FORTUNA HONDA RIDERS READY FOR AMERICAN CHALLENGE
FORTUNA HONDA riders Marco Melandri and Toni Elías
completed their second day of practice for the USGP today
in scorching conditions, the thermometers peaking at 37º
C as the riders worked hard on the setting of their machines
ahead of tomorrow’s race. Marco, who has lapped consistently
throughout the weekend, focused mainly on the suspension of
his Honda RC211V, trying out some different Michelin tyre
compounds in the afternoon despite the soaring track temperatures
of 47ºC, which evidently complicated the task. Despite
that the Italian clocked a lap of 1’23.750, good enough
for ninth place on the grid. His team-mate Toni Elias, meanwhile,
continued with his own programme and despite improving his
time from yesterday by 0.2 seconds he will start tomorrow
from twelfth place. The Spanish youngster is still suffering
from pain in his left shoulder and will need an injection
before taking part in what promises to be one of the season’s
toughest races.
MARCO MELANDRI (9th, 1’23”750, 27 laps):
“I wasn’t expecting it to be so hot. The track
conditions have changed a lot and if that continues tomorrow
it will be a tough race. It’s been difficult to make
a tyre choice – we have focused on suspension and improved
in the areas we wanted. During the afternoon session I had
something stuck in my eye, so that made things even more difficult,
but despite that I think we have found a good base to work
from.”
TONI ELIAS (12th, 1’24”230, 25 laps):
“It was a tough day because the heat changed the conditions
of the track. My feeling with the bike is improving even though
I still have a lot of pain in my left shoulder. It will be
a tough race tomorrow and I have no choice but to take an
injection.”
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