The Grand Prix of San Marino in Misano is the home round for a few of the 2009
MotoGP riders including six-time MotoGP champion and Fiat
Yamaha rider,
Valentino Rossi. The first practice is in the books and already the weather is proving to be a big factor, since it’s been rather humid and hot causing some riders traction issues, but the weather is expected to improve with cooler temperatures on the way for Saturday.
Valentino Rossi, The Doctor, wants to add a 2009 MotoGP title to his career highlights.
Hometown favorite Rossi didn’t let the smothering heat slow him down. The Doctor, who won the 2008 Misano MotoGP, turned the fastest lap at 1:35.304 on his final run, and had this comment on the current conditions, “This is more the weather for the beach than for the racetrack, today was unbelievably hot!”
Putting pressure on Rossi in the beginning of practice was teammate,
Jorge Lorenzo, who took an early command during the first part of session. Lorenzo's fastest lap time was just 0.126 behind Rossi and he indicated the weather may be a factor.
“Today was very hot which meant it was quite hard to ride, and also the track is quite slippery here.” Lorenzo refuses to concede though, “I felt comfortable on my bike from the start and I was able to be quite fast, which is always encouraging, but I think we have some more work to do because we’re not perfect yet and the front could be better, especially on the entry to the corners. Tomorrow we will try to work on this and especially on T2 and T3, because these are the areas where we are losing some time. Valentino is very strong, as I expected because it’s his home and he won last year, so we will have to be at the maximum to be able to fight with him.”
Dani Pedrosa (3) looks to gain some ground in the point standings at Misano.
This weekend in Misano is an important one for the Repsol
Honda pair, too. Spainard
Dani Pedrosa, whose fastest lap time for Friday was 1:36.080, is optimistic for the chance to make up for a mistake he made at Indy that cost him any hope of victory in 2009.
“It’s really good that I’ll get an immediate chance to make up for the disappointment of the Indianapolis race result. Although that was obviously a big let down and you never want to crash, the pace we set over the whole weekend was very encouraging and the fact that I could finish the race riding very fast again means that I’ve already been able to put the crash behind me somewhat.”
Andrea Dovizioso, who is also riding on his own turf, turned in the fifth-quickest lap time of 1:36.316.
“I love the atmosphere at Misano and this will be a special weekend for me,” the young Italian remarked this week. “This is the track where I started my motorsport adventure so I’m really looking forward to riding here for the factory Honda team. It’s a dream come true. “
Fourth-quickest during practice was San Carlo Honda Gresini rider,
Alex de Angelis with a lap time of 1:36.096. De Angelis suffered an inconsequential crash early in the session but still managed to mark his best time later on.
The Kentucky Kid, Nicky Hayden, is all smiles after extending his Ducati contract for 2010.
Monster Energy Tech 3 rider
Colin Edwards finished in sixth and Ducati rider Mika Kallio timed in right behind the Texas Tornado at 1:36.419. They were followed by
Loris Capirossi, who’s also riding on his home course, and was eighth-fastest this afternoon at 1:36.508. Capirossi said, “The problem we have here today is that - like in Indy - we only have one new chassis and I decided to use the new one with a different geometry on the front and that meant we didn't have time to change it during the session - so we had to keep it the same for the whole hour. We will certainly try something different tomorrow and this is a really important step to try and get the best feeling from the bike and that should make us go a lot quicker. I think that it is quite easy to improve on my time tomorrow."
American
Ducati rider,
Nicky Hayden, who struggled early on with adjustment issues, took 10th with a lap time of 1:36.608.
“It wasn’t a bad first day actually. I mean, the position doesn’t look good but the reality is that we’re in the thick of the second group. The beginning was quite a struggle but we had a different set-up on the other bike, which immediately felt better in terms of turning and grip," Hayden said.
MotoGP Misano Friday Practice Results:
1. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Fiat Yamaha Team 1'35.304
2. Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Fiat Yamaha Team 1'35.430
3. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda 1'36.080
4. Alex De Angelis (RSM) San Carlo Honda Gresini 1'36.096
5. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) Repsol Honda 1'36.316
6. Colin Edwards (USA) Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1'36.350
7. Mika Kallio (FIN) Ducati Marlboro Team 1'36.419
8. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1'36.508
9. James Toseland (GBR) Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1'36.588
10. Nicky Hayden (USA) Ducati Marlboro Team 1'36.608
11. Randy De Puniet (FRA) LCR Honda MotoGP 1'37.056
12. Toni Elias (SPA) San Carlo Honda Gresini 1'37.057
13. Alex Espagaro (SPA) Pramac Racing 1'37.126
14. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1'37.134
15. Niccolo Canepa (ITA) Pramac Racing 1'37.306
16. Marco Melandri (ITA) Hayate Racing Team 1'37.454
17. Gabor Talmacsi (HUN) Scot Racing Team MotoGP 1'37.869
