Jerez timesheets

Hey,

Todays Free practice times.

Nice to see my 2 riders in the top 10


1. Valentino Rossi ITA Camel Yamaha Team 1min 41.613 secs
2. Loris Capirossi ITA Ducati Marlboro Team 1min 41.625 secs
3. Dani Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda Team 1min 41.798 secs
4. Sete Gibernau SPA Ducati Marlboro Team 1min 41.798 secs
5. Shinya Nakano JPN Kawasaki Racing Team 1min 41.939 secs
6. Marco Melandri ITA Fortuna Honda 1min 42.108 secs
7. Colin Edwards USA Camel Yamaha Team 1min 42.266 secs
8. Nicky Hayden USA Repsol Honda Team 1min 42.276 secs
9. Randy de Puniet FRA Kawasaki Racing Team 1min 42.455 secs
10. Toni Elias SPA Fortuna Honda 1min 42.518 secs
11. Kenny Roberts USA Team Roberts 1min 42.538 secs
12. Casey Stoner AUS Honda LCR 1min 42.552 secs
13. Carlos Checa SPA Tech 3 Yamaha 1min 42.608 secs
14. John Hopkins USA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1min 42.727 secs
15. Makoto Tamada JPN Konica Minolta Honda 1min 42.868 secs
16. Chris Vermulen AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1min 43.101 secs
17. Jose Luis Cardoso SPA Pramac d'Antin MotoGP 1min 43.712 secs
18. Alex Hofmann GER Pramac d'Antin MotoGP 1min 43.781 secs
19. James Ellison GBR Tech 3 Yamaha 1min 45.239 secs

Not many surprises today, Rossi suddenly "solved" the problems he had 2 weeks ago.

Ducati and Kawasaki were good as in the IRTA.

Pedrosa as expected (by me) was the fastest Honda rider. Makes the other Honda riders look mediocre.

Kenny was OK, considering the heap of xxxx that bike is (IMO). His top speed is a few km/h slower than the Honda's ....hmmm ..... detuned engines or crappy aerodynamics??? Me thinks both.

It's also curious to notice that D'antin Ducatis were almost 10 km/h down on the official Ducatis!!!, same aero but 10km/h less??? What a joke. Though maybe Dunlop is not helping either.

Checa was not as good as in previous tests but compared to his teammate, it was OK.

Suzuki was slower than I expected.

Checa and Suzi are not really impressive, are they? Colin could be doing better too. Pedrosa's doing well. He continues to impress me. Doing that well on the current RCV not only proves that he's fast, but he's adaptable and he dosen't need a perfect bike.... I think we've gota next generation Rossi starting to strecth his (short) legs here.
On the subject of Rossi, I think a certain Doctor has been giving a false diagnosis. "In the ...." my arse, Rossi! But Capriex is bloody close... not as close as Sete is to Dani though
KR's doing better. That's good to see.

I'm curious about the relevance of today's times. In the morning session the most laps amassed by a rider was 12 by KRJR I believe. I think there is more to come from everyone tomorrow and I look forward to it.

Not everyone can move up, though

it's slightly encouraging to see pedrosa and the ducatis up there... but sunday will be a different story. even in quali, i expect the hondas to better their time, melandri and hayden, for instance.

it's going to be interesting.

The times are a couple of seconds off what they were at the last test/what to expect today. The track was cold and it was damp in places right up to the end of the afternoon so these times don't really mean that much. I think we're going tp see low .39's even one or two high .38's on qualifyers. Rossi, Capirossi, maybe Gibernau.

Rossi for pole! C'mon boy! We need the cash!

Damm it, so close to the pole !!!

Anyway, it looks good for tomorrow.

I've only seen clips from quali and not the whole thing yet, but what happened? I saw Rossi on the floor, both d'Antin Ducatis break and then a mess of other riders following Rossi into the gravel.

Ducati look very strong, in theory this is a track that should not suit the Ducati very well. It's a very balanced track with no exceptionally long straights but Capirossi and Gibernau seem to have things well sorted. Although I will say this, can we expect a solid race pace from the Ducs as well as Nakano or is this another case of the outstanding Bridgestone Qs placing riders on the front rows only for them to be eaten up by Michelins by the end of the race.

Still thinking Yamaha haven't solved their "vibration," amazing to seeing Rossi, Edwards, Checa and Ellison occupying the top spots in all the tests only for them to qualify 9th, 10th, 14th and 18th respectively.

The Hondas look to be improving. Looks like Hayden is starting to realize the potential in the '06 model and Pedrosa continues to impress. I'm rather partial to Elias starting from 6th and beating out Melandri. The Gresini team is very good at cultivating talent, I expect Elias to have a breakout year in the way Melandri did in '05, Gibernau did in '03 and Kato did in '02.

Roll on tomorrow, I think we will see the Ducatis, the Repsol boys and Rossi at the front by the end of the race. Sorry all you Kwak fans, I think Super Shinya is going to have to settle for a 5th or 6th.

Hoffman blew his Ducati engine and sprayed oil on the track, so all the riders behind him crashed. D'antin wont be very happy to know that not only his supposedly 2006 spec Ducs are 10 km/h down on the Official Ducati but are also fragile.

You can bet on Rossi being up there unfortunately for me.

The Bridgestones have good race pace, the problem is they may not last all the race and end up being caught by Michelin.

I'm slightly dissapointed with Pedrosa I was hoping he could to grab pole position or be just behind the Ducatis. Or maybe I was being carried away by the Spanish media that have been telling Dani to beat Rossi for months!




