Round: 1 - 2006 MotoGP Jerez

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MotoGP : Rossi makes perfect start at Jerez
Round: 1 - 2006 MotoGP Jerez
Circuit: Jerez
Date: 24 March 2006
Temp: 20?C
Weather: Dry

Camel Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi kicked off his MotoGP World
Championship defence in fine style today, setting the fastest lap time in
the first free practice sessions for the opening round of the 2006
season at Jerez. After light rain showers hit the track this morning, when
Rossi decided not to ride and his team-mate Colin Edwards put in just
two laps, both riders were able to work without interruption in the
afternoon as they aimed to iron out set-up difficulties encountered in
recent pre-season tests at this circuit.

Whilst Rossi was able to overcome the majority of his problems,
immediately finding the right direction to work with the team's engineers and
technicians, Edwards suffered a minor setback today but he is confident
that he can recover lost ground in tomorrow morning's final free
practice before the crucial afternoon qualifying session. The American
clocked the seventh fastest time today as Loris Capirossi (Ducati) produced
the strongest challenge to Rossi's dominance, lapping 0.012 seconds
slower than his Italian compatriot.

Valentino Rossi (1'41.613, 24 laps)
"We haven't fixed everything just yet but the Yamaha engineers came up
with a few ideas to solve the vibrations we suffered during the test
and they all worked. So far we have come up with a setting that allows me
to ride in a better way to control the bike and, even though we still
have some small vibrations, it is giving us less problems. This is the
perfect way to start the season and I am really happy with the way the
team have worked. This afternoon the track conditions were still not
perfect so the times weren't so fast, but I think tomorrow it will be
better. Tomorrow we have to keep working hard to come up with some more
solutions and I am sure we will be in good shape for the race. There is
already a good atmosphere and I can't wait until Sunday!"

Colin Edwards (1'42.266, 28 laps)
"To be honest things didn't go as we would have wished today. After
losing an hour this morning because of the weather we missed out on
another 45 minutes in the afternoon. I felt something was wrong but it took a
long time for us to work it out. Basically there was too much pressure
in the tyre and once we realised that we were able to start working
properly - unfortunately it was a bit too late to be reflected in the lap
times. Looking across the garage we can see that the engineers have got
some really good data that will definitely help us tomorrow to refine
the set-up and sort out some of the problems we had in the test. It will
be two important hours but I have full confidence in the job the team
is doing."

Davide Brivio - Camel Yamaha Team Director
"It looks like we are making improvements and moving in the right
direction, which is very encouraging at this early stage of the weekend. We
lost this morning's session to the weather but I have to say that the
engineers and the technicians made the most of the available time to
make the first adjustments to the bikes. Both riders have done a different
job today, and our team has great cooperation so now we can put all
this information together and find the best way forward for both riders
tomorrow morning. Hopefully the bad weather is now out of the way for the
rest of the weekend."

Round: 1 - 2006 MotoGP Jerez
Circuit: Jerez
Circuit Length: 4423
Lap Record: 1' 40.596 (Valentino Rossi, 2005)
Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 39.419 (Valentino Rossi, 2005)
Date: 24 March 2006
Temp: 20?C
Free practice 1
1. Loris Capirossi ITA Ducati Marlboro Team 1min 56.260 sek
2. Marco Melandri ITA Fortuna Honda 1min 57.056 sek
3. Casey Stoner AUS Honda LCR 1min 57.131 sek
4. Jose Luis Cardoso SPA Pramac d'Antin MotoGP 1min 57.272 sek
5. Shinya Nakano JPN Kawasaki Racing Team 1min 57.626 sek
6. Alex Hofmann GER Pramac d'Antin MotoGP 1min 58.477 sek
7. Kenny Roberts USA Team Roberts 1min 58.566 sek
8. Nicky Hayden USA Repsol Honda Team 1min 58.575 sek
9. Chris Vermulen AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1min 58.627 sek
10. Sete Gibernau SPA Ducati Marlboro Team 1min 58.655 sek
11. Dani Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda Team 1min 59.173 sek
12. Carlos Checa SPA Tech 3 Yamaha 2min 1.268 sek
13. Makoto Tamada JPN Konica Minolta Honda 2min 4.356 sek
14. Randy de Puniet FRA Kawasaki Racing Team 2min 7.270 sek
15. James Ellison GBR Tech 3 Yamaha 2min 8.386 sek
16. John Hopkins USA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 2min 25.516 sek
17. Colin Edwards USA Camel Yamaha Team 2min 48.089 sek

