Fiat Yamaha Team rider and current championship runner-up Jorge Lorenzo was forced to contend with wind and rain at Estoril today as the Portuguese coastal circuit was battered with bad weather. Already faced with the task of adapting to riding a MotoGP bike on a circuit which he admits is not amongst his favourites, it was an added complication for the 21-year-old but he coped admirably with the task and finished the day in fifth position.
Conditions for the morning session were very wet and the Mallorcan made a tentative start, finishing 12th but nonetheless pleased to have improved his wet pace from the last time he rode the M1 in the rain, at the Jerez test back in February. The typically changeable conditions saw the sun come out this afternoon and the track was almost completely dry for the second session, meaning Lorenzo and his crew were able to put in some fruitful work with their setting to finish the day just 0.361 off the lead. Lorenzo’s team-mate Valentino Rossi had an equally encouraging day despite a heavy fall this morning, finishing second overall with a best time of 1’38.547.
Jorge Lorenzo
Position: 5th
Time: 1'38.868
Laps: 44
“We’re fifth and we need to improve but it’s only my first time at Estoril with the MotoGP bike and so I know I have to work slowly, step-by-step. The biggest problem at the moment is the weather because it’s changing so often; one it’s minute raining, the next it’s sunny but it’s also very windy. It makes it quite hard to prepare! Everyone knows that this isn’t one of my favourite tracks but I am not thinking about the past now, only about what is in front of us. We need to keep our focus and work very hard to find the best setting, and we also need to work on the situation with the tyres because it’s not perfect at the moment. I was definitely more confident in the wet this morning than I was at the Jerez test so I am happy about this, but there is still more to do. One very good t hing is that the new electronics we tested in Jerez are working well and so we’re pleased about this. I think it’s going to be a very competitive weekend with everyone very strong so we have another big job to do tomorrow!”
Daniele Romagnoli - Team Manager
“We’ve arrived here at a different track with a big task facing us, but overall we’ve had a good session today. Of course we need to improve our pace more but we will try some more things tomorrow. We’re lacking a bit of stability in the hard braking areas and also the bike is a little bit unstable on the gas, but tonight we will analyse things and prepare a programme to improve the setting tomorrow. It’s been a tricky day because of the weather and Jorge has done well to cope and finish fifth. Now we will concentrate on making some more steps forward tomorrow and I am sure we will be in good shape.”
Ambient temperature: 14 degrees
Track temperature: 22 degrees
Humidity: 49%
Combined Free Practice Times:
1. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda 1'38.507
2. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Fiat Yamaha Team 1'38.547
3. Colin Edwards (USA) Tech 3 Yamaha 1'38.632
4. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda 1'38.688
5. Jorge Lorenzo (SPA) Fiat Yamaha Team 1'38.868
6. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA) JiR Team Scot MotoGP 1'39.171
7. Casey Stoner (AUS) Ducati Marlboro 1'39.202
8. Shinya Nakano (JPN) San Carlo Honda Gresini 1'39.309
9. Randy De Puniet (FRA) LCR Honda MotoGP 1'39.332
10. John Hopkins (USA) Kawasaki Racing 1'39.474
11. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1'39.591
12. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Rizla Suzuki 1'39.946
13. James Toseland (GBR) Tech 3 Yamaha 1'40.055
14. Alex De Angelis (RSM) San Carlo Honda Gresini 1'41.033
15. Marco Melandri (ITA) Ducati Marlboro 1'41.112
16. Anthony West (AUS) Kawasaki Racing 1'41.572
17. Sylvain Guintoli (FRA) Alice Team 1'41.875
18. Toni Elias (SPA) Alice Team 1'43.262
Estoril:
Lap Record: K. Roberts JR (Honda) 2006, 1'37.914
Best Lap: V. Rossi (Yamaha) 2006, 1'36.200
original article
Lorenzo Overcomes Estoril Weather To Finish 5th On Day One
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