212Vs. Double Laguna GP winner Hayden stormed into second place on his final lap of the day, while Pedrosa battled bravely with the injuries he sustained when he crashed while leading last Sunday's German GP.
Hayden, wearing a special Olympics-themed helmet and leathers design for his home race, is working hard to close the gap on current pace-setter Casey Stoner. The American made set-up changes this afternoon to give him more grip round this rollercoaster of a Californian racetrack.
Pedrosa fractured his left index finger and the big bone of his left wrist and sprained his right ankle last weekend. The tough Spaniard, who is wearing a modified Alpinestars glove on his heavily strapped, injured hand, is obviously in severe discomfort despite using painkilling therapy.
Laguna is a hugely physically challenging anti-clockwise racetrack that places exceptional strain on the left hand, wrist and arm. Pedrosa rode 21 laps this morning and 28 laps this afternoon.
This morning's session started ten minutes late due to fog. Conditions this afternoon were warm and sunny, though the session was briefly red-flagged with 20 minutes to go after Anthony West crashed. His machine took out a section of safety air fence which had to be replaced before practice could continue.
Nicky Hayden, 2nd fastest, 1m 22.634s
"It's been quite a tough day, to be honest. We've been trying to work around a few problems the best we can. We're not completely happy with our tyre options this week, it's tough saving some for the race, which makes it a tough weekend. This is a track I've gone well at in the past, but none of that counts now, I need to do it again. This afternoon the team's done a good job, made a few changes to try and make the tyres work better. At the end I got going a little bit better but still the gap to Stoner is so far. We'll keep working hard and use all the time we've got. The support I've got here is unbelievable, man. I just can't believe how these fans treat me. We'll keep working hard and try and give the fans something so they're not headed to the gate with five laps to go!"
Dani Pedrosa, 15th fastest, 1m 23.707s
"I'm feeling a lot of pain and this race is really long and tough, so we still need to evaluate if it's worth racing. This morning I went out just to see how I felt on the bike and to see if I could ride. I felt incredible pain, so we decided to use a anti-pain infiltration for the second session. In the afternoon I was two seconds faster, even though I still felt a lot of pain after doing a short run of laps. This track is extremely demanding, with many left-handers and a lot of ups and downs. The downhill sections are particularly difficult as there's more pressure on the hands which makes it even more of a struggle. I can stand the pain from my right ankle when I'm on the bike, but I have to use a crutch to walk."
Kazuhiko Yamano - Team Manager
"Nicky was second quickest today, which isn't bad but we still need to improve so we will have a meeting and discuss what we can do to improve his set-up and choose the best tyres for this track. Today Dani showed he has a big heart and a strong will because he's riding with a lot of pain. He rode today and this was his first target. Tomorrow he will try again and we all hope that he will be able to race on Sunday. The team is doing a great job supporting him."
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Bridgestone riders make solid start at Laguna Seca
Round 11: USA - Free Practice
Laguna Seca Raceway, Friday 18 July 2008
Ducati's Casey Stoner continued his recent impressive form in today's opening free practice sessions at the Laguna
Seca raceway, lapping under his pole position time from last year by almost half-a-second using Bridgestone race
tyres this afternoon.
Stoner, winner of the last three races, was quickest in both of today's sessions by a notable margin, and led a quintet
of Bridgestone-shod riders in the morning practice hour. In the afternoon, with track temperatures considerably higher,
he set his quickest lap of the day on his final tour of the 3.610km Laguna Seca track.
Several other Bridgestone riders frequented the upper half of the classification today with Fiat Yamaha's Valentino
Rossi in third place overall. San Carlo Honda Gresini duo Alex De Angelis and Shinya Nakano were fourth and sixth,
sandwiching Rizla Suzuki's Chris Vermeulen in fifth. Alice Team's Toni Elias and Vermeulen's team-mate Loris
Capirossi rounded out the top ten in ninth and tenth respectively.
Bridgestone is supplying tyres to a total of twelve riders for this weekend's US Grand Prix with the addition of Ben
Spies as a wildcard at Rizla Suzuki, and Jamie Hacking replacing the injured John Hopkins at Kawasaki. The only
other MotoGP race for which Bridgestone supplied so many riders was last season's Japanese Grand Prix at Motegi.
Tyre Talk with Tohru Ubukata - Bridgestone Motorsport - Manager, Motorcycle Race Tyre Development
Was today a standard free practice day?
