Cool Start For The PRAMAC D’ANTIN MotoGP Team At The Qatar Grand Prix
Mar 08, 2007
The PRAMAC D’ANTIN MotoGP riders started the 2007 MotoGP World Championship in good form and highly motivated. Today, Alex Barros, began to contest his 228th Grand Prix in the premier category (258 total Grand Prix starts in all classes in his career), clocking a time of 1’57.620 at the end of the first free practice, while Alex Hofmann, after a good morning session, closed the afternoon practice with a 1’58.206. The aim of both riders was to clearly define the best race set-up of their Ducati GP7’s, equipped with Bridgestone rubbers. The Brazilian started the day with a good base setting obtained during the previous Qatar test, and spent some time testing different tires and making a few changes to the geometry of the bike, while the Mindelheim guy focused on front end feel.
Alex Barros (11th - 1’57.620):
“I am very happy with my debut for this first race of the new season; I was anxious to breath deeply once again the competitive spirit within MotoGP. Despite the not-so-good conditions of the track, today’s session was satisfying. The goal was to work in the racepace, because that’s what counts. We started working with the good base setting we found here in Losail last month, tweaking a few things with the suspension and testing the front and rear tires we will choose for the race. I am feeling quite comfortable on the bike but we have to improve in the slower, 180° corners, where we’re suffering a little bit. Tomorrow, we will continue to work on tires selection and on the electronics of the engine to make the bike easier to ride for the entire race. We have some space to improve. We are looking to find a few tenths here and there to be competitive and fighting for the podium, which is my objective for this season. I am ready to start this new season and do my best! â€
Alex Hofmann (16th - 1’58.206):
“Today was a special day for me because I started another Championship with the same Team I had last year, and because I’m facing this new challenge with a fighting spirit like I’ve never had before. This season represents to me a crucial turning point and I want to give my all so I can show everybody I’m really fast. Today’s set-up was the one defined at last month’s test here in Losail therefore I focused my work today on the Bridgestone tires that work well here. In the morning I didn’t have any problems and the feeling with the bike was good. In fact, my best time of the morning was 1’58.021, while in the afternoon, maybe because of the higher track temperatures, I lost my good feeling with the front. The several changes we tried didn’t solve this problem today, but I am sure that tomorrow we will find the right setting for the bike which will allow me to make a good race. I want to thank the team because I know they’ve worked long and hard during the preseason, and now it’s finally time to race! â€.
