MotoGP news

Gresini upbeat after first day

The Czech Republic Grand Prix started off on the right foot for Team San Carlo Honda Gresini, Shinya Nakano making his debut on the new Honda RC212V and lapping fourth fastest, just a fraction of a second ahead of his team-mate Alex De Angelis in fifth. 

"I'm happy with both free practice sessions today - this morning everything was new for me so I just focused on getting to know the bike, getting used to riding it and then in the afternoon the feeling improved a lot," said Nakano. "Without knowing whether it will rain or stay dry tomorrow, we tried a lot of different solutions, changed the balance of the bike and fitted a variety of different tyres. I obviously found the new bike to be an improvement in a variety of areas - the engine is more powerful and responds better in acceleration and top speed. The feeling with the chassis is better as well so overall I'm happy with the new bike. We still have a lot of work to do because we have only had today to gather data."

Alex De Angelis commented, "Despite the crash today I'm happy with my performance, especially in second practice. This afternoon we went with the tyres that give me the best feeling and I managed to ride fast for the entire session. Despite this we still have a lot of hard work to get through because the surface is new and we need to gather plenty of data to help us improve further."

Fausto Gresini, Team Manager added, "It has been a positive day and I can say that Shinya has started out really well with the new bike. He is very happy with it and with this being only the first day he still needs more time to get used to it. Obviously we will keep working to make more improvements and there is certainly margin for that. Alex did well today and despite the crash he was fast all afternoon, once again showing his great potential."

more news

• 21 Nov.
  • "Valentino would have been an excellent F1 driver"
• 20 Nov.
  • Rossi doing well at Mugello in F2008
• 04 Nov.
  • FIAT extends Yamaha sponsorship
• 28 Oct.
  • Hayden debuts at Ducati
  • Dovizioso enjoys first day at Repsol Honda
• 27 Oct.
  • Photos: Monday in Valencia
  • Stoner fastest on first day of testing
• 26 Oct.
  • Photos: Sunday in Valencia
  • Stoner storms to Spanish win
• 25 Oct.
  • Photos: Saturday in Valencia
  • Stoner steals Valencia pole
  • Hayden stays top in final practice
• 24 Oct.
  • Hayden happy with perfect start
  • Rossi looks for improvement
  • Photos: Friday in Valencia
  • Hayden finished Friday on top
  • Hayden fastest in first practice
  • Gibernau confirmed for 2009
• 23 Oct.
  • West hopes to return to MotoGP one day
• 19 Oct.
  • Stoner steals runner-up spot
  • Rossi celebrates ninth win
  • Photos: Sunday at Sepang
  • Rossi storms to victory
• 18 Oct.
  • Photos: Saturday at Sepang
  • Pedrosa steals last gasp pole
  • West fastest in final practice
• 17 Oct.
  • Photos: Friday at Sepang
  • Rossi looking strong at Sepang
  • Stoner looking for more from tyres
  • Edwards fastest in second practice
  • Yamaha leads first practice in Malaysia
• 13 Oct.
  • Guintoli joins British Superbikes
• 05 Oct.
  • Photos: Sunday at Phillip Island
  • Stoner dominates home Grand Prix
• 04 Oct.
  • Photos: Saturday at Phillip Island
  • Stoner on pole at home Grand Prix
• 03 Oct.
  • Photos: Friday at Phillip Island
• 02 Oct.
  • Elias to replace Nakano at Gresini
• 28 Sep.
  • Photos: Sunday in Motegi
  • Lorenzo misses out on podium

Homepage