After a 26-day summer break from MotoGP action the first two one-hour sessions of free practice for the Grand Prix of the Czech Republic took place on Friday at the formidable Brno circuit. Repsol Honda riders Dani Pedrosa and Nicky Hayden finished the day in seventh and eighth places as they began the meticulous process of dialling in their 800cc RC212V machines to the demands of the undulating 5.403km (3.357-mile) track. Both factory Honda riders made significant progress from morning to afternoon as they got their first taste of the 800cc racebike at this demanding venue.
Pedrosa, using the latest updates to the RC212V’s engine, improved his time by one second in the afternoon session to record the seventh fastest lap with a time of 1m 59.266s, which was just 0.6s down on his fastest race lap of last year, set on the 990cc RC211V. The 21-year-old Spaniard will be looking to make it six podium finishes from six visits to Brno on Sunday, with the top step his ultimate target.
Reigning World Champion Nicky Hayden today evaluated a modified chassis in combination with the updated RC212V engine and shaved nearly a second off his morning time to set a mark of 1m 59.466s, just 0.2s behind Pedrosa’s best. The 26-year-old American will also have his sights set on a strong finish this weekend to add to the two podiums he achieved in Assen and Germany, prior to the U.S. Grand Prix.
The fastest time today was set by Sylvain Guintoli using a qualifying tyre, followed by Casey Stoner in second place and John Hopkins in third. Tomorrow morning sees a further hour of free practice ahead of qualifying in the afternoon. Round 12 of the 18-race 2007 MotoGP season begins at 14.00hrs local time on Sunday following a 25-minute warm-up in the morning.
Dani Pedrosa – 7th 1m 59.266s
“This was a pretty normal Friday practice for us working through the usual set-up and tyre choice possibilities. We improved the time from the morning to the afternoon by quite a lot which is positive, and I hope there’s more to come tomorrow. The weather conditions weren’t quite as we thought they would be – we’d expected it to be warmer – so this meant the grip wasn’t at the level we anticipated. Tomorrow we’ll have to see if the temperature rises and work through the rest of our options for tyres and machine settings. You notice the difference on the 800cc machine here, compared with last year’s 990s. You feel the difference in power, especially on the straights coming up the hill, but the lap times still look quick.”
Nicky Hayden – 8th 1m 59.466s
“Brno’s a good track to get back into the rhythm after the summer break. We found a lot of time between the morning and the afternoon and I was able to go quite quickly straight away this afternoon. We still haven’t quite got the pace we’d hoped for though, and obviously everybody else went quicker too as the track dried up and the conditions improved. We have a few new things that we’re trying this weekend and so far we’ve yet to take a big step forward, but we’ll definitely put our heads together tonight and see if we can move up. Obviously the tyres are a big factor and I have a few more options there that I haven’t tried yet so we’ll see how they look tomorrow.”
Makoto Tanaka - Team Manager
“We were lucky with the weather today because there was rain forecast but it didn’t arrive until after the second MotoGP practice. Nicky is riding with the latest engine and a modified chassis here. We need to further improve the set-up and balance of his machine but the pace is not too bad and his time is very close to Dani’s. Dani’s RC212V also has the latest engine and exhaust system and he’ll continue set-up work tomorrow. It looks like our rivals are very strong again here so we need to work very hard tonight and tomorrow to narrow the gap.”
Combined Free Practice Times:
1. Sylvain Guintoli - Dunlop Tech 3 Yamaha 1m 58.362s
2. Casey Stoner - Ducati Marlboro Team 1m 58.568
3. John Hopkins - Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1m 58.868
4. Loris Capirossi - Ducati Marlboro Team 1m 58.969
5. Randy de Puniet - Kawasaki Racing Team 1m 59.064
6. Valentino Rossi - Fiat Yamaha Team 1m 59.176
7. Dani Pedrosa - Repsol Honda Team 1m 59.266
8. Nicky Hayden - Repsol Honda Team 1m 59.466
9. Makoto Tamada - Dunlop Tech 3 Yamaha 1m 59.494
10. Chris Vermeulen - Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1m 59.508
11. Alex Barros - Pramac d'Antin 1m 59.738
12. Carlos Checa - Honda LCR 1m 59.857
13. Colin Edwards - Fiat Yamaha Team 2m 00.001
14. Toni Elias - Honda Gresini 2m 00.271
15. Anthony West - Kawasaki Racing Team 2m 00.398
16. Shinya Nakano - Konica Minolta Honda 2m 00.793
17. Marco Melandri - Honda Gresini 2m 01.318
18. Kurtis Roberts - Team Roberts 2m 01.725
Free Practice Conditions: Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 23ºC
Track: Dry / 29ºC
Humidity: 44%
2006 Race Result:1. Loris Capirossi - Ducati Marlboro Team 43m 40.145s
2. Valentino Rossi - Camel Yamaha Team + 4.902s
3. Dani Pedrosa - Repsol Honda Team + 8.012s
4. Kenny Roberts Jr - USA Team Roberts + 14.800s
5. Marco Melandri - Fortuna Honda + 15.025s
6. Casey Stoner - Honda LCR + 15.699s
7. John Hopkins - Rizla Suzuki MotoGP + 16.775s
8. Shinya Nakano - Kawasaki Racing Team + 16.942s
9. Nicky Hayden - Repsol Honda Team + 17.061s
10. Colin Edwards - Camel Yamaha Team + 19.435s
11. Toni Elias - Fortuna Honda + 22.215s
12. Chris Vermeulen - Rizla Suzuki MotoGP + 23.978s
13. Makoto Tamada - Konica Minolta Honda + 24.967s
14. Randy de Puniet - Kawasaki Racing Team + 28.961s
15. Carlos Checa - Tech 3 Yamaha + 29.296s
16. Alex Hofmann - Ducati Marlboro Team + 29.801s
17. James Ellison - Tech 3 Yamaha + 1m 02.982s
18. Ivan Silva - Pramac d'Antin MotoGP + 1m 44.775s
Not Classified:
Jose L Cardoso - Pramac d'Antin MotoGP + 16 laps
Circuit length: 5.403km (3.357 miles)
Lap Record: Loris Capirossi (Ducati) 1m 58.157s – 2006
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