Pedrosa and Stoner share the lead at Jerez on Friday

2011-04-01 20:46
Dani Pedrosa and Casey Stoner had a positive start in Jerez, with both riders sharing the top positions on the time sheets on the first day of practice for the Grand Prix of Spain.

They were the only riders capable to set 1'39 which was also under the Circuit Record of 1'39.731 set by Pedrosa in 2010. The Australian was the fastest rider in the morning session with 1'39.551, followed by Pedrosa with a marginal gap of 0.028, then the Spaniard took the top spot in the afternoon with a lap time of 1'40.101 this time followed by Stoner in second with 1'40.289. The strong wind preventing improved times in the second session.

The Repsol Honda pair were dealing with their own issues in a good way: Dani concentrated on riding fast even with his injured shoulder, and Casey focused to improve his feeling in a circuit that has proved tricky for him in the past. Andrea Dovisioso, who had a crash in the morning practice in a very fast corner, escaped without physical consequences, he was sixth on the combined free practice times, with a best lap of 1'40.429.

This weekend in Jerez the three Repsol Honda RC212V bikes are displaying the 'Honda Safety' logo on the fairings, an action that will be extended in the other three Grand Prix held in Spain this season. The logo, designed by Honda Montesa SA reflects graphically Honda's support in this area.

DANI PEDROSA
DANI PEDROSA – 1st - 1'40.101

"I think we are doing a good job. The bike was working OK, it was moving a little but maybe because the grip was not so good today; other riders were also struggling with it and we saw some crashes in all the categories. Also the strong wind played a part in the afternoon, it was more difficult to control the bike especially on fast corners and we couldn't improve the lap times. Let's see if the track conditions improve tomorrow and if we can do better. Regarding my physical condition, I'm struggling in the same way I did in the Qatar race because the situation has not changed, but I cannot do anything to feel better, so I'm just focused on riding as best as I can. I'm doing short runs because it's better for me and working on the bike to prepare for the race. We hope to improve tomorrow and do a good qualifying practice".
CASEY STONER
CASEY STONER – 2nd - 1'40.289

"The first session went well and I had a good feeling with the bike, we tried to repeat this in the afternoon session but the conditions weren't perfect - it was quite windy. It seems to be a little smoother to ride here than in the past, but it's a shame the weather wasn't better so we could spend some time working on the settings. In general both bikes we tried seemed to work pretty well and we'll pick up from there tomorrow to concentrate on the set-up. The grip level doesn't seem to be so good here, I think everyone is struggling with this so that's another element we need to work on tomorrow in time for qualifying".
ANDREA DOVIZIOSO
ANDREA DOVIZIOSO – 12th - 1'41.407

“It was a difficult day. This morning I crashed on the very last lap because I lost the front, without any warning at Turn 11. The crash in itself was not too bad but then the wind in the afternoon made things worse. I think the second practice suffered due to these things put together and as a result I lost the feeling with the front. I couldn’t ride as I am able to do and it’s not a nice feeling but it’s useless to complain, we have to continue working. I hope tomorrow there will be less wind so that we can focus on the set up of my RC212V".

Practice Results
1 Dani Pedrosa 1'40.101 SPA HONDA Repsol Honda Team
2 Casey Stoner 1'40.289 AUS HONDA Repsol Honda Team
3 Jorge Lorenzo 1'40.623 SPA YAMAHA Yamaha Factory Racing Team
4 Marco Simoncelli 1'40.701 ITA HONDA San Carlo Honda Gresini
5 Valentino Rossi 1'40.956 ITA DUCATI Ducati Marlboro Team
6 Randy De Puniet 1'40.982 FRA DUCATI Pramac Racing
7 Ben Spies 1'41.053 USA YAMAHA Yamaha Factory Racing Team
8 Nicky Hayden 1'41.058 USA DUCATI Ducati Marlboro Team
9 Hiroshi Aoyama 1'41.292 JPN HONDA San Carlo Honda Gresini
10 Karel Abraham 1'41.304 CZE DUCATI Cardion AB Motoracing
11 Colin Edwards 1'41.337 USA YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3
12 Andrea Dovizioso 1'41.407 ITA HONDA Repsol Honda Team
13 Hector Barbera 1'41.665 SPA DUCATI Paginas Amarillas Aspar
14 Loris Capirossi 1'41.810 ITA DUCATI Pramac Racing
15 Cal Crutchlow 1'41.854 GBR YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3
16 John Hopkins 1'42.305 USA SUZUKI Rizla Suzuki MotoGP
17 Toni Elias 1'42.690 SPA HONDA LCR Honda MotoGP

Circuit information
First race 1987 (Modified 2002)
GPs held 24
Laps 27
Race distance 119.421km / 74.196miles
Track length 4.423km / 2.748miles
Track width 11m
Longest straight 0.600km / 0.373miles
Corners 13 (8 right, 5 left)
Pole position Left

Ctra. de Arcos, Km. 10 - Aptdo. Correos 1709. Jerez - España



Telephone numbers :

International dialling: +34
F: 956 15 11 05
Centralita / Operador : 956 15 11 00
Alquiler de Pista / Track booking : 956 15 11 07


Circuit records
Pole position 1m38.189s (162.164Km/h) Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha, 2008)
Race lap 1m39.731s (159.657Km/h) Dani Pedrosa (Honda, 2010)
Race time 45m17.538s (158.200Km/h) Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha, 2010)
2010 Winner Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha)

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Honda racing Jerez Friday 5 Honda racing Jerez Friday 6 Honda racing Jerez Friday 7 Honda racing Jerez Friday 8
Honda racing Jerez Friday 9 Honda racing hrc safety campaign

Source: Repsol Honda Team

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