"We adopted our standard Fridayprocedure with evaluation of the different types of tyre that we have prepared for
this weekend's race. Thankfully, we have had no need to use wet weather tyres, but the weather conditions were
surprisingly chilly in this morning's practice. We have looked at the full range of tyres from soft to hard specification
with each of our teams in order to understand the performance of these tyres in the varying conditions. In the first
session, with lower track temperatures, we tested soft to medium specifications, but this afternoon's session was
held under sunny skies and with warmer track temperatures, which allowed us to look at harder compounds. We
yielded quite promising results with all specs and have different options depending on the track temperatures that we
will face."
Were any riders able to conduct longer runs today?
"This afternoon, some of our riders conducted a consecutive mid -range run of around half race distance, and I was
pleased with the performance and consistency of the tyres. The Laguna race is the longest of the season in terms of
number of laps, so consistency will be an important factor on Sunday afternoon. For this reason, we must keep
reconfirming this aspect of our tyre performance during tomorrow's two sessions."
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USA GP Laguna Seca Friday 18th July 2008
Tech 3 Yamaha duo looking for improvements
Colin Edwards ended the first day of his home race at Laguna Seca with the seventh fastest time, while
James Toseland was 16th quickest as the Tech 3 Yamaha team experienced a tough start to the
American GP.
Struggling to get the best performance out of his Michelin tyres, Edwards was also hampered by a neck
injury that he suffered when crashing out of a rain-lashed German GP just five days ago. Edwards was
due to have further medical examinations with Dr Art Ting tonight to assess the neck injury.
Less than 24 hours after confirming he had signed a new contract with Tech 3 for the 2009 world
championship, Edwards clocked a best time of 1.23.077 in the closing stages of this afternoon's session,
which was run under blue skies but in cooler than normal air temperatures of 22 degrees. Conditions
though were significantly better than this morning when heavy cloud and mist covered the spectacular
California circuit.
British rider Toseland had a difficult first day too, which culminated in him crashing unhurt at the end of
the second session.
Colin Edwards 7th 1.23.077 - 58 laps
"That certainly didn't go as well as I expected and right now it looks like it is going to be a tough weekend.
Firstly, something is wrong with my neck. I'm trying to be the tough guy but I can't even turn my head to
look around. There is something clicking and grinding in there so I am going to get an X-ray on my neck
with Dr Ting just to make sure everything is okay. The issue is with the down force and in particular with
the weight of my helmet pushing down on my head. It is like somebody is ramming a red hit poker or a
knife in my neck. It happened in the crash in Germany and it is certainly not helping me. But I have got a
few issues that are making it tough. I'm having problems with getting heat into the tyres at the moment,
and to do the lap time I did right at the end, I'm giving myself a pat on the back for that. I did my best time
on my 18th lap on that tyre, so obviously it gets better the more you use it. But early on with the
temperature issue it is tough to run the pace of where we need to be. I guess we just got to hope it gets a
bit warmer to try and help the grip."
James Toseland 16th 1.23.955 - 55 laps
"I'm not happy at all. It has been hard to do the lap times I expected and we have got some problems with
the set-up and the tyres. I'm really struggling to have a good feeling and it has been a bit frustrating. I was
pushing hard at the end of the session and crashed at turn three and I was only going to really improve by
a tenth and maybe gain one position, and 15th is not where I expected to be. The main issue at the
moment is getting heat into the tyres because we have got mostly harder compound tyres in my
allocation. I've got a couple of softer options but I need to save one for the race and possibly use one
tomorrow afternoon to make sure it is the direction that we need. I'll sit down tonight with my guys to see
if we can do something with the set-up that will push us a bit further forward. But today I was going as fast
as I could and not feeling like I had much room for improvement. We'll try and improve tomorrow as we
always do and remain positive looking ahead to the race."
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TOUGH START TO LAGUNA WEEKEND FOR KAWASAKI
The Kawasaki Racing Team endured a difficult opening day at Laguna Seca, but Jamie Hacking and Anthony West remain confident of significant improvements tomorrow, once their respective crews have found a solution to the front-end problems that plagued both riders during today's two practice sessions.
The technical and twisty Laguna Seca circuit demands that a rider has the utmost confidence in front-end grip, and both Kawasaki riders struggled today to find a set-up that provided the required level of feedback from the front tyre.
