With unusually mild temperatures and pristine blue skies blessing the Phillip Island Grand Prix circuit, the Tech 3 Yamaha Team confirmed the ongoing improved developments of the latest range of Dunlop MotoGP tyres as Carlos Checa again recorded a time to place him in the top ten of the field after the opening two free practice sessions at the picturesque Phillip Island Grand Prix circuit.
In the second session Carlos was up to seventh fastest but with the combined times dropped back slightly, although still in an encouraging tenth fastest position just 0.092 second behind fellow Yamaha rider and defending world champion Valentino Rossi.
Teammate James Ellison continued his long season of disappointment to finish the day in 19th spot in a session where Kawasaki rider Randy De Puniet recorded the fastest time of the day
Carlos Checa (10th, 1'31.137, 43 laps)"Today was one of the best sessions we have had all year. I am very happy with the progress of the Dunlop tyres and today confirms the steps that we have achieved. To be so close to Valentino and in front of Colin Edwards is very encouraging for me although also being on a Yamaha I wish them all the best in their setup troubles. Phillip Island is one of my favourite tracks and to come here and records these times, shows that we are improving all the time. It is not only the time I am happy with as we are now getting very good consistency with the tyres and the durability is improving all the time. Also, we have much better side grip of the rear tyre compared to the troubles we had last week in Malaysia and this is allowing us better drive. Side grip is very important at a place like Phillip Island as we are on the edge of the tyre for very long periods, especially coming onto the straight and this is vital for a good lap time. I am looking forward to the sessions tomorrow as the weather seems to be getting better all the time so if we have a fine weekend we are expecting a very good result
James Ellison (19th1'32.778, 44 laps)"I wish I could be as happy as Carlos but today has been a continuation of the rest of the year so I am pretty disappointed. It is very frustrating to me and the rest of the team because no matter what direction we decide to go nothing works. All I can hope for is that we can decide something overnight that will help us in the morning as I am determined to finish this season on a high note. I love this Philip Island track and I don't think people realise how well I want to do here so I have to have the attitude that tomorrow is another day and that things will improve
Herve Poncharal - Tech 3 Yamaha Team Director"It is so good to be back in Australia and everyone really looks forward to coming to Phillip Island. Surprisingly the weather has been exceptional and it looks like it will get better as the weekend goes on. We are very happy after today and it is more satisfying because we did no testing here during the winter. The Dunlop tyres are working really well and this new batch have performed exceptionally from the first time out and the times and performance has been as good as we could have hoped. We are also putting in consistent lap times on race tyres and that makes us all smile at a place like Phillip Island as this track is so very hard on tyres. We are hoping for even more improved performance and wear with the tyres as the weather is expected to get warmer and this is very good for the Dunlops."
Circuit Length: 4448
Temp: 18
Weather: Dry
Free Practice: Phillip Island 15/09/2006 1 Randy De Puniet Kawasaki FRA 1'29.745
2 Loris Capirossi Ducati ITA 1'30.310
3 Nicky Hayden Honda USA 1'30.471
4 Sete Gibernau Ducati ESP 1'30.693
5 Shinya Nakano Kawasaki JPN 1'30.716
6 Casey Stoner Honda AUS 1'30.768
7 Marco Melandri Honda ITA 1'30.863
8 Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 1'31.045
9 Kenny Roberts Team Robert KR USA 1'31.077
10 Carlos Checa Yamaha ESP 1'31.137
11 Makato Tamada Honda JPN 1'31.346
12 John Hopkins Suzuki USA 1'31.496
13 Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 1'31.514
14 Chris Vermeulen Suzuki AUS 1'31.846
15 Alex Hofmann Ducati GER 1'31.978
19 James Ellison Yamaha GBR 1'32.778
Related Linkswww.yamaha-racing.com
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