DANI PEDROSA, SECOND FASTEST TIME IN THE DEFINITIVE TIMED
SESSION
His teammate Nicky Hayden, eighth, starts on the third row
in tomorrow`s German GP
In spite of the rain that fell on the German track early this
morning, and even later on in the day, the weather was kind
to the riders in the end and only the morning session of 125cc
took place on a wet track. Today the sensations of the two
Repsol Honda Team riders on the German track improved considerably.
In the morning session and with the surface still drying out
after the early rain, Dani Pedrosa set the best time, and
his teammate in the Repsol Honda Team, the American Nicky
Hayden, the third.
In the afternoon`s definitive timed session, the two Repsol
riders in the top category were among the fastest during the
first half of the session. In the last 30 minutes the classification
tires came on, giving the two Repsol riders four bites of
the cherry. The American`s first attempt saw him finish in
sixth position, while Pedrosa was not able to improve on his
seventh position. Their second, 16 minutes from the end of
the session, found Pedrosa unable to improve on his seventh
position again after suffering traction problems on the final
section, whilst the American moved up to fourth. The third
time Pedrosa climbed to second but Hayden made a mistake and
this meant that he was not able to improve his position. With
the fourth and final qualification tyre Pedrosa stayed second,
but Hayden was not able to ride any faster and he fell down
to eighth position on the grid.
Great performance in the quarter litre by Julián Simón
who will start from second position on tomorrow`s starting
grid. The Repsol rider was again one of the best on the twisty
German circuit, riding consistently among the fastest. With
two minutes remaining before the end of the timed session,
when he was trying to lower his time even more, Simón
fell on the third curve. The Repsol KTM Team rider had just
gone out onto the track with a softer tyre, but it had not
reached the right temperature and he ended up on the ground.
Mika Kallio will also start on the first row – fourth
fastest time - and his teammate, Hiroshi Aoyama, will be on
the third row as he finished ninth.
In the smallest of the three categories, Esteve Rabat will
start from the third row of the grid in tomorrow`s race, as
he was classified tenth in the second timed practice. The
Repsol rider was not able to improve yesterday's best lap
in today's timed session because when there were just a little
over three minutes left a clutch problem prevented him from
going faster. In the free practice, on a wet track after rain
during the night, Rabat had a slight fall on the fourth curve,
when he opened the throttle his rear wheel skidded.
Marc Márquez did improve on yesterday's times and
tomorrow he will start from nineteenth position, although
he has had continuous problems with his suspension and this
is what has not allowed him to ride at a faster pace. The
Repsol rider set the third best time in the free session on
a wet track in the morning, but with the dry track he had
problems with the suspension again. For tomorrow he has a
good idea of the best tyre option for the race, but this afternoon
he will continue to work on the final touches needed on the
set up.
Quotes
MotoGP
Dani Pedrosa >> 1’21.420 secs, 59 laps, 217 Km.
“Today went quite well for us, so I’m happy with
my second position on the grid. I didn’t expect to achieve
this result because we were using up the qualifying tyres
in the last section of the track.
Starting from the front row is especially important at this
track because it’s so tight, especially the first section.
All in all, it was a good session. We improved the chassis
set-up so the bike is giving me a better feeling. We have
met the first target of starting from the front row, so I
am quite confident for tomorrow, but we still need to make
some more adjustments to further improve our race pace. Once
again the big question is the weather, the forecast still
says there’s a chance of rain tomorrow, so we will have
to see what happens.”
Nicky Hayden >> 1’21.876 secs, 64 laps,
235 Km.
“This morning we made a bit of an improvement and I
was able to improve my lap time even though the track wasn’t
so good, so I was quite excited, I thought we had a good chance
in qualifying. At the start of qualifying I was going decent
on some pretty used tyres that by the end had race distance
on them, so I felt pretty good.
But the qualifiers didn’t go as we wanted. We had an
issue with a front wheel sensor when I went out on my third
qualifier, so we had to come in and change the sensor, which
lost us some time and some rhythm. Basically we didn’t
get it done. On qualifiers my T1 and T2 times were really
good but T3 and T4 weren’t so good. It seems like maybe
we were a little soft on the front suspension or we’ve
improved the rear so much that maybe it’s overworking
the front tyre. Looking at tomorrow, I’ve gotten some
good starts this year, we’re right in the middle of
the third row, so I’m sure there’s going to be
plenty of drama, plenty of action. I feel like we’ve
got a decent pace, so the race should be okay.”
250cc
Julián Simón >> 1’24.057 secs, 53
laps, 195 Km.
“I am pleased. Not only because of my position, but
because the weekend is going quite well. In each practice
session we are fighting to be up with the leaders. The team
is working very well. We knew that this circuit could well
suit us.
I think that we are taking advantage of this fact and the
only thing left is for us to round it off as well as possible
tomorrow. The podium is what we want, but also to finish the
race and being able to say that we have done a good job. Tomorrow
I will work hard to concentrate on every lap, and try to get
that podium finish which is what we really want. Everything
is going fine; we have the bike in its place, the set up is
good and I only hope the weather turns out OK. If it rains
let it rain, but not lightly, because then it is much more
complicated for everybody.”
125cc
Esteve Rabat >> 1’28.499 secs, 30 laps 110 Km.
“It was a difficult day with the rain in the morning.
I had never ridden here in the wet, but it is a circuit that
has good adherence. I had a fall, but without any problems.
In the timed session it seemed that the wind would blow and
that it would be difficult to improve the times, but in the
end it was not so strong and I was able to lower my time.
We divided the practice into two parts, and on the second
part the bike developed a problem and I was not able to finish.
Now the important thing is to finally set the bike up for
tomorrow. Let`s hope it doesn't rain, although if it rains
it is the same for everybody. I have been left with a strange
sensation, but I am sure that tomorrow I will improve.”
Marc Márquez >> 1’28.831 secs,
41 laps, 151 Km.
“When we got up this morning it was raining, and the
free session was in the wet. It was hard work but this track
has a good grip, I felt comfortable and I was able to keep
up quite a good pace. I finished third, but what counts is
the afternoon.
In the official practice the track was dry, but we still
didn't have the bike set up right. It took us some time, but
I think that tomorrow, either in the dry or in the wet, I
can have a good race. We will try to improve, both myself
as well as the bike, so that tomorrow we can get the best
possible result.”
Official Results
MotoGP
1. Casey STONER (DUCATI) 1:21.067
2. Dani PEDROSA (REPSOL HONDA) at 0.353
3. Colin EDWARDS (YAMAHA) at 0.452
4. Andrea DOVIZIOSO (HONDA) at 0.589
5. Jorge LORENZO (YAMAHA) at 0.728
8. Nicky HAYDEN (REPSOL HONDA) at 0.809
250cc
1. Marco SIMONCELLI (GILERA) 1:23.399
2. Julián SIMÓN (REPSOL KTM) at 0.658
3. Héctor BARBERÁ (APRILIA) at 0.678
4. Mika KALLIO (KTM) at 0.685
5. Álvaro BAUTISTA (APRILIA) at 0.854
125cc
1. Gabor TALMACSI (APRILIA) 1:27.552
2. Bradley SMITH (APRILIA) at 0.093
3. Stefan BRADL (APRILIA) at 0.369
4. Simone CORSI (APRILIA) at 0.486
5. Joan OLIVÉ (DERBI) at 0.493
14. Marc MÁRQUEZ (REPSOL KTM) at 1.279
19. Esteve RABAT (REPSOL KTM) at 1.436
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