Rossi hot in scorching San Marino

From motogp.com

Both Fiat Yamaha riders, Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo, mentioned the heat at Misano on Friday afternoon after they successfully got the Gran Premio Cinzano di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini weekend underway.

In uncomfortably hot and humid conditions local favourite Rossi set his best time right at the end of the session, with a 1:35.304 lap, to put him just over a tenth of a second ahead of Lorenzo – who had registered his fastest time a few minutes earlier.

“Today was unbelievably hot," Rossi said. "The first session was much better than in Indy though and I am quite happy. We did a few experiments with different settings and then at the end when we put everything together with the right tire, I was able to do three fast laps and finish first.”

The legendary Italian added, “It’s a good sign to be in this shape already on Friday and now we just have to improve a bit more tomorrow because it’s very important here to be on the front row. It’s quite a tricky track and you have to be quite careful in some places, but my bike felt good today.”

“Today was very hot which meant it quite hard to ride, and also the track is quite slippery here," Lorenzo said. "I felt comfortable on my bike from the start and I was able to be quite fast, which is always encouraging, but I think we have some more work to do because we’re not perfect yet and the front could be better, especially on the entry to the corners.”

Repsol Honda riders Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso finishing the one-hour session in third and fifth places. Pedrosa was among the frontrunners throughout the afternoon and sat on the top of the timesheets for periods during the day’s sole practice session. He finished with a lap time of 1:36.080. The Spaniard’s final run, which traditionally yields the session’s fastest time, was interrupted when a broken radiator cap released some hot water and caused a surprised Pedrosa to abort his final run.

Dovizioso was just a 0.236 secs. behind his team-mate in fifth place. Riding with Ohlins suspension for the first time at a MotoGP race weekend, Dovizioso was pleased with the progress he and his crew made as he brought his lap time down to 1:36.316.

San Carlo Honda Gresini’s Alex de Angelis continued his good rhythm from last weekend to lap fourth fastest overall, the San Marino rider still aiming to secure a ride for 2010. De Angelis recovered well from an inconsequential crash earlier in the session to mark his best time late on.

Also featuring in the Friday top 10 were Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech 3), Mika Kallio (Ducati Marlboro), Loris Capirossi (Rizla Suzuki), James Toseland (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) and Nicky Hayden (Ducati Marlboro), who all went round within 1.5 secs. of Rossi’s best time.

MotoGP Practice Times
1. Valentino ROSSI (ITA) Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 1:35.304 (273.141 km/h)
2. Jorge LORENZO (SPA) Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha +0.126
3. Dani PEDROSA (SPA) Repsol Honda Team Honda +0.776
4. Alex DE ANGELIS (RSM) San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda +0.792
5. Andrea DOVIZIOSO (ITA) Repsol Honda Team Honda +1.012
6. Colin EDWARDS (USA) Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha +1.046
7. Mika KALLIO (FIN) Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati +1.115
8. Loris CAPIROSSI (ITA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki +1.204
9. James TOSELAND (GBR) Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha +1.284
10. Nicky HAYDEN (USA) Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati +1.304
11. Randy DE PUNIET (FRA) LCR Honda MotoGP Honda +1.752
12. Toni ELIAS (SPA) San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda +1.753
13. Aleix ESPARGARO (SPA) Pramac Racing Ducati +1.822
14. Chris VERMEULEN (AUS) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki +1.830
15. Niccolo CANEPA (ITA) Pramac Racing Ducati +2.002
16. Marco MELANDRI (ITA) Hayate Racing Team Kawasaki +2.150
17. Gabor TALMACSI (HUN) Scot Racing Team MotoGP Honda +2.565