PREVIEW ? TURKEY GRAND PRIX

[KUCIAR666]

ROSSI SET FOR 100th MOTOGP APPEARANCE IN TURKEY

Camel Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi reaches another special
milestone in his illustrious career this weekend as he contests his
100th consecutive premier-class race in the Grand Prix of Turkey. The
Italian and his team-mate Colin Edwards travel to the Istanbul Park
circuit, located 300 kilometres north west of the capital city of
Ankara, looking to build on tentative first impressions of the track
from last year, when they finished second and seventh respectively in a
race won by Marco Melandri.

The third round of the current season will also be Rossi?s 160th
appearance in all classes since making his 125cc debut in Malaysia in
1996. So far he has amassed an incredible tally of 80 victories, his
latest coming just over two weeks ago in the Grand Prix of Qatar; a
triumph that also moved the 27-year-old level with Mick Doohan on 54
premier-class wins, leaving him second only to the legendary Giacomo
Agostini, on 68.

The Istanbul Park circuit was designed by famed German architect
Hermann Tilke, the man behind the Sepang, Bahrain and Shanghai
circuits, and was used for the first time by the MotoGP World
Championship last October. The spectacular 5.378 kilometre track
features fourteen turns - eight lefts and six rights ? and like Phillip
Island it has the unusual characteristic of running anti-clockwise.

Like the Losail circuit in Qatar, several of the Istanbul track?s
corners are based on famous bends at other circuits, such as the ?Senna
Esses? at Sao Paolo, the ?Spoon Curve? at Suzuka and the ?Eau Rouge? at
Spa. Spectators have ideal facilities to enjoy the action, with seating
capacity for around 130,000 fans and an impressive main grandstand
which can hold up to 25,000.

Sunday?s schedule will start one hour later than usual, with the red
lights due to go out for the MotoGP race at 1500h local time (CET +1).

VALENTINO ROSSI: RECORD BREAKER

As well as taking him level with Mick Doohan in terms of career wins,
Valentino Rossi?s victory at Qatar also pulled him to within striking
distance of the all-time record Grand Prix points total, currently held
by Max Biaggi. Having now scored a total of 2886 points in all classes
Rossi will move ahead of Biaggi simply by finishing in ninth place or
above this Sunday. However, as always, his only target is victory at
one of only two circuits on the current calendar where he has yet to
climb onto the top step of the podium in at least one of the three
classes.

?Qatar was like the start of my championship but we?re already behind
in the points and we need to do our best to catch up,? said Rossi. ?My
rivals are very strong and we need to be able to fight for the win
again in Turkey. Istanbul isn?t one of my favourite tracks and we had a
really hard time there last year - we had already won the championship
and it was difficult to stay 100% focused at that stage of the season,
plus we had some set-up problems with the bike. This time we go there
feeling fully motivated.

?We don?t know how the new bike will react at this circuit; I hope that
it will go well and that we won?t have any vibration problems. There
are some fantastic fast corners so if the bike is working well it could
be great fun to ride there. We tested again after Qatar and we made
some improvements, and although we still haven?t completely solved our
problems hopefully even if they do reappear at some stage, we?re going
to be able to cope with them better now.?

COLIN EDWARDS: HARD WORK WILL PAY OFF

Colin Edwards is keen to get to Turkey this weekend as he aims to
convert the fast and consistent pace he has shown during pre-season
testing and Grand Prix practice sessions into a solid race result.
Eleventh and ninth place finishes from the first two rounds have not
been a true reflection of the Texan?s efforts this year and he is keen
to turn things around at a circuit he admits he struggled to get to
grips with last season.

?I have to say I wasn?t too enamoured with the track when we rode it
last October but I was busy trying to adapt to a new riding style at
the time and it didn?t make life easier,? says Edwards. ?This time my
riding style is sorted out but we still have a few problems with the
bike so we?ll have to see how it goes. I was very disappointed with the
way things went in Qatar but it has been nice to have an extra weekend
off over Easter to mull things over and I can?t wait to get out and put
it right on the track.

