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Alvaro Bautista philosophical after crashing out in Brno

Alvaro Bautista was in philosophical mood after crashing out from a promising seventh in the Czech Grand Prix, admitting that the pace he and Suzuki were able to demonstrate was some consolation for the disappointing end to his race.

Bautista had starred in the early laps as he came through from 14th on the grid to seventh, where he was hounding Valentino Rossi and keeping pace with the pack ahead of him until his accident at Turn 13 on his 16th tour of the trac.

Given his excellent race, the 26-year-old Spaniard described his crash as 'very disappointing' but said he and the team could also draw positives about their pace during the race.

"I have a strange feeling," Bautista explained when asked about his weekend. "I am frustrated that I didn't finish after crashing, but I am also quite happy because I did all that was possible to stay with the front group.

"I was riding just a few seconds behind second position and, after starting from the back of the grid, I was pleased about that.

"I pushed to my maximum - I was on the limit, but everything was under control - and then with six laps to go I crashed. I lost the front and it was strange because I entered the corner like the lap before and nothing felt wrong.

"I want to say thank-you to all the team, and also to say sorry because it has been a difficult weekend for everybody. We expected a good result here, but at the end we are very disappointed with what happened.

"I think if we start nearer the front we can stay with the group a lot easier, and the results will come."

source: autosport

Paddock Girls MotoGP Brno 2011

Pedrosa can't explain Brno crash

ALL weekend Dani Pedrosa set the pace on his Repsol Honda and was set to be a clear favourite for the race win, when unexpectedly after three laps the Spaniard lost the front and his race was over.

Pedrosa tried to make sense of the crash post-race: "It was a shame. I lost the front and I crashed, that was it! I was not even pushing so hard, I just took the lead and, well I may have tilted the bike too much, maybe the tyre was not warm enough, still I don't know.

"The problem is that I've wasted an important race that we had prepared for very well. I have to thank the team for the bike they gave me this weekend, it worked really well, and I will tell them I'm sorry for the mistake. It hurts because we were well prepared and finally the race was quite slow compared to the pace we did in practice sessions, but we can not do anything, just think towards the next one and try to get back on top."

Dani was running with the updated front forks this weekend, a possible culprint for his fall...

source: visordown

Brno MotoGP test times - Monday 11am

Following Sunday's Czech Republic Grand Prix an official MotoGP test session is being held at the Brno circuit on Monday.

The test marks the first time that the 2012 factory 1000cc bikes from Honda and Yamaha have gone head-to-head on track. Ducati is only testing its 800cc bike.

The Marc VDS Suter is a BMW-powered (1000cc) CRT entry being developed for next year. The Suter's best lap time, in the hands of Mika Kallio, was 6.342sec from the fastest 800cc bike in June's Mugello test.

Testing concludes at 6pm...

1. Casey Stoner AUS Repsol Honda (1000cc) 1m 56.260s (16 laps)

2. Jorge Lorenzo ESP Yamaha Factory Racing 1m 57.068s (27)

3. Ben Spies USA Yamaha Factory Racing 1m 57.184s (15)

4. Dani Pedrosa ESP Repsol Honda (1000cc) 1m 57.795s (12)

5. Nicky Hayden USA Ducati Marlboro 1m 58.237s (23)

6. Valentino Rossi ITA Ducati Marlboro 1m 58.266s (19)

7. Ben Spies USA Yamaha Factory Racing (1000cc) 1m 58.476s (4)

8. Cal Crutchlow GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1m 58.542s (15)

9. Toni Elias ESP LCR Honda 1m 58.575s (27)

10. Loris Capirossi ITA Pramac Racing 1m 58.927s (25)

11. Colin Edwards USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 2m 0.139s (4)

12. Mika Kallio FIN Marc VDS Suter (1000cc) 2m 1.709s (22)

source: crash.net

Positive weekend for Rossi and Hayden at Czech GP

The riders’ finishing positions were the same as in the previous round at Laguna Seca, but both reduced their gaps to the front considerably, the Italian by well over half. After he and his team made steady progress with the setup of his GP11.1 for the entire weekend.

Rossi had a competitive pace for most of the race, chasing the front group all the way to the finish. Working exclusively on the GP11, Hayden’s team experienced challenges throughout the weekend but persevered with a respectable performance. Tomorrow both riders will take part in a day of testing that the Ducati Team will use to continue the work on the 800.

