MotoGP 2006 - Round Three

Despite the appearance of the rain which seems to follow the MotoGP tour the world over this year, the World Championship’s passionate fans still flocked to the Circuit de Catalunya today to witness the excitement of the buzzing paddock. With the Gran Premi Cinzano de Catalunya taking place on Sunday, today’s sessions served to establish the early pace-setters in all three categories.

Valentino Rossi continued on the comeback trail on the first day of practice, finishing as the fastest rider with a lap of 1’42.837. The Camel Yamaha man has been one of the most successful riders in the history of the Circuit de Catalunya, and knows that a win is essential for his championship aspirations.

The second practice session went ahead without interruptions, although the track was slowly drying after a sudden downpour soaked 125cc practice. Having put in the fastest lap of the first free practice, Kenny Roberts Jr. benefited from the slower second session to finish the day in second position overall. The American was just ahead of home rider Dani Pedrosa, another rider with a formidable record in Catalunya.

The last time Colin Edwards came to the Montmelo Circuit he left as the proud owner of a brand new BMW M ZX Roadster, courtesy of a victory in a special qualifying session back at the Official Test in March. On day one of practice the Texan Tornado clocked the fourth fastest time, ahead of Australian duo Chris Vermeulen and Casey Stoner. John Hopkins continued the impressive form of the Suzuki team, with a seventh place in the combined standings.

Championship leader Loris Capirossi clocked the eighth fastest time of the day, with third and second placed championship riders Marco Melandri and Nicky Hayden completing the top ten.

The paddock also welcomed two of Spain’s biggest rallying stars this afternoon, with Citroen driver Xevi Pons and KTM Dakar rider Isidre Esteve experiencing some of the excitement of the World Championship. The raid and rally drivers made the most of their time at the track, shooting the breeze with fellow countryman Toni Elias in the Fortuna Honda box.

The 250cc category saw something of a fairytale first point of contact for Alex Debon. Stepping in for injured rider Hector Barbera in the Fortuna Aprilia team, Debon grabbed a last-gasp provisional pole to complete a dream start for him as part of the Spanish outfit. The stand-in’s lap of 1’47.231 saw him place ahead of championship leader Andrea Dovizioso and Hiroshi Aoyama, with title contender and fellow Fortuna Aprilia rider Jorge Lorenzo the only other rider to break the 1’47s barrier.

Marco Simoncelli, Shuhei Aoyama, Alex de Angelis and Yuki Takahashi all placed in the top eight, ahead of Roberto Locatelli and Jules Cluzel.

Finn Mika Kallio took provisional pole in the 125cc category today after a rain-hit qualifying session. He set his lap just before there was an intense downpour at the Circuit de Catalunya, and all riders headed to their boxes to make the necessary changes to their bikes and leathers.

With the KTM rider first on the provisional grid, he lies ahead of Thomas Luthi, Michele Conti, Mike di Meglio and the surprise package of Joey Litjens and Bradley Smith.

Seventh place went to Raffaele de Rosa, the top ten rounded off by Lorenzo Zanetti, Gabor Talmacsi and Michele Pirro.

1st, Valentino Rossi (Yamaha), 1'42.837 :
"I’m very pleased because we have done a lot of hard work today and the lap times are good. Earlier in the season we were losing time in practice trying to solve the vibration problems but now we are able to work in a normal way thanks to the new chassis. It means we can use every minute of the session to work on the tyres and the set-up for the race. Really this bike is only four hours old so for it to already be working so well is a big encouragement and a good sign for the future. I love this circuit and it is great fun to ride the M1 here but we still have some work to do tomorrow, especially on finding some more front grip. There are two or three riders looking very strong at this track and it looks like it will be another great battle on Sunday."