Edwards and Rossi set the pace

Le Mans : Camel Yamaha – Day One
Camel Yamaha Team riders Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards were the fastest two riders in each of the first free practice sessions on the opening day of action at the Grand Prix of France today.

Rossi lapped the Le Mans circuit in a time of 1'35.288 during the morning, when Edwards was just behind him with the second fastest time, whilst in the afternoon the roles were reversed as the American set the pace with a lap of 1'35.170, followed closely by his Italian team-mate.

The factory team have arrived in France in determined mood as they look to turn around their early season misfortunes, aided by the latest improvements to the YZR-M1 machine brought to this circuit by Yamaha.

Rossi today ran back to back tests with a brand new chassis, designed to eliminate vibration problems suffered with the bike during the opening four rounds, and reported positive results. He will therefore incorporate the update into both of his machines tomorrow, when Rossi and Edwards try to repeat today's success in the official Qualifying session.

COLIN EDWARDS (1st; 1'35.170, 52 laps)
“It wasn't a bad day. We came here off the back of a good result in China, just brought the bike off truck this morning and everything seemed to work pretty well. Valentino is trying to fix a few things with the new chassis so we're able to focus on working hard towards a race setting and seeing what we can get. I said yesterday that I'd know after four laps what my objective can be for the weekend and now I can say it's to win.
Why not? Since the test in Turkey we've hardly touched the bike and I've got a level of confidence and feeling that I know what the bike will do. This morning it worked really well and although the chatter started to come this afternoon when we got more grip, we were still able to push so that's encouraging. We know this chassis has its limit but we can get it there pretty easily and at this track, where the Yamaha goes well, at least it should allow us to push as hard as anyone else.”

VALENTINO ROSSI (2nd; 1'35.282, 36 laps)
“I'm happy because both Colin and I are fast from the start and it seems the M1 machine is working very well at this circuit. Now we are in the first and second places so this is a very good result for our team and it gives us some confidence. I was very fast in the morning and in the afternoon we spent the time making some tests for the setting with the new chassis for tomorrow. This job is very important because they say it might rain tomorrow, but we have already found a good base, so I'm very happy about that. I like the new chassis and I think it will help us to go faster. It is much better for the vibration and even at this early stage we can see it has a lot of potential. Yamaha have always gone well at Le Mans so now we wait for tomorrow and see if we can keep it going.”
DAVIDE BRIVIO – CAMEL YAMAHA TEAM DIRECTOR
“We've made a good start today with both Colin and Valentino. Both specs of the bike are working well so this is a very positive thing for us. Today was a good chance for us to gather some data in the dry because it looks as though it will rain tomorrow and we at least know we have a good base setting if it is dry again for the race on Sunday. Tomorrow Valentino will have the new chassis on both bikes and Colin will remain on the standard version but it seems both are working well so we look forward to seeing what happens tomorrow.”

Camel Yamaha

Nakano targets front row

As de Puniet suffers Jerez flashback
Kawasaki's Shinya Nakano got his French Grand Prix weekend off to a flying start during this afternoon's free practice at Le Mans, finishing the hour long session third fastest aboard his Ninja ZX-RR, as the top twelve riders were split by a margin of less than one second.

While Sunday's race is predicted to be dry, the forecast for tomorrow promises only rain during practice and qualifying. With this in mind, Nakano and his crew concentrated today on identifying a suitable tyre for Sunday's 28-lap race. The 28-year-old Japanese rider evaluated a number of different rear slicks from Bridgestone, with positive results, but will leave the decision as to which tyre to race on until he's had a chance to assess the track conditions on Sunday.

Nakano is confident that, whatever the weather conditions during qualifying tomorrow afternoon, he has a set-up on his Ninja ZX-RR that will allow him to set his sights firmly on the front row of the grid.

Nakano's Kawasaki teammate, Randy de Puniet, overcame significant problems during this afternoon's free practice session, to finish in a respectable 12th place, and less than one second behind Colin Edwards, who topped the timesheet on the opening day.

