 |
| Toseland and Crutchlow prepare for their 'home race' at the Silverstone WSB weekend | | |  | Yamaha Sterilgarda riders James Toseland and Cal Crutchlow are geared up and determined to give it their all this weekend for their home race in front of the British fans at Silverstone for round 10 of the World Superbike Championship. The Silverstone circuit, which has gone undergone major restructuring this year, was last visited by the World Superbike paddock in 2007. With the changes this year, the circuit will be new to all riders who will be riding on its 5.9km track for the first time on Friday.
"The home race is no different to any other race," said Cal Crutchlow. "I always want to do well and give it my best shot. Last year in World Supersport at Donington I did the same. I especially hope that we put on a good show for all the fans that turn out to see the seven Brits in action. We had some tyre issues at Brno; hopefully these won't be repeated this round and we can focus on being fastest all weekend and delivering two race wins."
"We had a decent second race coming from last to finish fourth at Brno which wasn't a bad result although fourth isn't where I want to be," commented James Toseland. "All the little problems we've had this year has meant the championship has gone away a little bit. I'm going to Silverstone with nothing to lose; the icing on the cake would be to win at home. The track looks really good; I did a PR event to launch it last week and had a look round. With seven British riders there's every chance the podium will be all British which would be great. It should be a great event for the UK."
Silverstone technically speaking according to Marcus Eschenbacher, Cal Crutchlow's Crew Chief
"Silverstone is a completely new track for us so we have to evaluate a new gearbox, chassis and electronic setup. The track has all kinds of character, a fast part and also a very tight infield. The challenge will be to find the best compromise in a very short timeframe. We will start the weekend with our base setup that we've developed bit by bit. We also have some new chassis setups to try; this will be introduced in the spare bike. So we hope to find the best gearbox and base setup on Friday and start fine tuning on Saturday."
Silverstone technically speaking according to Frankie Carchedi, James Toseland's Crew Chief
"Silverstone could be one of the most exiting races of the year with James eager to carry on from Brno where he battled through from last to fourth in extreme track temperatures. We had good race pace in Brno but our problem area was both race starts. We have some new parts and strategies to improve this and we will be testing before the race weekend. The factory MotoGP team have provided us with some valuable information so we can get a head start on a good gearing, as this is a new track for all teams. The track looks a little bumpy in places, but with plenty of overtaking opportunities. During the weekend we will work hard on the set-up to suit the new Pirelli tyres which will be used for the first time at Silverstone."
Massimo Meregalli, Yamaha Sterilgarda World Superbike Team Manager "It's the only 'new' track we visit on the 2010 World Superbike calendar so we don't have any data at all to prepare ourselves. With the exception of the information from the GP team everything has to be discovered by us on Friday in the first session. We are going to Cal and James's home country so we are really motivated because it's like a home race for us. We are looking forward to Sunday and believe we can give a good performance for the British fans." |
Yamaha Racing Communications
Barentszplein 4B / 1013 NJ Amsterdam / The Netherlands
T. +31 (0) 20 625 6539
E. W.
© Copyright Yamaha 2010 |
|
 |
| Flawless Lorenzo romps to victory as Rossi makes triumphant return to podium | | |  | Jorge Lorenzo took a brilliant sixth victory of the season at Laguna Seca today, romping home to win by over three seconds from Casey Stoner. His team-mate Valentino Rossi made a triumphant return to the podium just seven weeks after breaking his right leg, overhauling Andrea Dovizioso during a thrilling last ten laps to finish third.
Starting from pole for the fifth time in a row, Lorenzo lost ground to his rivals at the fearsome downhill turn one and was relegated to third first time around. For the first few laps there was little he could do except hang on behind Pedrosa and Stoner but on the sixth lap Stoner ran wide and Lorenzo stormed through to take second. By now Pedrosa was nearly a second clear but Lorenzo's pace had begun to improve and he started to push as hard as he could and exert some pressure on his fellow Spaniard. On lap twelve, with the gap now narrowed to half a second, Pedrosa crashed out and left Lorenzo in the lead and from then on it was plain sailing for the 23-year-old as he expertly controlled his advantage over Stoner to bring it home and take his second win on US soil. Today's victory was his 11th in MotoGP, his 32nd in all classes and his 10th successive podium.
