British Grand Prix
Donington Park, UK
Friday 22nd July

GAULOISES YAMAHA RIDERS SET PACE AT GLOOMY DONINGTON

Gauloises Yamaha Team riders Colin Edwards and Valentino Rossi set the pace on
the opening day of the British Grand Prix under damp grey skies at Donington
Park today. Edwards and Rossi were first and second fastest respectively in the
morning session and their best times remained unbeaten in the afternoon as light
rainfall interrupted the second free practice. Arriving in Great Britain on the
back of consecutive podium finishes at Assen and Laguna Seca, Edwards was
quickly on the pace this morning and was the only rider able to beat his own lap
record of 1'29.973 - set on his way to second place behind Rossi during last
year's race.

Using the same base set-up that has propelled him to the lead positions over the
past two races, Edwards made minor adjustments to his YZR-M1 machine before
clocking a best time of 1'29.960 after 27 laps of the morning session. The
American had planned to test a variety of tyre compounds in the afternoon but
was thwarted by a brief shower that made track conditions extremely slippery and
led to a crash for Nicky Hayden (Honda). The rain also affected Rossi's
programme as the Italian missed out on the opportunity to make further
adjustments to his own base setting. The Italian lapped just 0.025 seconds
slower than his team-mate but was not entirely comfortable and was hoping for
more track time in dry conditions during the afternoon.

COLIN EDWARDS (1st; 1'29.960 - 33 laps)

"The bike has become better and better over the past few weeks so the aim today
was to continue along that line. I felt comfortable from the first lap and when
I came in and saw the lap times I was doing I decided to put my head down for a
couple of laps and see what I was capable of. To break the lap record in first
practice obviously gives you a lot of confidence, but the main thing that is
giving me confidence right now is the performance of my bike and the way I am
working with all of the guys in the team. To be considered as a serious
challenger to Valentino you have to make the top three on a very consistent
basis so that is what we are trying to do. Obviously I know this track well and
I've spent a lot of time working in England in the past so I'm getting an extra
push from the fans. The only thing I don't like here is the weather... and the
food!"

VALENTINO ROSSI (2nd; 1'29.985 - 36 laps)

"We lost the practice this afternoon because it was half wet and half dry. It is
a shame because that was an important time to work on the set-up of the bike and
get the machine to work at this circuit. I was in London last Sunday and the
weather was very hot but the temperature has dropped by about 10ºC in the last
two days and they are saying it could get worse. It's disappointing because this
track is great and it would be good to race here in the dry.  The M1 does go
well in the wet as well though anyway.  To be honest the bike felt a little
nervous in these conditions and especially this morning it was difficult to get
the tyres up to the right temperature. However, I am satisfied to be second even
though we haven't learned much today."

JEREMY BURGESS - ROSSI'S CREW CHIEF

"This afternoon the conditions made it a bit of a waste of time for us but both
Yamahas were quick in the morning so essentially we know the bike is okay. This
track is split into two very different sections but you can never make up time
in slow corners so our focus is to set the bike up to work as well as possible
through the fast ones, in particular from Redgate through Craner Curves. The
question mark is over the weather and choosing the right tyre at the right time.
As I say, today was pretty useless for that because everybody went faster in the
morning than they did in the afternoon."

COMBINED FREE PRACTICE TIMES:

 1. COLIN EDWARDS (USA) Gauloises Yamaha Team    1'29.960
 2. VALENTINO ROSSI (ITA) Gauloises Yamaha Team  1'29.985
 3. John Hopkins (USA) Team Suzuki MotoGP        1'30.098
 4. Alex Barros (BRA) Camel Honda                1'30.118
 5. Marco Melandri (ITA) Movistar Honda MotoGP   1'30.308
 6. Sete Gibernau (SPA) Movistar Honda MotoGP    1'30.398
 7. Kenny Roberts (USA) Team Suzuki MotoGP       1'30.494
 8. Troy Bayliss (AUS) Camel Honda               1'30.561
 9. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team         1'30.580
10. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati Marlboro Team   1'30.597