Valentino Rossi:

“I’d say we are pleased, as we took a step forward. I must say that Filippo and Ducati has been intelligent, because just with some small changes, we were able to get a good result, improving in both wet and dry conditions and in both qualifying and the race. Now I’m able to ride the bike better under braking and on corner entry, and I can use the front tyre better. We started with the goal of fighting with the group ahead of us, but unfortunately we made a small mistake with the start procedure for heating the tyres and the first two laps were difficult, without enough grip. It’s a lesson that we’ll remember next time. I didn’t have a great start like I did at Laguna, for example. That would have helped a lot, because from the third lap to the finish, I had the same pace as the two Yamahas, and even ‘Sic’ wasn’t so far ahead. It’s sixth place, but it’s a sixth place that’s much more important than our other results. The gap is much smaller, although I backed off in the final laps since there was nothing else I could do. Otherwise, I would’ve been just ten seconds from Stoner and much less than that from the podium. Now we must focus and take another step. We’ll try the 800 tomorrow, and it will be a very important test for confirming other new details and for continuing work on the setup. We’ll probably take a couple of final runs with the GP11, but we’ll definitely be continuing with the GP11.1. Finally, I’d like to compliment ‘Sic’ for a podium that he really deserved, for today’s race but also for what he has shown this season.”

Nicky Hayden:

“It’s been a really tough weekend right from when we got the bikes out of the crates from Laguna, but we chipped away at it. The guys have worked extremely hard, and we got better and better. We even made a change after the morning warm up that actually helped a bit, although I didn’t really understand it the first few laps, and the group was already gone. I held on and got seventh, which isn’t fantastic. Still, the gap to the front is the closest it’s been this season, which is positive. The bike was really good in a few places, but I was slow in change of direction and couldn’t get the bike to finish the corner and was spinning the tyre a lot. We also need to understand why I had the slowest top speed. It would’ve been nice to hang onto that front group a bit longer, but Colin pushed me all the way to the end. The work’s far from over for this weekend, because we’ve got a big day tomorrow. Valentino tried some new parts on the front that they seem real happy about, so hopefully I can try those tomorrow. Test days are so important, and we really need a dry day tomorrow to try to make a big step.” Vittoriano Guareschi (Team Manager) “It was a positive weekend for our team. We made progress with Valentino session by session, and with Nicky we solved enough of the difficulties from Friday that he was nearly four seconds faster than last year. Compared to Laguna Seca, Valentino reduced his pace and his final gap to the front, and he was closer to the lead group. His feeling with the front of the GP11.1 was also better thanks to some details that we changed. We can say that, overall, it was the most productive race weekend of the season. Tomorrow we’ll have an important test day because we’ll try some more small details for the GP11.1 with Valentino, and Nicky will be able to try it without pressure and also to make a useful comparison with the GP11.”

Elias improves finishing 11th in Brno

The Spaniard put in a good performance at the Brno race, Twhich was held in warm conditions and under sunny skies. Elias closed the gap to the top ten group and he is confident that with a few more adjustments to his machinery he can make further steps forward on the testing day at the Brno circuit on Monday.

Toni Elias: 

“Well... My start was not brilliant today because I slipped on a dirty part of the track and couldn't catch the first 5 riders in the first corner which was my goal. After that my pace was quite good but not enough to follow Aoyama, and in the last two laps I had fun battling with Barbera for the 10th position. At the end, he beat me but the most important thing for me is our pace in the race because today we have finally reduced the gap to the leading group. This is a positive step forward for me and the team and we will try to get further improvements tomorrow”.

LCR Honda press release

Edwards eighth in Brno, Crutchlow crashes out

The 37 year old rode a determined race throughout the 22 lap encounter, which took place under cloudy but warm skies in front of a massive crowd of 155,400 at the Brno circuit. After struggling to find maximum traction in this morning's Warm-up session, Edwards made a geometry modification to his YZR-M1 machine prior to the race. Although he felt the modifications improved front and rear grip, the improvements weren't reflected by an improvement in his lap times and he spent almost the entire race in close pursuit of fellow American Nicky Hayden's factory Ducati machine.