Rossi had suffered all weekend with pain in both his leg and his shoulder and today looked like it was going to be a tough day for the reigning champion, unable as he was to make any further headway after passing Nicky Hayden for fifth position. Once Pedrosa had crashed out however and with Ben Spies exerting pressure on him from behind Rossi's fighting instinct kicked in as he spied a podium possibility, gradually closing down a two second gap to Dovizioso to come within striking distance with six laps remaining. On the 27th lap he made his move and passed his countryman, managing to hold him off over the last couple of laps to make a popular return to the podium.
With exactly half of the season gone Lorenzo heads the championship with an impressive 72-point lead over Pedrosa, whilst Rossi is 120 points adrift of his team-mate in fifth position. Both riders will enjoy a two and a half week holiday now and the Italian will be more glad than anyone for the time off, during which he will be working on his fitness in an effort to be back to his best next time out in Brno.
Jorge Lorenzo - Position: 1stTime: 43.54.873
"I am so happy to win here at Laguna Seca, it's something I've always dreamed of. I rode so well today, right on the limit and I had to push very hard to stay in touch with Dani. He is always so strong on race day but I knew if I kept the pressure on him then there was a chance he would make a mistake and I would be able to catch him. I'm sorry he crashed but from then on it was very easy for me because I had a big gap from Casey. I really enjoyed riding my M1! I have a big lead in the championship but there is half of the season left and it wouldn't be the first time a rider has lost the title with such a big lead, so we can't take anything for granted. I am really looking forward to some time to relax now after two very busy months. Thanks to everyone in my team for doing a brilliant job." |
|  | Valentino Rossi - Position: 3rdTime: +13.420
"The start of the race was very hard for me because I had a lot of pain and I was far from the podium. But then I saw Pedrosa on the gravel and I just had to try to catch Dovizioso! I just pushed as hard as I could for a few laps and that brought me closer to him and then I couldn't give up, somehow I caught him and it was a great feeling to pass him to take third. It's a great result after my injury and it felt so good to be back on the podium in front of the fans. There are so many people I have to thank who have helped me to get back to this position. I am very happy that we have some time off now because I have a lot of work to do on my body to try to be back to my best for Brno, which I love.
Wilco Zeelenberg - Team Manager
"This was a fantastic ride from Jorge. It was clever to push Dani to the limit but not easy as well because Jorge is the championship leader and he had the most to lose, he really had to ride at the maximum to do this. We're happy Dani isn't hurt and now we have an amazing 72-point lead as we break for the half-way point of the championship. Six victories and three seconds is brilliant, thanks to Jorge for doing such a great job but also to all of the team, everyone deserves their holidays!
Davide Brivio - Team Manager
"This was a great race and the result is so much more than we expected today. These were supposed to be the two 'rehabilitation' races for Valentino after his big injury while he just got used to being back on the bike, but he's come fourth and then third which has amazed us all. This track was very demanding on his body and he had a hard time all weekend but he was still able to battle for the podium. It was brilliant and we're so happy now. Everyone is looking forward to a break but also to coming back strongly in the second half of the season."
Super sixth for Spies, seventh for Edwards at Laguna Seca
Ben Spies had a big home crowd on the edge of their seats at the spectacular Laguna Seca track today after the Texan produced a brilliant podium challenge in the American MotoGP race. The 26-year-old made a fantastic start from the second row and instantly gained three places by the first corner. Spies lost a few places as the frantic pace increased in the early laps, but gradually building his confidence with his rear Bridgestone tyre, he started a rousing fightback in front of a passionate home crowd of 51,436 fans in California. Spies was over half-a-second adrift of an intense battle involving compatriot Nicky Hayden and fellow Yamaha YZR-M1 rider Valentino Rossi shortly before the halfway stage.
Reeling off a series of impressive fast laps, Spies was able to hunt down Hayden and expertly pass the 2006 world champion on lap 21. Next in Spies' sights was reigning world champion Rossi, who was himself honing in on Italian Andrea Dovizioso in an exciting battle for the podium. But just as Spies was preparing to make a decisive move on Rossi, he made a small mistake in the braking zone for the final corner on lap 25. Spies lost over three seconds and despite a heroic effort in the closing stages he was unable to regain the fifth place lost to Hayden. Spies though was still satisfied with his performance, his pace as the race reached its climax undoubtedly good enough to have put him in podium contention.