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

Free Practice 3
1. Marco Melandri ITA Fortuna Honda 1min 40.699 sek
2. Loris Capirossi ITA Ducati Marlboro Team 1min 40.790 sek
3. Dani Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda Team 1min 40.811 sek
4. Sete Gibernau SPA Ducati Marlboro Team 1min 40.961 sek
5. Casey Stoner AUS Honda LCR 1min 41.081 sek
6. Kenny Roberts USA Team Roberts 1min 41.098 sek
7. Toni Elias SPA Fortuna Honda 1min 41.175 sek
8. Nicky Hayden USA Repsol Honda Team 1min 41.223 sek
9. Colin Edwards USA Camel Yamaha Team 1min 41.374 sek
10. Valentino Rossi ITA Camel Yamaha Team 1min 41.383 sek
11. Randy de Puniet FRA Kawasaki Racing Team 1min 41.526 sek
12. Shinya Nakano JPN Kawasaki Racing Team 1min 41.549 sek
13. John Hopkins USA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1min 41.550 sek
14. Chris Vermulen AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1min 41.658 sek
15. Makoto Tamada JPN Konica Minolta Honda 1min 42.271 sek
16. Carlos Checa SPA Tech 3 Yamaha 1min 42.763 sek
17. James Ellison GBR Tech 3 Yamaha 1min 43.005 sek
18. Jose Luis Cardoso SPA Pramac d'Antin MotoGP 1min 43.113 sek
19. Alex Hofmann GER Pramac d'Antin MotoGP 1min 43.155 sek



GRAN PREMIO DE ESPANA

First qualifying practice / FORTUNA HONDA RIDERS READY FOR SEASON OPENER

The long wait is over. The first day of practice for the opening round of the MotoGP World Championship took place today at Jerez de la Frontera. After the long winter of testing the riders finally entered serious action today as they make their final preparations for the first race of the season, which takes place on Sunday. The rain that was present throughout the morning did not leave the track in ideal conditions and prevented the teams from completing the work they had planned in the opening session. However, warm sunshine covered the track in the afternoon and allowed normal proceedings to resume. In general it was a good start for the FORTUNA HONDA riders, who improved on the best times they set at this circuit only two weeks ago.


MARCO MELANDRI (1?42?108, 6th fastest):

?We couldn?t make the most of the morning session because of the weather but we did have some reference data thanks to the recent tests here a couple of weeks ago. I am satisfied because we have taken a major step forward today. We have noticed an improvement and the Michelin tyres have worked perfectly. The objective was to continue on the same line of work to prepare the first race of the 2006 season. We have been consistent and I think we can improve even more tomorrow.?

TONI ELIAS (1?42?518, 10th fastest):

?The weather hasn?t helped us too much and we preferred not to go out onto the track during the morning session. In the afternoon we went out with the same set-up configuration that we used during the IRTA tests. I still have a wide margin for improvement and I have to pick up my pace. I?m confidence and tomorrow we will be working closely with the Michelin guys.?

MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2006
KAWASAKI RACING TEAM PRESS OFFICE
24 MARCH 2006 - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

TOP TEN FOR NAKANO AND DE PUNIET AT JEREZ

The 2006 season opened at Jerez today, with Kawasaki's Shinya Nakano and Randy de Puniet both putting in impressive performances during this afternoon's one-hour free practice session, to finish in fifth and ninth place respectively.

Overnight rain left the 4.423 km Jerez circuit damp and slippery for this morning's opening free practice session, during which both Kawasaki riders opted to remain in the pit box, venturing out only at the end of the session but completing less than 10 laps between them.

An improvement in the weather for afternoon free practice was good news for the thousands of Spanish race fans lining the circuit, but conditions on track remained unpredictable, as damp patches in the faster sections almost caught out a number of riders early in the session

Both Kawasaki riders complained of losing the rear through the fast series of turns at the back of the circuit, with de Puniet out of the seat on a number of occasions as the rear tyre on his Ninja ZX-RR span up after losing traction on the slippery track surface.