?So far this season we?ve been strong in practice - if anything just
struggling a little bit to make the step up on a qualifying tyre but in
general the pace on race tyres has been good. We were unlucky at Jerez
and I was really confident of a good result in Qatar but we came up
against a few problems in the race that hadn?t bothered us in practice.
The day of tests after the race gave us some good data to work from and
hopefully things run smoothly from day one in Turkey.?

VALENTINO ROSSI: INFORMATION
Age: 27
Lives: London, UK
Bike: Yamaha YZR-M1
GP victories: 80 (54 x MotoGP/500cc, 14 x 250cc, 12 x 125cc)
First GP victory: Czech Republic, 1996 (125cc)
First GP: Malaysia, 1996 (125cc)
GP starts: 159 (99 x MotoGP/500cc, 30 x 250cc, 30 x 125cc)
Pole positions: 40
World Championships ? 7 Grand Prix (1 x 125cc, 1 x 250cc, 1 x 500cc, 4
x MotoGP)

COLIN EDWARDS: INFORMATION
Age: 32
Lives: Conroe, Texas
Bike: Yamaha YZR-M1
First GP: Japan, 2003 (MotoGP)
GP starts: 50 x MotoGP
World Championships - 2 World Superbike


DAVIDE BRIVIO: AN INTERESTING CHALLENGE

Camel Yamaha Team Director Davide Brivio sees this weekend?s race as
the ideal opportunity to measure early development of the 2006 version
YZR-M1 machine at another challenging and demanding venue. After
overcoming initial problems in Qatar to end the weekend with a victory
for Valentino, the Italian is hoping for more of the same from his team
in Turkey and expects the timing of this year?s race to favour a more
fruitful outcome than last October?s event at the same circuit.

?Last year Istanbul Park was one of the circuits where we had the most
difficulties but that Grand Prix was the penultimate of the season,
when everything was already won,? explains Brivio. ?It will be
interesting to see how we go this time around, with the race at the
beginning of the year and coming at a time when we really need to get
some points for both riders.

?It will be a challenging weekend because we still have to fix the
problems that we have had with the 2006 version of the YZR-M1. We will
test again on Monday in Istanbul after the race, in order to further
try to improve the bike. Despite these issues, we showed in Qatar that
we can already be competitive and now we have to take that to Turkey.
Valentino?s win has given the whole team and the engineers a real boost
and the motivation is definitely there to try to win again in Turkey.?

TECHNICALLY SPEAKING: ANDREA ZUGNA ON ISTANBUL

Like all Herman Tilke tracks, Istanbul Park possesses a wide variety of
corners and the challenge is further enhanced by plenty of gradients,
with the track built on four different ground levels. However, by far
the most exciting feature of the layout is turn eleven - a fifth gear
bend that is taken at speeds approaching 270km/h, making it easily the
fastest corner in the MotoGP World Championship. Combined with some of
the tightest chicanes on the calendar, the key to set-up at Istanbul
Park is about making compromises.

?Istanbul is a tricky circuit because it has some of the fastest
corners in the world combined with some of the slowest,? explains
Andrea Zugna, Colin Edwards? Data Engineer. ?In turn eleven you need
good stability at high speed to give the rider the confidence he needs
to attack the corner, but from turn twelve to the end of the lap you
have three very slow chicanes which require good agility; so you have
to find a balanced set-up between those two characteristics.

?This track is also unique because of the changes of elevation. For
example turn one dips downhill before going immediately up again,
creating a lot of compression on the front forks. The rider?s skill is
also very important because there is only really one racing line and
they must find it - especially through the three consecutive lefts in
the middle of the lap, where it is also very bumpy. It is important
that they have confidence in the front through here. Last year Colin
struggled a little because it was the first time he used his new riding
style but his pace in practice was good and his fastest lap came
towards the end of the race so we know the data is good. Hopefully it
will make life a little easier this weekend!?