This lack of feeling resulted in Anthony West crashing heavily during this afternoon's hour-long practice session, after losing the front under braking for turn two. The 27-year-old Australian was uninjured in the crash, but struggled to regain his confidence in the front-end of the bike during the remaining 20 minutes of the session.
Kawasaki's engineers will investigate the problem overnight using the data collected during today's two free practice sessions, and they are confident of finding a solution that will allow both riders to realise their full potential ahead of tomorrow's all-important qualifying session.
Despite the set-up problems, Jamie Hacking maintains that he has enjoyed making his MotoGP debut today. The 37-year-old British born rider has adapted quickly to the demands of riding a pure prototype racer like the Ninja ZX-RR, and he completed both of today's practice sessions without incident.
#12 - 18th - 1'24.050
"The important thing is that we've made it through both practice sessions safely today. When I tested the bike in Japan I felt comfortable straight away, but Laguna is a very different racetrack to Autopolis and the bike feels very different here. We made some set-up changes for the second session this afternoon, but they didn't lead to the improvements we were expecting, which meant I wasn't able to improve on my lap time from the morning practice. I could have pushed a bit harder, but without the feeling from the front end there would have been some risk. We will look at improving the front-end feeling overnight, and my aim tomorrow is simply to continue making progress with the set-up of the bike. I'm not looking for anything crazy going into qualifying tomorrow, as long as we keep improving with every session then I'll be satisfied."
#13 - 19th - 1'24.483
"The conditions were quite difficult this morning, with mist still hanging around some parts of the circuit. We had some difficulties getting the bike to turn in and hold a line during the first practice session, but this was much improved for the second session this afternoon. We still have issues with the front-end; you need to have confidence in the front-end grip at this circuit, and it still feels a bit vague at the moment through some sections of the track. Halfway through the session I decided to push harder anyway, and that's when I lost the front under braking for turn two. It was a big crash, but luckily I didn't do any more damage to my back. The team are working hard now to find a solution to the front-end problem, and I'm confident that they'll have it sorted for tomorrow's practice and qualifying sessions."
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ROSSI MAKES PROMISING START TO AMERICAN ASSAULT
Valentino Rossi made a good start to his US Grand Prix weekend today, finishing the day third fastest in the overall standings at Laguna Seca. His best time of 1'22.679 was set this morning and is just over a tenth of a second off last year's lap record.
This morning's first free practice was run in unexpectedly cool temperatures but the Italian's M1 worked well out of the box and he was second fastest, 0.764 seconds of Casey Stoner. Rossi was confident of being able to improve his times this afternoon as the track heated up but the temperature increased by only a few degrees and he was unable to better his time from this morning. He is nonetheless confident that he has not yet reached his full potential here and will be able to make further improvements tomorrow.
Rossi's team-mate Jorge Lorenzo was 13th fastest on what is his first ever ride at this track, whilst the time sheets were topped by Casey Stoner, with Nicky Hayden in second.
Valentino Rossi
Position: 3 Time: 1'22.679 Laps: 65
"We started quite well this morning and we were quite fast from the start. We used our standard base setting and it seemed to work quite well here, and I think that in fact I could have gone faster this morning but in my last run my grip wasn't perfect so I slowed down. This morning I was quite happy but this afternoon we tried to modify something in the set-up of the bike, because we're still looking for the ideal configuration for this track, and it wasn't as good as we had hoped. Now we must put the best things of each session together and then I believe we will be able to be some tenths faster tomorrow. We have a good potential here and I know we haven't reached it yet; we need to do some work on the suspension but the Bridgestones are good which is encouraging. I am looking forward to making more progress tomorrow and closing the gap to Stoner."
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LORENZO TAKES IT EASY AS HE FINDS HIS WAY AT LAGUNA SECA
Fiat Yamaha Team rider Jorge Lorenzo made his competitive debut at Laguna Seca today on the first day of practice for the US Grand Prix, finishing 13th in the combined standings. The 21-year-old visited the track as a commentator for last year's race but this was his first time on a bike around the famous California circuit.
Lorenzo has been looking forward to riding here all season and he spent this morning's session familiarising himself with the nuances of the 3.610 km track, especially the famous corkscrew at turn eight. This afternoon he felt confident enough to begin working on bike set-up and he improved his time by nearly a second. He is still lacking some rear grip however and will be looking to make significant strides with this tomorrow. Lorenzo's team-mate Valentino Rossi was third fastest today, behind Casey Stoner and Nicky Hayden.
