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2008-05-16 Dani Pedrosa leads Le Mans day 1 - times and claims
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 Dani Pedrosa was man in charge in first day of free practice at Le Mans circuit, as he set pace in both sessions, that were held in dry conditions, with just few occasional rain drops. Casey Stoner improved his time from FP1 to set second time of the day, which was not the case with Rossi, who was unable to improve in FP2 and had to settle as 6th overall. Colin Edwards set 3rd time on his Yamaha, in front of injured Jorge Lorenzo, who despite serious injuries and small crash still has found speed for 4th time of the day. Chris Vermeulen seems to go well on French circuit, as he was quite far from Capirossi in 11th place. Read rider impressions after first day at Le Mans.
Dani Pedrosa - 1st - 1:34.227:
We worked very hard today because we heard that the weather forecast for tomorrow isn’t so good. At least we did get two hours of dry track time, which we dedicated to quickly finding a good basic set-up and then doing some work on tyre choice for Sunday’s race. The revised part of the circuit seems quite bumpy, so I ran straight on there several times during the day, same as a few other riders. Overall I’m feeling quite happy about my machine after this first day but we must keep our heads down and keep working hard because the top few riders are all very close together on lap times.
Casey Stoner - 2nd - 1:34.276:
We're struggling a little bit in T4, as we did last year. We need a little more acceleration coming onto the straights and it's a bit difficult for us in those tight but long corners. Tomorrow we'll make some changes to try and improve on that but basically the idea is to compensate for it by making our strong points even stronger. In any case today has been a good step for us because we haven't been really competitive in the last three races and it's good to start a Grand Prix in the right way again. This morning was going quite well but the setting wasn't quite right to be able to show what we could really do and then this afternoon we had a small problem with the engine on one of the bikes. The setting on the second bike wasn't perfect but the team made a small change that allowed me to go seven tenths quicker, so I was delighted with that. The weather forecast is a little all over the show, as it usually is here, and you never quite know what you're going to get so it's good to get two dry sessions under our belt. I'm happy with what we've got so far and ready for whatever the clouds throw at us tomorrow.
Colin Edwards - 3rd - 1:34.287, 48 laps:
It’s a case of so far so good. I got my first pole position here and my first podium for Yamaha but we have yet to win one so that’s what we need to focus on. I kept the China set-up that was a bit foreign for us there just to play around with it and it works really good here too, and I think we have already got a race tyre. My best lap was on the 16th lap of a race tyre and I did 25 laps on another rear tyre, so we have pretty much got a race tyre sorted which is good and I’m not stressing about that at all. The biggest thing we have been concentrating on is traction. In the first three races we never had a problem with traction and in China we had a big problem. So with the big change we made in China it is working better. I tried the standard setting first this morning but as soon as I went to the China set-up I was faster immediately. The bike is a bit more nervous and twitchy under acceleration and I don’t feel as smooth as I normally do, but I’ve got traction. If we can save the tyre by not spinning it as much and actually getting load on it and getting grip then I don’t mind it moving around a bit. When I came here for the first time in 2003 I hated this place with a passion, but since I joined Yamaha I really clicked with it. The handling characteristics of the bike really help at this track. This is obviously the team’s home race and I’m desperate to put on a good show for them, and today was a good start.
Jorge Lorenzo - 4th - 1:34.487, 56 laps:
The first thing I did when I crashed this afternoon was to stand up in order to check that I hadn’t done any more damage! Luckily it’s okay and I don’t think I have made anything worse and at the moment I don’t need to have any injections, which is better for me. The pain in my ankles is not so bad and to ride is okay, the main problem is that I am lacking the confidence that I know I should have, but I just need to keep thinking positively and I am sure that this will come soon. We need to work on the electronics a bit and also the suspension, and then I think we can make another step, but anyway we’ve made a good start today overall. If it stays dry then I think I will have the possibility to fight for the pole position, but if it’s wet it will be a different story so we are hoping for good w eather!
Chris Vermeulen - 5th - 1:34.630:
Le Mans is a special track for me after my first Grand Prix win here last year. I have great memories and I’m really looking forward to this weekend. I think we have got the base settings about right, we progressed a lot in China – despite our misfortune in the race – and we learnt quite a bit about the GSV-R. The bike has worked really well here from the beginning and although we made a few modifications we are really pleased with where we are at the moment. We tried a number of tyres from our allocation and things seem to be quite positive on that side as well. I still think we have some room for improvement tomorrow. We’ll try a few more things and hopefully move up the order!