CIRCUIT INFORMATION
Pole Position right
Length 5333m, 3.31 miles
Width 14-21m
Right Corners 6
Left Corners 8
Longest straight 720m, 0.541 miles
Constructed: 2005

Istanbul Lap Record: Marco Melandri (Honda) 2005 ? 1m53.111s ? 169.956
km/h
Qatar Best Lap: Sete Gibernau (Honda) 2005 ? 1m52.334s - 171.132 km/h

2005 Results:
1. Marco Melandri (Honda) 41?44.139 ? 41m44.139s
2. VALENTINO ROSSI (Yamaha) +1.513s
3. Nicky Hayden (Honda) +6.873s

7. COLIN EDWARDS (Yamaha) +29.255s

 

[KUCIAR666]

PREVIEW / GRAND PRIX OF TURKEY

THE MAGIC OF ISTANBUL

Team Fortuna Honda heads to the third round of the season this weekend and a circuit that holds special memories for both its riders. Last year both Marco Melandri and Toni Elias played starring roles in the inaugural Grand Prix of Turkey, with Marco taking the first victory of his MotoGP career with Fausto Gresini?s team whilst Toni clinched his best result of the season in Fortuna colours. Now they are hoping to fight for the top positions once again at Istanbul, where they arrive in optimistic mood after a positive day of tests following the Grand Prix of Qatar.


THE TRACK.
Designed by Hermann Tilke, the man behind Sepang, Bahrain and Shanghai, Istanbul Park lies on the Asian side of Turkey, around 60km from Istanbul city centre.
With plenty of open space to work with, the German architect was able to create a magnificent facility: a technical circuit with an exciting layout, a huge and modern box and paddock complex and a main grandstand with the capacity for 80,000 spectators.
Istanbul is different to other Tilke designs in that there are no extremely long straights ? here the longest one measures only 720 metres. This track is characterised by the drastic changes in level and a series of varied corners linked together ? fast, technical or extremely slow, such as turns 13 and 14. Tilke?s intention was to base the design of certain corners on some of the most famous bends from other legendary circuits, such as turns one and two, which are a copy of the ?Senna Esses? at Sao Paolo, whilst turn 11 is based on the ?Eau Rouge? at Spa and turn nine 9 is similar to the Spoon Curve at Suzuka. The track is spectacular for the fans and challenging for the riders in equal measures, with the changes in level in particular creating several blind spots.
Maximum gradient: 8.1% Direction: Anti-clockwise

FROM THE SADDLE WITH MARCO MELANDRI

Istanbul is a special circuit and it is easy to understand why. Last year I had an extraordinary weekend here. I was strong in practice and the race was unforgettable, leading all the way to my first MotoGP win. It was an unforgettable emotion. Perhaps that is the reason or perhaps it is because of the characteristics of the track but I like Istanbul Park a lot. It is a complete and technical circuit with a lot of changes in direction and pace. There are slow corners in first or second gear, as well as some fast ones in fourth or fifth. Despite the short straight it is a fun track and it allows you to get the full potential out of a MotoGP bike.

Join me on the Honda ? let?s take a special lap together
We start with a short straight and then the first difficult section, with an exciting braking area, probably one of the most difficult on the calendar (you drop from fifth to second gear, from around 280km/h to about 96).
You move back up the gears to fifth, arriving at the limit to tackle the long right-hander which you take in fourth gear at around 260km/h. You have to be ready to prepare for the change of direction to the left that comes after; the bike tends to slide around and it is easy to make a mistake.
This is the start of a very important section if you want to set a fast lap ? a series of linked corners that you take in second, making the most of the torque range of the engine. You come out and shift up to fourth to take on the downhill right before the big left hander ? the longest on the championship ? which can be taken in third, playing with the throttle to find the best possible line. You can take a lot of different lines through here but you must be careful because the track is bumpy. There is a short straight where you shift up from third to fifth and reach around 285km/h before a section of four really fun corners, which you take as one in second gear. Then it?s third, fourth, fifth, up towards the fastest corner in the championship, where tenths of a second can be won and lost as you go through at over 250km/h. It is important to get a good exit from this corner in order to set up your attack on the final section of the circuit: a violently hard braking from sixth gear to first, dropping from 300 to 70km/h. The track is bumpy and it is difficult to stay on the right line. It is important to be fast here because you have three first gear corners where you can make one last attempt to overtake before the charge to the chequered flag.

