Valentino Rossi posted the third-fastest time overall during the first day of practice in the Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez. Like the top seven in the results, he did it in the morning session, when conditions were slightly cooler and not as windy.
Nicky Hayden, on the other hand, was among the riders who improved in the afternoon, when he finished ninth, a little less than a second off his teammate in the combined results from both sessions.
Valentino Rossi (Ducati Marlboro Team) 3RD, 1:40.077
“I’m happy because this morning I did the third-fastest time, and in the afternoon, when the higher temperature hurt us a little, I was fifth. Anyway, most of the riders went a bit slower in the second session. Apart from the two Hondas at the front, we’re closer to everyone else, which was our goal. It was a good day. There’s still work to do; we’re trying to find the right balance, and that’s why we’re trying two settings that are a little different from each other as we work on weight distribution. We have to improve the front feeling a little; the bike that I prefer still doesn’t turn like we want it to, which means we’ll have to find a compromise between the two setups. As for my shoulder, I don’t have much strength, but in terms of endurance, it’s a little better.”
Nicky Hayden (Ducati Marlboro Team) 9th, 1:41.058
“We’re basically riding the same bike as in Qatar, obviously with a couple of small tweaks for this track; you need a stiffer front spring and a few other little differences. We feel closer than we were in Qatar. We made a little step forward this afternoon and it’s good because only a few riders improved in the afternoon session, though the wind was a lot worse. It’s the same for everybody, but the wind was really brutal today, especially around here where you’re leaned over in a lot of long corners. We’re still almost a second off of the front riders, but at least we’re inside a second, which wasn’t the case at Round 1. We’re not over here jumping up and down with joy, but we’re positive, and we’ll keep improving. There’s a few places I’m lacking, but we’re trying to just make small gains and not make too many big changes.”
JEREZ CIRCUIT RECORDS
Official Record: Dani Pedrosa (Honda – 2010), 1:39.731 – 159.657 Km/h
Best Pole: Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha – 2008), 1:38.189 – 162.164 Km/h
Circuit Length: 4.423 km
2011 MotoGP Race: 27 laps (119.421 km)
2010 PODIUM: 1st Jorge Lorenzo, 2nd Dani Pedrosa, 3rd Valentino Rossi
2010 POLE: Dani Pedrosa (Honda – 2010), 1:39.202 – 160.508 Km/h