Nakano and de Puniet took advantage of improving grip levels towards the end of the session to test a new rear tyre from Bridgestone, constructed using a revised drive compound to increase traction out of the turns while remaining more consistent over race distance.

And while conditions weren't ideal for evaluating subtle differences in tyre construction, both Nakano and de Puniet set their fastest times on the new tyre with just minutes of the session remaining.

While declaring themselves happy with today's performance both Kawasaki riders remain confident that, as conditions tomorrow are forecast to match those during the recent IRTA test at Jerez, there are significant improvements still to come.

Shinya Nakano: 5th - 1'41.939
"This morning was a bit of a wash out. I waited right to the end before going out to bed in a new engine, but the track was just too slippery for the cut slick I'd opted for in the rear of the bike. This afternoon the conditions were better, but parts of the track were still very slippery right to the end of the session. We tested a new rear tyre from Bridgestone right at the end, with positive results, but we'll need to confirm the results tomorrow when conditions are due to improve. It took me a little time this afternoon to get used to having so many bikes around me on track; a one-hour practice session is very different to the day long tests we've been doing over the winter when you mostly have the track to yourself! I'm happy to finish in the top five today, and tomorrow we just need to find those final tenths of a second from me and the bike to put us in the best position for qualifying."

Randy de Puniet: 9th - 1'42.455
"There was nothing to learn this morning on track, as conditions weren't dry enough for slicks nor damp enough for full wets. It was a bit of an anti-climax after waiting so long to make my MotoGP debut! At the start of the afternoon session I felt a little bit nervous; I don't know why, because I felt okay this morning, but it quickly passed. Conditions were difficult this afternoon, and there were a couple of places on the fast sections of the track where the rear tried to come round on me when on a fast lap, but I don't think this will be a problem if the weather improves for tomorrow as forecast. Overall I'm happy to finish inside the top ten today. Tomorrow we need to continue working the same way, so that we're ready for my first MotoGP qualifying session in the afternoon."

Press Release issued by: Kawasaki Racing Team Press Office

 

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QP

Qualifying Practice times:

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

 

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MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2006
KAWASAKI RACING TEAM PRESS OFFICE
25 MARCH 2006 - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FRONT ROW FOR SUPER SHINYA AT JEREZ

Kawasaki's Shinya Nakano will start tomorrow's Spanish Grand Prix from the front row of the grid, after qualifying his Ninja ZX-RR in third place during this afternoon's incident hit qualifying session.

Nakano dedicated his front row start, his first for Kawasaki since the Malaysian Grand Prix in 2004, to team boss Harald Eckl, who celebrates his 50th birthday today at Jerez.

Nakano's Kawasaki teammate, Randy de Puniet could not be in better company on tomorrow's grid, where he will line up between reigning world champion, Valentino Rossi, and vice-champion, Marco Melandri, after finishing his debut MotoGP qualifying session in an impressive eighth place.

Qualifying got off to a difficult start for Nakano and de Puniet, with both Kawasaki riders crashing out just three minutes into the session when Alex Hofmann's Ducati dropped oil at the entry to turn eight following a mechanical failure.

The lack of oil warning flags meant that Nakano and de Puniet were quickly joined in the turn eight gravel trap by a number of other riders, causing the opening qualifying session of the season to be red flagged, and a 20 minute delay in proceedings.

The crash rendered the number one machines of both riders unusable, forcing them to switch to their spare bikes for the remainder of the qualifying session.

But worse was to come for MotoGP rookie de Puniet. On his first lap into the restarted qualifying session the 25-year-old Frenchman missed his braking marker at the same turn eight, ran straight on and stalled his Ninja ZX-RR in the gravel trap.

With his number one bike damaged, and his spare bike still out on the track, it looked like de Puniet might have to sit out the qualifying session. But, after a nervous ten-minute wait, the marshals returned de Puniet's Ninja ZX-RR to the pit box and, after a quick once over by his crew, the Kawasaki rider was able to rejoin the session with 40 minutes left to run.