REPEAT MISSION
MARCO MELANDRI: ?The positive results we obtained in the Qatar test have made me look forward really positively to Istanbul ? it is a track I like and it suits my riding style. These are two factors that are in my favour but I will still have to concentrate hard on the bike. We?ll be starting with a decidedly different base setting to the one we had at the last GP and I believe it has a lot of potential. I would have liked to have been heading into this event with a better performance behind me but I?m sure that the feeling we found in the test, the desire to have fun and the good memories I hold of this circuit will give me plenty of strength. The 2005 Grand Prix of Turkey was a truly memorable event ? how could I ever forget the moment I crossed the line?! The chequered flag being waved and the celebrations on the podium were two of the most exciting moments in my life.?

ALL EYES ON ISTANBUL
A rider on the up, Toni Elias has shown his potential from the first race of the championship. His brush with the podium at Jerez and a front row start in Doha have turned Toni into one of the surprises of the season so far.
TONI ELIAS: ?I?m heading to Istanbul feeling very motivated. My feeling with the bike improves from race to race and the test at Qatar confirmed that we?re working in the right direction. Now I have to follow it up in the race with a performance that I believe justifies my potential. I have to try and take another step forward because we have not yet managed to achieve the results I am hoping for and know we are capable of. Istanbul is a track I like a lot because there are so many drops and rises, fast corners and slow corners. I can?t wait to get back to a track where I had good results in practice and in the race last year.?

 

[KUCIAR666]

MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2006
KAWASAKI RACING TEAM PRESS OFFICE
28 APRIL 2006 - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

KAWASAKI CONFIDENT OF IMPROVEMENT IN TURKEY

While Shinya Nakano was disappointed to finish today's free practice ahead of Sunday's Grand Prix of Turkey down in 13th position, the Kawasaki rider remains confident that tomorrow will bring a significant improvement in his lap time.

The traction problems that plagued Nakano during the Grand Prix of Qatar three weeks ago were again evident during both one-hour free practice sessions today, losing the Kawasaki rider vital fractions of a second at each corner.

The 28-year-old Japanese star also had problems at some of the slower turns on the 5.340km Istanbul Park circuit, where he was finding it difficult to make quick changes of direction aboard his Kawasaki Ninja ZX-RR.

Despite not finishing as far up the timesheet as he expected, Nakano remains confident that, together with his crew, he can find a solution to both problems ahead of tomorrow afternoons qualifying session.

Like his Kawasaki teammate, Randy de Puniet also found the fast changes of direction required at Istanbul, especially for the chicane complex at the end of the lap, a problem today.

The 25-year-old Frenchman identified the final split as the place he was losing most time on each lap, and this is where the efforts of de Puniet and his crew were focussed during this afternoon's free practice session.

The Kawasaki rider made a number of changes to the set-up of his Ninja ZX-RR, whilst also trying different lines through the final chicane, but to no avail, with the result that he ended today down in 15th place on the timesheet.

De Puniet will head out for tomorrows final free practice session with a clear goal; to improve his speed through the Istanbul Park circuit's slower turns and to close to within one second of the leading riders.

Shinya Nakano: 13th - 1'55.803
"We have similar problem here as we had in Qatar in that I'm losing time accelerating out of the turns, especially the slow corners. I just can't seem to find traction at the rear. I can match everyone else down the straights and on the brakes, but I lose ground as soon as we're out of the turn and back on the gas. We also have some issues with getting the bike turned, which is again more noticeable around the slower corners. We need to look a little more closely at the set-up of both the chassis and the engine tonight to try and alleviate these problems ready for tomorrow. I'm enjoying being back on the bike, I like racing at this circuit, and I'm confident we can improve during tomorrows practice and qualifying sessions."

