Hayden second at Mugello

From Repsol Honda

Inclement weather and changeable track conditions dominated Friday’s proceedings at Mugello, riders contending with a damp track in the morning and heavy rainfall in the afternoon.

Repsol Honda rider Nicky Hayden excelled in the conditions, the American leading the morning session at one point and ending the afternoon outing second fastest. On combined session times Hayden was 12th overall with a best lap at 1:59.436 while teammate Dani Pedrosa was eighth with a 1:55.805 and wild card rider Tadayuki Okada 17th at 2:02.810.

Okada’s progress was watched with special interest because he is giving Honda’s pneumatic-valve-spring engine its MotoGP debut this weekend. The Japanese rider, who hasn’t contested a GP since October 2000, was satisfied with progress, though he had a high-speed tumble in the afternoon when he lost the front while braking for the downhill Casanova right-hander. The six-time GP winner was forced to sit out the remainder of the session because he has only one bike here.

“This morning track conditions were 50/50, not completely dry, not completely wet," Pedrosa said. "We started working on wet set-up and we needed to do a lot of testing. We also tested different rain tires as the track conditions always change a lot when it’s raining.

"In the afternoon the track was properly wet, in one area there was a lot of standing water which made riding quite dangerous. At the end of the session the rainfall slowed and the lap times improved. If it’s wet again tomorrow we are in quite good shape, though there is still room for improvement. If it’s dry, as the weather forecast suggests, it will be a completely new story as far as set-up is concerned.”

“Tady’s comments about the engine are quite positive," said team manager Kazuhiko Yamano. "He says power delivery is not so bad and the handling is easy here. Now we need to spend some time checking all the data.”

Free Practice 1 Results
1. John HOPKINS USA Kawasaki Racing Team KAWASAKI 1:54.053
2. Loris CAPIROSSI ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP SUZUKI 1:54.520
3. Anthony WEST AUS Kawasaki Racing Team KAWASAKI 1:55.021
4. Alex DE ANGELIS RSM San Carlo Honda Gresini HONDA 1:55.141
5. Shinya NAKANO JPN San Carlo Honda Gresini HONDA 1:55.528
6. Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA JiR Team Scot MotoGP HONDA 1:55.718
7. Chris VERMEULEN AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP SUZUKI 1:55.774
8. Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team HONDA 1:55.805
9. Casey STONER AUS Ducati Marlboro Team DUCATI 1:58.618
10. Valentino ROSSI ITA Fiat Yamaha Team YAMAHA 1:58.672
11. Randy DE PUNIET FRA LCR Honda MotoGP HONDA 1:59.240
12. Nicky HAYDEN USA Repsol Honda Team HONDA 1:59.436
13. James TOSELAND GBR Tech 3 Yamaha YAMAHA 1:59.899
14. Jorge LORENZO SPA Fiat Yamaha Team YAMAHA 2:00.004
15. Marco MELANDRI ITA Ducati Marlboro Team DUCATI 2:00.162
16. Sylvain GUINTOLI FRA Alice Team DUCATI 2:01.718
17. Tadayuki OKADA JPN Repsol Honda Team HONDA 2:02.810
18. Toni ELIAS SPA Alice Team DUCATI 2:03.305
19. Colin EDWARDS USA Tech 3 Yamaha YAMAHA 2:03.774

Free Practice 2 Results
1 C. VERMEULEN AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 2:01.500
2. N. HAYDEN USA Repsol Honda Team +0.510
3. C. STONER AUS Ducati Marlboro Team +0.805
4. V. ROSSI ITA Fiat Yamaha Team +0.827
5. J. TOSELAND GBR Tech 3 Yamaha +0.912
6. J. LORENZO SPA Fiat Yamaha Team +1.062
7. A. DOVIZIOSO ITA JiR Team Scot MotoGP +1.069
8. R. DE PUNIET FRA LCR Honda MotoGP +2.068
9. C. EDWARDS USA Tech 3 Yamaha +2.086
10. D. PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team +2.199
11. A. DE ANGELIS RSM San Carlo Honda Gresini +2.265
12. J. HOPKINS USA Kawasaki Racing Team +2.450
13. L. CAPIROSSI ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP +2.549
14. A. WEST AUS Kawasaki Racing Team +3.897
15. S. NAKANO JPN San Carlo Honda Gresini +4.134
16. T. OKADA JPN Repsol Honda Team +4.603
17. S. GUINTOLI FRA Alice Team +4.757
18. T. ELIAS SPA Alice Team +7.480
19. M. MELANDRI ITA Ducati Marlboro Team +12.612