Colin Edwards 2nd Fastest, 2'01.930, Laps: 60
"I'm not sure if it's to do with the fact that I'm getting old, or just that I've been off the bike for six weeks, but this week it seems that I'm much stronger in the morning than in the afternoon! The morning felt really good today, Michelin had me working in one direction and Valentino in another and I was quite excited about how everything was feeling and about the times I was able to do. I did my best time on a race tyre and it was coming pretty easily. Michelin have worked seriously hard over the winter and the new front tyres they're bringing us are just getting better and better, so congratulations to them. This afternoon was much harder and it was pretty hot out there too. The package I used for the long-run wasn't so good, it definitely wasn't the right direction for the rear tyre and it was hard work for me. Anyway Valentino's package worked well and that's why we're here after all - to work out what does work and what doesn't! It's given us some clear answers and now we can use tomorrow to double check what we've learned this week and finish on a good note."
Valentino Rossi 5th Fastest, 2'02.619, Laps: 57
"Today I made my first long-run with the new bike, because I was worried about the weather for tomorrow. It was important to be able to see the level of the bike over a long distance, so we didn't want to risk waiting for the last day. I am very happy about how it went; the performance of the bike and tyres was very good. We still need to improve the braking a bit, but I am sure it will get better as we continue to work on the set-up. The temperature at noon was very high and the sun felt like a sword beating down on my helmet, but it was still great fun and I really enjoyed myself! Of course with the 990cc bike the top speed was a bit faster, but overall with the new bike the pace on a long-run isn't so different, because it puts less stress on the tyres so their performance remains higher for longer. The physical effort is similar for both bikes, and I feel very motivated after the long-run today. We tested the 16" front tyre today; we still need to work more on this, but the initial feeling is very good and the handling is a bit better with it. The bike is more stable in the corner and therefore I have more confidence. I think in the end it could be a good solution, but we need more time to be sure. Tomorrow we have other tyres to test and we will just continue to work on the general set-up of the bike."
Honda rider quotes and lap times.
Nicky Hayden, Repsol Honda: 2m 02.948s - 82 laps "We actually learned quite a lot about how the new bike works today and we improved by almost half a second so it's nice to see some progress. We weren't testing new parts from HRC, just working with suspension, wheelbase, springs - general settings stuff to try and get the bike a little bit quicker. We definitely improved the bike and learned some more about how it works and reacts to different settings and conditions. We're still some way off where we need to be though so we've got to keep our heads down and keep working really hard."
Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 2m 03.098 - 70 laps "Today we worked hard on many different ways to improve the bike. With testing there are always some things that work and some that don't work so it was a useful day even though we didn't set a very fast lap time. Unfortunately I made a small mistake on the brakes into the slow left-hander at turn nine - I was a little off-line and lost the front, but it wasn't a big crash, just a human mistake. Tomorrow we will try to go a little quicker and we'll also be working with Michelin on some tyre testing."
Carlos Checa, LCR Honda: 2m 03.681s - 86 laps. "Basically all the Honda riders have the same difficulties but we are working hard to fit the bike and I am pretty confident for the future. The last two years I raced on different bikes with different tyres and need more time to adapt to the new bike. I put more miles on the bike today testing different tyres with Michelin but we still miss something to be faster especially in the exacting part of the track."
Kenny Roberts Jnr, Team Roberts: 2m 03.800s. "We basically got on our new machine this morning and on the first run I got down into the high 2m 03s lap times. The bike felt a little bit more positive on turn-in and was better on mid-corner grip. We went through some settings and tried some different swing-arms - kinda a replica of what we did yesterday. Then we did some tyre testing at the end of the day but the team had a late night last night - until about two in the morning - so we stopped with a few hours to go to regroup and see what we had left, and to make a battle plan for tomorrow so that we can run all day."
Shinya Nakano, Konica Minolta Honda: 2m 03sec.633s - 70 laps. "Today I am a little bit disappointed because I was struggling with the set-up of the machine. In the beginning it went quite well so I thought I could mark good lap times. Then the front end started hopping during braking which made me a little nervous. I tried Michelin new 16 inch tyre but as the basic set-up wasn't well fixed yet, I couldn't feel the advantage of the tyre. But it is only the second day here and I still have improved my lap times from tomorrow, so I don't have to worry so much. Tomorrow, I will change front suspension set-up drastically and see how it goes."
Marco Melandri, Gresini Honda: 2m 03.253s - 76 laps. "It was a demanding day. The temperatures were very high and we worked non-stop to finish today's programme. We struggled a bit in the morning but in the end we found a solution that I like. We tested different set up solutions and studied the geometry of the bike before starting to test tyres. I'm quite satisfied, the clutch has improved and I have a better feeling now. Tomorrow we will focus on tyre testing. I'm confident that there is enough time to be ready for the championship. I see the Honda Engineers and the Bridgestone technicians very motivated".
Toni Elias, Gresini Honda: 2m 04.124s - 75 laps "Today we focused on tyre testing without making too many changes on chassis and suspensions. We tested many variations, rear tyres and front tyres, in order to find the right solution for the Honda- Bridgestone package. It has been a tough day but I'm happy and confident. At this moment of the year is important to work step by step, because we need to understand how the new bike works with these new tyres. Tomorrow we will continue the tyre testing while in Australia we will go back working on the setting of the bike".
Pramac d'Antin Ducati
Alex Barros 4th fastest.
"Today went very well, and we have made significant improvements on yesterday," confirmed Alex, a WSBK race winner in 2006. "Thanks to the suspension and general set-up modifications, I felt more confident on the GP7 which allowed me to push harder and reduce the lap times. We have worked on the rear of the bike - I already feel very happy with the front. The electronics has been further optimised and I'm very satisfied. Tomorrow we'll concentrate on tyres and rear."
Alex Hofmann 16th fastest.
"Unfortunately, today hasn't been a good day; I have had stomach's problems which have not allowed me to run as I had would have liked to," said Hofmann, who only completed 26 laps. "I was at 50%, for this reason we haven't done as much work as I would have liked to. We have lowered the time thanks to the general set-up modifications. I haven't tried the tyres because I wasn't at 100%. I hope to feel better tomorrow because we have a lot of work to get through..."
