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2008-02-17 Rider impressions after day 2 in Jerez
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 Casey Stoner demonstrated again why he grabbed title last year, as he took keys of BMW in dominant style. He was fastest in difficult track conditions, on track that was neither fully dry or wet. Valentino Rossi had first chance to try Bridgestone tyres in wet conditions, and hawing that in mind, his second time in Jerez today seems impressive. Nicky Hayden defended honour of Honda today, finishing in 3rd place. Two injured riders, Hopkins and Pedrosa, decided to skip session and make sure they start season fully recovered. Read rider impressions after Jerez day 2.
Casey Stoner - 1st - 1:49.263, 37 laps:
This is fantastic. Last year we did an amazing job in all the qualifying sessions during the season and I was able to take a car at the end of it so to start out 2008 in the same way is great. We found quite a good wet setting this morning so we decided to run a tyre that was a little harder than some of the other guys because there was not so much water on the track. Obviously with a harder tyre the grip is not the same but durability is better and with the track drying this really helped. We were able to use the same tyre for the whole session although I actually think I could have gone even faster if we'd have put a new one on at the end. I'm really happy with the way the bike was working in the dry at the end of yesterday and in the wet today. Being more competitive in testing means we can be even more competitive at the races but nothing is ever perfect and there is always room for improvement. We're just trying to improve the bike's performance at circuits where we had problems last season and from that perspective things are going very well.
Valentino Rossi - 2nd - 1:50.580, 17 laps:
Today the conditions made things quite difficult so we didn’t have quite the day we hoped for! Anyway I’m quite happy with our performance in this weather; it’s the first time for me with the Bridgestones in the wet and, although we can see that we have some more work to do with the set-up of our bike, we were not so slow. Of course we know we can be faster with more time, and so it would be good to have another chance in the rain tomorrow. The main problem is that we are lacking a bit of front grip and the balance of the bike is not at 100%, so I can’t enter the corner exactly how I want, but we will improve this. The first test in the dry with Bridgestone was quite hard but now, after three tests, things are good, so of course it’s going to be the same in the wet. At the end we came second today af ter just one morning, so I think we can be quite content with our day’s work.
Nicky Hayden - 3rd - 1:50.785 16 laps:
It was fun, because it’s a bit of competition, and not just because there was a car on the line, we could’ve been racing for a piece of bubblegum and everybody would’ve tried just as hard! We’re all competitors and it was pretty fun but conditions were not ideal. I wish they had been a little more stable, but right at the end when the clock was about to hit zero the conditions were almost at their worst, they were about to go dry. We did our best time a little earlier in the session. We ran full rains throughout, I seen that 49 and knew that was going to be tough, Casey (Stoner) really put one down. Nonetheless the bike was working pretty good in the rain. I’m not happy about third but for me those intermediate conditions – a little patchy with a dry line starting to form – are about the worst. That’s something I’ve definitely been working on and thinking a lot about, so in some ways I’m happy we did okay in those conditions. Full rain’s normally not too bad for me and the dry’s not bad but that in between bit is quite tricky, so we’ve worked a lot on that. It’s been a positive day, even this morning in the rain we didn’t have to make any big changes to get the bike reasonable. We were really good in the full wet, the Michelins were working good and there was one front in particular that I liked. We just need to improve some more in those in between conditions.
Anthony West - 4th - 15 Laps – 1:50.799:
Although we are closer to where we need to be time-wise, I am not completely happy with today. In the wet conditions this morning we tried some different settings to improve the bike handling and turning to suit my style more. This afternoon we continued with some tyre evaluations for Bridgestone, although the condition of the track was not brilliant as it was wet in some places and completely dry in others. However, for us this has been valuable, as it has given us the worst scenario in terms of track conditions, which gave us an indication of machine handling on a wet but drying track. There are definitely some areas for improvement, and hopefully we will get some dry test time tomorrow to use the data we have collected, so we can leave here with a clear progression plan prior to the Qatar test.
Andrea Dovizioso - 5th - 1:51.312, 15 laps:
After a morning of intense rain which – in any case allowed me to be third on wets – the qualifying session was held in different conditions, with the track damp and the level of grip changing with every lap. Close to the end of the session, when the situation was more stable, the Tarmac was close to dry and there was another good tyre to try and test, but the session was nearly over and I didn’t have the chance to use it. The fifth-best time in qualifying is not too bad, I’m satisfied, it’s only if I look at the gap at the four in front, that we can see we need to improve. We do have a technical package that allows us to do better than this and this is what we’re going to do! We will have another important day tomorrow hoping for good weather, and if we get it, we can achieve more significant improvements, get more information and do a lot of work.
Shinya Nakano - 6th - 1:51.594, 16 laps:
The wet session gave us the chance to test some different sets of tyres, some soft and some medium, and get ready for the time challenge in the afternoon. When the time came to attack and try to post a fast time we had a good pace but the track started to dry. Just at the decisive moment I ran into some traffic and if it wasn’t for that I could have done better than sixth place. I’m happy though because this new bike is a big improvement.
Loris Capirossi - 7th - 1:51.894,
It was not too bad this afternoon and we actually tried lots of different things from this morning in the changing conditions. We fixed the bike a bit, but we still have a lot to do – especially in the wet conditions. I don’t want to say I am totally happy, but we have to keep working in the way we are going. I can see that the whole team is really close to getting the bike right and understanding what we need. We still have to improve, but with all things considered I am quite happy with where we are at the moment, because I can see things getting better!