After settling into a rhythm early on in this afternoon's session, de Puniet was involved in a collision with Toni Elias, which resulted in the 25-year-old Kawasaki pilot crashing heavily and destroying his number one machine.

But the Frenchman's problems didn't end there; in a rerun of his qualifying session for the opening race in Jerez, de Puniet misjudged his braking marker and ran on into the gravel trap after just two laps aboard his spare Ninja ZX-RR, incurring a ten minute delay as he waited for his crew to check over the bike in the Kawasaki pit box.


Despite the problems de Puniet recovered well, quickly finding a good rhythm on the bike with 15 minutes of the session remaining. A switch to a different rear Bridgestone tyre on his Ninja ZX-RR allowed the Kawasaki pilot to shave almost one second from his previous best lap time, to finish today less than a second from pole position.

Shinya Nakano: 3rd - 1'35.447
"The weather forecast is predicting a dry race on Sunday, but with rain during practice and qualifying tomorrow, so it was important for us to try and identify a race tyre during the dry conditions today. Bridgestone have brought a lot of new tyres to Le Mans, and I think today we tried them all. Every one was very consistent, which is good for us, but I think we will wait to see what the track conditions are like on Sunday before making a firm decision about which tyre to race. I like the changes that they've made to turn one since last year, but then I wasn't a very big fan of the original first turn to be honest. For me the new layout is better, although it has been quite hard to find the best braking point for the new turn one. Overall, the feeling with the bike has been good today, but I think that we can find some improvements through small changes to the chassis and suspension, together with some tweaks to the engine management package. At the moment I'm having to change my riding style and lines through the turns slightly to get the best from the bike, but I think it is possible to improve the situation before the race, as long as we get at least one dry session tomorrow, which I hope will be the case."

Randy de Puniet: 12th - 1'36.159
"This afternoon's practice session started well; after just a few laps I had a good feeling on the bike and my lap times were good, but then I had a collision with Toni Elias just after the Dunlop chicane and crashed, with the bike too badly damaged to continue. When I returned to the track on my spare bike I overshot one of the turns and ran on into the gravel trap. I lost ten minutes of the session while the guys sorted out the bike, and it took some effort to try and stay cool, and ride smoothly, when I did make it back out on track. At first my lap times were slower than at the start of the session, but then we switched to a different rear tyre and I was able to get back up to speed very quickly. It's a shame I wasn't able to continue with both bikes, as we're running a slightly different engine specification in each, and I would have liked to have had more time to run a comparison between the two, to see which was best suited to the Le Mans circuit. Hopefully I'll get a chance to do this in the dry tomorrow, but the weather forecast doesn't look too promising! Overall I'm happy with the result today; I'm less than one second slower than the fastest rider and I'm confident we can close the gap even further tomorrow if the wet weather holds off."

Pedrosa takes brilliant first win

Shanghai : Repsol Honda - Race
The Repsol Honda team celebrated a brilliant one-two in today's Grand Prix of China as new signing Dani Pedrosa scorched to his first premier-class victory in only his fourth MotoGP race.

The Spaniard's faultless performance in the 22-lap race made him the equal second- youngest winner ever in the premier class. Pedrosa's team-mate Nicky Hayden pushed him all the way, finishing a close second and extending his lead of the riders' world championship.

In a gripping race Pedrosa slipped back from his pole position start to lie fifth at the end of the first lap, but soon began moving up through the field, reeling in the leaders with a series of fastest laps. By lap nine he passed John Hopkins' Suzuki for second place and a lap later overtook the early leader Colin Edwards on the Yamaha.

Hayden shadowed Pedrosa for the whole race, with the gap hovering at one second as the Repsol Honda pair traded fastest laps. The American tried to apply pressure to his team- mate but the reigning 250 World Champion didn't crack, finishing the race 1.5s clear of Hayden, to score the first Repsol Honda one-two since the 2002 Catalunya Grand Prix. Colin Edwards took third and the final step of the podium.