Valentino Rossi - 6th - 1:34.886, 49 laps:
This morning we started quite well, I had a good rhythm and I was able to be third fastest with a good time. This afternoon to begin with it was also okay but then we tried some different things and it wasn’t so good; we tried a tyre I didn’t like so much and also a setting that didn’t feel so good so overall the result was not great! We weren’t able to improve our time from the morning but we actually learned quite a lot, which I hope will help us, so now we just need to work hard to decide what is the best way for tomorrow. I am confident we can improve. The weather isn’t so good, with some spots of rain, but actually we expected worse for Le Mans, so if this is as bad as it gets I will be happy! It may rain properly tomorrow in which case we will have different things to work on; I would prefer it to be dry of course but we will have to wait and see. It wasn’t a perfect day but we know why we didn’t improve so we’re not too worried.
Shinya Nakano - 7th - 1:35.047:
It was really important that we managed to get a good pace together during practice at Shanghai and for that reason I feel optimistic about Le Mans. We want to repeat our good performance from China but this time in the race too – not just in practice. If we manage that then we can set our sights on the top seven. If you’re in there then anything can happen in a race and you can be in the right place for a great result.
Randy De Puniet - 8th - 1:35.073:
This race is special race for me and I feel the pressure – but it’s a positive pressure. I like the track and I’ve got good results here in the past especially in 250 class. I feel confident and we’ll work to find the correct package for the weekend (tyres and suspension) even though we’re not sure about the weather conditions.
John Hopkins - 9th – 1:35.133:
Le Mans is a track I quite enjoy and although the position isn't where we want to be, I'm feeling confident. We've used the practice sessions today to find a tyre combination that works well in both the front and rear. At the moment we're struggling a little bit with feeling in the front-end, which is costing us time. It's nothing particularly major as we can lap quickly and consistently, but I feel that an improvement in this will reduce our lap time considerably. We have a few ideas on how to achieve this and tomorrow we'll be aiming for a good qualifying position.
Alex de Angelis - 10th - 1:35.239:
I’m feeling really confident about Le Mans – the technical updates with the new clutch have given me a lot of hope and it would be great if that helps solve the chatter problems we’ve been having sometimes under braking. Also, Bridgestone are going to bring some tyres to France similar to the ones I tested in winter, when I found it much easier to go fast. These two factors together make me really optimistic. Le Mans isn’t exactly my favourite circuit but it could suit our bike.
Loris Capirossi - 11th - 1:34.630:
I struggled a bit too much with the bike today and I never found a good set-up, but we have a good setting in the team already because Chris went much better than me and we will look at his data and see if it can help us tomorrow. We still need to get some more control out of the bike and we will try a couple of different things on Saturday. I am quite happy with the performance of the tyres, so we just need to sort out a couple of other things and I’m sure we’ll be up with the front guys. We have to keep working hard and I need to improve a lot in sections three and four as I’m really slow through there, but I know what is needed and I will be going for it tomorrow!
Nicky Hayden - 12th - 1:35.378:
Things didn’t go as smooth as we’d have liked today. Braking at this track is so important and I don’t have a good feeling when I’m braking. Straight line or leaned over, the front end doesn’t feel so good. I don’t know why, but I was hurting a little bit in that area in China too. We’re basically a full second off the pace and that’s a lot on a 1 minute 34 lap, so we need to sort something overnight. We really never found a direction all day, we were chasing our tails, so that makes it hard, and it’s never good to fall behind when there’s rain in the forecast. I know the team will work hard, so I’m confident in that.
Andrea Dovizioso - 13th - 1:35.450:
The race in Le Mans could be a good opportunity for us. I like the track very much and have always collected excellent results there in 125s and 250s. This is a slower track and I think it will fit very well with our Honda MotoGP bike. From China I would like to get better results and this will be the incentive that pushes me harder. Morale is high for both the team and I, so I think I will play up front with the top riders. I think also the team has a hunger for points and are motivated like me, especially as we know we can get good results.