Colin Edwards produced his best result of the season in front of his home crowd to score a thoroughly deserved seventh position. The 36-year-old showed all of his experience to patiently stalk Marco Simoncelli and Marco Melandri in the opening laps as the trio became embroiled in a thrilling fight for seventh. Edwards passed Melandri on lap 10 exiting the spectacular Corkscrew section and he grabbed seventh from Simoncelli on lap 15. Edwards' superior pace saw him immediately pull away from the Italian duo to secure a seventh that puts him on the fringes of the top ten in the overall standings. |
| Ben Spies - Position: 6thTime: +19.037
"I got a really good start and was third but then for the next couple of laps I just couldn't get my speed up fast enough. The group in front pulled a bit of a gap on me but once I found my rhythm I caught Nicky and Valentino pretty quickly. I passed Nicky and got right on the back of Valentino and it was a good fight with him. I was actually going to attack him on the next lap when I had a problem entering the final corner on lap 25. I ran wide and lost out and although it wasn't the podium I wanted in front of my home crowd, I'm happy because I had the speed to come through the field and I had the speed to be on the podium. I couldn't quite finish the job and that was down to me. But I'd rather leave here knowing I could have been on the podium rather than leave here in eighth place and not on the pace. I can't ask for a lot more because I'm in the top six again, leading non-factory rider in the race again and putting up a strong fight, so I'm not too upset." |
| Colin Edwards - Position: 7thTime: +40.721
"I'm really happy with the way I rode all weekend and there was nothing more I could have done. Fighting for seventh is not really where I wa nt to be in my home race, but compared to where I have been recently it is a big improvement and thanks to all my guys at the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 crew for all their effort. I had a good early battle with Melandri and Simoncelli and that was fun and I made a couple of good moves on them because I was quite a bit faster. Once I got by Simoncelli I put my head down to see if I could break them and that's what I did. But I couldn't even see the group in front of me and I just slowed my pace up a little bit because it made no sense to crash out of my home race when I was never going to catch them up. I was pretty much stuck in seventh all weekend and I never really had the pace of the leading group. But I'm closer to where I know I should be and the upgrades from Yamaha were a help and I can look forward to a good break confident of a strong second half of the season."
Herve Poncharal - Team Manager
"We can't deny that we leave for the well earned summer break with a small amount of disappointment because Ben was looking really strong and I think he had a great chance of claiming the home podium he desperately wanted. He got a great start and it took him a few laps to find his best rhythm like a few times this season. But then he was able to set some really fast lap times and he was able to pass Nicky and close right on Valentino. We were hoping for a podium at that stage though we know it would not have been easy because Valentino was riding at an incredible level. Ben was right behind him and looking strong for the last few laps and the home fans were super excited by his attacking riding. Unfortunately Ben ran wide in a couple of places and lost crucial time and that was something out of his control. He is a little disappointed and I understand that because he couldn't fight right to the end. But we're happy with his performance because his spe ed was undoubtedly good enough for the podium. I'm really happy with Colin's performance and I think it was easily his best weekend of the whole season. He was pushing at his maximum every lap of every session and he was strong in the race, passing Melandri and Simoncelli, who don't just lie down and make it easy. A sixth and seventh is a decent result for us and helped us consolidate our fourth position in the Team World Championship, so we can return refreshed and ready for a strong second half of the season in Brno |
| | 2010 MotoGP United States - Laguna Seca 26/07/2010 | | Pos. | Rider | Manu. | Nat. | Total Time | | 1 | Jorge Lorenzo | Yamaha | ESP | 43'54.873 | | 2 | Casey Stoner | Ducati | AUS | 0'03.517 | | 3 | Valentino Rossi | Yamaha | ITA | 0'13.420 | | 4 | Andrea Dovizioso | Honda | ITA | 0'14.188 | | 5 | Nicky Hayden | Ducati | USA | 0'14.601 | | 6 | Ben Spies | Yamaha | USA | 0'19.037 | | 7 | Colin Edwards | Yamaha | USA | 0'40.721 | | 8 | Marco Melandri | Honda | ITA | 0'47.219 | | 9 | Mika Kallio | Ducati | FIN | 0'52.813 | | 10 | Loris Capirossi | Suzuki | ITA | 0'52.814 | | 11 | Roger Lee Hayden | Honda | USA | 1'14.089 | | 12 | Alex De Angelis | Honda | SMR | 1'14.666 |
