YRC News
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MotoGP : Edwards and Rossi get to grips with Laguna Seca
Round: 8 - Laguna Seca MotoGP
Circuit: Laguna Seca
Date: 8 July 2005
Temp: 20ēC
Weather: Sunny
Yamaha Factory Racing riders Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards began their
preparations for the eighth round of the MotoGP World Championship in front of a
bumper crowd today as the series returned to Laguna Seca after an exile of more
than a decade. It was a day of contrasting experiences for the Yamaha pair, with
the reigning World Champion paying his first visit to the legendary Californian
circuit whilst his American team-mate made an exciting homecoming to a track he
grew up on in the national AMA series.
Whilst Rossi tentatively found his bearings at the rollercoaster track, Edwards
benefited from his previous knowledge of its intricate layout to immediately
begin set-up work in this morning's first free practice, which was split into
two extended sessions of 55 minutes. The Texan lapped consistently amongst the
fastest riders as he ran through a series of suspension and tyre tests, clocking
the sixth quickest time of the day in the afternoon's hour-long second free
practice. Rossi, one of ten riders in the MotoGP class to have no previous race
experience at Laguna Seca, set his best time in the morning and lies ninth
fastest on the combined time sheets. Nicky Hayden (Honda) clocked the fastest
time of the day with a lap of 1'24.228 after overturning Troy Bayliss (Honda) in
the afternoon session.
Toni Elias was happy to be riding on the YZR-M1 again for the first time after
his injury that almost took two months. In the afternoon session the young
Spaniard improved over 1.5 second giving him the fourteenth position in today's
results. Fortuna Yamaha rider Ruben Xaus rode his fastest lap (1'26.392) in the
morning session and ended today as seventeenth.
Colin Edwards (Gauloises Yamaha Team) 6th, 1'24.696
"It's great to be back here at Laguna Seca and the support I've had even today
has been awesome. With this being my home Grand Prix and having Valentino as my
team-mate, the backing for the whole team has been incredible. As far as the
bike is concerned, we've already got the rear end working probably better than
anything I've ever ridden around this circuit and generally it feels great. The
only thing I'm having a little trouble with is keeping the front on the ground
and turning into the corners, so we have a few areas that we need to strengthen.
I'm really happy with my pace and my lap time because I know there is a lot more
to come from us tomorrow."
Valentino Rossi (Gauloises Yamaha Team) 9th, 1'24.969
"This is an 'old style' track and to be honest I think maybe our bike is a
little too fast for it, so today I haven't been able to push to the limit. It is
hard to find the right set-up in these circumstances and at the moment we still
have a lot work to do. We need more time on the track and more kilometres with
the bike to find out where we can push harder, make up some time and be
stronger. I am a little concerned about the safety of the track and today we
will have a meeting with the other riders to discuss it. Anyway, I have enjoyed
riding at Laguna Seca, especially the Corkscrew, because in the past I have only
seen it on the television. The big crowds here show that MotoGP should be in
America, but we also need to make sure it is safe."
Daniele Romagnoli, Colin Edwards' Crew Chief
"It has been quite a challenge for us to find a set-up for the bike at this
track but thankfully we have the perfect rider to give us the feedback we need
because there are not many people who know this circuit like Colin does. The
first step for us this morning was to find the gearbox setting, which we were
able to do quite quickly, and then start to work on the front and rear
suspension. We have got the rear working quite well but we have some more work
to do adjusting the front spring settings which should give Colin more
confidence in the bike and push for a much better time tomorrow."
Toni Elias (Fortuna Yamaha Team) 14th, 1'25.574
"I'm satisfied. The track is technical and complicated and my wrist still
doesn't feel one hundred percent yet. This track has many left turns so it's not
hard to imagine how difficult it is for me. Today we've done a good job, working
calmly and progressively. Although I've been out of the competition for about
two months I didn't stop my physical training. Nevertheless I still feel the
pain in my wrist, especially at the breaking points where it hurts a lot.
I'm happy to be riding here because the circuit is very mythical to me. When I
was a young boy I've watched my heroes riding here and since then it has been a
dream riding here myself. We already were a lot quicker in the second session
but for tomorrow we have to make some adjustments to improve even more."
Ruben Xaus (Fortuna Yamaha Team) 17th, 1'26.392
"The first session was extra long to help the riders that didn't know the
circuit well. We've been working with setting up the bike and at the same time I
was trying to focus at reference points. The last time I rode here was in 2003
when I won one of the races in the World Superbike championship. Right now I
still do not feel comfortable, I'm trying to find out what causes the problem
that limits me to go fast on the bike, but until now without success. I like the
track and I know how to be fast here, I'll keep on trying."
Round: 8 - Laguna Seca MotoGP
Circuit: Laguna Seca
Circuit Length: 3610m
Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 24.228 (Nicky Hayden, 2005)
Date: 8 July 2005
Temp: 20ēC
Free Practice :
Pos.Rider Manufacturer Nat. Free Practice
1 N. Hayden Honda USA 1'24.228
2 T. Bayliss Honda AUS 1'24.451
3 M. Biaggi Honda ITA 1'24.542
4 A. Barros Honda BRA 1'24.564
5 J. Hopkins Suzuki USA 1'24.679
6 C. Edwards Yamaha USA 1'24.696
7 S. Gibernau Honda ESP 1'24.802
8 M. Melandri Honda ITA 1'24.938
9 V. Rossi Yamaha ITA 1'24.969
10 C. Checa Ducati ESP 1'25.042
11 K. Roberts Suzuki USA 1'25.265
12 S. Nakano Kawasaki JPN 1'25.309
13 M. Tamada Honda JPN 1'25.457
14 T. Elias Yamaha ESP 1'25.574
15 A. Hofman Kawasaki GER 1'25.882
16 L. Capirossi Ducati ITA 1'25.967
17 R. Xaus Yamaha ESP 1'26.392
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