Randy De Puniet - 8th - 1:51.979, 11 laps:
I usually have a good pace in the wet but today’s 40-minute session was strange. When I went out with a rain used tyre the feeling was pretty good. Then, after some laps I used a new one but the surface started to dry up and grip was not enough. I made some laps on qualifiers but in those conditions it was impossible to catch Stoner. This morning we fixed the bike in the wet and it was interesting for me. After the official session we had to stop our job because the wind was to strong.
Sylvain Guintoli – 9th - 1:52.058, 14 laps:
I am happy to finish this first test in ninth position. It isn’t surely a sensational result, but a good first step towards the beginning of the season. It’s a pity that in my last fast lap I couldn’t improve my performance, we tried a different rear wet tyre that didn’t perform as we thought with the drying track conditions. In addition, wind has increased, limiting our performances.
Marco Melandri - 10th - 1:52.238, 35 laps:
Today has been the classic 'wasted' day as far as the test is concerned, because there's not a lot you can do in these conditions. This morning we tried out the wet setting and we were making improvements when I suffered my first crash with the Ducati, which was quite heavy but nothing too serious. In the first part of the qualifying session I was able to go quite fast straight away but after a quick pit-stop I wasn't able to improve my time by much - just over a tenth on the last lap - which was partly due to the fact that in the crash I'd destroyed one of the tyres that worked well in these conditions and I didn't have a new one to put on. With the weather getting worse we decided to finish for the day and hope for better weather so that we can continue our work tomorrow.
Alex De Angelis - 11th - 1:52.463, 13 laps:
I’m happy because it was important for me to get some laps under my belt in the wet – it could have been really difficult for me turning up at the first race without any experience in the rain. Today’s test gave us the chance to gather some telemetric data that can help us set the bike up to my riding style in the wet. So all in all it’s been a positive day, I’m feeling better on the bike every day and I’m improving my feeling with the team.
Chris Vermeulen - 13th - 1:52.779:
Today has been very different to yesterday with the weather conditions. This morning we had three-hours of wet time and it was quite good to ride the bike around Jerez in the wet. We tried some tyres for Bridgestone and got a set-up for the rain, but to be totally honest I am still struggling with very similar things to the ones in the dry. It was still another good test though so that is a positive thing for us. In the 40-minute timed session the track changed quite a lot. It hadn’t rained for a while but it was still very wet and greasy. It tended to be more like dry conditions and that made us struggle even more. We still have some work to do so hopefully tomorrow will be dry and we’ll be able to get it all done.
Jorge Lorenzo - 16th - 1:53.292, 11 laps:
Today hasn’t been as good as I hoped. It’s the first time I’ve ridden the Yamaha in the wet and everything was quite different. It was another thing to think about; I didn’t feel so good and I was very slow today, braking too early and accelerating too late. I made some improvement in the morning as far as just getting used to the bike and tyres in the wet, but I was lacking some grip and therefore also confidence. This afternoon, during the qualifying, I preferred to stop and try to change things, rather than to push for no reason, so this is why my time was so slow. We’ve got a lot to work on and after yesterday today has been disappointing, but as usual we’ve learned a lot and now I know what to expect next time it rains.
Toni Elias – 19th - 1:57.698, 7 laps:
I have to be honest, today I didn’t have much confidence with the bike, and results are the proof of it. Tomorrow’s weather forecast don’t promise anything good, I need to work in dry condition to continue to adapt to my new bike. I am sorry for my technicians who wanted to do well in this first official session of the season. I will give my best to be able to give them great performances as soon as possible.
Dani Pedrosa - DNS:
After riding yesterday for the first time since I injured my right hand, the hand was quite swollen and inflamed, so we didn’t want to take any further risks going out in the wet today. I will go out again when the track is dry. We have three weeks to go before the first race of the year in Qatar, so I hope the hand will continue to improve so I can work on my physical condition and on bike set-up.
John Hopkins - DNS
Conditions during the timed session this afternoon were far from ideal when you're carrying an injury, which is why I opted to sit it out. My priority has to be regaining full fitness for the first race, and I didn't want to risk aggravating the injury just to try and win a car I don't need. I tested what I needed to test this morning and I think we made some progress with changes to the electronics and traction control systems to suit my personal preferences. I will ride tomorrow, depending on the weather, but it is still going to be quite limited due to the pain I still have from the Phillip Island injury.
'Qualifying' times - BMW award - Jerez
1. Casey Stoner 1.49.263
2. Valentino Rossi 1.50.580
3. Hayden Nicky 1.50.785
4. Anthony West 1.50.799
5. Andrea Dovizioso 1.51.312
6. Shinya Nakano 1.51.594
7. Loris Capirossi 1.51.894
8. Randy De Puniet 1.51.979
9. Sylvain Guintoli 1.52.058
10. Marco Melandri 1.52.238
11. Alex De Angelis 1.52.463
12. James Toseland 1.52.755
13. Chris Vermeulen 1.52.779
14. Colin Edwards 1.52.826
15. Olivier Jacque 1.53.283
16. Jorge Lorenzo 1.53.292
17. Vittoriano Guareschi 1.54.694
18. Niccolo Canepa 1.57.453
19. Toni Elias 1.57.698
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