French GP - Round 4 - MotoGP
Le Mans - Friday 13th May 2005 - Free practice

Barros fastest in both wet and dry in France

The rain seems to be a constant threat to the 2005 championship, and once again
it made its presence felt on the first day of practice at the French Grand Prix.
Alex Barros is seemingly not too bothered by the weather conditions however, as
he was fastest in the first half-hour of the afternoon session on a completely
dry track, and then also when it started to rain and the riders had to fit the
wet tyres. Troy Bayliss worked on the set up of his RC211V and had improved his
time from the morning session by around half a second when the rain set his
position as 14th fastest.

Sito Pons - Camel Honda

"We have done quite well considering the variable weather conditions today. Alex
was quickest both in the wet and the dry, but obviously we have to wait until
tomorrow to see what conditions we'll come up against. We haven't had too much
time to set the bike up for the race, but we made the most of every minute. It's
all good for the time being, and we hope to stay like this throughout the whole
weekend."

Alex Barros - Camel Honda -  1'34.171 - 1st position

"The weather conditions were really strange today, constantly changing. We found
a reasonable base setting in the dry, but once the track had been dampened, I
also felt at ease in the wet, and I was able to lap well. The asphalt wasn't
totally wet, but I wanted to get an idea of the grip levels it offered with wet
tyres on: well, at least until it dried up a bit too much for the wet tyres to
work properly. Now our only hope is that the weather decides one way or the
other."

Troy Bayliss - Camel Honda -  1'36.128 - 14th fastest

"We were starting to ride a bit harder in the afternoon when the rain began. It
could have been the perfect occasion to test the grip on the wet asphalt, given
that Le Mans notoriously doesn't offer too much grip in those conditions, but it
didn't rain enough, at least during our session anyway. Then the downpours
really hit! We just have to wait for tomorrow now, and hope for more concrete
conditions."