Randy de Puniet: 15th - 1'56.959
"Although the lap time isn't what I was hoping for, today has not been so bad for me. My main problem is the fact that I'm losing so much time through the last split, especially around the chicane complex right at the end of the lap. We tried a few changes with the bike this afternoon, and I've tried a few different lines through these slow turns, but we've yet to see an improvement. We will concentrate on this again tomorrow, when my target is to close to within one second of the leading riders."

Naoya Kaneko: Technical Manager
"While our Ninja ZX-RR is very stable on the brakes going into the turns, it seems that both riders are experiencing problems with the quick changes of direction required for some of the slower corners here in Istanbul. Tomorrow we need to look at our set-up, and the possibility of maybe compromising some of this stability in order to make the bike more agile through the turns."

FREE PRACTICE - COMBINED TIMES
1. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team 1'55.623; 2. Casey Stoner (AUS) LCR Honda +0.238; 3. Marco Melandri (ITA) Fortuna Honda +0.348; 4. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team +0.378; 5. Toni Elias (SPA) Fortuna Honda +0.399; 6. Colin Edwards (USA) Camel Yamaha Team +0.419; 7. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati Marlboro Team +0.432; 8. John Hopkins (USA) Team Suzuki MotoGP +0.604; 9. Sete Gibernau (SPA) Ducati Marlboro Team +0.656; 10. Makoto Tamada (JPN) JIR Konica Minolta Honda +0.799; 13. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Kawasaki Racing Team +1.344; 15. Randy de Puniet (FRA) Kawasaki Racing Team +2.077

Friday Apr 28 2006
Free Practice - Istanbul

DUCATI MEN MAKE PROMISING START

Ducati riders Loris Capirossi and Sete Gibernau got their Turkish GP weekend underway with promising first-day performances at Istanbul Park, placing seventh and ninth fastest, just a few tenths off provisional 'pole position'. In cool, overcast conditions the pair began laying the groundwork for Sunday's race, round three of the 17-event World Championship, by working on machine balance for this fast, undulating and challenging racetrack.

Capirossi, making his first appearance here after missing last year's inaugural Turkish GP through injury, ended the two sessions just 0.432 seconds down on fastest man Nicky Hayden, while Gibernau was only 0.656 seconds down, riding the Desmosedici GP6 for the first time at Istanbul.

LORIS CAPIROSSI, 7th fastest, 1m 54.055s
"I'm happy. This is my first time here but my team and my engineers gave me telemetry from last year which I studied at home, so I just had to learn where to put my wheels. It's a nice track, very up and down and with many changes of direction where the track suddenly drops away. It looked easy on paper but in reality it's more complicated! Anyway, I like it and quickly got into it. We already made some setting changes and tried some tyres. Tomorrow we'll keep on working and, of course, I can improve. It's impossible to learn the track well enough in two hours to be fastest.

"The tarmac is quite slippery, so we are working hard with Bridgestone and hoping it won't rain tomorrow because that will make things very hard for us if it's dry on Sunday. I'm very close to the front, one tenth faster and I'd be third, I lost some time going into the last turn a bit too fast. Anyway, I'm happy and I'm convinced we can be competitive on Sunday.

"Before coming here I thought the first and the third corners would be the most difficult, I was wrong about the first but the third, which comes after a fast right, where you need to change direction while going down a steep hill, really is hard. The most difficult point is the triple lefthander, it's bumpy and so fast that's easy to make a mistake and lose half a second."

SETE GIBERNAU, 9th fastest, 1m 54.279s
"That wasn't so bad, we're all very close, mostly within half a second. We're trying to find a good balance and I think everyone in the team, at Ducati and at Bridgestone has done a good job today. We're fast in some sections, we're just losing a bit in the areas where there's hard braking. We tried two different directions today and I think we've now found a good direction, so all we need to do is put everything together and get out there and do some laps. But it looks like there could be some rain tomorrow, so that could make it difficult for everyone because we definitely need more dry laps."

