In the dry this morning Lorenzo quickly found a good rhythm on the 5.077 km track, which boasts elevation changes and some spectacular corners and, despite lacking grip in some areas, he was third at the end and confident of improving in the afternoon. Unfortunately the rain meant a change of plan but his standard wet setting worked well and he led for most of the second half, only edged off the top spot by Casey Stoner in the last seconds.
Rossi confirmed yesterday that his leg is now in good shape but his damaged shoulder continues to plague him as he still lacks strength in it. He made a solid start this morning however, enjoying riding his M1 on this circuit and trying various different set-ups to find the best package for its different demands, finishing the morning in sixth. The rain this afternoon eased up the pressure on his shoulder somewhat and he finished the afternoon in fourth position, although he confirms he still prefers the track in the dry and is hoping to make more progress in better conditions tomorrow. The Italian is without his Team Manager Davide Brivio at this race as he is at home recovering from a back injury.
Jorge Lorenzo – Position: 3rdTime: 1’50.928Laps: 34
“I really like this track, it’s so fun to ride and it is quite different, a new challenge. It is interesting to ride the M1 here after coming here on an R1. We are lacking a bit of grip but I hope we can improve our setting more tomorrow so we can make another step. Unfortunately it rained this afternoon but it was good to get the chance to try our wet setting and it seems our bike was okay in these bad conditions. It was good to have two practice sessions today; even though the overall amount of time is the same over four days, four separate sessions makes it easier to get to know the circuit and what we need in order to be fast here.”
Colin Edwards – Position: 9thTime: 1’52.027 Laps: 31
“I love the circuit. I’m not sure what I expected but I hoped somebody would have designed something good and that’s obviously what happened. It is a lot of fun to ride and there are a few points that remind me of other tracks. I guess it feels quite similar to Sepang but there’s the reverse Corkscrew, which is pretty cool. Some of the fast corners are a bit like Mugello and overall it is a cool track. It’s not really demanding and it really flows and there are no real slow parts. The important thing is the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 YZR-M1 likes the track too. The bike felt good this morning in the dry and it was turning awesome. There’s not a lot of tight and twisty stuff but when I need that turning, the bike is delivering. And I felt good in the rain this afternoon too. It felt like a long time since we’ve hammered it in the wet but the grip for a new track is really good. I can’t complain about that because sometimes on a new track you get a bit of dirt and dust coming out on top of the surface, but it felt great. I’m happy also to go back to Friday morning practice. I like that format better even if we aren’t getting any extra track time. You can make bigger changes between sessions and it saves on hanging around with nothing to do until the afternoon!” |
Ben Spies – Position: 10th Time: 1’52.141 Laps: 36
“I really like the track. It has got some good elevation changes that make it pretty cool and the first couple of corners remind me of Istanbul Park on the video game. You know it is a fun track when you want to stay out and ride and that’s how I felt today. I was pleased with progress in the dry this morning and I’m really happy with how it went in the rain. I just stayed out to get a feeling for the bike in the wet conditions. In Germany earlier in the season I did about three laps in the wet and that’s all my MotoGP experience in the wet since Indianapolis in 2008. It was a bit of an eye opener and it took me a while to get up to speed. But once I got comfortable I felt good. And if we do have to ride in the rain now I’m confident that we’re not miles off. The limits are super high in the rain and my lap times were coming down all sessio n, so now I’ve got my head wrapped around what this bike and tyres can do in the wet, hopefully we can step up again next time.” |
Circuit Length: 5345 Weather: Changeable |
2010 MotoGP Spain – Aragon 17/09/2010 |
Free Practice |
Pos. | Rider | Manu. | Nat. | Total Time |
1 | Daniel Pedrosa | Honda | ESP | 1’50.506 |
2 | Nicky Hayden | Ducati | USA | 1’50.917 |
3 | Jorge Lorenzo | Yamaha | ESP | 1’50.928 |
4 | Casey Stoner | Ducati | AUS | 1’51.195 |
5 | Marco Simoncelli | Honda | ITA | 1’51.768 |
6 | Valentino Rossi | Yamaha | ITA | 1’51.769 |
7 | Hector Barbera | Ducati | ESP | 1’51.792 |
8 | Andrea Dovizioso | Honda | ITA | 1’51.845 |
9 | Colin Edwards | Yamaha | USA | 1’52.027 |
10 | Ben Spies | Yamaha | USA | 1’52.141 |
11 | Marco Melandri | Honda | ITA | 1’52.321 |
12 | Randy De Puniet | Honda | FRA | 1’52.340 |
13 | Aleix Espargaro | Ducati | ESP | 1’52.752 |
14 | Alvaro Bautista | Suzuki | ESP | 1’52.822 |
15 | Mika Kallio | Ducati | FIN | 1’53.190 |