It is a measure of de Puniet's maturity that he immediately put the problems behind him, focussed only on the job at hand, and promptly qualified seventh during his first run on race tyres. With 15 minutes left to run de Puniet's crew fitted the first of three qualifying tyres in the rear of his Ninja ZX-RR, with the Kawasaki rider taking maximum advantage of the increased drive grip to secure a third row grid position with the eighth fastest time.

Nakano took pole position halfway through qualifying, but had dropped back down to fifth as the final ten minutes approached. Timing his final flying lap to perfection right at the end of the session, the 28-year-old Japanese rider was unlucky to miss out on pole position after losing time at the third split.

Nakano will line up for tomorrow's start alongside pole sitter Loris Capirossi and second placed Sete Gibernau, on a front row dominated completely by Bridgestone for the first time in MotoGP.

Shinya Nakano: 3rd - 1'39.526
"Qualifying on the front row was one of our targets for this year, but to do it at the first race is fantastic. We knew that Kawasaki and Bridgestone had made a big step forward during winter testing, but you're never sure exactly how competitive you're going to be until you get to the first race. I think this result confirms that our feeling during pre-season testing was correct. Right at the start of the session I crashed because of oil on the circuit, but apart from having to switch to my second bike, it didn't really have any effect on the outcome. To be honest, I was quite surprised when I looked down at the dash because it didn't feel like a fast lap and I was expecting the other riders to make bigger improvements. But they didn't, so I'm on the front row of the grid for the first race and I'm happy with that. It's also a nice 50th birthday present for our Team Principal, Harald Eckl!"

Randy de Puniet: 8th - 1'40.146
"For sure, this is not the way I wanted to start my first MotoGP qualifying session! First I crash on the oil at turn eight through no fault of my own, and then I stall my second bike in exactly the same place after missing my braking marker and running on. The ten minutes I had to wait for my bike to come back were pretty stressful, because at that time I hadn't completed a single lap! I was a little bit nervous when I rejoined the session, but I was able to settle down towards the end and I'm happy with my final grid position. Of course, I never expected to be starting my first MotoGP race ahead of the reigning world champion, but I won't be thinking about that on the grid tomorrow. My only aims for the race are to get a good start and then ride as hard as I can for 27 laps."

Harald Eckl: Team Principal
"I couldn't have asked for a better birthday present really! This afternoon didn't start so well, but both riders bounced back and showed just how much of an improvement we've made during pre-season testing. Both riders did a fantastic job. Shinya pushed hard all session to finish on the front row, and Randy showed tremendous mental strength to come back so strongly after such a difficult start to his first MotoGP qualifying session. It was also good to see Bridgestone fill every position on the front row of the grid for the first time in MotoGP. After today's strong performance by both riders, I'm looking forward to the race tomorrow."



MotoGP : Yamaha riders face Jerez challenge after difficult session
Round: 1 - 2006 MotoGP Jerez
Circuit: Jerez
Date: 25 March 2006
Temp: 20?C
Weather: Dry

Camel Yamaha Team riders Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards face an
uphill battle in the opening round of the MotoGP World Championship
tomorrow after vibration problems returned in this afternoon's qualifying
practice at Jerez. After making progress with his YZR-M1 machine in
yesterday's free practice, Rossi's cause was not helped by an incident early
in today's session, when he became the first of five riders to end up in
the gravel after oil was spilled on the track by another competitor.

The red flags were duly raised and when the pit-lane reopened both
Rossi and Edwards worked against the clock to solve their difficulties
ahead of tomorrow's 27-lap race. However, bad luck struck for Edwards when
he suffered a puncture to his rear tyre and the American was only able
to qualify tenth fastest, one place behind his Italian team-mate.

Pole position went to Loris Capirossi (Ducati) in an outright circuit
record time of 1'39.064 and the Italian will be joined on the front row
by his team-mate Sete Gibernau and Japanese rider Shinya Nakano
(Kawasaki).

Valentino Rossi (9th - 1'40.160, 28 laps)
"I thought we had solved a lot of the problems yesterday but today they
came back. The bike is still vibrating and with the qualifying tyre the
problem became worse because the extra grip on the rear pushed the
front even harder. Basically we are losing time in every part of the
corner. Also the crash at the start of the session didn't help but we can't
use that as an excuse. I have won the first race of the season every
year since 2001 but it is going to be difficult tomorrow. I have always
found that it helps to start the season with a win so I will still be
going for it!"