Temperatures: Ambient: 20 degrees. Track: 27 degrees

Rizla Suzuki MotoGP makes first day progress at Istanbul

Rizla Suzuki MotoGP racer John Hopkins finished in a promising eighth place after today?s free practice for the Grand Prix of Turkey in Istanbul.
Hopkins (1?54.227, 41 laps) worked hard with his team to get the best out of his Rizla Suzuki GSV-R and Bridgestone tyres, and was pleased with the overall improvements made to the bike since the last race. He is sure that he can develop on today?s strong start during tomorrow?s practice and qualifying.
Chris Vermeulen (1?54.722, 36 laps) also made a good opening to the weekend and was equally satisfied with his progress today. The rookie Australian was well inside the top 10 during the afternoon session before finishing in 12th place overall.
Today?s practice was held in dry and sunny conditions with air temperatures reaching a high of 20?c and the track surface 27?c. The quickest time was set Nicky Hayden with World Champion Valentino Rossi down in 11th position.
Tomorrow will see Rizla Suzuki MotoGP take to the track for the final practice session and then compete in the all important qualifying session in the afternoon. Sunday?s 22-lap race will begin at 15.00hrs local time (14.00hrs CET).

John Hopkins:


?It?s been the best start to a race weekend that we have had this year. We got a lot done on race tyres today to get the right selection for Sunday. Suzuki has made some changes to the bike to improve durability and that has also been very noticeable. We are putting a lot of laps in to test out the new parts and the tyres and the crew has worked really hard today to make sure everything went well. We will now see what the weather does tomorrow as rain has been forecast, but either way we will get the best out of both sessions that?s for sure.?


Chris Vermeulen:

?We made a lot of progress today which was good. The guys worked really hard ? especially in the second session ? and we made a lot of changes to the set-up, all of which seemed to work well. I was happy with the way things went today, we tried a lot of different tyres and other changes to the bike which all seemed like they would work well over race distance. Unfortunately I lost a bit of time at the end of the second session, as I?m sure I would have been further up the timesheets ? but that doesn?t really matter until tomorrow and more importantly Sunday.?

Paul Denning ? Team Manager:

?We came here with the hope of having a solid first day and that is exactly what we have managed to do. Both riders have made a lot of progress and we have been trying to get the best out of the machine and the Bridgestone tyres. To take a small step in performance with the Rizla Suzuki GSV-R is maybe possible tomorrow but what will help us in the race is to improve our consistency and make the bike more rideable when grip reduces. We are chasing grip in partnership with Bridgestone and that is certainly one of our biggest tasks this weekend. Whilst we are always after more performance, the GSV-Rs are running strongly and both the guys are very enthusiastic about further improvements tomorrow.?

Grand Prix of Turkey Free Practice Classification:

1. Nicky Hayden (Honda) 1?53.623: 2. Casey Stoner (Honda) +0.238: 3. Marco Melandri (Honda) +0.348: 4. Dani Pedrosa (Honda) +0.378: 5. Toni Elias (Honda) +0.399: 6. Colin Edwards (Yamaha) +0.419: 7. Loris Capirossi (Ducati) +0.432: 8. JOHN HOPKINS (RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP) +0.604: 9. Sete Gibernau (Ducati) +0.656: 10. Makoto Tamada (Honda) +0.799: 12. CHRIS VERMEULEN (RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP) +1.099:

First day / CONSISTENT DISPLAY FROM FORTUNA HONDA RIDERS ON FIRST DAY OF QUALIFYING

Marco is on the provisional front row whilst team-mate Toni Elias makes the second row, just three tenths behind pole position. The FORTUNA HONDA riders put in a solid showing on the first day of qualifying at the 2006 Turkish Grand Prix that took place in fine conditions at the Istanbul Park circuit. After a superb performance last season, Marco Melandri took an impressive victory at this circuit 12 months ago. The Italian rider started this season in good style also as he lapped consistently throughout the day to post the third best time. Team-mate Toni Elias was just 0.3 seconds of the fastest time of the day set by American Nicky Hayden. Toni spent long periods of this first session looking for the best set-up for his bike. The Spanish rider did a fine job and, like Melandri, lapped in consistent style.


