Today’s first day of practice at Aragon was characterized by two things; Valentino Rossi debuting the aluminum chassis on the GP11.
1 (we prefer GP11.
2, even if Ducati insists it’s still the GP11.
1) and the power outage that first delayed practice and then finally the session had to be cancelled due to safety reasons, with more time being allocated to the riders tomorrow morning.
Here’s what the riders had to say about the one full session they did have and what problems the encountered and it looks like most of the Honda riders are having some issues with the softer tire option that Bridgestone brought to the Spanish circuit.
Dani Pedrosa – 1st“In the morning session we were basically trying to get the feeling from the race track and we started well.
We saw that the softer compound is maybe too soft, so not really the one for the race if the high temperatures remain, so we also tried the medium compound and I felt comfortable.
The afternoon practice was cancelled which is a shame, as the weather conditions were perfect.
Of course, we’ll have a longer session tomorrow morning but you cannot take the same benefit from it.
With two sessions of 45 minutes you have time to analyse data and make changes.
Anyway, it’s the same for everyone, so let’s hope everything is ok tomorrow and we can keep improving the bike and have a good qualifying.
” Jorge Lorenzo – 2nd“This morning we started in a good direction, finishing second just four tenths slower than Dani who was top.
It’s too early to make too many conclusions because the track is too dirty so tomorrow will be the real day to see who is fastest.
We are very disappointed to not be able to make the second start, we have so many things we wanted to try but at least we have an extra half an hour tomorrow to take profit from.
”Casey Stoner – 3rd“We didn’t get that much time on the track this morning, we managed to get some data from the session but nothing that great.
The track was a little abrasive and destroying tyres very quickly, we went out on the soft tyre and destroyed it in three to four laps so we tried to wait for the end of the session to see if the track got better but it didn’t really change.
We wanted to see how it would be in the afternoon session but it was a non event, it’s strange as usually it’s a wash out or something but for the circuit power to go down is something a little different! Although we get the time back in the morning, it makes it a very long day with a lot of riding and it’s pretty exhausting.
We’ve got to focus on finding the best set up we can tomorrow, thankfully the weather has been pretty consistent here over the past few days but I’m afraid the track will act similarly, we’ll just have to wait until tomorrow.
”Marco Simoncelli – 4th“Unfortunately we can’t really draw too many conclusions from just an hour on track but things didn’t go badly, other than a few small problems in braking and with corner speed.
We are lacking rear grip and the tyre goes off after just a few laps.
I still think the rubber available to us is too soft and that’s a worry for the race.
We also have to work on fuel consumption.
Overall this afternoon’s cancellation was not what we needed.
”Andrea Dovizioso – 5th“It was a strange day.
This morning’s practice didn’t give us much indication concerning the set up of the bike because we were struggling with the tyres, the track was not so clean and we were spinning a lot, the rear tyre was destroyed after ten laps so we had to use a new one.
Tomorrow we will have 1 hour and 15 minutes of free practice.
It will be an important session to work on the set up and in particular we will have to work to find more grip in the rear and reduce spinning.
I’m confident that track conditions will improve tomorrow, especially for qualifying.
This morning we finished fifth and apart from Dani, we are just three tenths from Lorenzo and everybody will lap faster tomorrow.
The afternoon was strange because at first the session was delayed and then finally cancelled, anyway it’s the same for everybody so there is no problem.
We are now focusing on tomorrow.
”Randy De Puniet – 6th“It’s a shame that we couldn’t go on track in the afternoon, as the morning session went very well.
For a long time I’ve looked for such a good feeling with the bike; it’s strange, considering how differently things went at Misano.
I’m satisfied.
The bike is working like it should, and I want to repeat my performance tomorrow and Sunday.
”Nicky Hayden – 7th“We had a little problem at the start of this morning’s session, and I had to come directly back to the garage and lost a bit of time.
I started well behind the others, but actually, compared to the last few races, it wasn’t bad once we got going.
I think I was the only guy who used the same rear tyre the whole session, and I was able to click off three 51s there at the end.
I was looking forward to riding this afternoon, but unfortunately it was cancelled.
I hope they get it sorted out overnight, as it wasn’t good for anybody, but there’s no need to dwell on it.
Hopefully we can keep it rolling tomorrow, because it’s a nice track.
It’s definitely a little bit bumpier than last year, and not really grippy, but I like the layout.
”Valentino Rossi – 8th“I don’t think it’s ever happened before that we couldn’t do a session because the electricity was out! Joking aside, it’s really a shame.
For us it was important to test normally instead of just having a long session tomorrow, because you still lose a quarter of an hour in total, and the type of work that you can do is different, more limited.
Anyway, we’ll continue with the bike with the updated front frame because the feeling is the same as when I tried it the first time, so it’s worthwhile to continue down this path.