Colin Edwards (10th - 1'40.181, 23 laps)
"I suppose you could say we are up the creek but the important day is
tomorrow so we still have a paddle! Just when we thought we had the
problem sorted out it has come creeping back. We've had three days of tests
here and now two days this weekend but we just can't get on top of it.
The vibration in the corners comes in at a certain speed so the effect
is like having a speed limiter on the bike. To make things worse I had
a puncture in my first qualifying tyre so we lost time at the end of
the session too. Things don't look to be going too well for us at the
moment but we'll try to pull a rabbit out of the hat tomorrow."

Davide Brivio - Camel Yamaha Team Director
"We still have some work to do to solve the problems completely. It has
been a strange weekend because yesterday we lost a whole session
because of the weather and then today we had another setback when Valentino
crashed on the oil left by Alex Hofmann's bike. It didn't help because
we had some solutions we wanted to try on that bike. It seems things are
conspiring to make life difficult for us but we won't give up. It is
clearly not a good situation with regard to the starting grid but the
pace of the front riders is not too far from our own. If we can make some
slight improvements in the morning then I think we will be in the right
shape for a good race."

Round: 1 - 2006 MotoGP Jerez
Circuit: Jerez
Circuit Length: 4423
Lap Record: 1' 40.596 (Valentino Rossi, 2005)
Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 39.064 (Loris Capirossi, 2006)
Date: 25 March 2006
Temp: 20?C

Session 1 :
Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. 1st Qualifying
1 L. Capirossi Ducati ITA 1' 39.064
2 S. Gibernau Ducati ESP 1' 39.285
3 S. Nakano Kawasaki JPN 1' 39.526
4 N. Hayden Honda USA 1' 39.666
5 D. Pedrosa Honda ESP 1' 39.734
6 T. Elias Honda ESP 1' 39.875
7 M. Melandri Honda ITA 1' 39.932
8 R. De Puniet Kawasaki FRA 1' 40.146
9 V. Rossi Yamaha ITA 1' 40.160
10 C. Edwards Yamaha USA 1' 40.181
11 C. Vermeulen Suzuki AUS 1' 40.215
12 J. Hopkins Suzuki USA 1' 40.340
13 K. Roberts Team Roberts KR USA 1' 40.497
14 C. Checa Yamaha ESP 1' 40.851
15 C. Stoner Honda AUS 1' 40.982
16 M. Tamada Honda JPN 1' 41.119
18 J. Ellison Yamaha GBR 1' 42.267

Qualifying practice / TONI ELIAS TO START FROM SECOND ROW AT HOME GRAND PRIX

Toni Elias? adaptation to the Honda RC211V continued in fine style today as the Team Fortuna Honda rider began to reap the fruit of his hard work during the winter tests. Tomorrow he will celebrate his 23rd birthday by starting from the second row of the grid in the Grand Prix of Spain. After working well in the morning free practice, the afternoon qualifying was an exciting affair. Oil left on track by Ducati rider Alex Hofmann caused several riders to crash, including Toni Elias. Fortunately there were no serious consequences for the Manresa youngster and he was able to return to the track on his second bike. It was a positive session for Elias, who improved his pace and enjoyed himself on the qualifying tyre with the sixth fastest time. It was an intense day for his team-mate Marco Melandri, who continued to work on finding the best set-up for his RC211V. After setting the fastest time in the morning free practice, Marco worked mainly on his rear tyres in the afternoon before setting the seventh fastest time ? enough for the third row.


TONI ELIAS (1?39?875, 6th fastest):

?I?m really satisfied with the result. After the good job we did this morning I have to say that I set my sights on a front row start. I?m in the right shape to have a really good race. Tomorrow it will be important to get a good start. I?m highly motivated ? the support from the Spanish fans will be like an extra gear. The bike is working well and I have improved my pace. It is a shame about the crash at the start of qualifying, which was a bit of a setback because I had to continue with my second bike.?

MARCO MELANDRI (1?39?932, 7th fastest):

?It was an intense day. Qualifying started with a multiple crash which delayed things. It also made me ride a little cautiously because there was oil in the Nieto corner which got in the way of the normal racing line. My priority today was the set-up of the bike. We tried a few different settings as well as testing the tyres. Tomorrow will be a really nice race, very combative, with a lot of riders in the fight for the podium.?


