Gimbert blames tyres

Sebastien Gimbert – the man who was fastest in the rain on Thursday morning in Qatar – missed out on Superpole on Friday after failing to come to terns with the 06 Pirelli tyres and a problem with his brakes in qualifying.

His was just part of a miserable start to the first WSB race weekend of the year for Team Yamaha Motor France Ipone, which team boss Martial Garcia is blaming on a lack of time on the 2006 Pirelli tyres.

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Gimbert said: “My front brakes overheated so my braking could not be consistent. It was then difficult for me to enter properly the curves as I wished.”

Team-mate Norick Abe failed to qualify for Superpole, too. “My #1 machine was working well, but I had an engine problem. Then I had to switch to my #2 bike, which did not perform so well.”
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Third rider Shinichi Nakatomi – who finished 24th in qualifying said: “This is a new track for me and I have to be careful not to waste everything in case I crash.”

Team-manager Martial Garcia added: “Of course I am not happy. We are now working hard to be ready for the race. We did not know the 2006 tyres and it is why we could not go faster. We used a front tyre that was too hard at the wrong moment.”

A team spokesman explained that the tyres aren’t new for everyone. Pirelli develop tyres during the winter with one team per manufacturer. For Yamaha, Team Yamaha Motor Italia (Haga and Pitt) were used. Team Yamaha Motor France – Ipone had to develop its R1s with 2005 tyres.