MotoGP rider quotes from today’s free practice at the Sachsenring circuit.
Casey Stoner -1st 1′22.
779“It would have been better to have a full wet session because even from the first two laps the track was starting to dry and you don’t get such good feedback.
The bike seems to be working well, we had to change a few small things – like the seat, to make it a bit more comfortable – but generally over the last three races it has been great and I’m quite happy with it here.
We’re improving the GP9 step by step and I think you can see that by Nicky’s recent results, which I’m really pleased about.
Physically I feel the same as I did at this stage in the last few races so if it rains again tomorrow it would probably be beneficial to me because I’m sure it would leave me in better shape for the race and give us a much better chance of challenging for the win.
”Dani Pedrosa – 2nd 1′23.
034 “As a first practice session here, this has been pretty good for us.
The track was wet at the beginning and then began to dry out, which made things a little complicated, but it was the same for everyone and we made some progress.
I have to say that at the beginning in the wet I did take it easy after what happened last year, but actually, when I saw the rain before the session I thought, OK, we can pick up from where we left off and change the outcome.
We rode with the new engine today although, because of these mixed conditions, it wasn’t really possible to draw definite conclusions but the feeling was positive.
We need more laps to fully evaluate the engine, so we’ll continue with that tomorrow.
The main goal is to set the bike up as best as possible for any conditions – rain or dry – ready for the race.
”Valentino Rossi – 3rd 1′23.
088 “This was quite a strange session because we had all sorts of track conditions and then at the end it was basically dry and I was quite fast.
It was a good chance to work on the rain setting and I am pretty happy because the bike felt good and our times were also quick on the wet track.
It seems we have a good setting immediately here for all conditions, because it continued to feel good as the track dried and the nature of the asphalt changed.
We have some things to improve, especially the feeling and general balance in the faster parts of the track, so we will concentrate on this tomorrow.
Right at the end we had a bit of traffic or we could have been faster, but anyway we’re still third so I think we are in good shape.
It seems Bridgestone have brought good tyres for this track, of course there is no intermediate tyre which is always going to be a bit difficult in these sorts of conditions, but I don’t think it was a big problem today.
” Randy De Puniet – 4th 1’23.
133 “Well… it was a good first session and I am quite satisfied about our performance.
After the storm we started in the wet as everybody but since the first laps I was very comfortable with the bike which we need to improve a little bit.
Once the surface started to dry up I came out on soft tyre but I have been very careful at the beginning; when my lap times became more consistent we decided to continue on soft tyres.
I made a 23-lap run (Sunday’s race is 30 laps!) with a good pace especially in the end on used tyres so I am pretty confident for tomorrow’s qualifying.
Basically we found the correct overall package and we just have to fine-tune the chassis and the suspensions”.
Alex De Angelis – 5th 1′23.
282“Obviously the conditions were difficult because it was extremely wet at the start and then dried out a lot but I’m pleased with our performance and the way we adapted.
I waited until I saw a few other riders on slicks before changing because we didn’t want to risk anything and when we went back out I was able to hold my position near the top.
We had a bit of a problem with the bike not turning in the tight corners, which is the thing you really need here, but we improved that.
Now the main issue is the rear spinning up and we need to sort that because every tenth you lose around this circuit is crucial.
I was the fastest in T3, the same as last year I think.
I have always said my strong point as a rider is in fast corners and this is one of the fastest and most technical sections on the calendar.
It is helping me make up some time but to be honest we still don’t have the package I need to be fast and consistent around the rest of the circuit.
” Colin Edwards- 6th 1.
23.
295 “Looking at last year’s race I knew the Bridgestone rain tyre was awesome, so it gave me chance to sort some of the issues out I’ve had in the wet recently.
Previously I’ve had too much weight on the rear but now we’ve got it more balanced and it felt really good.
For the dry we went back to my old setting that I pretty much rolled out at the first race in Qatar with and it was like coming home.
We’d gone off the right path and I’ve not had any feeling with the front in the last few races.
The bike hasn’t been turning but the changes we’ve made with the front forks have transformed the way I feel.
Now the bike is doing what I want it to because before I couldn’t get the front set-up, I couldn’t get into the corner and I had too much weight on the front with no feeling and no confidence.
Now there’s more weight on the rear and I can control weight transfer more without it all pushing to the front.
I tried some new electronics today too and they are fantastic.
It used to be so much effort to manage the bike under acceleration, but now it is incredible.
I want to say a massive thanks to Yamaha because what they have put on my bike is like gold dust.
It’s a lot less effort to control the bike when I’m accelerating and it is giving me some crucial tenths.
”Toni Elias – 7th 1’23.
351“I’m struggling a little bit here with a stomach problem and some ‘flu symptoms – but don’t worry, it’s not swine ‘flu! It was quite a good session today because we were able to get a feel for the conditions in the wet and then work on the bike in the dry.
We were pretty good in both conditions and even though I finished up in seventh place the gap to the top is only 0.
5 seconds and with the way I’m feeling today that is not much.
I have to be happy with the way things have started here.
”Nicky Hayden – 8th 1’23.
367“It is nice to be able to come to a track and not have to be trying something radical with the set-up on the first day and today we started out with pretty much the settings from Laguna, making a few changes as the session went on.
Having said that we are trying a new handlebar here, which isn’t normally the kind of thing you do at this stage of the season, but we have changed a lot on the back of the bike so we just needed to compensate a little at the front.
