Rossi on top down under
After heavy rain for the last two days the coastal track was granted a reprieve today and the sun shone brightly throughout the day's action. Rossi, who has not won at what is his favorite track for the last three years, set off in strong style and continued to improve his pace throughout the session as he fine-tuned the setting of his Yamaha, shaking off the issues that troubled him last time out in Portugal.
Lorenzo meanwhile struggled today – he was feeling slightly unwell and also lacked grip, ending the session by sliding off at turn four. He was totally unhurt however and hopes that some overnight alterations to his setting and a good night's rest to recover his strength will see him on the pace tomorrow.
Valentino Rossi – Position: 1stTime: 1'31.032Laps: 31
"Today we made a great start. We were concentrated and strong and I am really happy to start in front here at Phillip Island, which is somewhere that I love to ride. We were able to get a lot done in the practice session and try many different things and I was able to ride just how I wanted to. We can definitely improve more – even though we already have a good pace we will continue to work tomorrow and try to find a little bit more, but for the first day I think we can be very happy about our work."
Circuit Length: 4445m
Lap Record: 1'30.332 (Marco Melandri, 01/01/2005)
Fastest Lap Ever: 1'28.665 (Casey Stoner, 05/10/2008)
Last Years Winner: Casey Stoner
Free Practice
Pos. |
Rider | Manu. | Nat. | Total Time |
1 | Valentino Rossi | Yamaha | ITA | 1'31.032 |
2 | Casey Stoner | Ducati | AUS | 1'31.167 |
3 | Daniel Pedrosa | Honda | ESP | 1'31.528 |
4 | Alex De Angelis | Honda | SMR | 1'31.786 |
5 | Colin Edwards | Yamaha | USA | 1'31.846 |
6 | Jorge Lorenzo | Yamaha | ESP | 1'32.077 |
7 | James Toseland | Yamaha | GBR | 1'32.255 |
8 | Andrea Dovizioso | Honda | ITA | 1'32.502 |
9 | Mika Kallio | Ducati | FIN | 1'32.572 |
10 | Loris Capirossi | Suzuki | ITA | 1'32.606 |
11 | Nicky Hayden | Ducati | USA | 1'32.771 |
12 | Randy De Puniet | Honda | FRA | 1'32.808 |
13 | Toni Elias | Honda | ESP | 1'33.304 |
14 | Marco Melandri | Kawasaki | ITA | 1'33.422 |
15 | Chris Vermeulen | Suzuki | AUS | 1'33.504 |