Valentino Rossi did his best to put his Indy GP crash behind him today, the Fiat Yamaha star ending up the quickest in the opening MotoGP practice at his home track in Misano, Italy.
Rossi didn’t lead the session until late when he took over from his teammate Jorge Lorenzo. Then he upped the pace even more to set his best lap on his very last lap, turning in a 1:35.304.
“This is more the weather for the beach than for the racetrack, today was unbelievably hot!” Rossi said. “The first session was much better than in Indy, though, and I am quite happy. We have made a few experiments with different settings and then at the end when we put everything together with the right tire. I was able to do three fast laps and finish first. It’s a good sign to be in this shape already on Friday and now we just have to improve a bit more tomorrow because it’s very important here to be on the front row. It’s quite a tricky track and you have to be quite careful in some places, but my bike felt good today.” Cycle News
Team-mate Jorge Lorenzo, who cut Rossi’s lead in the standings to 25 points by winning in Indianapolis last weekend, was second fastest with a best lap of 1:35.430 while Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa was third.
Pedrosa suffered a setback in the dying seconds when his engine appeared to blow - which could prove costly as the season reaches its climax.
MotoGP: San Marino Grand Prix - Friday Practice Results
One of a number of cost-saving measures introduced this season means that all riders were given just five engines to complete the last seven weekends of the season and Pedrosa’s untimely problem has left him one down. The Press Association
Home star Alex de Angelis, who took his first podium at Indy, led the early stages of the session before falling from his Gresini Honda when he clipped the side of the track while flicking from right to left for turn two.
The Sammarinese had slipped back to eighth by the halfway point before a late surge put the job-seeking #15 up to fourth position, just 0.016s slower than Pedrosa.
Pedrosa’s team-mate Andrea Dovizioso, using Ohlins suspension on his factory Honda for the first time this weekend, finished fifth fastest at the start of his home event. Yahoo! Eurosport
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