| Rider | Manu. | Nat. | Total Time | | Casey Stoner | Ducati | AUS | 1'21.376 |
| Rider Standings | 25/07/2010 | | Pos. | Rider | Manu. | Nat. | Points | | 1. | Jorge Lorenzo | Yamaha | ESP | 210 | | 2. | Daniel Pedrosa | Honda | ESP | 138 | | 3. | Andrea Dovizioso | Honda | ITA | 115 | | 4. | Casey Stoner | Ducati | AUS | 103 | | 5. | Valentino Rossi | Yamaha | ITA | 90 | | 6. | Nicky Hayden | Ducati | USA | 89 | | 7. | Ben Spies | Yamaha | USA | 77 | | 8. | Randy De Puniet | Honda | FRA | 69 | | 9. | Marco Melandri | Honda | ITA | 53 | | 10. | Marco Simoncelli | Honda | ITA | 49 | | 11. | Colin Edwards | Yamaha | USA | 48 | | 12. | Hector Barbera | Ducati | ESP | 41 | | 13. | Loris Capirossi | Suzuki | ITA | 36 | | 14. | Mika Kallio | Ducati | FIN | 31 | | 15. | Aleix Espargaro | Ducati | ESP | 28 | | 21. | Wataru Yoshikawa | Yamaha | JPN | 1 |
| Manufacturer Standings | 25/07/2010 | | Pos. | Manufacturer | Points | | 1. | Yamaha | 215 | | 2. | Honda | 175 | | 3. | Ducati | 133 | | 4. | Suzuki | 48 |
Yamaha Racing Communications
Barentszplein 4B / 1013 NJ Amsterdam / The Netherlands
T. +31 (0) 20 625 6539
E. W.
© Copyright Yamaha 2010 |
|
| QUALIFYING 1 REPORT | 25/07/2010 | | Lorenzo takes fantastic fifth pole, Rossi on second row in Laguna | | |  | Jorge Lorenzo took an impressive fifth consecutive pole at Laguna Seca today, the 40th of his career across all classes. His recovering Fiat Yamaha team-mate Valentino Rossi continued to struggle a little with the physical demands of the American track and will start from sixth tomorrow.
Lorenzo, who also took pole at this race last year, was fastest in this morning's free practice and looked in sublime form from the start of the qualifying session, moving to the top after just a few laps. He spent the middle part of the session fine-tuning the setting of his M1 ahead of tomorrow's race and relinquished the top spot for some time, before turning his attention back to lap times with eight minutes remaining and retaking the lead. His only real challenger for pole was Casey Stoner, who edged the Mallorcan back into second with four minutes remaining but the championship-leader produced a stunning display on his penultimate lap to better the Australian's time by 0.191 seconds and take his fifth pole in a row.
Laguna Seca is proving less forgiving to Rossi on his return from injury than Sachsenring was last week and the World Champion struggled physically around the 3610m track today. The biggest problem for him this afternoon was in the shoulder he injured back in April, in which he still lacks power and suffers in the hard braking areas. That said the Italian is confident that some small changes in tomorrow's warm-up can help him to find a few more tenths and he will do all he can to race competitively in tomorrow's 32-lap race.
Jorge Lorenzo - Position: 1stTime: 1'20.978Laps: 34
"Pole position isn't the race but it does help so I'm really happy to have got this fifth pole. Everyone is working very well and this shows it once again. I didn't think it would be possible today because Casey was so fast but I decided to give it a try and pushed as hard as I could and here we are! I don't know what to expect tomorrow, it will be a hard race for sure because Dani and Casey are very strong, but we will do the best we can to fight to the end and at least make the podium. I'm excited because it's always a special race here with a great atmosphere." |
|  | Valentino Rossi - Position: 6thTime: 1'21.688Laps: 36
"We didn't go too badly today but we need to improve our setting a little bit to get closer to the leaders. Lorenzo and Stoner are very fast but after that there are a few riders quite close together, including me, so it's not too bad. I think it's going to be very difficult tomorrow because this track is a lot harder for me than Sachsenring, but I hope I can do a good race. There are a few corners where we know we can be a bit faster so tomorrow morning we will try to make some small changes to the setting to allow that, then I need to get a good start. My leg feels better than yesterday, which is good, the problem today is the shoulder because my left one isn't strong enough to compensate completely for the lack of power in my right one and now I have some pain in both! My hope for tomorrow is to be able to finish the race without too much pain and to do the best we can in the circumstances."