Despite launching numerous attempts to up his pace and get within striking distance of the 2006 World Champion, Edwards was frustrated in his attempt to seize a hard fought seventh position. He still collected eight valuable World Championship points to keep him well on course for a top 10 finish in the overall rankings.

The 11th round of the 2011 MotoGP World Championship ended in unhappy circumstances for Cal Crutchlow. The 25 year old was optimistic he could battle for a top 10 result. But his race was ended prematurely by a front end crash at the first corner on lap seven after he'd just passed Hector Barbera for 10th. Crutchlow was able to walk away uninjured but the British rider was frustrated that his hard work throughout the weekend went unrewarded.

Colin Edwards:

“I said yesterday that if I finished in the same position that I started I would be pretty happy. I guess I am pretty happy, but it was not an easy race. I know I gave it my absolute maximum out there, but eighth position was the best I could. In the warm up this morning I had zero traction, so we made a small geometry change for the race and it was definitely better. I had more grip, but the lap time was the same as this morning. All I kept seeing on my lap timer on the dashboard was 58.5, 58.5. It must have been like that for about 14 laps in a row and at one point I thought it had broken. I just couldn't go much faster and it seems we are lacking traction compared to the others. I was spinning the rear tyre a lot and right now our bike feels a little bit unforgiving. I was right on the back of Nicky for pretty much the whole race but I couldn't do anything with him. It wasn't like he had more grip than me, but because we were doing the same pace I didn't get close enough to attack him.”

Cal Crutchlow:

“Nobody is more disappointed than me with what happened because another crash is the last thing I needed. I am currently having a difficult run of races but all I can do is get my head down, work hard with my crew and try and put things right in the future. At the moment I am struggling with grip in the front end and we seem to have been going round in circles a little bit to find a solution. Today I was off brake and accelerating at the first corner when I lost the front. I am sorry to my team and Yamaha but I am sure they realise that I am trying as hard as I can for a good result. We've got a test tomorrow and that is important because we can work on the bike without the time constraints of practice. We can dedicate all our time to trying to give me some confidence back in the front. I still believe in myself and I am determined to get a good result in Indianapolis.”

Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team press release

Barberá battles hard in Brno comeback

Héctor Barberá started from thirteenth on the grid, following a tough return from the summer break in which changes to his Ducati were not having the desired effect. The MAPFRE Aspar man gave his all on race day to take a creditable eleventh place. This was despite suffering from some big issues with his front tyre, lacking grip for almost all of the 22 laps in the Czech Republic. The Spaniard had to keep his cool on the last pair of laps, fighting to stave off two riders who had caught up with him and were hungry to overtake. All eyes now are on Indianapolis, and another chance for Héctor Barberá to have a solid race.

Héctor Barberá:

"It was a pretty difficult race, as I had problems with the front end five laps in and they wouldn't go away. Between the previous race and this one we worked hard on the front, but we still have a few things to resolve. Today it felt like I was losing the front when I hit the brakes on certain corners. This wasn't helped by the fact that the tyre was gradually degrading and making it tougher to brake hard every time. I tried to make the most of things at the start and push while I still had some confidence. Normally I do things the opposite way and end up riding faster as the race goes on. A few riders who had been behind me caught up with two laps to go, so I had to turn my focus to defending their attacks and shutting all the doors. This little battle at the end was fun, and I didn't lose any places from it. We made some changes just to try something new, but didn’t work on well. That's why we will be back to our normal settings for Indianapolis."

MAPFRE Aspar press release.

No rest for MotoGP stars as Brno Test follows GP

Brno will host an official MotoGP Test on Monday as the premier class remain at the Czech Republic track for an extra day, following the Cardion ab Grand Prix České republiky.

The Test will see the official on-track debut of Yamaha’s 2012 prototype, with factory team riders Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies experiencing the evolving machine for the first time, and also potentially running some new developments on their current 2011 YZR-M1 bikes.

Round 11 race winner Casey Stoner and his Repsol Honda team-mate Dani Pedrosa are due to continue the development of the Japanese factory’s 2012 prototype, Stoner having ridden the 1000cc machine once previously at Jerez whilst Pedrosa is preparing to jump on for the first time having missed the run out back in May due to injury. Andrea Dovizioso will also be present, with the Italian ready to continue working on the current RC212V.