Big improvements for Rizla Suzuki MotoGP at Jerez

Rizla Suzuki MotoGP racers Chris Vermeulen and John Hopkins qualified in 11th and 12th places respectively for tomorrow?s Gran Premio betandwin.com De Espana, after today?s qualifying session at Jerez in Spain.


Hopkins and Vermeulen both made dramatic improvements today and now have a clearer direction for Sunday?s 27 lap race. They worked with their own teams on chassis settings and finding the best Bridgestone tyres to use in the race. Hopkins believed he could have been further up the grid but just couldn?t find that one quick and smooth lap that he was after.


Today?s weather was a vast improvement on Friday?s, as bright sunshine helped the air temperatures reach 20?c and track surface temperatures were up in the high 30s. Pole position was set by Loris Capirossi on his Bridgestone shod Ducati.


The Gran Premio betandwin.com De Espana is the first round of the MotoGP World Championship and will get underway at 14.00hrs CET tomorrow. It will also mark the MotoGP debut for the new Rizla Suzuki team and a first Suzuki MotoGP for Vermeulen.

John Hopkins:
?I?d say that we concentrated a lot on race set-up today. Everything went really well and we have made some good steps forward for tomorrow?s race. Over the winter one of my goals has been to put in consistently quick laps and unfortunately I wasn?t able to get my head around the qualifiers today. I just couldn?t get in a fast lap and kept making little mistakes. This means we?ll have to start on the fourth row ? which is a lot further back than we wanted to be ? but I really hope we will do better in the race than we did in qualifying. I need a good start tomorrow and then not to let anyone get away from me, then see what happens.?


Chris Vermeulen:
?I am quite happy with today. We have made some progress with the Bridgestone front tyre ? which really helped the bike to turn better. The crew worked really well today and helped me to find what I was looking for. This afternoon we used some qualifiers and managed to move myself up the grid to 11th. I was hoping to get into the top 10, but we?ll work on that tomorrow!?


Paul Denning ? Team Manager:
?We?ve certainly made improvement both in terms of position and technical capability of the Rizla Suzuki GSV-R compared to yesterday. But we have still not ended up ? particularly in John?s case - where we feel we could be. Chris did an outstanding job in his first qualifying session as a Suzuki rider and John looked set for a big improvement in his time - without question a top six place was possible - but a big mistake on his final lap meant that he couldn?t improve. We knew coming into this race that Jerez was going to de a difficult circuit for the GSV-R and that has proved to be the case. Nonetheless we have improved the bike?s potential over race distance and if we can get it to a much better level here then it?s likely that we will be in better shape elsewhere.?

 

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MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2006
KAWASAKI RACING TEAM PRESS OFFICE
26 MARCH 2006 - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

A SOLID START TO THE SEASON FOR KAWASAKI'S NAKANO

Shinya Nakano finished today's Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez in a solid seventh place, but the Kawasaki rider declared himself disappointed that he hadn't been able to better capitalise on his front row starting position.

Nakano was quick away from the line, but was forced to back off as Toni Elias missed his braking marker for the first turn and collided with Valentino Rossi right in front of the Kawasaki ace. Nakano tried to fight back immediately, but was thwarted by the difficult track conditions.

While track and weather conditions were perfect for qualifying yesterday, the situation was different today for the race. Strong, gusting winds slowed Nakano through some of the faster turns, while problems when hard on the brakes forced the 28-year-old Japanese rider to follow first Marco Melandri and then Casey Stoner, unable to overtake on the brakes into the turns.

After closing onto the back wheel of Stoner's Honda out of the final turn, Nakano lost out on the drag race to the line by the narrowest of margins, as he was forced to settle for seventh place.

For Nakano's Kawasaki teammate, Randy de Puniet, his MotoGP race debut was a short one. The 25-year-old Frenchman was forced to pull out after just eight laps as a result of an injury he sustained earlier in the day.

De Puniet was highsided from his Ninja ZX-RR during morning warm-up, leaving him with a severely bruised and swollen right hand. Despite pain killing injections prior to the start of the race, de Puniet was in considerable pain from the start.

