MotoGP 2008 - Round 11 - Laguna Seca (USA)

MotoGP 2008 - Round 11 - Laguna Seca (USA) - Day 1 - HRC Report

Repsol HRC

Repsol Honda riders Nicky Hayden and Dani Pedrosa completed today’s first two US GP practice sessions second and 15th fastest aboard their RC212Vs. Double Laguna GP winner Hayden stormed into second place on his final lap of the day, while Pedrosa battled bravely with the injuries he sustained when he crashed while leading last Sunday’s German GP.

Hayden, wearing a special Olympics-themed helmet and leathers design for his home race, is working hard to close the gap on current pace-setter Casey Stoner. The American made set-up changes this afternoon to give him more grip round this rollercoaster of a Californian racetrack.

Pedrosa fractured his left index finger and the big bone of his left wrist and sprained his right ankle last weekend. The tough Spaniard, who is wearing a modified Alpinestars glove on his heavily strapped, injured hand, is obviously in severe discomfort despite using painkilling therapy.

Laguna is a hugely physically challenging anti-clockwise racetrack that places exceptional strain on the left hand, wrist and arm. Pedrosa rode 21 laps this morning and 28 laps this afternoon.

This morning’s session started ten minutes late due to fog. Conditions this afternoon were warm and sunny, though the session was briefly red-flagged with 20 minutes to go after Anthony West crashed. His machine took out a section of safety air fence which had to be replaced before practice could continue.

Nicky Hayden, 2nd fastest, 1m 22.634s
“It’s been quite a tough day, to be honest. We’ve been trying to work around a few problems the best we can. We’re not completely happy with our tyre options this week, it’s tough saving some for the race, which makes it a tough weekend. This is a track I’ve gone well at in the past, but none of that counts now, I need to do it again. This afternoon the team’s done a good job, made a few changes to try and make the tyres work better. At the end I got going a little bit better but still the gap to Stoner is so far. We’ll keep working hard and use all the time we’ve got. The support I’ve got here is unbelievable, man. I just can’t believe how these fans treat me. We’ll keep working hard and try and give the fans something so they’re not headed to the gate with five laps to go!”

Dani Pedrosa, 15th fastest, 1m 23.707s
“I’m feeling a lot of pain and this race is really long and tough, so we still need to evaluate if it’s worth racing. This morning I went out just to see how I felt on the bike and to see if I could ride. I felt incredible pain, so we decided to use a anti-pain infiltration for the second session. In the afternoon I was two seconds faster, even though I still felt a lot of pain after doing a short run of laps. This track is extremely demanding, with many left-handers and a lot of ups and downs. The downhill sections are particularly difficult as there’s more pressure on the hands which makes it even more of a struggle. I can stand the pain from my right ankle when I’m on the bike, but I have to use a crutch to walk.”

Kazuhiko Yamano - Team Manager
“Nicky was second quickest today, which isn’t bad but we still need to improve so we will have a meeting and discuss what we can do to improve his set-up and choose the best tyres for this track. Today Dani showed he has a big heart and a strong will because he’s riding with a lot of pain. He rode today and this was his first target. Tomorrow he will try again and we all hope that he will be able to race on Sunday. The team is doing a great job supporting him.”

JiR Scot

Andrea Dovizioso 7th fastest at Laguna Seca in testing this morning

Fog and cool temperatures have greeted the MotoGP riders on the first day of testing for the United States Grand Prix. For Italian Andrea Dovizioso it was his debut on the Californian circuit of Laguna Seca, but during the free practice, he has been able to adapt to this unique circuit well, despite the twists, turns and undulations of the Californian track. During the first free practice session he did a total of 29 laps, with the JiR Team Scot rider showing his constant improvement around the circuit as he stayed in the provisional top ten. The goal for the team this morning was to gain precious knowledge and experience of the track, which they accomplished well.

Gianni Berti – Technical Coordinator JiR Team Scot
“We started well. Today was a good start on a track that Andrea did not know and let’s say that this track is unique and different from the classic European tracks that we know well! Andrea was able to adapt quickly and to better interpret the circuit this afternoon and will continue so, as well as select tyres in anticipation of the race – whatever the climate conditions we experience here, after all today we’ve found the morning is cool, while the afternoon is much hotter.”

Andrea Dovizioso – Rider JiR Team Scot MotoGP HONDA RC212V
7th- best time: 1'23 "696
“Laguna Seca is a mad track: and that’s in both a good and bad way! Safety isn’t maybe at the highest level, but it’s an impressive circuit to ride – you have so many curves and changes of altitude. And then there’s the Corkscrew which gives you so much fear at first, as you do not see the descent down to the left but you have to keep the gas on for as long as possible before hitting the turn, where you have to back off the gas again! I followed Valentino Rossi for a while to learn the correct trajectory through the corner and to learn the track faster. With the passage of time I’ve managed to learn it better on my own and the times have improved. It was fun!”

Pietro Caprara – Chief Technician –JiR Team Scot
“Our priority this morning was for Andrea to get a guide base setting for the bike. Andrea showed once more his status as a rider who has an ability to adapt quickly to different conditions and to a new circuit which he has never been to in the past. Our performance this morning should be attributed to him. In the afternoon we analysed the data collected and will continue to develop both the bike and tyre choice for the race on Sunday.”