Monster Yamaha Tech 3 pair Colin Edwards and Cal Crutchlow will work further on their M1 machines, and the Ducati Team will also be present with Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden. Rossi and his crew will hope to improve on the progress they made on the Desmosedici GP11.1 throughout the Brno weekend, whilst Hayden will dedicate time to fully testing out the GP11.1 having tried it out during the Laguna Seca GP weekend but deciding to continue racing the GP11 at the American and Czech Republic tracks.

Pramac Racing’s Loris Capirossi will take advantage of an extra day’s track time to continue his recovery from injury on board the GP11, with Toni Elías and his LCR Honda team working on their satellite RC212V.

The Marc VDS Racing team and Suter will also be in attendance, with the Moto2 outfit’s Finnish rider Mika Kallio on riding duty for the Swiss manufacturer as it continues the development of its 1000cc prototype for 2012. Bridgestone will also work further on its tyre specifications for 2012.

The Test schedule will see the track open from 9am-1pm and again from 2pm-6pm, with motogp.com providing full coverage of the day’s activities with a report for both sessions, video highlights and video interviews at the end of the day.

Simoncelli finally arrives on the podium

Simoncelli had been denied the opportunity to celebrate a podium up on several occasions this season, but at the scene of Team Gresini's first podium back in 1998 and their 100th podium last year with Toni Elias - not to mention Fausto Gresini's second 125cc title - their wishes finally came true with Simoncelli’s third place finish. With any luck, it will be the first of many for the Italian, who broke his bad luck in somewhat unexpected fashion after a challenging weekend.

Marco Simoncelli: 

“I am really happy. I have been very strong this year but it has been tough because we have had some difficult situations to deal with. The team and I have never lost faith and finally the result has come, so I want to thank all of them, as well as Honda and anybody else who has maintained their belief in me. On the last lap today I just wanted it to be over and nothing bad to happen and thankfully it all worked out. I didn't make a great start and had to pass Valentino, who fought back for three corners and I have the tyre marks on my leathers to prove it! It was a nice battle even though it was short. I tried to attack Dovizioso at the end but he was pushing hard and I decided to settle for the position because I knew Lorenzo was making up ground behind me.”

Hiroshi Aoyama: 

”I am satisfied to have finished the race and to have finished it in ninth place. We had some grip problems but overall the bike was working well. I felt physically good and that means I can now look forward to the remaining races. I am also happy for Marco – it is a good day for the team and I want to congratulate them all.”

Fausto Gresini: 

“Finally, finally, finally we are on the podium! It was a tough race because our rivals were strong and we weren't sure that today would be the day to break our bad luck. Now I just hope this result gives Marco and the team the confidence to carry us through the rest of the season. Brno is a magical circuit for us and that proved to be the case again today. Hiroshi had a good race with a solid top ten finish and that will also be important for the races that are left.”

San Carlo Honda Gresini press release.

Stoner Czechs out at Brno, Simoncelli podium

MotoGP title leader Casey Stoner cruised to a dominant victory in Sunday's Czech Republic Grand Prix, which saw Dani Pedrosa crash from the lead, Marco Simoncelli claim a first ever podium and Jorge Lorenzo fade to fourth. 

Unlike his rivals, world champion Lorenzo chose the soften option front tyre - which helped the Yamaha rider take the lead ahead of Repsol Honda riders Pedrosa, Andrea Dovizioso and Stoner on the opening lap. 

But by lap three Lorenzo was starting to have front-end moments, which allowed both Pedrosa and Stoner back past. Moments later poel-sitter Pedrosa lowsided out of the lead, handing the advantage to Stoner. 

The Australian then rode steadily into the distance, building an advantage of over eight-seconds on his way to his sixth win of the year - extending his title lead over Lorenzo from 20 to32 points. 

Despite a stubborn resistance, world champion Lorenzo was caught and passed by Italians Dovizioso and Simoncelli, with Dovizioso gaining breathing room over his compatriot in the closing stages. 

Former 250cc world champion Simoncelli, who has crashed in five races this year and been penalised in another, finally claimed his debut MotoGP rostrum after withstanding late-race pressure from Lorenzo. 

