PEDROSA ON ROW FOUR AT RAIN-LASHED BRNO
The Czech Grand Prix, Brno
Qualifying, Saturday August 16 2008
Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa will commence the second
part of the 2008 MotoGP season in tomorrow’s Czech Grand
Prix from the fourth row of the grid.
The Spaniard was 12th quickest in this afternoon’s
qualifying session, run on a rain-soaked racetrack. This morning’s
practice session was also run in the wet, though the rain
was heavier this afternoon and intensified as the session
went on, the track waterlogged in several places by the time
the chequered flag came out. Like most riders, Pedrosa rode
his fastest lap in the earlier stages when there was less
surface water.
Pedrosa, still suffering from the broken left wrist and index
finger he sustained at last month’s German GP, was cautious
in the treacherous conditions, determined not to risk a fall
that might exacerbate his injuries. His team-mate Nicky Hayden
is missing this race due to a foot injury sustained during
an X Games Supermoto event in Los Angeles two weeks ago.
Despite today’s conditions, the forecast for tomorrow
is much better – warm and overcast, with only a small
chance of further rain.
Dani Pedrosa, 12th fastest, 2m 16.032s
“I wore a heavier strapping on my left hand today, for
better support, but anyway the cold weather gave me more pain.
The track was very wet this afternoon. I tried to improve
my lap time, even though the rain got heavier, but I couldn’t
improve, so I will start the race from the fourth row. Of
course, I’m not happy about starting from there, because
it won’t help us in the race. If the race is run in
the dry I hope we will have a dry warm-up so that we can work
on our suspension set-up and tyre choice. If it is dry in
the morning we will work hard to make improvements so we can
have the best-possible race.”
Kazuhiko Yamano - Team Manager
“Dani rode very sensibly today, the big thing is that
he didn’t fall. It is always easy to fall in the rain,
so he was riding a little more conservatively than usual because
he didn’t want to risk further damage to his left hand
and wrist. We made some small improvements to the machine
today but it was a shame that we didn’t get any dry
track time. We expect better tomorrow. For the race, we have
already adjusted the machine to get him more front-end confidence
from the front tyre.”
QUALIFYING
1 C. STONER AUS Ducati Marlboro Team 2'11.657
2 V. ROSSI ITA Fiat Yamaha Team + 1.189
3 J. HOPKINS USA Kawasaki Racing Team + 1.302
4 C. VERMEULEN AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP + 1.345
5 A. DE ANGELIS RSM San Carlo Honda Gresini + 1.695
6 A. WEST AUS Kawasaki Racing Team + 2.407
7 R. DE PUNIET FRA LCR Honda MotoGP + 2.878
8 S. NAKANO JPN San Carlo Honda Gresini + 3.061
9 L. CAPIROSSI ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP + 3.148
10 S. GUINTOLI FRA Alice Team + 3.204
11 M. MELANDRI ITA Ducati Marlboro Team + 4.223
12 D. PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team + 4.375
13 T. ELIAS SPA Alice Team + 4.853
14 A. DOVIZIOSO ITA JiR Team Scot MotoGP + 5.975
15 C. EDWARDS USA Tech 3 Yamaha + 8.417
Out of limit time
J. TOSELAND GBR Tech 3 Yamaha
J. LORENZO SPA Fiat Yamaha Team
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