Up to now we’ve been using data from Casey or previous riders to find a base set-up on a Friday but now hopefully we can work from my own data on a consistent basis.
My final position today isn’t too great but early in the session we were going really well, especially in the wet.
We were on top for a long time and in this paddock if you’re P1 in the wet, dry or intermediate you have to be riding well and be comfortable with the bike.
I think I was third up until the last lap, and it is a thing we need to improve – when I try to really dig in we don’t seem able to go faster and it’s an area we still need to address in order to improve qualifying in particular.
Anyway, here we’ve started very well so we’ll see where we go from here.
”Andrea Dovizioso – 9th 1′23.
370 “Even though the track conditions were not ideal we already felt some improvements from the new engine that Honda has brought for us this weekend.
The situation wasn’t perfect for a comparison test because we started with wet track and then it started to dry so we started with the current version of the engine and then we did the last run with the new one.
The feeling was good both in wet and dry conditions and we did a lot of testing without focussing too hard on setting ultimate lap times, so I’m confident for tomorrow.
We’ll continue with the set-up and tyre testing work tomorrow, and continue to evaluate the new engine.
Today we couldn’t use the hard Bridgestone, but it will be important to test it in preparation for the race.
The weather forecast looks really mixed.
Of course we would prefer dry, but we we’ll see.
”Jorge Lorenzo – 11th 1′23.
496“I am not at 100% and in fact my injuries don’t feel as good as I had hoped on the bike, which is disappointing.
I have decided for the first time to use the leathers with the airbag and I want to say that I feel much more safe! This isn’t the best track for me, the slow corners don’t really suit my style and when I am not at full fitness it makes it more difficult, but today was okay considering the conditions.
During the early part when it was wet I was reminding myself of the track, and then when it was dry later on I didn’t really have enough time to go fast because we had some things to check on the setting.
But there are 12 riders all very close together, within seven tenths of a second and I am not worried because it was a strange day and not one for making conclusions.
The forecast tomorrow looks similar tomorrow but let’s hope it is wrong!”Loris Capirossi – 12th 1′23.
705,“The conditions today were very strange, because we started with wet tyres and after about half-of-an-hour it was good enough to change to dry ones.
I stayed out as long as I could to try and find a good rhythm with just a basic setting so we could understand how the bike was working.
We found out a lot of information that will certainly help us to work in the best way possible tomorrow.
Although we are 12th – which is a pretty poor position – we do have a lot of data to use tomorrow and I think we will make some big improvements.
”Mika Kallio – 13th 1’24.
090“Sometimes I hit the top part of the injured finger on the clutch and it hurts so bad, but the only thing I can do is grit my teeth and continue to fight on track.
I didn’t take any painkiller and I don’t think I will need it in the rest of the weekend.
For sure it is not simple to use the clutch like in the other races.
Without this problem I could have been faster today as I wouldn’t need to take some time to evaluate the situation of the injury.
I know there are some part of the track where I can sensibly improve and tomorrow we should take a big step forward in the standing.
”James Toseland – 14th 1′24.
317“It wasn’t a bad session even though I’m down the timesheets because we’ve gathered a lot of information in the wet and dry.
It was important to do a few laps in the wet and we found we didn’t have a great setting.
So that was good to discover because it looks like there’s a big chance of rain for the rest of the weekend.
I spent a bit too much time on the wet tyres basically, even when it was drying up while the other guys were already out on slicks.
I wanted to check on the wet tyres and get a feel for them just in case it does dry up for the race like it did in Le Mans and Mugello.
In the damp conditions I had a big moment too and really hit my right leg hard.
I was out of the seat at Turn Eight and I smacked my foot on the rear brake lever so hard that it was all bent.
It was painful but luckily it caught me on the protective part of my boot, otherwise I could have done myself some damage.
By the time I put the slicks on and made a few changes to my set-up it was a little bit too late to get close to the speed of the others but I’m sure I could have got in the 1.
23s.
We had some new electronics from Yamaha and it is a big step.
I’ve got to say a big thanks to Yamaha for helping me out.
These bikes have got so much horsepower that with a bit more control under acceleration, it’s amazing how much easier it feels.
It has really helped me coming out of the corner and I can control the bike much better.
”Niccolò Canepa -15th 1’24.
908“To be the first time on this track things didn’t go so bad.
In addition with the wet track we lost a lot of time.
Today I mainly concentrated to learn the track without modifying the bike at all.
Tomorrow we will start to try to improve the set up of the bike and in this way we expect to sensibly improve our lap times.
”Chris Vermeulen – 16th 1′25.
161“It has not been the start to the weekend that I would have wanted! The weather wasn’t ideal and we went out on the wet bike at the beginning, but I had an issue with that and missed a bit of the session.
The guys seemed to overcome the problem and I was able to go back out and do a few more laps in the damp conditions.
About half-way through we went out on slicks – even though it was still a bit patchy in places – and we were making steps with the bike.
I went back out towards the end of the hour and the bike was a big step forward, which helped me get my lap-time down.
As I was going across one of the puddles I think I was pushing a bit too hard and had a bit of a slide and crashed.
I landed on the same side that I injured in Laguna so I’m not in the best of conditions, but I am sure I’ll be fine tomorrow and we’ll make some big steps forward.
”