Pedrosa also secured the fastest lap at the 5.281km (3.280 miles) Shanghai circuit – with a new lap record of 1m 59.318s - and completed the clean sweep of pole position, race win and fastest lap.


Not to be out-done, Hayden extended his lead in the world championship to 13 points as his nearest rivals struggled, displaying speed to match his impressive consistency on the evolution RC211V. This second place was his eight podium finish in succession. Pedrosa moves up to third in the championship, 15 points behind.

Dani Pedrosa - 1st
“This is a perfect result for me and it was a fantastic race for the whole Repsol Honda team. They have been working really hard and it was a great result for both riders – so I'm really happy. The race was hard and the pace was high, but the conditions today were very good and I was able to get into a good rhythm. The tyres worked very well today and so I have to thank Michelin for that. I did a good start this time but I left the braking a little bit late for the first corner and I went slightly wide so I was not able to keep a tight line and lost a few places. But I was able to pick off the positions one by one. Once in the lead I was always looking at the pit board and seeing zero point something. I was trying to maintain the gap but it was not easy because Nicky was pushing more and more and the tyres were losing a little grip. Winning is always very special but the level in MotoGP is higher, so this is extra special for me.”
Nicky Hayden - 2nd
“I tried to go a little bit faster every lap and put some heat on Dani, but that dude just wouldn't crack! So I definitely give Dani credit because he rode a really strong race. I felt good when I upped the pace, but it just wasn't enough and when I got close to him I didn't want to do anything silly. Congratulations to the team, and not just my guys but all the guys involved in Repsol Honda, they deserve it. I'm trying to be consistent in every race and every session, and while getting the points and podiums is good, I really want to win. I like to think the that win's not far away. It's nice to pull out a little gap in championship but it's early days. Honda's fighting hard for this championship so I'm looking forward to getting to Le Mans next weekend.”

Makoto Tanaka - Repsol Honda Team Manager
“There is nothing to say except that this is a perfect result for the Repsol Honda team today. I want to say thank you for your hard work to all our team members. Dani and Nicky both rode faultlessly, maintaining near-qualifying pace until end of the race. We will be working to keep this level of performance so that we're battling for the podium positions at every race. But the rivals are closing in so we have to keep pushing as we head for the European rounds. Anyway, thanks to our riders, team members, Michelin tyres, Honda R&D and all the team's partners.”

First 250cc victory for Barbera

Jorge Lorenzo fourth
Hector Barbera is on a roll.

After taking his first 250 podium in Turkey, he went one better in China and, after starting from pole, clinched his first victory in the 250 class to add to his six in the 125 category.

However, it was not such a good day for FORTUNA APRILIA team-mate Jorge Lorenzo who finished off the podium in fourth after suffering a number of problems.

Barbera battled it out with Andrea Dovizioso for victory after the early fall of Alex de Angelis and Lorenzo's unexpected inability to keep pace at the front. After passing each other a number of times, the race was decided on the final lap. It was the Spaniard who got the best drive on the final long straight to steal an advantage he did not give up and take the chequered flag.

It means he now moves into second in the championship, three points behind the Italian.

Behind them, Jorge Lorenzo had an intense battle with Japanese riders Hiroshi Aoyama and Yuki Takahashi but always looked set to pull away and challenge the front two. It was not to be, however, and he even missed out on the podium altogether, dropping to third in the championship behind both Barbera and Dovizioso.


HECTOR BARBERA, 1st : “I am so happy and want to dedicate this win those that have always supported me, my family and all the team. In two races I have claimed my first 250 podium and now my first win, what more can you ask for?! It was quite an easy race, a straight fight with Andrea, without the stress there was in Turkey when there were five riders battling it out. I was studying his moves and knew I had more speed on the straight and then I held him off. There was a lot of strategy and luckily I was able to get on that top step of the podium. The season is very long but I am only three points off the lead in the championship and the title is in sight for me."

JORGE LORENZO, 4th : “I would prefer not to say anything now. I will study what happened and talk after the race in Le Mans."