- Round: 1 - 2006 MotoGP Jerez
- Circuit: Jerez
- Temp: 20ºC
- Weather: Dry
- Circuit Length: 4423
- Lap Record: 1' 40.596 (Valentino Rossi, 2005)
- Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 39.419 (Valentino Rossi, 2005)
Camel Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi kicked off his MotoGP World Championship defence in fine style today, setting the fastest lap time in the first free practice sessions for the opening round of the 2006 season at Jerez. After light rain showers hit the track this morning, when Rossi decided not to ride and his team-mate Colin Edwards put in just two laps, both riders were able to work without interruption in the afternoon as they aimed to iron out set-up difficulties encountered in recent pre-season tests at this circuit.
Whilst Rossi was able to overcome the majority of his problems, immediately finding the right direction to work with the team's engineers and technicians, Edwards suffered a minor setback today but he is confident that he can recover lost ground in tomorrow morning's final free practice before the crucial afternoon qualifying session. The American clocked the seventh fastest time today as Loris Capirossi (Ducati) produced the strongest challenge to Rossi's dominance, lapping 0.012 seconds slower than his Italian compatriot.
Valentino Rossi (1'41.613, 24 laps);
"We haven't fixed everything just yet but the Yamaha engineers came up with a few ideas to solve the vibrations we suffered during the test and they all worked. So far we have come up with a setting that allows me to ride in a better way to control the bike and, even though we still have some small vibrations, it is giving us less problems. This is the perfect way to start the season and I am really happy with the way the team have worked. This afternoon the track conditions were still not perfect so the times weren't so fast, but I think tomorrow it will be better. Tomorrow we have to keep working hard to come up with some more solutions and I am sure we will be in good shape for the race. There is already a good atmosphere and I can't wait until Sunday!"
Colin Edwards (1'42.266, 28 laps);
"To be honest things didn't go as we would have wished today. After losing an hour this morning because of the weather we missed out on another 45 minutes in the afternoon. I felt something was wrong but it took a long time for us to work it out. Basically there was too much pressure in the tyre and once we realised that we were able to start working properly - unfortunately it was a bit too late to be reflected in the lap times. Looking across the garage we can see that the engineers have got some really good data that will definitely help us tomorrow to refine the set-up and sort out some of the problems we had in the test. It will be two important hours but I have full confidence in the job the team is doing."
Davide Brivio - Camel Yamaha Team Director;
"It looks like we are making improvements and moving in the right direction, which is very encouraging at this early stage of the weekend. We lost this morning's session to the weather but I have to say that the engineers and the technicians made the most of the available time to make the first adjustments to the bikes. Both riders have done a different job today, and our team has great cooperation so now we can put all this information together and find the best way forward for both riders tomorrow morning. Hopefully the bad weather is now out of the way for the rest of the weekend."
Nicky Hayden:, "It's definitely good to be back rolling. This morning was like a false alarm! We got ready to go but couldn't really do any laps. We were here just last week but today we had a completely different set-up on the bike to find some grip, and it seemed to be a little bit better, but it's not the big answer to all our problems. We're trying to get the back of the bike hooked up in the long corners, because everywhere it feels good except jumping off some of those second and third gear corners. But we're moving in the right direction and we've got some stuff to try tomorrow".
Dani Pedrosa: "The hour went by very quickly for me. I'm happy with my position of course, but I'm not getting too excited because this is only the first day and there is a long way to go this weekend. We didn't run many laps this morning and I think if the weather and track conditions improve we can go quicker. It's great to finally start the racing in front of the Spanish fans and I hope I can ride well over the next two days".
Marco Melandri (1'42"108, 6th fastest): "We couldn't make the most of
the morning session because of the weather but we did have some
reference data thanks to the recent tests here a couple of weeks ago. I
am satisfied because we have taken a major step forward today. We have
noticed an improvement and the Michelin tyres have worked perfectly. The
objective was to continue on the same line of work to prepare the first
race of the 2006 season. We have been consistent and I think we can
improve even more tomorrow."
Toni Elias (1'42"518, 10th fastest): "The weather hasn't helped us too
much and we preferred not to go out onto the track during the morning
session. In the afternoon we went out with the same set-up configuration
that we used during the IRTA tests. I still have a wide margin for
improvement and I have to pick up my pace. I'm confidence and tomorrow
we will be working closely with the Michelin guys."