MARCO MELANDRI (1?53?971, 3rd best time, 24 laps):

?I am very happy.I have finally rediscovered my feeling with the bike and am enjoying myself again. The test in Qatar allowed us to find a good base to work from which has really helped us. I like the Turkish circuit and feel comfortable here although there is still room for us to improve. I have found a good rhythm but still have to improve on coming out of the corners where I?m lacking a bit of traction. Tomorrow, depending on conditions, we will try some different Michelin tyres with a view to Sunday?s race.?

TONI ELIAS (1?54?022, 5th best time, 24 laps ):

?I am satisfied with our work today. We made some small changes to the set-up we found in Qatar and they worked perfectly. In the morning the track was really dirty and so we made the changes in the afternoon. I had a good rhythm throughout the day and am just 0.39 seconds behind the leading Honda of Nicky Haydem. I hope to learn from the first two races of the season and put in a good showing here.?

MotoGP : Tricky first day for Camel Yamaha in Istanbul
Round: 3 - 2006 MotoGP Turkey
Circuit: Istanbul
Date: 28 April 2006
Temp: 20?C
Weather: Dry

Camel Yamaha Team riders Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards spent the
first day of practice for the Grand Prix of Turkey gathering important
set-up data after encountering different track conditions to those they
enjoyed here season. With this year's event taking place some six months
earlier than the inaugural race here last October, overcast skies
contributed to cool ambient temperatures of 20?C and produced low grip
levels on track, where Nicky Hayden (Honda) set the free practice pace with
a best lap of 1'53.623.

Rossi adapted swiftly to the conditions in the morning and set the
third fastest time of the opening practice, but he struggled to make any
significant improvements in the afternoon and ended up eleventh on the
overall time sheets. Edwards, meanwhile, was sixth fastest in both
sessions - improving his lap time in the afternoon by 1.4 seconds. With
plenty of work still to do the only worry for the riders now is the threat
of rain, with dark clouds hovering over the circuit and local forecasts
predicting a downfall tomorrow.

Colin Edwards (1'54.042, 38 laps)
"We started out with the base setting from Qatar but it didn't work
very well for us here. Basically we then decided to go with a newer front
tyre than the one we've been using in testing and it went much better.
Combined with a few tweaks to the suspension I built up my confidence
in the front and I was able to lay down some good lap times. In the end
we put a pretty consistent run together and I'm happy. We're still
getting some vibrations but it's only in a couple of corners and we can
work around them with more time on the bike tomorrow; hopefully it will
stay dry. The track was really dirty this morning but it started to clean
up in the afternoon. If it stays dry then the grip should improve as
the weekend goes on, but they're saying it might rain so I guess we'll
have to wait and see."

Valentino Rossi (1'54.662, 43 laps)
"This morning we were fast straight away and this was quite
encouraging. We were third and we thought that we would be able to continue in
this way during the afternoon. However we made some modifications in order
to improve the acceleration and unfortunately we lost a lot of grip in
braking. In fact our lap times were more or less the same in the
afternoon but the track was about half a second faster - this morning it was
quite dirty - and now we are in 11th place. I am a bit worried but also
quite positive because we made some changes at the end of the session,
back towards this morning's settings, and we improved a lot and set our
fastest lap of the day. So far we don't have any vibration and so we
hope that it won't appear tomorrow if the grip improves."

Davide Brivio - Camel Yamaha Team Director
"In the morning things went well for Valentino and in the afternoon
they went well for Colin so you could say we had a balanced day! The good
news is that we have been able to work as we would on a normal weekend,
without the distractions caused by the problems we experienced in the
first race. We collected a lot of good information today that we can put
to use tomorrow and find a way forward with the set-up of the bikes.
The only question mark is the rain so the only thing we ask for is at
least a few dry laps so that we can evaluate the solutions we come up with
tonight. Valentino lost his feeling a little bit this afternoon but we
will compare the data from the whole day and find the best way to work
tomorrow."