Jorge Lorenzo
Position: 13th Time: 1'23.415 Laps: 63
"The first laps here in Laguna Seca this morning were incredible for me and I had great fun learning the track. On my first lap I was very lucky at the Corkscrew because Nicky Hayden was in front and he knows this track very well, so I followed him and I came out alive! It's very different to anywhere else we go and very complicated, so I am trying to take it gently until I am sure of my lines. For me the hardest part is the first corner, but I felt better about it this afternoon. I had some problems with my rear tyre, we don't have enough grip, and I also need more confidence in the front of the bike. I think I need to do some more laps here in order to have more feeling and knowledge about the track and the right lines. I've been looking at the Superbike times and they're doing almost the same times as me, so I know I have some work to do. We have some issues but we're working hard towards being faster tomorrow. I've enjoyed my first day here."
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Strong start for Rizla Suzuki trio
Rizla Suzuki MotoGP's three-pronged attack at the USGP at Laguna Seca in California got off to good start during the first day of practice, with all three riders showing promise for the weekend ahead.
Chris Vermeulen (1'22.847, 61 laps) led the way for the boys in blue with the fifth fastest time of the day as he again showed his liking for the 3,610m American circuit. Vermeulen got a podium position here last year and will certainly be looking to emulate that this weekend.
Loris Capirossi (1'23.185, 58 laps) is still feeling the after-effects of the crash at Assen last month, and the physically demanding Laguna Seca circuit did nothing to help his recuperation. Capirossi again dug deep into his reserves to overcome the pain that he is suffering to record the 10th fastest time of the day and show signs that he has more to give as the weekend progresses.
Wildcard rider Ben Spies (1'23.244, 52 laps) was just one place behind Capirossi as he posted the 11th quickest time despite this being only the second MotoGP race that he has competed in. He has also hampered by a big crash in this morning's session, but was able to walk away from the incident uninjured. Spies was also in action in the AMA Superbike practice today where he was second fastest behind Suzuki team-mate Mat Mladin.
Today's two sessions were held in varying weather conditions, this morning was overcast and very cool whilst this afternoon was in bright, warm sunshine. This caused huge differences in temperatures with the track at 26ºC this morning and 53ºC this afternoon. Casey Stoner on his Bridgestone-shod Ducati was again very dominant as he posted a time over three-quarters-of-a-second faster than his nearest rival.
Rizla Suzuki MotoGP will continue with its practice tomorrow in a further free session followed by an hour of qualifying in the afternoon. Sunday's race is round 11 of the season and the event gets underway at 14.00hrs local time (21.00hrs GMT).
Chris Vermeulen:
"I was looking forward to coming back here as it's a track we've had success at on the Rizla Suzuki, and it's a track I really enjoy with its character being so different to the European circuits. Today was quite difficult though and we struggled quite a bit to get a good feeling with the bike. We made some steps forward this afternoon and went quite a bit quicker and closer to the front, but we will have to make some more of those steps tomorrow to get right up there. Hopefully we'll be able to do that and make sure we are challenging for the podium come Sunday."
Loris Capirossi:
"This track is very physical and quite a bit harder for me to ride on than at Sachsenring, but I worked hard with the crew to make the bike work the best for me around here and in the end we found a solution that was not too bad. We will still need to work quite a bit more tomorrow to get it right. The weather conditions today didn't help because we had lots of hard tyres for the high temperatures but it was too cold to make use of them. For tomorrow I hope the weather is better, but I really want this weekend to pass in the best possible way and then I can get three weeks rest. It is really hard for me because every time I ride I have to have treatment on the wound to clean it and then have it dressed, but I want to do my best here so I will block it out and be as strong as I can!"
Ben Spies:
"It was a good day today as a whole. Obviously the crash this morning hurt my confidence a little bit, but I got faster the whole session this afternoon and a couple of tenths quicker would have put us right up there, as it is so close. I think we can build on this and get faster and faster all weekend and I'm really looking forward to it."
Paul Denning - Team Manager:
"We've had a reasonable first day here at Laguna, with all three riders doing a good job. Chris has been incredibly consistent at his fastest pace but still needs more out of the bike to be able to challenge for the front. So that has to be our target, to find the right solutions tonight to help him to do that.
"This is a very physical racetrack and Loris is clearly struggling with the injury, but as ever he is giving 100%. Ben has acquitted himself very well despite the setback of this morning's crash and looked strong this afternoon. We've still got work to do for all three guys, but we're confident we can take decent steps tomorrow."
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