Team San Carlo Honda Gresini ended the first day of free practice in Shanghai in positive fashion, Shinya Nakano and Alex De Angelis showing good form with fourth and seventh place respectively.
The Japanese rider worked quickly to find the right tyre for this circuit, setting fast times from the start and continuing to improve throughout the day.
Alex improved drastically in the afternoon to knock a second off his best time from the morning as he also found a comfortable feeling with Bridgestone’s latest tyre offerings.
Shinya Nakano (4th - 2.00.553): “I’m happy with the way the first day has ended. This morning we worked with some success to find the right setting and balance for the bike at this track and I was able to ride fast, improving my times consistently. In the afternoon we tried some different front tyres and found something really competitive – it allowed me to enter the corner easily under braking without taking too much rubber out. We’ve still got a little chatter on the front, which we will try to solve tomorrow.”
Alex De Angelis (7th - 2.00.931): “I’m happy with this free practice because we have finally returned to the positions where we were at the start of the season. I’m really satisfied with the work we’ve done together with the team and Bridgestone in the test at Estoril and it’s good to see it carry over to a track like Shanghai. This means that the tyres are a much bigger step forward than the previous ones. We’ve still got work to do but being less than a second off the fastest rider makes me happy. I’m sure that with the data we gathered today we can make more improvements for tomorrow and be even faster”.
Fausto Gresini – TEAM MANAGER: “I’m happy with today, this is the first time since preseason testing that both our riders have been near the front and that’s a positive sign for a season that has so far brought little satisfaction. Today we did some tyre tests and both Alex and Shinya managed to find the right feeling with the bike. We still have some areas to improve but it’s obvious we are starting out with much more enthusiasm here in China than we’ve been able to do in previous races.”
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