Marco Melandri - 14th - 1:35.678:
I was hoping to start this weekend a little better but even though engine performance isn't bad we still haven't found the right way forward with the set-up of the cycle part. At the moment I can't brake as hard as I would like. When I'm braking with the bike upright it's okay but when it's leaned over the problems start. With a lot of braking areas in the turns at this track it means I'm losing a couple of vital tenths. We've done some different tyre tests and even though we've found something I like we're still not getting enough grip. We'll obviously try to improve that tomorrow because we want to at least be at the same level we reached two weeks ago in China.
James Toseland - 15th - 1:35.848, 55 laps:
I started off strong this morning but we pretty much hit a brick wall this afternoon. We tried a new direction with the set-up and it was the wrong way, so it was a bit frustrating. It’s not the end of the world because we have got some good ideas for tomorrow. We know the direction that we went in was wrong and it was quite a lot wrong to be honest with how it was finding the grip. I just didn’t have enough weight on the rear and I couldn’t find any grip off the corners. It was spinning up a lot and I couldn’t drive off the longer corners and that’s what cost me in China too. We really need to improve in this area because entry speed and mid-corner I’m not too bad, its just we are losing all the time on the exit. I’m on full throttle and I can’t do anymore. Luckily my comments are the same as what the computer is saying so we know where we went wrong and my guys will sort it out as they always do. Valentino pushes his rear tyre forward in the swingarm and we might have to do that to get more weight on the tyre. Maybe I need to run a softer rear spring in the shock too so it loads up a bit quicker. I really like the track. It is a lot shorter so I can do a lot more laps. I’m doing ten more laps in an hour than I was in China. I was 1.6s off on the first day in Estoril and China and it’s the same today, though I’m finding it harder with the set-up than at those last two races. But with the changes we’ve got planned I can make up a lot of time and I'm still optimistic of getting a good result for the team in what is a very important race for them.
Anthony West - 16th – 1:35.877:
I'm feeling a little bit more confident here today than I have in previous rounds. The circuit seems to suit our bike, as there are not so many turns here where the bike is leaned over for long periods of time, and this is where we've experienced problems in the past. We've made some alterations to my Ninja ZX-RR and I feel a lot more comfortable as I can use the bike's strength on corner entry to put together reasonable lap times. The position isn't anywhere near where we want to be, but I can lap consistently and this is a good sign as we were unable to do this before. There are two longer corners in the track where we need to improve traction, but we have some direction now and I hope we can continue with this tomorrow.
Toni Elias – 17th - 1:36.039, 51 laps:
We expected to be much more competitive since the begin, instead we had many problems. We have improved compared this morning, a little step forward that isn’t sufficient for us. We hope to be able to solve the problems we found for tomorrow and Sunday’s race. This isn’t surely an easy track for us. The only thing we can and must do is to work even harder.
Sylvain Guintoli – 18th - 1:36.414, 50 laps:
Every time we begin to work on a new track, with my new bike, we start with too much distance from the fastest and we have to chase. In the afternoon we have improved by more than a second, but we must do much more. I want to do well in front of my public and today’s’ result isn’t satisfying. We have to work hard tomorrow to be able to be competitive for Sunday’s race.
Combined Free Practice Times - day 1 Le Mans:
1. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda 1'34.227
2. Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati Marlboro 1'34.276
3. Colin Edwards (USA) Tech 3 Yamaha 1'34.287
4. Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Fiat Yamaha Team 1'34.487
5. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Rizla Suzuki 1'34.630
6. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Fiat Yamaha Team 1'34.886
7. Shinya Nakano (JPN) San Carlo Honda Gresini 1'35.047
8. Randy De Puniet (FRA) LCR Honda MotoGP 1'35.073
9. John Hopkins (USA) Kawasaki Racing 1'35.133
10. Alex De Angelis (RSM) San Carlo Honda Gresini 1'35.239
11. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1'35.256
12. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda 1'35.378
13. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) JiR Team Scot MotoGP 1'35.450
14. Marco Melandri (ITA) Ducati Marlboro 1'35.678
15. James Toseland (GBR) Tech 3 Yamaha 1'35.848
16. Anthony West (AUS) Kawasaki Racing 1'35.877
17. Toni Elias (SPA) Alice Team 1'36.039
18. Sylvain Guintoli (FRA) Alice Team 1'36.414
Le Mans: Record Lap
V. Rossi (Yamaha) 2006, 1'35.087
Le Mans: Best Lap
C. Edwards (Yamaha) 2007, 1'33.616
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