Marco Simoncelli led the way during both free practice sessions today in Estoril. But the Honda rider didn’t have much space at the top. Both Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa finished less than a tenth of a second behind the pace setter.
Marco Simoncelli, San Carlo Honda Gresini Team
“Yes today is a great day of course for me because I started the morning very fast. We continued this into the afternoon. We did some work on our set-up and made some modifications to the chassis and everything is working good. We still need to improve the grip in the first corner for the maximum angle, this is the main problem. This morning we had some problems with the brakes but we solved the issue, not completely but a very good step forward. I’m happy and confident with the set-up of my bike.”
Jorge Lorenzo, Yamaha Factory Racing
”My feeling is good because we have always been in the first positions. In the morning we finished fourth, in the afternoon second. We are close to the first rider. We have to improve a little with our bike, especially with the braking and in particular the first sector of the track. If we can improve this, maybe we can be closer to the top... My aim is to finish the race on the podium. If we can’t, then we will just to try to finish. The important thing is not to crash and to get some points.”
Ben Spies, Yamaha Factory Racing
”It hasn’t been a perfect day, we have struggled a little bit. We went out this afternoon to try and get a feel for the harder tire. We don’t think that’s the way for the race tire.... We’re not close to the front but we’re going to find our way back up there and get faster. I’m pretty confident that me and my guys can step up for sure.
Valentino Rossi, Ducati Team
“I’m pretty satisfied with how the day went. Let’s start with my physical condition, which I’m very happy with... It still hurts a little, and I’m missing a little strength, but the difference compared to my left shoulder is less. I can concentrate on riding the bike, and when watching myself on television, I can see that my style is starting to be a little more normal... I still have some problems with rear grip, so tomorrow we have to do better, but I’m happy for now.”
Nicky Hayden, Ducati Team
“This morning was not a good session at all, but the afternoon was a lot better. We had a problem with one bike in FP1. I’m not sure what happened, but we’ll send the engine back to Bologna to check it out... I’m sure everybody thinks they can do better tomorrow, but I feel like we can do a good job and try to get in a good lap in qualifying, which is going to be really important.”
Casey Stoner, Repsol Honda
"To be honest I'm not very happy with how the day has gone. We had a few small issues with the bike that took quite a lot of time out of our sessions today. We could have had a much more productive day than we did, as we didn't really find any improvements. We have to wait for tomorrow and hope for some dry weather, because at this moment we're not too happy with the setting of the bike. We need to improve it a little under the braking point and in the middle of the corner, where we seem to be struggling to get the bike to turn, so if there is some good weather tomorrow, we should be able to improve the situation and not be so far off.”
Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda
"I think the first day of practice has been positive, it's the first race after a major operation, so it's only logical that I feel sore and I understand that with a little more time and treatment this will disappear. The pain I feel are some cramps which are caused by tension I have in the shoulder area. The last round of laps this afternoon, I wanted to extend a little longer to see how I felt, but I made seven laps in a row, which would be about 15 minutes. This is not enough to make a definitive judgement. If it rains tomorrow, it will be important to have a positive practice to get a good position on the grid."
Andrea Dovizioso, Repsol Honda
“Today I had two difficult practice sessions and I can’t be happy. I had no feeling with the front so we made several runs to test the modifications, but the situation in general didn’t improve in the afternoon. I struggled to make lap times. Today was dry and I hope that tomorrow we can continue to work in the same conditions. According to the weather forecast, it should rain and this would complicate the situation.”
