DUTCH TT . MOTOGP FREE PRACTICE
SETE BATTLES THROUGH A DIFFICULT DAY
The first day of qualifying for the Dutch TT at Assen was
particularly intense because of the new track configuration
which has seen the overall length reduced from 6,027 metres
to 5,997m.
Sete Gibernau and Marco Melandri spent the two hours of free
practice gathering fresh references of the track layout and
finding a base set-up to work from tomorrow.
In Sete’s case the job was made even harder by the fact
that his Chief Mechanic was missing from the pit box today.
Juan Martínez has spent the day in hospital due to
a migrane attack which has caused him to have dizzy spells
and sickness, as well as severe headaches. Sete focused on
running up the laps on a basic setting and made only small
changes with the help of the team. The World Championship
runner-up completed a total of 41 laps of the new Assen track
and recorded the third fastest time of the day, just two tenths
slower than Loris Capirossi.
Marco Melandri kicked off with fifth place, happy ! with his
race rhythm and confident of improving it tomorrow as he gathers
more and more kilometres on the new track.
SETE GIBERNAU (3rd, 2’01”037):
“We’ve started the weekend with difficulties because
my Chief Mechanic has been in hospital since this morning
and that affected our work programme. In these conditions
I’m trying to do all the work myself with the help of
the team. The morning session was tough for all of us because
we didn’t know what state Juan was in and we were hardly
able to test anything. In the afternoon we made the time up
and found a basic set-up for the bike, without too many changes,
and I just ran up the laps to provide as much information
as possible. The whole team are making a big effort to lose
as little ground as possible.”
MARCO MELANDRI (5th, 2’01”242):
“It was a particularly difficult day because of the
changes they made to the track – it’s m! uch easier
to make mistakes now because the reference points have changed
a lot. One of the corners we took in fourth gear last season
is now taken in second, for example. The heat also caught
us by surprise. In general I’m happy with the way we’ve
started. We have to keep working on our race pace.”
LAP TIMES
1. Loris Capirossi (Ita/Ducati) 2’00”757
2. Valentino Rossi (Ita/Yamaha) + 0”083
3. Sete Gibernau (Esp/Honda) + 0”280
4. Alex Barros (Bra/Honda) + 0”296
5. Marco Melandri (Ita/Honda) + 0”485
6. Nicky Hayden (USA/Honda) + 0”733
7. Carlos Checa (Esp/Ducati) + 0”767
8. Colin Edwards (USA/Yamaha) + 0”831
9. Max Biaggi (Ita/Honda) + 1”272
10. Shinya Nakano (Jap/Kawasaki) + 1”523
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