Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa was fastest overall in today’s two opening MotoGP practice sessions as the Grand Prix of Aragon - which is a brand new event on the world championship calendar - got under way. In the morning Pedrosa wasted no time in laying down his marker for the weekend by heading straight to the top of the timesheets and staying there for almost the entire 45-minute period, finishing a healthy 0.411s ahead of second placed rider Nicky Hayden. Andrea Dovizioso also slipped smoothly into his stride, joining Pedrosa at the head of the times in the first half of the morning session before dropping back to eighth on his second outing from the pits.
Pedrosa is looking to record his third MotoGP victory in succession this weekend, and on today’s evidence his rivals need to keep a close eye on the 24-year-old Spaniard, who announced a new two-year contract with Honda yesterday. In the afternoon period which began with rain falling steadily, Pedrosa was again consistently quickest in the first half the session and, although he was not on track due to a minor electrical issue when lap times came down significantly on a drying surface in the final ten minutes, Pedrosa had already displayed his pace in both wet and dry conditions today. With the wet afternoon session, today’s fastest times were set in the morning.
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Dovizioso and his crew spent the two sessions evaluating set-up options at the track which all the riders are experiencing for the first time on MotoGP machinery. The 24-year-old Italian, who rode here last Wednesday on a Honda CBR1000RR, once again enjoyed the varied and challenging circuit layout, although this afternoon he struggled a little to get fully on the pace in the tricky conditions. With a further practice session tomorrow morning and qualifying in the afternoon, Dovizioso is confident about moving forward in the rankings.
DANI PEDROSA – 1st – 1m 50.506s
“In general this has been a good first day of practice for us at a brand new circuit for MotoGP. This morning we started well and got into a rhythm quickly, which was important because it makes a big difference going from the one hour practice sessions we’re familiar with to 45 minutes. It’s necessary to stay out on track for longer runs and not spend too long in the garage, and this morning we did a good job to maximise our time. This afternoon in the wet we also started pretty well when it was raining properly, but then we had a small electrical problem with one bike and the other machine wasn’t ready to go out, so we lost some time in the garage and I wasn’t on track when the surface was improving at the end. The track is quite technical; it has some difficult turns and you really have to find a good line and also to set up the gearbox properly to be able to make a good lap time. The grip from the track surface feels good and the Bridgestone tyres are also working well so far. I hope we can continue in this positive way tomorrow.”
ANDREA DOVIZIOSO – 8th – 1m 51.845s +1.339s
“Overall the work we did today was positive, although I’m not totally happy with the final lap times we achieved. We started well enough this morning but then we weren’t able to get the maximum from our package, which means we can improve tomorrow. In the morning we began with a good base and actually I’m confident because of this. However, after the good start, we couldn’t improve the lap time this morning because on the second exit we didn’t use new tyres as most riders did. So I think there’s more to come from us in the dry because tyre wear is quite critical here. In the afternoon we struggled a bit in the wet compared to other tracks where we’ve gone well in conditions like this. We needed to change the set-up during the session - and with only 45 minutes available this eats into the available time. The new Aragon track is really nice and it’s good fun to ride. The key characteristic is the downhill braking areas and it has some similarities to the Istanbul circuit with interesting corners and undulations. So I’m looking forward to getting back out there tomorrow.”
TOSHIYUKI YAMAJI - REPSOL HONDA TEAM MANAGER
“It was everybody’s first MotoGP experience of the new Aragon track today and so these two sessions were all about analysing the circuit’s characteristics and closing in on our likely race settings. With Dani finishing fastest overall it has been a good start for us and we’re satisfied with this first day. He had an electrical issue with one machine this afternoon and so we’ll look into the reasons for this, but Dani was fast in both wet and dry conditions and he’s continuing to look very strong. Andrea also has plenty of potential to move forward from today, so we’re quietly confident at this stage.”
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