Ben Spies - struggling with a pinched nerve in his neck this weekend - brought the second factory M1 home in fifth, 1.6sec from Lorenzo. 

Valentino Rossi lost places from his best Ducati qualifying of sixth, but - aided by Pedrosa's exit - recovered the ground lost and crossed the line 2.4sec from Yamaha replacement Spies and 12.6sec from victory. 

Suzuki's Alvaro Bautista - the only rider other than Lorenzo to choose the soft front - pressured Rossi for much of the race, before lowsiding from seventh place with six laps to go. 

That allowed Rossi's team-mate Nicky Hayden to inherit the position, having spent much of the race just ahead of fellow American Colin Edwards. 

Edwards' Monster Yamaha Tech 3 team-mate Cal Crutchlow joined Pedrosa and Bautista on the DNF list, as did fellow rookie Karel Abraham. 

Abraham, whose father and team manager owns the Brno team, was unable to finish his home race after an off-track moment was followed by an engine failure. 

Bautista's wild-card team-mate John Hopkins was forced to withdraw from the event after fracturing fingers in his right hand during Saturday morning practice. 

A test session will be held at the circuit on Monday, which will feature next year's 1000cc bikes from Honda and Yamaha. 

Czech Republic Grand Prix: 

1. Stoner 

2. Dovizioso 

3. Simoncelli 

4. Lorenzo 

5. Spies 

6. Rossi 

7. Hayden 

8. Edwards 

9. Aoyama 

10. Barbera 

11. Elias 

12. de Puniet 

13. Capirossi 

source: crash.net

De Puniet falls avoiding team-mate Capirossi

Randy de Puniet has revealed that his late qualifying accident at Brno on Saturday was caused by having to take evasive action to avoid Pramac Ducati team-mate Loris Capirossi.

"I was doing a good time on my last lap, when I was behind Simoncelli and Valentino, then Capirossi got in front of me right in the last corner, and to avoid hitting him, I was forced to brake hard, which changed my line and caused me to crash," said de Puniet.

"I'm pretty angry and disappointed by Loris's manoeuvre, because I could have had a time that was good enough for at least tenth place."

The fall left de Puniet 15th on the grid.

Capirossi appeared to accept responsibility.

"I'm sorry for what happened, but I saw him far back and I didn't think I would cause any problem. These things can happen, but I'll definitely be more careful next time," said the Italian veteran, who will start from 16th place.

De Puniet and Capirossi are both riding injured from previous crashes.

source: crash.net

Second row start for Simoncelli, Top ten for Aoyama

Simoncelli was somewhat disappointed at the end of qualifying practice today, with a second row start certainly not reflecting the potential he had shown in free practice yesterday. The team will analyse the data tonight but it looks as though they will have to take a step backwards with the set-up, having lost an hour of dry time this morning in the wet final free practice. Hiroshi Aoyama was satisfied, however, the Japanese rider improving his confidence and pace to take another step forward into the top ten.

Marco Simoncelli: 

“I am a little disappointed because we have gone slower than yesterday and not made the improvements we hoped for. Obviously the conditions didn't help because with the rain this morning the track surface was not in the best shape. Other riders have clearly struggled with it too but it seemed to particularly affect us. Now we need to look at why that was and try to put things right for tomorrow.”

Hiroshi Aoyama: 

”After the rain this morning we worked well this afternoon to find a decent set up. I am satisfied because tenth place is a good position for us at the moment, especially because the gap to the riders at the front is smaller. We will try and make a few small changes in the morning that give us a little more pace in some sections. Overall I am happy and hopeful of a good race for me and the team, who have worked so hard.”

San Carlo Honda Gresini press release.

Barberá confident ahead of Brno race

Héctor Barberá was focused and determined throughout the second day of the Cardion ab Grand Prix Ceské republiky weekend, although the MAPFRE Aspar rider was left to reflect on personal errors at the crucial point of the session that leave him thirteenth on the starting grid. Despite that setback, the Spanish rider remains confident in the set up of his bike and optimistic about his chances of a strong fight back tomorrow.

Héctor Barberá:

"We did a good job today because this morning I was struggling to improve my lap times - I just kept hitting a ceiling. In the afternoon we made some set up changes to my Ducati and things improved considerably. We dropped the ride height and change the front and rear shock settings, which instantly gave us more confidence and pace. We still need another six or seven tenths to be where we want but tomorrow we will look to find this by working on power delivery and handling. Overall it has been a positive first day and the team has done a great job."

