Sete Gibernau was one of four riders to lap inside Loris Capirossi’s pole time from last year on the first day of action at Estoril. The Spanish rider only lost pole with six minutes to go but was happy with the work done and with second place, just 0.031 seconds behind Valentino Rossi. It was a close fight between the two riders, as has become tradition this season, with Sete clocking his best time on lap 23 of 26, using the Honda RC211V he rode to victory at Brno two weeks ago. The Telefónica MoviStar Honda rider decided to begin set-up work on the bike he knows best, leaving development of the latest version delivered by HRC in the Czech Republic and tested on Monday and Tuesday after the race on one side, probably until tomorrow. Colin Edwards has been working to find the best possible set-up balance for his bike and a late decision to switch to the same setting he used at Donington proved correct.
SETE GIBERNAU
(2nd, 1’38”067): “We came here on the back of a good result in the Czech Republic and it is important not to get too carried away and continue working with the same level of concentration as we have up to now. Today we weren’t able to get the best out of the bike or myself, although the final result is positive. I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s session because I know we can improve and we have plenty of margin to do so.”
COLIN EDWARDS
(7th, 1’38”738): “We have tried various different set-up solutions and tyres and at the end of the session I felt quite comfortable. I used the same setting as at Donington and I think it can work well here. I am more worried about tyre choice to minimise the effects of chattering, but we’ve got time to keep working on that tomorrow”.
FAUSTO GRESINI
(Team manager): “It’s a good result – we’ve made the most of the two hours practice today and we’re well placed. Sete was in good form, as always, and we’re getting used to his battles with Valentino Rossi until the end. His time is good and he is pretty clear about his set-up for the race. Colin hasn’t been able to make consistent progress but his final time isn’t bad. Hopefully he can take a step forward tomorrow.”
LAP TIMES
1. Valentino Rossi (Ita/Yamaha) 1’38”036
2. Sete Gibernau (Spa/Honda) + 0”031
3. Alex Barros (Bra/Honda) + 0”179
4. Makoto Tamada (Jap/Honda) + 0”306
…..
- Colin Edwards (USA/Honda) + 0”702