Every grand prix, every practice and qualifying session James Toseland is getting closer to the very top of the MotoGP tree. The 27 year old Yorkshireman made his first visit to the Circuit De Catalunya for the opening two practice sessions for the Cinzano Grand Prix of Catalunya in Barcelona this afternoon.
Riding the Tech 3 Yamaha, Toseland was less than half a second behind the leader Dani Pedrosa and was finally eighth fastest in practice for just his seventh grand prix.
“I’m really pleased and that’s the closest I’ve been to the leader after the first day,” said Toseland, who has made his racing debut at the last five MotoGP venues including Barcelona.” Hopefully with more knowledge of the track we can improve that tomorrow and look for a good starting position on the grid.”
The British 125cc youngsters put in a solid first day of practice and qualifying. After a night of heavy rain the track was still slippery in the morning practice but was dry for the afternoon qualifying session. Danny Webb crashed in the morning from the De Graff Aprilia but in the dry was 11th one place behind the impressive Scott Redding.
The 15 year old Gloucestershire rider led the morning session on the Blusens Aprilia and finally finished second fastest. Bradley Smith led that British challenge in the afternoon qualifying and was eighth fastest riding the Polaris World Aprilia, just under nine tenths of a second behind local hero Pol Espargaro who led the way on the Belson Derbi.
Espargaro, who crashed in the morning, would not be too disappointed if it rained tomorrow but the British trio will be looking for a dry track to move up the starting grid for the 22 lap race on Sunday.
Ulsterman Eugene Laverty fresh from his points scoring ride in Mugello was 20th fastest in the opening 250cc qualifying session.
Pedrosa Heads A Day Of MotoGP Crashes A dramatic day of crashes in the two MotoGP practice sessions round the 2.937 miles Circuit De Catalunya. To the delight of the crowd it was Dani Pedrosa who led the way from previous MotoGP winners in Barcelona Loris Capirossi and Valentino Rossi after two dry practice sessions.
Pedrosa fell without injury from his Repsol Honda at the end of the afternoon session but it was the crash of his great rival Jorge Lorenzo that caused the most concern. He took another high speed tumble from the Fiat Yamaha and was lucky to escape with a bruised left ankle and right hand. The 21 year old, who won the 250 cc race last year, was badly shaken in the crash and taken to hospital in Barcelona for a scan. A decision will be made tomorrow if he is fit to ride.
John Hopkins fell from the Kawasaki in the same session while Randy De Puniet crashed the LCR Honda for the second time in the day. In the morning he joined Tony Elias and last year’s winner and World Champion Casey Stoner on the fallers list.