The injury to his hand also stopped the Kawasaki rider from applying full pressure to the front brake and, after running straight off the track at more than 240 km/h as a result, de Puniet made the decision that to continue would be dangerous.

De Puniet will return to France for treatment on the injury tomorrow, and is confident of being back to full fitness for the Qatar Grand Prix in two weeks time.

Shinya Nakano: 7th
"After such a good qualifying session I'm disappointed that I didn't finish higher today. I got a reasonable start, but then Toni Elias collided with Valentino Rossi right in front of me, forcing me to back off. I tried to come back straight away, but conditions on track were very different compared to yesterday. There seemed to be less grip available and that caused me a few problems, as did the strong wind through some of the turns. I didn't feel so comfortable when hard on the brakes today either, which meant I had to brake earlier than normal for some of the faster corners. So, while I could quite easily follow Marco Melandri and Casey Stoner, it wasn't possible to pass them on the brakes. Passing on the straights wasn't an option either, as we are still a little bit down on outright top speed compared to some of the others. As I said, I'm disappointed with the result, but glad to have at least scored world championship points in the first race of the season."

Randy de Puniet: DNF
"I was struggling out there with my injured hand; I just didn't have the power to brake as hard as I needed to. And then, eight laps in, I lost the front at the fast right-hander at the end of the lap and ran straight off at 240 km/h. I knew then that it wasn't safe to continue and so I pulled into the pits. I'm bitterly disappointed not to finish in my first MotoGP race through injury, but I hope to be fully fit again by the time we get to Qatar for round two."

Harald Eckl: Team Principal
"Shinya did a good job, in what was a tough race for him. Conditions have definitely changed from yesterday, which meant he started the race with a less than perfect set-up, but he overcame the problems to score a solid finish in the first race of the season. You could see he was unable to overtake on the brakes, but it was also obvious that we need to find some more power from the engine, so that he at least has the option to overtake out of the slipstream on the straights. I'm sure Randy was hoping for a better MotoGP debut, but the two crashes he had in qualifying yesterday put him on the back foot, and then he crashed and injured himself again this morning. I have every confidence in Randy as a rider; he has shown he has the speed, but now he needs to match this with consistency. He's a strong character, so I'm sure he'll bounce back ready for the next race in Qatar."

MOTOGP RACE RESULT
1. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati Marlboro Team 45'57.733; 2. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team +4.375; 3. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team +9.996; 4. Toni Elias (SPA) Fortuna Honda +10.135; 5. Marco Melandri (ITA) Fortuna Honda +19.547; 6. Casey Stoner (AUS) LCR Honda +21.237; 7. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Kawasaki Racing Team +21.372; 8. Kenny Roberts (USA) Team Roberts +32.414; 9. John Hopkins (USA) Team Suzuki MotoGP +32.659; DNF. Randy de Puniet (FRA) Kawasaki Racing Team

Press Release issued by: Kawasaki Racing Team Press Office

MotoGP : Yamaha riders unable to shake off Jerez curse
Round: 1 - 2006 MotoGP Jerez
Circuit: Jerez
Date: 26 March 2006

Temp: 22?C
Weather: Dry

An eventful weekend at Jerez ended in disappointing fashion today as
both Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards got caught in a first corner melee
that ended their hopes of glory in the opening round of the 2006 MotoGP
World Championship. The Camel Yamaha Team pair made good starts from
ninth and tenth on the grid respectively but a collision between Rossi
and Toni El?as (Honda) on the inside of turn one saw the Italian knocked
from his YZR-M1 and sent Edwards wide into the gravel trap.

Despite some damage to his bike, Rossi showed the character of a true
World Champion as he returned to the track, battling his way back into
the field and picking off several riders to secure two championship
points in fourteenth place. Edwards, meanwhile, fought from second last to
eleventh by the end of the 27-lap encounter. Victory went to pole
setter Loris Capirossi (Ducati) in a race time of 45'57.733, but he was
pushed hard by second-placed Dani Pedrosa (Honda) on his debut in the
MotoGP class. Nicky Hayden (Honda) completed the podium.

