FRONT ROW FOR ROSSI AT WET BRNO
Fiat Yamaha team rider Valentino Rossi qualified second in
Brno today, despite a soaking wet day at the Czech track as
the MotoGP rain curse struck once again. Tomorrow will be
the Italian’s seventh front-row start of the season
and he will once again share it with Casey Stoner, who qualified
on pole today.
After heavy rain overnight this morning’s practice
was run on a damp track, with Rossi finishing the session
in fifth. From then on the weather worsened and the best laps
of the afternoon qualifying session were done in the first
half, before too much standing water gathered on the track
and the conditions deteriorated even more. Rossi’s Bridgestone
rain tyres worked well and he was able to set some consistent
laps early on, good enough to secure him the all-important
front row spot. The forecast for tomorrow is mixed but the
29-year-old is confident that he will be in good shape to
fight at the front, come rain or shine.
Rossi’s team-mate Jorge Lorenzo had a miserable day
meanwhile, unable to find any kind of grip in the wet and
setting the slowest time of the day.
Valentino Rossi
Position: 2nd Time: 2'12.846 Laps: 15
“I hope that we are in good shape for tomorrow, if it’s
wet or dry. For sure though, like everyone else, I hope it
will be dry because the conditions today were really terrible!
After twenty minutes this afternoon there was too much water
and it was impossible to improve the setting of the bike or
the time, so I am glad I was able to do some good laps at
the beginning. I think I can be more competitive in the dry,
because also we have a few modifications to try, so hopefully
it will be dry all day tomorrow to give us the best chance.
Let’s keep hoping and see how we go!”
Davide Brivio
Team Manager
“We’re happy because we’ve reached our target
of getting on the first row despite the difficult conditions
today. Valentino did very well to make the most of the early
part of the session and get some good laps in before it got
so much worse. We are expecting tomorrow to be drier so we
will try to make the most of this front row to get a good
start and then hopefully fight for the win.”
Qualifying Times
FRONT ROW
1. Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati Marlboro 2'11.657
2. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Fiat Yamaha Team 2'12.846
3. John Hopkins (USA) Kawasaki Racing 2'12.959
SECOND ROW
4. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Rizla Suzuki 2'13.002
5. Alex De Angelis (RSM) San Carlo Honda Gresini 2'13.352
6. Anthony West (AUS) Kawasaki Racing 2'14.064
THIRD ROW
7. Shinya Nakano (JPN) San Carlo Honda Gresini 2'14.718
8. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 2'14.805
9. Sylvain Guintoli (FRA) Alice Team 2'14.861
FOURTH ROW
10. Randy De Puniet (FRA) LCR Honda MotoGP 2'15.535
11. Marco Melandri (ITA) Ducati Marlboro 2'15.880
12. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda 2'16.032
FIFTH ROW
13. Toni Elias (SPA) Alice Team 2'16.510
14. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) JiR Team Scot MotoGP 2'17.632
15. Colin Edwards (USA) Tech 3 Yamaha 2'20.074
SIXTH ROW
16. James Toseland (GBR) Tech 3 Yamaha 2'23.303
17. Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Fiat Yamaha Team 2'23.701
Brno: Record Lap
L. Capirossi (Ducati) 2006, 1'58.157
Brno: Best Lap
V. Rossi (Yamaha) 2006, 1'56.191
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