MotoGP news

Repsol Honda close, but not close enough

Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa is going well at Mugello, the Spaniard was fastest in this morning's free practice session and a close second in this afternoon's qualifying outing, just 0.167 seconds off pole position. Team-mate Nicky Hayden also went well today with sixth best time in qualifying, only half a second off pole. And Italian GP wild card Tadayuki Okada, who is giving Honda's pneumatic-valve-spring engine its MotoGP debut, qualified a respectable 15th for his first GP in almost eight years. 

"Conditions weren't so good this morning, the track was dirty after all the rain, so it wasn't easy to work on set-up," Pedrosa said. "This afternoon the track was completely dry and better, so we were more focused in our work. We still need to improve, so the warm-up session will be very important. We still haven't decided which tyres to run, and this choice will crucial because the race is long and there are a lot corners that require an aggressive riding style, so we need to look for a good compromise. Starting from the front row is very important here, so I'm happy to be there. Tomorrow it will be a tough race with many competitive riders."

Nicky Hayden commented, "We've basically only had one completely dry session all weekend - so we've tried out a lot of tyres: rains, intermediates and qualifiers and just a couple of race tyres. So that's certainly a big issue for tomorrow, we don't know a lot about what race tyres to run, so we'll definitely let Michelin help us a little there. We made a bit of progress this afternoon and ended up on the second row. I'm not going to fool myself though, it's certainly going to be a hard one tomorrow, some guys going really quick. It'd be nice to improve in warm-up, we've got some work to do to try and get closer to the front. Then we'll just try to get a start and go for it."

more news

• 30 Aug.
  • Stoner still fastest on Saturday morning
• 29 Aug.
  • Stoner confident despite aggrevating injury
  • Positive start for Rossi
  • Improvement for Lorenzo
  • Stoner fastest on Friday
  • Stoner sets morning pace
• 26 Aug.
  • Stoner determined to bounce back
  • Gresini riders aim high for Misano
• 22 Aug.
  • Repsol Honda back to full strength
• 20 Aug.
  • Melandri confirms Kawasaki move
• 19 Aug.
  • Nakano wraps up positive test for Gresini
  • Stoner ends test with threatening pace
  • Rossi confident for final rounds after test
• 18 Aug.
  • Good test ends strong weekend for Rossi
  • Ducati top test with Stoner
• 17 Aug.
  • Dismal end to disappointing weekend for Pedrosa
  • Stoner rues costly mistake
  • Encouraging results for Gresini
  • Rossi celebrates crucial victory
  • Rossi storms to win as Stoner crashes
  • Stoner still ahead in warm-up
• 16 Aug.
  • Photos: Saturday in Brno
  • Pedrosa struggles in qualifying
  • Rossi hoping for dry race
  • Stoner storms to sixth straight pole
  • Stoner fastest on Saturday morning
• 15 Aug.
  • Stoner fastest despite stomach pain
  • Rossi in confident mood
  • Gresini upbeat after first day
  • Photos: Friday in Brno
  • Stoner bites back in second practice
  • Rossi leads Stoner in first practice
• 12 Aug.
  • Stoner ready to resume battle
  • Gresini riders hopeful for Brno
  • Injured Hayden won't race at Brno
• 11 Aug.
  • Hayden uncertain for Brno
• 08 Aug.
  • Capirossi to equal Barros' record
• 25 Jul.
  • FIM announces provisional 2009 calendar
• 23 Jul.
  • Metatarsal fractures confirmed for Lorenzo
• 21 Jul.
  • Rossi savours sweet taste of victory

Homepage