Opening day brings highs and lows for Tech 3 Yamaha Team in Turkey

The opening day of the third Grand Prix of 2006 at the sensational
Istanbul Park circuit proved challenging for Tech 3 Yamaha Team riders
Carlos Checa and James Ellison, and the pair finished the day 16th and 17th
respectively after the two Free Practice sessions.

Despite some set-up troubles, both riders however found some positive
aspects from the day and Checa is happy to be almost fully fit again
after an injury affected the start of his campaign. The Spaniard is now in
a determined frame of mind to get back to the sterling performances he
exhibited in pre-season testing. Ellison, meanwhile, showed that he is
becoming more comfortable with the Yamaha YZR-M1 as his times get
closer to his more experienced team-mate at every outing.

Carlos Checa (1'56.838, 42 laps)
"Today wasn't the best day. We've been testing the front tyres for a
different setting but nothing seems to make a big difference to our
times. Hopefully we will find a good direction for tomorrow, especially in
the fast areas of the track. We are having a bit of trouble with the
grip from the rear, but it seems to be the same for everyone. The Dunlop
people are working hard to give us what we desire and every race the
tyres are improving. It is only early in the season so I believe it won't
be too long before we are a lot closer. I am confident working with
Dunlop and hopefully we can get better tyres as soon as possible. My
shoulder has improved so much since Qatar which is encouraging, although I
still do not have full strength, especially under hard braking."

James Ellison (1'56.943, 40 laps)
"Today hasn't been too bad to be honest, although it hasn't been as
good as we had hoped. We have made steady progress as we're tweaking
things here and there. It's a completely different circuit to Qatar so we
have a lot to work on but we'll make a few changes to improve the
balance. I love this circuit. It is one of my favourite tracks, along with
Laguna Seca and Phillip Island, so that helps when it comes to getting
things done. With the layout, it has a bit of everything - especially the
fast right hander. Doing nearly 300km/h with your knee on the deck and
the bike moving underneath you is something very special. Hopefully
tomorrow we can make some more progress with our race set-up and set some
faster times."

Herve Poncharal - Tech 3 Yamaha Team Director
"Today was not easy in places. The position on the sheets isn't too
important but we have to find some solutions. Carlos has almost recovered
from the physical problem at Qatar with his left shoulder, which is
encouraging, but we're still not at our full potential. We are quite happy
with what is happening with Dunlop and they are working hard. They are
listening and bringing new products to every race but at the end of the
day we are fighting with two other brands that have been here much,
much longer than Dunlop. There are also a lot more riders that can give
them feedback and more data to work with. We knew this before we started
the season, but we have confidence in Dunlop's capacity. It is only the
third race and they have come from nowhere in MotoGP because it the
first year for them with a factory machine. We are really not that far
away and we will continue fighting. Tomorrow is another day and hopefully
we will be in a better position for the race, come Sunday.

 

[Rolfy Dave]

Welllllllllll !!!


Eurosport have done it again....

I was watching the qualifying (Supposedly Live ) when about 35 minutes in, along the bottom edge in the headlines came the results at the end of the session....

This is getting beyond a feckin joke now....

Whats the point of watching if they tell you the result long before the end ???

Fecking arseholes.....s04pb0x6

Pissed off...

Rolfy
:beer:

 

[Samster]

Watch it on www.motogp.com Rolfy - you've got a big fat connection speed so live footage should stream fine............. I had the laptop in the garden on full blast with the qualifying playing over the wireless network whilst I seeded the lawn in the sunshine......... beautiful

I'll PM you a log in and password

 

[Samster]

Can't PM or email you Dave............. mail me at sam@cordery.com and I'll reply with the details

 

[Gerrard]

GP

I know it was raining but I thought that was one of the best I hour practice sessions I've ever seen..That was the dogs danglies. :bow:
Zippo