Wilco Zeelenberg - Team Manager
"Earlier on this season I said maybe it was better if Jorge wasn't on pole because it was less pressure that way, but now we have had five in a row and I have to say that we're very happy! He was very comfortable out there today and our bike is working very well, so at the end of the session he decided to go for the pole. That last lap of his was incredible; I don't think we expected him to be that fast! It's going to be very close tomorrow and it's a long race, we expect a big battle but we will do our best to be on the podium."
Davide Brivio - Team Manager
"We still have some work to do before the race but I think we're in better shape than it looks! We need to find some small improvements and then we need to decide about the tyres for tomorrow. The pace isn't too bad but to really be in the race we need to find a couple more tenths. This track is quite hard on Valentino's body and at the end of the practice he was suffering with his shoulder especially; it's nore demanding than Sachsenring. It's going to be difficult for him to finish the whole race tomorrow in top form but we have to remember that this is our second 'recovery' race and all things considered it's going okay."
Spies within touching distance of maiden front row at Laguna Seca
Monster Yamaha Tech 3 rider Ben Spies thrilled a large home crowd at Laguna Seca today, the Texan coming tantalisingly close to claiming his first MotoGP front row start at the end of a dramatic qualifying session.
Spies looked a serious threat for the front row earlier in the session when he jumped into the top three with just over 20 minutes of qualifying remaining at the spectacular California circuit.
He slipped down the rankings as the action intensified but looked on course to return to the top three as he produced a dazzling final flying lap. But he lost precious time when Mika Kallio crashed at the legendary Corkscrew sect ion in the critical final moments and ended up missing a maiden front row by just 0.062s.
Spies was still able to secure fifth on the grid with a best time of 1.21.679 and the reigning World Superbike champion is supremely confident that he can fight for a podium finish in tomorrow's 32-lap race.
While Jorge Lorenzo and Casey Stoner have been pretty much unstoppable at the top of the timesheets all weekend, Spies has looked a strong contender in full race trim and he finished leading American rider once again in a sun-soaked session.
Colin Edwards secured his best grid position since the Italian Grand Prix in Mugello after putting in a tremendous amount of work with his Monster Yamaha Tech 3 crew to find a comfortable race setting ahead of tomorrow's 32-lap race.
The 36-year-old ended in eighth position with a best time of 1.22.21 7, the American still unsure whether he will use the soft or hard Bridgestone rear tyre for his all-important home race. |
|  | Ben Spies - Position: 5th Time: 1'21.679Laps: 33 laps
"It's a little frustrating to be so close to my first front row but I'm still really happy with fifth position. The last stint was good and I was actually on a front row lap for sure at the end. I was a tenth quicker and then Kallio unfortunately crashed at the Corkscrew. I saw a big dust cloud and yellow flags were being waved. I was really scared that someone was on the downhill part because you can't see going in there. I wanted to play it safe and I lost a tenth there for sure and that definitely kept me off the front row. I'm happy being in the middle of row two and besides Casey and Lorenzo, I'm in the battle for the podium and that's where I want to be. I couldn't be happier with that and if I get a good start and sta y out of trouble then I have the pace to fight for the podium. For the win, those guys are going way too fast now. You never give up but they are on another level right now from everybody. I'll ride as hard as I can and have some fun in front of the home fans. It's been great to come home and see lots of support and hopefully I can give them something to cheer tomorrow." |
| Colin Edwards - Position: 8th Time: 1'022.217 Laps: 31 laps
"I've been riding really hard all weekend and giving it my all for the home fans, but I seem to be stuck around seventh and eighth position. I'm not sure what else I can do because I'm putting in my maximum effort and feel good on the bike. The goal is to try and get away with the bunch from Dovizioso down because the top two are way ahead of the rest of us. I need to find some speed in the final section where I lose a bit too much time and now we've got to figure out which rear tyre to use in the race. I was convinced yesterday that I'd run the hard option front and rear. But now I'm considering the soft rear. There's quite a big difference in lap time but I'm wondering how good the soft tyre will be at the end of the race. This is a really important race for me and for Monster so I'll be giving my all for a strong result tomorrow." |
| | 2010 MotoGP United States - Laguna Seca 25/07/2010 | | Pos. | Rider | Manu. | Nat. | Total Time | | 1 | Jorge Lorenzo | Yamaha | ESP | 1'20.978 | | 2 | Casey Stoner | Ducati | AUS | 1'21.169 | | 3 | Andrea Dovizioso | Honda | ITA | 1'21.617 | | 4 | Daniel Pedrosa | Honda | ESP | 1'21.655 | | 5 | Ben Spies | Yamaha | USA | 1'21.679 | | 6 | Valentino Rossi | Yamaha | ITA | 1'21.688 | | 7 | Nicky Hayden | Ducati | USA | 1'21.920 | | 8 | Colin Edwards | Yamaha | USA | 1'22.217 | | 9 | Marco Simoncelli | Honda | ITA | 1'22.300 | | 10 | Hector Barbera | Ducati | ESP | 1'22.366 | | 11 | Marco Melandri | Honda | ITA | 1'22.407 | | 12 | Loris Capirossi | Suzuki | ITA | 1'22.647 | | 13 | Aleix Espargaro | Ducati | ESP | 1'22.712 | | 14 | Alvaro Bautista | Suzuki | ESP | 1'22.770 | | 15 | Mika Kallio | Ducati | FIN | 1'23.127 |
