Tech 3 Yamaha set sights on top ten in Brno
Tech 3 Yamaha duo Colin Edwards and James Toseland are determined
to put in strong performances in tomorrow's Czech Republic
GP in Brno after a difficult rain-soaked qualifying session
this afternoon.
Edwards will start tomorrow's 22-lap race from an uncharacteristically
lowly 15th position on the grid as he completed 10 laps in
a session dominated by torrential rain, with parts of the
circuit waterlogged by the end of qualifying.
Like Edwards, British rider Toseland worked tirelessly to
find grip improvements with his Tech 3 team and Michelin engineers,
but he will start one place further back in 16th place on
the grid. He walked away unhurt from a crash at the first
corner with 25 minutes remaining.
Although Toseland's time of 2.23.303 was outside of the required
qualification time, the British rider will start tomorrow's
race, which is the 12th round of the 2008 MotoGP world championship
Forecasts are for improved weather tomorrow, with the race
expected to take place under cloudy but dry skies.
Colin Edwards 15th 2.20.074 - 10 laps
"It was very tough out there, and that's all I can really
say. Starting from where I am it is going to be a very difficult
race. But as always I will give it my best shot for Tech 3
and Yamaha. The conditions were really tough out there and
to be honest we didn't expect so much rain that fell in the
last part of the session. I started the session on a rear
tyre that was probably too hard but we needed to get out and
get some information for Michelin. By the time I'd put the
softer tyre in the rain was unbelievable. That didn't help
my situation but I'm not sure I could have improved a lot
more if the rain was less and it would have been easy to take
too many risks and crash. But it was a bit like Germany a
few weeks ago when I had a few issues in the wet race. I was
just trying to find consistent grip that gave me the confidence
to push and I was lacking in that area. If it is dry tomorrow
like the forecasts say then hopefully we can get some good
information in the warm-up and put up a good fight in the
race."
James Toseland 16th 2.23.303 - 11 laps
"It is has been a very difficult day for me and the Tech
3 Yamaha team, but rest assured I'll wake up tomorrow and
I will be going out rain or shine giving it my maximum effort
as I always do. I am not going to throw the towel in no matter
how difficult it gets. I think it is obvious looking at the
lap times where the problems are, but I'm not going to complain
about anybody. It is my job to go out there and do the best
job on the package I have got right now and that's what I
will do. But if not all of the elements of the package come
together then it becomes very difficult. The crash at the
first corner there was really nothing I could do. I wasn't
trying to make up big chunks of time because it was impossible
in those conditions and I went down for no reason and that
is disappointing. We'll see what happens tomorrow but the
rain will have made the track dirty again and that could make
it difficult for the slick tyres if the race is dry. I don't
like starting from the back but if I can get a good start,
hopefully I can get away with the bunch and have a good race."
Circuit Length: 5403
Weather: Wet
2008 MotoGP Czech Republic - Brno 16/08/2008
Qualifying 1
Pos. Rider Manu. Nat. Total Time
1 Casey Stoner Ducati AUS 2'11.657
2 Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 2'12.846
3 John Hopkins Kawasaki USA 2'12.959
4 Chris Vermeulen Suzuki AUS 2'13.002
5 Alex De Angelis Honda SMR 2'13.352
6 Anthony West Kawasaki AUS 2'14.064
7 Randy De Puniet Honda FRA 2'14.535
8 Shinya Nakano Honda JPN 2'14.718
9 Loris Capirossi Suzuki ITA 2'14.805
10 Sylvain Guintoli Ducati FRA 2'14.861
11 Marco Melandri Ducati ITA 2'15.880
12 Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 2'16.032
13 Toni Elias Ducati ESP 2'16.510
14 Andrea Dovizioso Honda ITA 2'17.632
15 Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 2'20.074
16 James Toseland Yamaha GBR 2'23.303
17 Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha ESP 2'23.701
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