Catalunya MotoGP: Valentino Rossi strikes back in Spain

Valentino Rossi was in bullish mood in Catalunya tonight after he set the fastest time during the opening practice session with the fastest time.

Chasing only his second victory of the 2009 campaign in Sunday’s 25-lap race, the Italian easily outpaced title rivals Jorge Lorenzo and Casey Stoner as he made big progress with solving a front-end set-up issue that has dogged him throughout this season.

The Fiat Yamaha rider clocked a best time of 1.43.038 to defeat Spaniard and home favourite Lorenzo by 0.302s. Rossi, who trails series leader Stoner by nine-points going into round six, said: “We made some changes to our base setting here and already it feels much better to ride. This practice went very well for us, we were strong from start to finish and to be in first position feels good.

“We have found out some very interesting things, especially about my feeling with the bike, but we need to keep on working because there are still some parts that we want to make better for tomorrow. I am really happy to be able to ride the bike how I want to finally but there is still plenty more work to continue with to make sure we’re in the best possible shape for tomorrow afternoon and Sunday.”

Lorenzo was content with his start to the weekend as he logged a best time of 1.43.340 to make a Fiat Yamaha 1-2. Lorenzo, who has won in Japan and France so far in 2009, was 0.296s clear of Stoner’s factory Ducati GP9 and he said: “I always have a few doubts coming to each new track but today everything felt really good, my bike and my Bridgestone tyres. I feel very comfortable and we can see that we have the potential to put on a really good performance here. We have a few things which we can improve so we will try to do that tomorrow but this is another good start for us. It’s very early to be making any conclusions about who will be fighting on Sunday though and for now we just have to stay focused.”

Stoner was third quickest although the Aussie looked far from happy with the set-up of his GP9, which was caught on camera several times bucking and weaving under acceleration. The 23-year-old also walked away unscathed when he lost the front of his GP9 at Turn 10 with 15 minutes of the session remaining.

Having clocked a best time of 1.43.636 which just edged out Repsol Honda rider Andrea Dovizioso in fourth, Stoner said: “We didn’t have such a good feeling in the beginning. We’re trying a few different things on one of the bikes and it’s working really well apart from in two areas. One is when I’m at full lean on the way into the corner, it feels a bit vague and wants to push me a metre or so wide.

“When I’m on the gas again it turns really well. The other point is that we’re not getting much traction, but we’re getting loads of corner speed and it’s turning really well. It’s a case of working to find a balance and unfortunately we lost a bit of time at the end because I tipped off it in the hairpin at the end of the back straight. Basically I’d had a couple of moments before that so I was being a little careful – probably too careful because I didn’t push the front hard enough in that corner and it went a little light and tucked. Anyway, we’ve ended up with some reasonably competitive lap times and I’m confident we can go much faster tomorrow. I’m happy because we know what we’re capable of and it’s just a matter of getting it done now.”

Stoner’s team-mate Nicky Hayden had easily his best day of a troubled 2009 campaign as he steered his radically revised GP9 to the sixth best time. Hayden posted a best time of 1.44.152 to finish just over a second away from Rossi and 0.5s off Stoner’s pace.

Hayden has yet to claim a top 12 finish on board the Ducati, but he said: “I know it’s only sixth position but still I’m pretty happy because I was running up front throughout the session and having fun, which is what racing is supposed to be about! Basically Vitto stayed on in Mugello and tested a lot and we have changed almost everything on the bike other than the handgrips!

“We’ve altered the electronics and the geometry a lot to help me get the bike turning and we’ve taken a big step. I don’t want to get too excited because it’s only Friday and we’ve got to keep working hard but I want to say that I am very grateful to the team and to the test team in particular. Nobody here has given up on me even after a few bad races and I have always made it clear I won’t give up on them. We have had to stay mentally strong and keep positive, even though that hasn’t been easy. Hopefully we’re on to something here and all the hard work will start paying off.”

British rider James Toseland was an encouraging 10th quickest as he experimented with a new rear shock setting, while home favourite Dani Pedrosa struggled with injury down in 14th. The Repsol Honda rider, limping heavily with the serious muscle damage suffered in Mugello at the last race, could only post a best time of 1.45.043 in punishing hot conditions.

Air temperatures peaked at 34 degrees, which made it a baptism of fire for Hungarian Gabor Talmacsi. Drafted in for a shock ride on the spare Scot Honda machine, the former world 125GP champion clocked a best time of 1.47.654 in his first 21 laps on an RC212V machine. That left him 4.616s away from Rossi and 2.2s off Ducati’s Niccolo Canepa on the Pramac Ducati.