2006 Australian Superbike Championship (YMF Loan) - Round Four - Queensland Raceway

Fortuna Honda Day 1 Report

After the mid-season break, the MotoGP World Championship roadshow got back underway in Brno with the Fortuna Honda team preparing themselves for the 12th round of the season at the Czech Republic GP. After putting on a good display in the morning session (Melandri third and Elias eighth), the Fortuna Honda riders continued their efforts in the afternoon session. Marco Melandri declared himself satisfied after securing ninth position, but in truth the time did not reflect his performance as a number of riders moved ahead of him on their qualifying tyres. Elias, who arrived in the Czech Republic in much-improved physical condition, had to settle for 14th place.

MARCO MELANDRI ( 1'59.313, 9°):
I am happy with this first day of qualifying, we did a lot of work on the bike in the morning session on the weight distribution which really improved it for this circuit. In the afternoon we tried to work on my feeling with the bike and now we must focus on our cornering. In the afternoon a lot of riders put on qualifying tyres but we decided to follow the plan we had set out.

TONI ELIAS (1'59.995, 14°):
This morning we started well and I felt good on the bike. In the afternoon the difference was that the majority of riders put on qualifying tyres. I am satisfied as the mid-season break gave me time to get back my fitness. Although the shoulder still hurts a bit from the injury and I am not at 100 percent, my overall fitness is much improved.