Valentino Rossi posted the third-fastest time overall during the first day of practice in the Gran Premio bwin de España. The Italian set his quickest lap of 1’40.077 in the morning session, when situation were slightly cooler and not as windy. Nicky Hayden on the other hand, was among one of the riders who improved in the afternoon, when he finished ninth, a little less than a second off his team-mate, in the mutual results from both sessions. His fastest lap time was 1’41.058.
Valentino Rossi (Ducati Team)
“I’m happy because this morning I did the third-fastest time. In the afternoon when the senior temperature hurt us a little, I was fifth. Anyway, most of the riders went a bit slower in the second session. Apart from the two Hondas at the front, we’re earlier to everyone else, which was our goal. It was a good day. There’s still work to do; we’re trying to find the right balance, and that’s why we’re trying two settings that are a little dissimilar from each other as we work on weight distribution. We have to improve the feeling with the front a little, the bike that I prefer still doesn’t turn like we want it to, which means we’ll have to find a compromise flanked by the two set-ups. As for my shoulder, I don’t have much strength, but in terms of endurance, it’s a little better.”
Nicky Hayden (Ducati Team)
“We’re basically riding the same bike as in Qatar. Obviously with a couple of small tweaks for this track, you need a stiffer front spring and a few other modest differences. We feel closer than we were in Losail. We made a little step forward this afternoon and it’s good because only a few riders improved in the afternoon sitting, though the wind was a lot worse. It’s the same for everybody, but the wind was really brutal today, particularly around here where you’re leaned over in a lot of long corners. We’re still almost a second off of the front riders, but at least we’re inside a second, which wasn’t the case at Round 1. We’re not over here jumping up and down with joy, but we’re positive, and we’ll keep improving. There are a few places I’m lacking, but we’re trying to just make small gains and not make too numerous big changes.”