Makoto Tamada - KONICA MINOLTA Honda Rider (24 laps - 1'42.868")
"Today, I made so many efforts to find the feeling obtained on this track during the latest IRTA Test again We could only test a couple of modifications which, altogether, permitted me to feel some benefits but, despite that, I have not been able to be sufficiently effective in driving.
The bike seemed to be less easy to be driven than the last time, while we could reduce the chattering level a little.
Tomorrow I'll have to be able to change these improvements in a definitely better time result."
Shinya Nakano: 5th - 1'41.939"This morning was a bit of a wash out. I waited right to the end before going out to bed in a new engine, but the track was just too slippery for the cut slick I'd opted for in the rear of the bike. This afternoon the conditions were better, but parts of the track were still very slippery right to the end of the session. We tested a new rear tyre from Bridgestone right at the end, with positive results, but we'll need to confirm the results tomorrow when conditions are due to improve. It took me a little time this afternoon to get used to having so many bikes around me on track; a one-hour practice session is very different to the day long tests we've been doing over the winter when you mostly have the track to yourself! I'm happy to finish in the top five today, and tomorrow we just need to find those final tenths of a second from me and the bike to put us in the best position for qualifying."
Randy de Puniet: 9th - 1'42.455"There was nothing to learn this morning on track, as conditions weren't dry enough for slicks nor damp enough for full wets. It was a bit of an anti-climax after waiting so long to make my MotoGP debut! At the start of the afternoon session I felt a little bit nervous; I don't know why, because I felt okay this morning, but it quickly passed. Conditions were difficult this afternoon, and there were a couple of places on the fast sections of the track where the rear tried to come round on me when on a fast lap, but I don't think this will be a problem if the weather improves for tomorrow as forecast. Overall I'm happy to finish inside the top ten today. Tomorrow we need to continue working the same way, so that we're ready for my first MotoGP qualifying session in the afternoon."
Loris Capirossi, second fastest, 1m 41.625s;
"This afternoon was the first real practice session, although the track
was still damp in places, so I couldn't use my usual lines everywhere.
The damp bothered me more than I expected. Furthermore, no rubber has
been laid down, which means the track conditions are very different from
the tests we did here two weeks ago. But overall I'm very, very happy
with today. I'm only 12 hundredths behind the fastest guy which is
nothing, and we were fast in the wet, so we are ready whatever the
weather. The bike set-up is almost identical to what I used at the
tests, the tyres are the same too, though we'll test some new
Bridgestones tomorrow. We know we can be faster than today, which is
good. I'm okay, I'll keep working and hope for some nice weather."
Sete Gibernau, equal third fastest, 1m 41.798s;
"Today was okay, no one could do any real work this morning, so this
afternoon was like our first practice session. Even then conditions
weren't perfect, it seemed like there were still a few damp patches out
there, so we're not going quite as fast as we were at the tests. For me,
we need to make the bike easier, more natural. I'm still fighting with
it more than I'd like, but the team has got some ideas to work on that.
I'm not really thinking too much about lap times at the moment. I know
we can be fast but we need to be constantly fast, so we're working more
towards a good race pace. Bridgestone have some new tyres here, so we've
still got more stuff to try tomorrow."
Free Practice:
- 1. V. Rossi, Yamaha (ITA) - 1' 41.613
- 2. L. Capirossi, Ducati (ITA) - 1' 41.625
- 3. D. Pedrosa, Honda (ESP) - 1' 41.798
- 4. S. Gibernau, Ducati (ESP) - 1' 41.798
- 5. S. Nakano, Kawasaki (JPN) - 1' 41.939
- 6. M. Melandri, Honda (ITA) - 1' 42.108
- 7. C. Edwards, Yamaha (USA) - 1' 42.266
- 8. N. Hayden, Honda (USA) - 1' 42.276
- 9. R. De Puniet, Kawasaki (FRA) - 1' 42.455
- 10. T. Elias, Honda (ESP) - 1' 42.518
- 11. K. Roberts, Team Roberts KR (USA) - 1' 42.538
- 12. C. Stoner, Honda (AUS) - 1' 42.552
- 13. C. Checa, Yamaha (ESP) - 1' 42.608
- 14. J. Hopkins, Suzuki (USA) - 1' 42.727
- 15. M. Tamada, Honda (JPN) - 1' 42.868