Colin Edwards (11th; + 37.930)
"I probably made the best race start of my whole life, Valentino got
away well too and we went together into the first bend. Elias came up on
the inside and I actually saw everything happen but to be honest I
thought Vale would be able to stay on the bike so I kept my corner speed
and tried to just run it around the outside. Unfortunately he went down
and I had nowhere to go but the gravel. It really capped the weekend off
for us but the truth is that we weren't fast enough to challenge today.
This track has been a real pain for us and I can't wait to get away.
We've got a test tomorrow but I'll be happy when we get to Qatar, where
the bike worked really well in testing."

Valentino Rossi (14th; + 1'05.766)
"We knew this was going to be a difficult race but maybe not so
difficult! I saw Toni come up on the inside and he hit me; this is racing and
these things happen. I have known Toni for many years and he is a good
rider. He apologised to me after the race so I told him not to worry -
only to remember to brake next time and if it is too late then to hit
another bike instead of me! Anyway I came back on the track and had a
nice battle with Alex Hofmann. I am disappointed because I wanted to win
the first race of the season but there is nothing we can do now. Only
work hard to make sure we don't have these problems again and look
forward to the next race in Qatar."

Davide Brivio - Camel Yamaha Team Director
"It seems that everything that could go wrong did go wrong for us this
weekend. On Friday morning when we needed the time to test it rained
and things have gone continually against us since then. We obviously
still have a lot of work to do and for some reason our bike clearly doesn't
work at this circuit so we are keen to find out why, if we can, in
tomorrow's test. The engineers have a lot of data and everyone is working
at 100% to find a solution. We were fast at Sepang, Qatar and Catalunya
so there is no need to panic and we can look forward to the next race.
On a positive note I thought both riders showed character to fight back
after the first corner incident and hopefully they will have better
luck next time."


Race classification MotoGP

Round: 1 - 2006 MotoGP Jerez
Circuit: Jerez
Circuit Length: 4423
Lap Record: 1' 40.596 (Valentino Rossi, 2005)
Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 39.064 (Loris Capirossi, 2006)


Race: 27 Laps
Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time
1 L. Capirossi Ducati ITA 45' 57.733
2 D. Pedrosa Honda ESP +4.375
3 N. Hayden Honda USA +9.996
4 T. Elias Honda ESP +10.135
5 M. Melandri Honda ITA +19.547
6 C. Stoner Honda AUS +21.237
7 S. Nakano Kawasaki JPN +21.372
8 K. Roberts Team Roberts KR USA +32.414
9 J. Hopkins Suzuki USA +32.659
10 M. Tamada Honda JPN +35.983
11 C. Edwards Yamaha USA +37.930
12 C. Vermeulen Suzuki AUS +39.514
13 C. Checa Yamaha ESP +42.829
14 V. Rossi Yamaha ITA +1' 5.766
15 A. Hofmann Ducati GER +1' 23.300
16 J. Ellison Yamaha GBR +1 lap(s)

Fastest Race Lap:
Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Total Time
1 L. Capirossi Ducati ITA 1' 41.248



Championship standings MotoGP


Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. Points
1 Loris Capirossi Ducati ITA 25
2 Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 20
3 Nicky Hayden Honda USA 16
4 Toni Elias Honda ESP 13
5 Marco Melandri Honda ITA 11
6 Casey Stoner Honda AUS 10
7 Shinya Nakano Kawasaki JPN 9
8 Kenny Roberts Team Roberts KR USA 8
9 John Hopkins Suzuki USA 7
10 Makato Tamada Honda JPN 6
11 Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 5
12 Chris Vermeulen Suzuki AUS 4
13 Carlos Checa Yamaha ESP 3
14 Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 2
15 Alex Hofmann Ducati GER 1


Manufacturers standings MotoGP


Pos. Manufacturer Points
1 Ducati 25
2 Honda 20
3 Kawasaki 9
4 Team Roberts KR 8
5 Suzuki 7
6 Yamaha 5


Team standings MotoGP

Pos. Team Points
1 Repsol Honda Team 40
2 Ducati Marlboro Team 25
3 Fortuna Honda Team 24
4 Rizla Suzuki 11
5 Honda LCR 10
6 Kawasaki Racing Team 9
7 Team Roberts KR 8
8 Camel Yamaha Team 7
9 Konica Minolta Honda 6
10 Tech3 Yamaha 3
11 Pramac D'Antin 1