GRAND PRIX OF QATAR
Free practice / FORTUNA HONDA RIDERS HIT THE TRACK
IN LOSAIL
The FORTUNA HONDA riders today completed the first day of
qualifying at the 2006 Qatar Grand Prix which was blessed
with excellent weather. The lack of wind meant that conditions
were near perfect for the riders as they got to grips with
the Qatari circuit of Losail. After his fine performance at
Jerez two weeks ago, Marco Melandri was right back on the
pace as he lapped consistently. Looking comfortable throughout,
the Italian rider posted the third best time of the day, just
0.105 of a second behind provisional pole-sitter, Kenny Roberts
Jr. Team-mate Toni Elias, who celebrated his 23rd birthday
at Jerez last weekend where he finished in an excellent fourth
place, dedicated himself to the set-up of his Honda RC211V
and tested various Michelin tyres. In the end, the Spanish
rider was eighth, less than half a second of the pole pace.
MARCO MELANDRI (1’57”010, 3rd position,
21 laps):
“I am happy not only to have got a good result today,
but because I arrived here in Qatar feeling very relaxed and
concentrated. The test day we had in Jerez on the Monday was
very important in that sense. I want to thank the Honda technicians
for all the support they have given me – I think we
are very close to getting the ideal set-up for the bike. I
have always liked this circuit a lot and the track is in very
good condition. However, we can still improve further.”
TONI ELIAS (1’57”392, 8th position, 20
laps ):
“I am satisfied. In the morning I did not feel very
comfortable on the bike so we made a change to the set-up
which gave us the results we had hoped for. From then on I
lapped much more comfortably and was able to focus on testing
the Michelin tyres. The forecasts say it will be very hot
here on race day and I hope that does not affect our performance.
We still have to improve some aspects but I think we have
made an important step forward already.”
TIMES
1. K.Roberts jr (USA/Honda) 1’56”905
2. C.Stoner (AUS/Honda) 1’56”911
3. M.MELANDRI (Ita/Honda) 1’57“010
4. C.Edwards (Usa/Yamaha) 1’57”024
5. L.Capirossi (Ita/Ducati) 1’57”031
6. V.Rossi (Ita/Yamaha) 1’57”041
7. D.Pedrosa (Sp/Honda) 1’57”360
8. T.ELIAS (Sp/Honda) 1’57”392
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