GAULOISES YAMAHA RIDERS SET PACE AT GLOOMY DONINGTON
Gauloises Yamaha Team riders Colin Edwards and Valentino
Rossi set the pace on the opening day of the British Grand
Prix under damp grey skies at Donington Park today. Edwards
and Rossi were first and second fastest respectively in the
morning session and their best times remained unbeaten in
the afternoon as light rainfall interrupted the second free
practice. Arriving in Great Britain on the back of consecutive
podium finishes at Assen and Laguna Seca, Edwards was quickly
on the pace this morning and was the only rider able to beat
his own lap record of 1’29.973 - set on his way to second
place behind Rossi during last year’s race. Using the
same base set-up that has propelled him to the lead positions
over the past two races, Edwards made minor adjustments to
his YZR-M1 machine before clocking a best time of 1’29.960
after 27 laps of the morning session. The American had planned
to test a variety of tyre compounds in the afternoon but was
thwarted by a brief shower that made track conditions extremely
slippery and led to a crash for Nicky Hayden (Honda). The
rain also affected Rossi’s programme as the Italian
missed out on the opportunity to make further adjustments
to his own base setting. The Italian lapped just 0.025 seconds
slower than his team-mate but was not entirely comfortable
and was hoping for more track time in dry conditions during
the afternoon.
COLIN EDWARDS (1st; 1’29.960 – 33 laps)
“The bike has become better and better over the past
few weeks so the aim today was to continue along that line.
I felt comfortable from the first lap and when I came in and
saw the lap times I was doing I decided to put my head down
for a couple of laps and see what I was capable of. To break
the lap record in first practice obviously gives you a lot
of confidence, but the main thing that is giving me confidence
right now is the performance of my bike and the way I am working
with all of the guys in the team. To be considered as a serious
challenger to Valentino you have to make the top three on
a very consistent basis so that is what we are trying to do.
Obviously I know this track well and I’ve spent a lot
of time working in England in the past so I’m getting
an extra push from the fans. The only thing I don’t
like here is the weather… and the food!”
VALENTINO ROSSI (2nd; 1’29.985 – 36 laps)
“We lost the practice this afternoon because it was
half wet and half dry. It is a shame because that was an important
time to work on the set-up of the bike and get the machine
to work at this circuit. I was in London last Sunday and the
weather was very hot but the temperature has dropped by about
10ºC in the last two days and they are saying it could
get worse. It’s disappointing because this track is
great and it would be good to race here in the dry. The M1
does go well in the wet as well though anyway. To be honest
the bike felt a little nervous in these conditions and especially
this morning it was difficult to get the tyres up to the right
temperature. However, I am satisfied to be second even though
we haven’t learned much today.”
JEREMY BURGESS – ROSSI’S CREW CHIEF
“This afternoon the conditions made it a bit of a waste
of time for us but both Yamahas were quick in the morning
so essentially we know the bike is okay. This track is split
into two very different sections but you can never make up
time in slow corners so our focus is to set the bike up to
work as well as possible through the fast ones, in particular
from Redgate through Craner Curves. The question mark is over
the weather and choosing the right tyre at the right time.
As I say, today was pretty useless for that because everybody
went faster in the morning than they did in the afternoon.”
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