We don’t know this track as well as Mugello, and that means we have extra setup work to do, although it’s nothing too major.
We must also find more rear grip because it was sliding a lot today.
” Colin Edwards – 9th“That was a pretty easy day and to be honest I don’t think I’ve ever been in and out of my leathers so many times in one day.
This morning I felt pretty good and comfortable, which was immediately a good sign because I didn’t have a very good feeling with this track last year.
We struggled for rear grip last year and I rode a soft front tyre in the race to try and find something that worked.
But this morning I was happy right from the start on the hard front and rear and we know we can make the set-up better.
We had a few ideas to help this afternoon but obviously there were some electricity issues and that’s a pity for the fans that came out to watch us today.
It was the right decision so we’ll use the extra rest and come out strong tomorrow aiming to improve our pace.
”Hiroshi Aoyama – 10th“We tried some things this morning and did some work with the set-up and my feeling was pretty good, even though Aragon is not an easy circuit.
Tyre wear is unpredictable and making the right choice for the race will be crucial.
”Ben Spies – 11th“This morning was actually quite a good session for us; we were up to third position and then we opted not to change tyres and work on the set up.
It seems everyone else tried the harder tyre in the end which worked a lot better so we’re looking forward to using that.
We picked which set up we are going to move forward on so the end result of the session was definitely not what the bike is capable of.
Tomorrow should be good.
I’m annoyed about this afternoon, it’s no one persons fault but it’s frustrating.
”Héctor Barberá – 12th“It was a strange day because with the cancellation of the second session you feel like you’ve been cut short.
Even though I didn’t do many laps this morning it was a productive session and the few laps I did were good ones.
I was only four tenths off seventh place and I am not worried by our position today because with more track time I am sure we would have improved.
I am enjoying myself a lot on the bike here – it suits my riding style and the Ducati, so I just want to keep working hard tomorrow and that’s it.
We had planned some set-up changes for this afternoon so we’ll try those tomorrow and I am sure they’ll be good.
”Álvaro Bautista – 13th“This morning we started with the softer compound tyres on the bike to get a feeling of the track.
Up until the middle of the session we were doing OK, but I continued with the same set of soft tyres until the end and by then they were very worn so I couldn’t improve my lap time.
The rest of the guys put on new harder tyres and went quicker, so I wasn’t too worried about this morning’s position.
We have to try the harder tyre because I think the softer version is only really good for seven or eight laps and after that in these conditions it will drop off quite a bit.
We are really disappointed with what happened this afternoon since we had a lot of things to test: a new gearbox, the harder tyres and a new setting for more grip from the rear, but now we have to wait for tomorrow.
I know it was the right thing to do as race control couldn’t see what was happening around the track, but it was still frustrating that we couldn’t get on with our work.
I hope we make the right choice with the direction in the morning, because we can’t afford to go in the wrong way with only two sessions.
I am confident that we will still have a good weekend and I am looking forward to the race very much.
”Cal Crutchlow – 14th“I was really happy this morning because it was a good solid start and I really enjoyed riding the track.
It was a pity I couldn’t have lapped a little bit faster but I stayed on the soft front and rear tyres for the whole session.
Most of the other guys used the harder tyres and when Colin changed, he dropped his time by a second.
I’m sure I could have done the same and then I’d be looking at being inside the top 10, which is always my goal.
It is obviously disappointing not to have the second session because it hurts me more than the other guys.
I need to be out there learning the track and you lose the momentum gained.
I felt really confident at the end of this morning and was looking forward to this afternoon, but now I’ve got to build up my pace all over again.
There’s nothing I can do about what happened and I’m confident with more time on track I can climb further up the timesheets.
”Karel Abraham – 15thConsidering a problem with the electronic which we had, I am quite satisfied with the result of the first free practice a sensor was upside down and the motorcycle didn’t work properly.
Unfortunately, we weren’t able to try hard compound of the tyres.
It’s not a very good news for us because the conditions are significantly different in the morning than in the afternoon and we need to be well prepared for the race.
Toni Elias – 16th“Aragon is a marvellous race track, but it’s very tough.
It took me some laps to feel the bike on these elevation changes but I enjoyed this first run out.
We have got some issues with the life of the soft rear tyre so we had to change with a harder one and this could be our tyre choice for the race because we noticed the tyres are dropping very quickly.
The surface conditions were not excellent and we had a list of adjustments to try in the afternoon but due to this big power shortage we will have to start our setup work tomorrow”.
Loris Capirossi – 17th“It’s my first time at this circuit, and I must say that the track is beautiful, but difficult.
This morning I tried to ride as much as possible, and unfortunately, this afternoon we were stuck in the garage.
I’m optimistic anyway.
The time that I did this morning shouldn’t be considered because I was trying to understand the track.
I’m sure that I’ll go better tomorrow.
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