-
Welcome to the new B.I.R.D. Forum. Please be sure to read the "New Member / New Registered ? Please Read" thread in the Coffee Shop. This contains some important information. To become a full member ( £5.90 a year ) simply click on your user name near the top on the right I hope you enjoy the new site ................ Jaws ( John )
Estoril Practice
- Thread starter Oldbull
- Start date
HAYDEN AND PEDROSA FAST ON FIRST DAY AT ESTORIL
The Grand Prix of Portugal began today with the first day of practice ahead of Sunday?s race ? a clash which promises to be crucial to the outcome of this year?s gripping title chase. Championship leader Nicky Hayden made a promising start, finishing the day with the second fastest time and establishing a good feeling from his evolution RC211V. The 25-year-old Repsol Honda star spent the two one-hour sessions near the top of the timesheets. His lap of 1m 38.268s was inside the existing lap record and just 0.050s behind the fastest time of the day set by Casey Stoner on the LCR Honda.
Dani Pedrosa also had a good start to the weekend, quickly getting to grips with the Estoril circuit for the first time on a MotoGP bike and setting the fifth fastest time today. After two difficult races for the 20-year-old Spaniard who was battling against the injuries he picked up at the Grand Prix of Malaysia last month, Pedrosa looked to be back to his usual form. He finished the day just 0.366s from the front.
Tomorrow afternoon will see a one-hour qualifying shootout to establish grid positions for Sunday?s 28-lap race at the 4.182km (2.597 miles) Estoril circuit. Round 16 of the 17-race MotoGP championship begins at 13.00 local time (14.00 CET).
Nicky Hayden 2nd ? 1m 38.218s
?I?d say that?s by far the best Friday I?ve had in quite a few races, and definitely the best start I?ve had at Estoril, so it?s been a positive day. I came out this morning and had a pretty good feeling on the bike straight away. The team did a good job with the bike and we worked well together today. The bike felt better out the gate than it?s felt for a while which allowed me to ride it hard and get a good feeling - so we?ll see if we can make the steps tomorrow that we need. It?s exciting to be a part of this championship and I?m just going to try and have fun and enjoy the ride. It?s important and I definitely know what this means ? I need two really good races. So I?ll just try to be smart, not make any mistakes and see what happens.?
Dani Pedrosa 5th ? 1m 38.586s
?Today we had a great practice. We were trying to more or less find the right tyres and the best bike settings. Of course we still have to improve some things though, and I hope to make some further improvements tomorrow. I feel much better now on the bike, both physically and mentally, than I have in the last couple of races. It?s quite different to riding the 250 here because the MotoGP bike moves around a lot more on the track. This is a very tricky track and it?s not so easy to get a good lap time. There are still some secrets to the track which I must discover on this bike.?
Makoto Tanaka - Team Manager
?Both riders made a very positive start today. Nicky worked through most of the issues in the testing days after Motegi and he showed excellent concentration in his riding today. We?ll see him get even faster tomorrow. Dani made good progress and seems to be back to his normal speed from earlier in the season. He says he doesn?t like this track, but it doesn?t look like that today! This morning the track conditions weren?t so good, but they improved a lot this afternoon. Tomorrow we expect further changes and we?ll have to hone the settings for these new conditions.?
Circuit length : 4.182km ? 2.597 miles
Lap Record: Valentino Rossi 1m 38.423s (2004)
The new Ilmor bike looked cool and only a couple of seconds of the pace, got a big X on either side of it as well :yo:
Dont forget that the championship leader can wrap it up this weekend b0x1
The Grand Prix of Portugal began today with the first day of practice ahead of Sunday?s race ? a clash which promises to be crucial to the outcome of this year?s gripping title chase. Championship leader Nicky Hayden made a promising start, finishing the day with the second fastest time and establishing a good feeling from his evolution RC211V. The 25-year-old Repsol Honda star spent the two one-hour sessions near the top of the timesheets. His lap of 1m 38.268s was inside the existing lap record and just 0.050s behind the fastest time of the day set by Casey Stoner on the LCR Honda.
Dani Pedrosa also had a good start to the weekend, quickly getting to grips with the Estoril circuit for the first time on a MotoGP bike and setting the fifth fastest time today. After two difficult races for the 20-year-old Spaniard who was battling against the injuries he picked up at the Grand Prix of Malaysia last month, Pedrosa looked to be back to his usual form. He finished the day just 0.366s from the front.
Tomorrow afternoon will see a one-hour qualifying shootout to establish grid positions for Sunday?s 28-lap race at the 4.182km (2.597 miles) Estoril circuit. Round 16 of the 17-race MotoGP championship begins at 13.00 local time (14.00 CET).