Yamaha Racing Communications
Barentszplein 4B / 1013 NJ Amsterdam / The Netherlands
T. +31 (0) 20 625 6539
E. W.
© Copyright Yamaha 2010 |
|
| FREE PRACTICE REPORT | 24/07/2010 | | Lorenzo and Rossi second and sixth as they adjust to Laguna Seca | | |  | A sun-soaked Laguna Seca welcomed the MotoGP paddock to American soil today, where Jorge Lorenzo looked on good form to finish the opening session in second and his Fiat Yamaha team-mate Valentino Rossi made a solid start for sixth position. The Fiat Yamaha M1s are running in a special livery here to celebrate the forthcoming launch of the Fiat 500 car in the United States, which features the faces of 500 fans on both bikes and the riders' leathers.
Lorenzo has had an eventful time at this track in his two previous visits here but today was much more routine, as the 23-year-old quickly found a good rhythm and was on the pace from the start. He finished the day just 0.233 seconds off leader Casey Stoner but he admits he needs to make some adjustments to his riding style tomorrow to better suit the peculiar nature of this track.
After his sensational return from injury in Germany, Rossi found he was in a little bit more pain at this track, especially in the braking area before the infamous Corkscrew. Aside from his physical worries the World Champion was happy with his first day's work and is confident that the information he and his team gathered today will help them to climb the order tomorrow.
Jorge Lorenzo - Position: 2ndTime: 1'21.932Laps: 31
"This was a good first practice and everything came quite easily; we didn't find any big problems and I was able to be at the front from the start. That said it looks like Casey is very strong here and we will have to work hard to catch him! I think I need to make some small changes to my riding style tomorrow rather than big changes to the bike setting and hopefully this will help us to find a few tenths and make sure we can fight on Sunday. A lot can change and I hope we can improve some more tomorrow." |
|  | Valentino Rossi - Position: 6thTime: 1'22.660Laps: 31
"This track is a bit harder for me than Sachsenring and I have more pain than I had there, mostly in the ankle but also in the shoulder at the breaking point before the Corkscrew. Aside from that I think we can be better tomorrow; we haven't put everything together yet to be at our full potential on the track and if we had a few more laps today we could have been a bit further up. We used the hard tyre at the end but the track was maybe a bit dirty for it. Tomorrow we will try the soft tyre also in the front. I like the special livery; it's something different and fun. Tomorrow I will have a helmet to go with it!"
Wilco Zeelenberg - Team Manager
"The practice was fine for us today, we had no major problems and we just tried different things between the two bikes; clearly one setting was better than the other. We need a bit more time because we need to improve the balance between the front and rear, but we know that it's very difficult to have everything perfect at this track because the corkscrew is very unusual! Second place is a good performance for the opening day and we're only two tenths off Stoner so we are happy and will try to improve more tomorrow."
Davide Brivio - Team Manager
"We tried some different settings and both Bridgestone tyres in this session. It wasn't too bad but now we need to put things together and find the best way forward. Physically Valentino seems to be not too bad, even if he has a bit more trouble here than in Germany, but we have to wait and see how he is tomorrow with two sessions instead of one. We finished the session with the hard tyre because we wanted to try some things and this probably wasn't the best way to get a fast lap time, but it's important to try all the combinations and hopefully the information we gathered today will enable us to be faster tomorrow."