MAPFRE Aspar press release.

Elias 12th on the Brno grid

After Friday’s afternoon improvements, LCR Honda rider Toni Elias recorded a best time of 1’58.245 and grabbed12th place on the grid for the Cardion ab Grand Prix Ceské republiky race.

This is the best qualifying position so far this year for the Moto2 Reigning World Champion and he is convinced he could have lapped even faster but this morning torrential rain has interrupted his TO DO list to fine tune the RCV.

Toni Elias: 

“Obviously I’m satisfied because this is my best position on the grid so far this year. With the small improvements we gained yesterday, I could ride the bike with more confidence, especially on the front. I had some more things to try this morning but the bad weather interrupted my plan. Anyway, we already decided on the front and rear tyre for tomorrow’s race and we just need to fine tune the bike to confirm our overall package. These small adjustments make me confident for Monday test session as well”.

LCR Honda press release.

Rossi encouraged by steps forward as Hayden finds late surge

Some changes to riding position paid dividends for Valentino Rossi on Saturday at Brno as the Italian qualified on the second row for Sunday’s race, setting the sixth fastest time in qualifying for his best grid start of the season so far.

“Sixth position is nothing fantastic but I am satisfied because we worked better during the practice and we reduced the gap to the top guys step by step,” said the Ducati rider, who ended the hour-long QP 0.776s off pole man Dani Pedrosa. “To be on the second row is a good start because it’s our best qualification of the season and also we are not so far from some Hondas and Yamahas.”

He continued: “We made some modifications to the bike today with the front and my position on the bike, and I feel better with the front and can push more on (corner) entry. So I enjoyed today. We still have some problems with acceleration and sliding, so if we can fix this tomorrow then maybe we can have a good race.”

After a wet morning practice the premier class enjoyed dry condition for qualifying, and Rossi added: “I hope it’s dry tomorrow because it looks like the weather is not fantastic. Tyre choice I think we’ll go with the soft for the rear, and we have some modifications to increase the rear grip and the speed in the change of direction, so we have to try tomorrow morning.”

On the other side of the Ducati Team garage Nicky Hayden will start from the third row after timing in ninth fastest, and the American made a breakthrough in the final quarter of the session.

“In the end it was much better than how this morning had been going, the rain hurt us because we needed some time to figure out some stuff in the dry, because yesterday we found nothing in the dry and weren’t going forward,” said Hayden. “In the rain the bike was really good out of the box, and normally I need a little time in the rain but the whole session I was in the top five. But then qualifying was quite the opposite, I was down the whole way, but with 15 minutes we found something and I could push a bit and was able to pull out one or two laps. I know tomorrow will be a long, hard day. We’ll see if we can sweeten it up in the morning and try and go in the same direction.”

Discussing tyre choice, Hayden continued: “It looks like we’ll go with a hard front and soft rear. I tried the hard rear yesterday afternoon but it just didn’t give enough grip, especially on the left side. The hard just hasn’t been an option for us the last few races, but the soft’s working pretty well and we did a lot of laps on them so we don’t expect any problems. Some of the long corners I’m losing a lot of time and some of the chicanes I lose a bit in the first which knocks on, so hopefully we can do a better job tomorrow.”

source: MotoGP Official Website

Pedrosa first, Stoner third on Czech GP grid

Casey Stoner will join Pedrosa on the front row of the grid in third position and Andrea Dovizioso from third row in seventh position, after a very interesting qualifying session that was decided in the final 10 minutes.

After the third free practice held in wet conditions, the track was quite dirty and slippery for qualifying. However, the riders were able to continue improving the set up of their RC212V's and work on the pace before looking for the best position on the grid.

Pedrosa achieved his first pole of the season after showing impressive pace during the entire weekend, while Stoner made steps forward to solving the issues he had Friday in setting up his bike. Andrea Dovizioso slightly improved his lap time from Friday, but he will be hoping to make a bigger step in the race to fight for another podium.

