The MotoGP World Championship returned to the legendary Laguna Seca circuit today, eleven years on from its last visit back in 1994.

The riders had three hours of free practice on the first day as the team worked as hard as possible to gather data at a track that is completely different to anything in Europe. Sete Gibernau took things calmly from the start and, little by little, increased both his pace and his feeling for the bike. 

Marco Melandri crashed during the morning in the ‘Corkscrew’ corner, the most famous and difficult section of the Laguna Seca layout. The Italian rider, who was already lapping amongst the top five riders on his first visit to the track, opened the throttle too early from the exit of the first double ‘S’ bend and lost the rear wheel of his Honda. With only 20 minutes remaining to the morning break he was taken to the Clinica Mobile, where doctors confirmed he had not broken any bones. Marco suffered a heavy blow to his right knee and wrist, which underwent surgery last December, but was back on track in the afternoon.

SETE GIBERNAU: “My first impression of Laguna Seca is that it is completely different to anything we have in Europe. The objective today was simply to complete as many laps as possible in order to gather data and get references for what is a tricky circuit. The extra hour was important to adjust the gearbox, tyres and suspension for this circuit. We worked in two different directions and by the end I felt much better. We knew we were coming to a difficult circuit and it really is, but we have to be positive because we’re working in the right direction.”

MARCO MELANDRI: “I felt good on the bike this morning and wanted to push a little more before the time was up but it was a mistake. I lost the rear, the bike spat me off and then dragged me down the hill through the Corkscrew. I got stuck between the rear wheel and the tail and bashed my wrist, knee and head. I was lucky because I could have really hurt myself. I couldn’t ride much today but I hope to get a decent night’s rest and make up for it tomorrow.”

LAP TIMES

1st N. Hayden (USA/Honda), 1'24"228
2nd T.Bayliss (AUS/Honda), 1'24"451
3th M.Biaggi (ITA/Honda), 1'24"542
4th A.Barros (BR/Honda), 1'24"664
5th J. Hopkins (USA/Suzuki), 1'24"679
6th C.Edwards (USA/Yamaha), 1¡24"696
7th S.Gibernau (ESP/Honda), 1'24"802
8th M.Melandri (ITA/Honda), 1'24"938
9thV.Rossi (ITA/Yamaha), 1'24"96
10th C.Checa (ESP/Ducati), 1'25"042