Nicky Hayden 2nd ? 1m 38.218s
?I?d say that?s by far the best Friday I?ve had in quite a few races, and definitely the best start I?ve had at Estoril, so it?s been a positive day. I came out this morning and had a pretty good feeling on the bike straight away. The team did a good job with the bike and we worked well together today. The bike felt better out the gate than it?s felt for a while which allowed me to ride it hard and get a good feeling - so we?ll see if we can make the steps tomorrow that we need. It?s exciting to be a part of this championship and I?m just going to try and have fun and enjoy the ride. It?s important and I definitely know what this means ? I need two really good races. So I?ll just try to be smart, not make any mistakes and see what happens.?
Dani Pedrosa 5th ? 1m 38.586s
?Today we had a great practice. We were trying to more or less find the right tyres and the best bike settings. Of course we still have to improve some things though, and I hope to make some further improvements tomorrow. I feel much better now on the bike, both physically and mentally, than I have in the last couple of races. It?s quite different to riding the 250 here because the MotoGP bike moves around a lot more on the track. This is a very tricky track and it?s not so easy to get a good lap time. There are still some secrets to the track which I must discover on this bike.?
Makoto Tanaka - Team Manager
?Both riders made a very positive start today. Nicky worked through most of the issues in the testing days after Motegi and he showed excellent concentration in his riding today. We?ll see him get even faster tomorrow. Dani made good progress and seems to be back to his normal speed from earlier in the season. He says he doesn?t like this track, but it doesn?t look like that today! This morning the track conditions weren?t so good, but they improved a lot this afternoon. Tomorrow we expect further changes and we?ll have to hone the settings for these new conditions.?
Circuit length : 4.182km ? 2.597 miles
Lap Record: Valentino Rossi 1m 38.423s (2004)
The new Ilmor bike looked cool and only a couple of seconds of the pace, got a big X on either side of it as well :yo:
Dont forget that the championship leader can wrap it up this weekend b0x1
Samster
chamon motherf*cker
Just watched QP live - it's Rossi backed up by Edwards in second, then Hayden with his rear-gunner Pedrosa.
Hayden came off the track with 7 minutes to go at which time he was lying 7th, did a good job to get back to the pits for new rubber and put it second, only to have Colin Edwards nick hi position in the dying seconds.
Pedrosa's last lap was fooked up by Casey Stoner who appeared to be doing a practice start right in front of him. Pedrosa was fuming, gesticulating at Stoner and punching his tank. Afterwards the young Ozzie walked straight into the Spaniards garage and apologised. Very sporting of him. They shook hands and made up.
So if Hayden finishes 1st and Rossi lower than 5th then he's won the title, if he gets 2nd and Rossi less than 8th then he's won it.
Can't see it somehow - VR looked fantastic
Hayden came off the track with 7 minutes to go at which time he was lying 7th, did a good job to get back to the pits for new rubber and put it second, only to have Colin Edwards nick hi position in the dying seconds.
Pedrosa's last lap was fooked up by Casey Stoner who appeared to be doing a practice start right in front of him. Pedrosa was fuming, gesticulating at Stoner and punching his tank. Afterwards the young Ozzie walked straight into the Spaniards garage and apologised. Very sporting of him. They shook hands and made up.
So if Hayden finishes 1st and Rossi lower than 5th then he's won the title, if he gets 2nd and Rossi less than 8th then he's won it.
Can't see it somehow - VR looked fantastic
What you think of the Ilmor bike Sam ?? M'coy took around 9 secs off his best time from first getting on it yesterday .. I hope they do well baring in mind that M'coy hasnt been on a gp bike for well over a year...
I want to go to Mallery for the race of the year but I dont want to miss the race either :bang:
some fooo**r is bound to tell you the result c7u8
I want to go to Mallery for the race of the year but I dont want to miss the race either :bang:
some fooo**r is bound to tell you the result c7u8
R
ricardo5zero
Guest
I have got to work today :xm and now cant watch todays race :xm
Is the race repeated later on any "normal" tv station ? I have a freeview box, but no Sky.
Is the race repeated later on any "normal" tv station ? I have a freeview box, but no Sky.
Samster
chamon motherf*cker
Ricardo - go to www.motogp.com and log in as Username: SamsterXX Password: pedrosa
This will give you live coverage as well as repeats of all the races.
You need broadband...............
OldBull - on looks alone the Ilmor machine is amazing! I read somewhere that they believe by 2010 it will be competitive enough to go for the world title........
Looks like today's race will be a cracker.
I reckon Stoner's gonna cause an upset..........if he's stays on board!
This will give you live coverage as well as repeats of all the races.
You need broadband...............
OldBull - on looks alone the Ilmor machine is amazing! I read somewhere that they believe by 2010 it will be competitive enough to go for the world title........
Looks like today's race will be a cracker.
I reckon Stoner's gonna cause an upset..........if he's stays on board!