Dani Pedrosa:

"It's my first pole of the year and also after a long time, so I'm very happy for that. The weekend has been pretty good for us so far, the bike is working well and I'm feeling good physically as well. We made only a few small changes on the bike and this allowed me to concentrate more on my riding, so let's hope we are able to keep the pace tomorrow and fight for a good result. This is the most important thing and we need to keep our feet on the ground because the rivals are close. I think we can still improve the bike a little, especially on the chassis side to have better grip, even though I guess that the rain this morning affected the conditions on track which made it more slippery."

Casey Stoner:

"We hoped after yesterday that we could improve the feeling in the bike this morning but unfortunately it was a wet session, so we couldn't use it as we would have liked to. Also, the session didn't start too well with a fast crash in turn three which lost us some time and obviously dented my confidence a little. Then this afternoon we started to get a little more feedback from the bike, but all in all we didn't really make a big step forward or improve it significantly from yesterday's first session. We seem to be getting more and more chatter as the weekend progresses and the more I push the more it increases and the slower I get, so it's a little frustrating. I felt qualifying could have been better, we almost lapped with the same time on old and new tyres but in general we have a lot of work to do. We're obviously happy with front row, but we're not really where we want to be with t he bike and there is still a lot of work to do. We're looking forward to tomorrow and I'm sure we can find some improvements in time for the race."

Andrea Dovizioso: 

“After having struggled yesterday with the engine brake set up, today we went back to the old specification that we used up until the Italian Grand Prix. The rain fall from last night and this morning affected the track surface and this afternoon there was less grip and the references changed compared to yesterday. We will continue working, in particular on the front, because under braking we are on the limit. I also have to ride with more fluidity. We will keep on working also in the warm up to improve for the race. The pace is not so bad and it’s not impossible to fight for the podium. The race will be hard, with many battles so it will be important to make a good start.”

Repsol Honda press release.

Edwards and Crutchlow set sights on double top 10 result

Edwards will start from the middle of the third row in eighth position, the American brilliantly capitalising on a range of set-up modifications to his YZR-M1 machine to post a best time of 1’57.676. The popular 37 year-old was able to run consistently inside the top 10 for the entire session, the set-up changes drastically improving front and rear grip to allow Edwards to qualify leading non-factory rider once again in 2011.

His best time was just over 0.3s away from the second row and the Texan is now confident he can challenge for his first ever top six finish at the Brno circuit in tomorrow's race, which is the 11th round of this year's MotoGP World Championship.

Crutchlow too demonstrated his encouraging speed in the early part of the session, the British rider reaping the benefits of major front-end set-up changes to give him more turning performance. Crutchlow, who was an impressive seventh quickest in a rain-affected final practice session this morning, was able to run inside the top three at one stage, as he worked on fine-tuning the race set-up of his YZR-M1 machine.

The 25 year-old seemed certain to challenge for a spot on the third row of the grid when a small mistake at Turn 10 resulted in an unfortunate crash with 12 minutes remaining. Crutchlow sprinted back to the pits to jump on his second YZR-M1 bike, but he was unable to improve on his time of 1’57.797 and will start the race from 11th. The major front-end modifications though have boosted Crutchlow's confidence in full race trim and he is aiming to battle for a top seven finish tomorrow.

Colin Edwards, 8th:

“I'm much happier today with the performance of the bike and I need to say a big thanks to my Monster Yamaha Tech 3 crew again for their incredible work. Yesterday I just wasn't comfortable at all and had no feeling with the front or rear of the bike. I told my crew what I was feeling on the track and it is up to them to interpret that and try and improve the bike. And today they did an absolutely awesome job and I had a much better package. I went from feeling like I was riding on marbles yesterday to having a lot of traction today and I felt much more comfortable. We actually just threw in last year's race set-up and even though I'm using a completely different chassis, it worked brilliantly, although I'm still 0.4s slower than last year. I'm not sure why that is. I'm not sure if the track lost some grip after the rain this morning because this afternoon in the dry my bike was so much better than yesterday, so I can't really compare. Looking at the calibre of the guys in front of me and what they are riding, I think to be completely realistic, I wouldn't be upset to finis h where I qualified.”

