BACK ON TRACK IN AUSTRALIA
First day at Phillip Island marked by cool temperatures
The first day of free practice for the Australian Grand Prix
took place at Phillip Island in fresh spring temperatures
with the thermometers registering 15ºC in the morning
and 18°C in the afternoon.
It was a good morning for Marco Melandri, who set the fourth
fastest time (1'30"863). The Italian spent the session
adapting his bike setting for the race, with the aim of improving
his feeling on the front end. In the afternoon he ended with
the eighth fastest time but he is looking forward to Sunday's
race with confidence and optimism at a circuit where he celebrated
the 250cc World Championship in 2002.
Toni Elias, determined to do well at one of his favourite
circuits, struggled to get to grips with it on the first day.
The Spaniard was fourteenth in the morning and dropped to
eighteenth in the afternoon.
MARCO MELANDRI (8th, 1'31"154): "We've
gone from 40ºC in Malaysia to 15 degrees here in Phillip
Island. I'm happy to be back at a circuit where I have so
many good memories. This morning the bike worked quite well
and I was able to lap at a pace we didn't manage to improve
on in the afternoon. We are focused on preparing for the race,
testing a lot of tyres alongside Michelin. We're not far off
but we have to improve the balance of the bike. I'm still
struggling to control the front under braking and on the entry
into the corner. I'm still confident though because the distance
to the front guys is not so much and it looks as though a
few of them even used a qualifying tyre this afternoon."
TONI ELIAS (18th, 1'32"696): "Today
was a quite difficult day for us. We've worked really hard
to solve the problems with the suspension and chassis. We
don't seem to be able to find enough traction to get the rear
tyre up to temperature. Obviously the cold track temperatures
are not helping with this. So alongside the team and Michelin
we will analyse the problem and try to improve tomorrow."
AFTERNOON PRACTICE TIMES
1. R.DePuniet (Fr/Kawasaki) 1'29"745
2. L.Capirossi (Ita/Ducati) 1'30"310
3. N.Hayden (Usa/honda) 1'30"471
8. M.Melandri (Ita/Honda) 1'31"154
18. T.Elias (Sp/Honda) 1'32"696
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