Fast start for Edwards and Spies on home soil
Ben Spies made a blistering start to his home race at Laguna Seca this afternoon, the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team rider ending an opening practice session run in sunny conditions with the fifth quickest time. Aided by an upgraded YZR-M1 engine specification delivered by Yamaha for his all-important home race at the breathtaking California circuit, which features the incomparable and famous Corkscrew section, Spies was less than one-tenth-of-a-second away from fourth position.
Laguna Seca is the first race 2010 where Spies has previously raced in MotoGP and he put his vast track knowledge to good use immediately, the 26-year-old quickly establishing himself in the top ten. Spies, who is running a special livery for his home race featuring the Texas state flag, led home a strong American contingent while also finishing fastest non-factory rider as he edged out reigning world champion Valentino Rossi by 0.020s.
Spies is confident that planned overnight set-up changes to improve the stability of his YZR-M1 machine to cope with Laguna Seca's bumpy surface will allow him to challenge for a top grid position in tomorrow's qualifying session ahead of the ninth round of the 2010 MotoGP world championship.
It was a fruitful session for Colin Edwards too, the 36-year-old instantly taking advantage of the upgraded engine specification to put himself in the top five for much of the session. Edwards ran several laps on both soft and hard front and rear Bridgestone options in preparation for Sunday's 32-lap race. And he was immediately able to lap much quicker using the hard front option, the significantly improved stability helping Edwards secure eighth position with a best time of 1.22.971. |
| Ben Spies - Position: 5thTime: 1'22.660Laps: 33
"It is funny but I know this track so well, yet having not been here for a while it took me a bit of time to remember it. I'm pretty happy to be in the top five after the first session and I'm also pleased with the lap times by the end. Coming home and being in front of my home crowd, I can't be disappointed with my position after the first day. I'm sure we can make the bike a lot better because I had a couple of small issues that are easy to fix. I want the bike to absorb the bumps a little better but it is nothing that is really holding me back too much. We got an upgrade and I'm grateful to Yamaha for that and I'm definitely in the ballpark for th e rest of the weekend. I need a few tenths per lap but I think I can be much closer to the front tomorrow. At the end I put in a string of laps that weren't super-fast, but I was really consistent and I'm happy with that." |
| Colin Edwards - Position: 8thTime: 1'22.971Laps: 29
"I'm really happy to be back on home soil and racing in front of the American fans and I'm also happy because the practice session went pretty good. The track felt the cleanest it has ever done on the first day and I was happy with the bike to show more of my true potential. I started on the soft front and rear tyres and I wasn't able to turn as good as I wanted but right at the end we switched to the hard options and I went almost half-a-second faster. I've already made my mind up to use the hard front for the race and I'm sure with some more changes we'll be able to get some more feeling. But the hard tyre gives me more confidence. I'm happier with the performance of the bike too and I want to say a big thanks to Yamaha for giving me their support as always. The improved specification just makes it feel easier and more comfortable to do the lap time and I'm confident of a strong weekend." |
| | 2010 MotoGP United States - Laguna Seca 24/07/2010 | | Pos. | Rider | Manu. | Nat. | Total Time | | 1 | Casey Stoner | Ducati | AUS | 1'21.669 | | 2 | Jorge Lorenzo | Yamaha | ESP | 1'21.932 | | 3 | Andrea Dovizioso | Honda | ITA | 1'22.225 | | 4 | Daniel Pedrosa | Honda | ESP | 1'22.559 | | 5 | Ben Spies | Yamaha | USA | 1'22.640 | | 6 | Valentino Rossi | Yamaha | ITA | 1'22.660 | | 7 | Nicky Hayden | Ducati | USA | 1'22.902 | | 8 | Colin Edwards | Yamaha | USA | 1'22.971 | | 9 | Marco Melandri | Honda | ITA | 1'23.021 | | 10 | Aleix Espargaro | Ducati | ESP | 1'23.693 | | 11 | Mika Kallio | Ducati | FIN | 1'23.825 | | 12 | Marco Simoncelli | Honda | ITA | 1'24.002 | | 13 | Hector Barbera | Ducati | ESP | 1'24.326 | | 14 | Alex De Angelis | Honda | SMR | 1'24.615 | | 15 | Loris Capirossi | Suzuki | ITA | 1'24.710 |
Yamaha Racing Communications
Barentszplein 4B / 1013 NJ Amsterdam / The Netherlands
T. +31 (0) 20 625 6539
E. W.
© Copyright Yamaha 2010 |
|
|
