“Honestly it’s not the start to the weekend we wanted and we’d have liked to have come out of the gate a lot stronger.
On the cooler track we’re having a hard time getting the tyres to work as I would like. However, we’ve made a bit of progress today and I definitely hope that tomorrow I can do a lot better personally, and that we can also make some changes to get the bike to work the tyres more effectively.
We don’t seem to have the grip that I need at the moment so we’ll see what other options Michelin has available and work on the settings too. There’s still a long way to go this weekend and the two hours of practice tomorrow will be crucial. Qualifying is going to be really important too so we’ll be looking to come out a lot stronger tomorrow.”
1. Casey Stoner AUS Ducati 1?32.968
2. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Yamaha 1?33.084
3. Dani Pedrosa SPA Honda 1?33.150
4. Marco Melandri ITA Honda 1?33.319
5. Chris Vermeulen AUS Suzuki 1?33.501
6. Randy de Puniet FRA Kawasaki 1?33.519
7. Alex Barros BRA Ducati 1?33.541
8. Valentino Rossi ITA Yamaha 1?33.620 Click here to read more
1. Casey Stoner AUS Ducati 1?33.083
2. Marco Melandri ITA Honda 1?33.762
3. Dani Pedrosa SPA Honda 1?33.881
4. Alex Barros BRA Ducati 1?33.979
5. Chris Vermeulen AUS Suzuki 1?34.059
6. Valentino Rossi ITA Yamaha 1?34.102
7. Nicky Hayden USA Honda 1?34.226
8. Loris Capirossi ITA Ducati 1?34.242 Click here to read more
A vibrant atmosphere is assured at the tradition season curtain-closer with huge numbers of fervent Spanish motorcycle fans once again expected to pack the vast grandstands that border the 4.005km (2.487 miles) Valencia circuit.
Nicky Hayden is relishing his return to the scene of his extraordinary World Championship victory last year. Few can forget the emotional conclusion to the spectacular 2006 season where the American overturned an eight-point deficit to Valentino Rossi and clinched his first world title. While 2007 hasn’t gone to plan for Hayden, he has regained front-running pace in recent races and that, combined with his confidence at the Valencia circuit, should make him a real threat this weekend. The 26-year-old likes Valencia and has a good recent record here, having finished second in 2005 and third last year.
There are certainly more challenging and scenic circuits on the MotoGP calendar than Valencia, but its status as the final race of the season combined with the jubilant atmosphere generated by the vast and passionate race-day crowd guarantees that the Grand Prix of Valencia is a special occasion. Last year’s attendance for the weekend was a stunning 233,399 fans, with 129,466 of those witnessing Hayden’s ride to the world title on race day. Largely characterised by tight second and third gear corners, the left-handed track keeps the MotoGP riders busy as they thread their 210+ bhp machines through Valencia’s relentless sequence of turns. Click here to read more
“The team did a really good job this weekend and the bike was working very well in the race. Unfortunately I didn’t get a great start and on the first lap or two I got boxed in everywhere and I always seemed to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. That cost me a lot of positions but once things settled down I started moving forward and was going well.
Then, passing Elias at the end of the back straight, I got in too hot and it was a silly mistake which I’m not happy about. I was in the draft and just got into the corner a little too fast. After that I got back on the track, put my head down and I’m actually proud of the way we recovered and started setting some really quick laps.
First I caught Colin and lost a little time getting by him. Then I was able to catch Hopkins and Vermeulen on the last lap but we ran out of time to pass them. Still, I think I had the fastest lap of the race for a while which is encouraging considering how things were going earlier this weekend. Click here to read more
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MotoGP 2007 Season
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12, 16, 26, 6