You couldn't get to see the qualy Ooost??

I almost missed the crash because I was zapping around trying to figure which TV channel to watch the qualy, it's quite ironic that with 4 channels at my disposal showing qualy live I almost miss that !!!

Bloody good session watched courtesy of motogp.com

Nearly made some money with Gibbers.. Nakana great ride, Bridgestone 1-2-3.

Whoever has Capper is quids in.

Final Qualifying times and grid positions.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE <div class='quotemain'>1. Loris Capirossi ITA Ducati Marlboro Team 1min 39.064 secs
2. Sete Gibernau SPA Ducati Marlboro Team 1min 39.285 secs
3. Shinya Nakano JPN Kawasaki Racing Team 1min 39.526 secs
4. Nicky Hayden USA Repsol Honda Team 1min 39.666 secs
5. Dani Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda Team 1min 39.734 secs
6. Toni Elias SPA Fortuna Honda 1min 39.875 secs
7. Marco Melandri ITA Fortuna Honda 1min 39.932 secs
8. Randy de Puniet FRA Kawasaki Racing Team 1min 40.146 secs
9. Valentino Rossi ITA Camel Yamaha Team 1min 40.160 secs
10. Colin Edwards USA Camel Yamaha Team 1min 40.181 secs
11. Chris Vermulen AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1min 40.215 secs
12. John Hopkins USA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1min 40.340 secs
13. Kenny Roberts USA Team Roberts 1min 40.497 secs
14. Carlos Checa SPA Tech 3 Yamaha 1min 40.851 secs
15. Casey Stoner AUS Honda LCR 1min 40.982 secs
16. Makoto Tamada JPN Konica Minolta Honda 1min 41.119 secs
17. Jose Luis Cardoso SPA Pramac d'Antin MotoGP 1min 41.749 secs
18. James Ellison GBR Tech 3 Yamaha 1min 42.267 secs
19. Alex Hofmann GER Pramac d'Antin MotoGP 1min 42.341 secs

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (teomolca @ Mar 25 2006, 10:22 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><div class='quotemain'>You couldn't get to see the qualy Ooost??
No, didn't wake up early enough to watch it live and when I did wake up the only thing on motogp.com was the highlights so I watched that. I'm waiting for the full video to be available so I can watch it.

I think a lot will depend tomorrow on what the pace is for the early part of the race. If high .39's early on from the Bridgestone shod Ducatis then Rossi might have some very hard work to do. I think Loris and Sete will dip into the .39's after a few laps. How long they can sustain it will dictate the outcome. I said Loris' pole would be a low .39 now he has to make the most of it. A lot will depend on how the Bridgestones work in the later stages. If they do work good and contrary to what you guys are saying they have a reputation for doing so, we can expect a big push from Rossi and Edwards which I can't wait to see.
It's unlikely any one Honda rider can mount a serious sustainable challenge for the win given the competition as the problem with rear grip is going to create tyre problems for them later in the race.
If the Ducatis can carry a two or three second advantage into the second half of the race we could see a Ducati win. That has to be their plan for the race and Rossi knows it. The first few laps should be very interesting. We're going to see just how good the Yamaha launch control really is seeing as Rossi is on the third row? Ducati have had it from day one. This is going to be awesome.

Should be in for a good race. The Dukes Vs. Rossi.... The Italian's will be loving it. I think the win will go to either Rossi or Cappers. It will be interesting to see what a fresh start has done to Gibbers mental strength.
The Hondas are (finally) making progress, but not fast enough to rain on the Ducati parade. Good race with Red n yellow flying everywhere. I think Nakano could be in for a repeat of his 2005 Jerez, landing just outside the podium. Rossi's still on the 3rd row, I think He'll be in at least 7th by the first turn. He can get on the podium from the 5th row, so a win from the 3rd is far from impossible. Will be interesting to see which Honda is first over the line. Melandri, fastest in practice, and one of Honda's most experienced winners (2 races and hes at the top.... thats just sad ) Hayden, leading them on the grid or Pedrosa at his home track?

Wow, go Gibernau! If the bike is really as fast and reliable as it looks, don't count out either of them for the victory. I'm stuck with live timing for the race today... might just be able to catch 125 and 250s.

Good race, better result.

It was sooo close.

Come on Dani !!!

We'll have to wait two weeks to see what happens with Rossi and Gibernau in the mix. Great first ride from Dani although the pace was slower than I expected. Loris looked very comfortable and in control all race. Will Rossi have an easy title defence this year? Early days but doesn't look likely to me.

Excellent ride from Dani, and Stoner, and KRJ as well...Rossi well didnt expect him to jump back on the bike but I guess those points will be valuable....

Fantasy Team Fcvk up....Edwards pushed to the back and poor old Gibbers, bad luck demons strike again.

Great opener though

Superb racing!!!

Poor gibbers, not what he needed on the first race. Man how frantic was those first 3 laps!...........when was the last time Vale ended up in the kitty litter on turn 1 ?

Pedrosa was superb today, he cut past Nicky and left him for dead......that must of pissed NH of a tad!

What can you say about Loris, complete control through the race, and even showing what he had left in the tank on those last 5 laps.

Stoner - great ride too! Especially comng from 15th on the grid....and not had as much pre-season track time as the rest, superb!

Toni Elias sticking it up on Marco too................hmmm..........a couple more laps and he would have nailed Hayden too!

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh...............its good to get that racing fix again