Cal Crutchlow, 11th:

“I'm happy on one hand because we made a big change to the bike to help it turn better and it was a really good step. But I'm a little disappointed on the other hand because I made a silly little mistake that probably cost me the chance to get on the third row. We were making some good progress with the new front set-up and I was faster in the first two splits than my previous best lap when I just ran in too hot at Turn 10. I should have just ran into the gravel but I tried to make the corner, squeezed the brake a bit harder and down I went. It's one of those things when you're pushing hard against this level of competition but I've felt much better on the bike here this weekend. My times have been consistently on the edge of the top six and I felt I could have probably qualified sixth or seventh. My race pace has been strong so I'm just looking forward to having a good race tomorrow and picking up valuable points.”

Monster Yamaha Tech 3 press release

Day to forget for Rizla Suzuki at Brno

Rizla Suzuki had its promising start to the weekend shattered at Brno today as firstly John Hopkins had to withdraw from the event and then Álvaro Bautista had a difficult qualifying session to leave him with a mountain to climb in tomorrow’s race.

Bautista will start from the fifth row of the grid after he failed to make a competitive lap-time and will need one of his great starts to be able to challenge with the front-runners in tomorrow’s race. He has a consistent race pace and was able to stay with other riders in the earlier part of the qualifying session, but was unable to put together a fast lap to move him up the grid as the session came to its climax.

Hopkins was forced to withdraw from the weekend’s event following a crash in this morning’s wet practice session. It has now been confirmed that he has broken three fingers on his right hand, but he will remain at Brno to support the team, before returning to America on Monday to have surgery to repair the damage.

Today’s qualifying was held in dry, but overcast conditions with track temperatures reaching 30ºC. Dani Pedrosa took pole position on his Honda, with reigning World Champion Jorge Lorenzo second and current championship leader Casey Stoner third.

Tomorrow’s race is round 11 of the 2011 MotoGP World Championship and the excitement gets underway at 14.00hrs local time (12.00hrs GMT).

Álvaro Bautista:

“I am not happy with the qualifying because we just didn’t get our best level today and we will have to start tomorrow near the back of the grid. My rhythm was not too bad when I followed other riders and I could stay with them, but to be able to do that in the race I have to make a good start again tomorrow and fight my way through. I can’t say much more because I am just not happy with how things went today.

“It was not a good day for the whole team with John crashing this morning and breaking his fingers. I feel very sorry for him because he did well yesterday and it looked like he’d have a good race. MotoGP racing is not always what you want it to be and these things happen, but I wish him a speedy recovery and hope he’s back soon.”

John Hopkins:

“I guess disappointed is the only word that can sum up how I feel! I must apologise to the whole team for making such a stupid mistake out there this morning. It was the smallest crash under braking in the wet conditions and as I slid along I kept my hand on the ground to try and slow me down, but as soon as I hit the gravel it went in and mangled my hand right up. I’ve fractured three fingers on my right hand. The index and middle finger are just normal fractures that probably wouldn’t have kept me off the bike, but the third finger has separated and split down the middle from the knuckle. It’s not a case of pain, strength or anything like that, it’s simply that I can’t bend the finger or both bones could come through the skin, so it would have been impossible to hold on to the bike.

“I think things went very well yesterday and I had every intention of being able to make another step forward today. I believe that the GSV-R is every bit capable of a consistent top-six finish and I think it’s a great machine. With the lack of seat time I’ve had, I don’t think that I could have matched the potential of what the bike is capable of doing. I know I didn’t yesterday and I think it still has another second a lap in it. I wish I could have gone out and achieved a good result for all involved and mainly to show Suzuki that they have a really good machine which has great potential.

“This is just another small setback in my journey to get back to full time MotoGP. I’ll stay here the rest of the weekend and give my full support to the team and do whatever I can to express my gratitude to them for giving me this opportunity. This is not the last time you’ll see me at a Grand Prix, I’m still destined to be back here, whether it’s this year or next I don’t know, but I will be back here!”

Paul Denning – Team Manger:

“Grand Prix racing isn’t easy and today showed that! Yesterday we were looking very strong with lap-times in the 57s and both riders in the top-10. Today John is in a cast and Álvaro’s qualified 14th and almost half-of-a-second slower than yesterday afternoon. We did have an issue with a vibration at the end of the qualifying, but frankly speaking, we expected a much better time than that earlier in the session when he had a brand new set of tyres. We all know how well he can race, but if we don’t qualify better we won’t be able to improve the race result.”