Aragon GP: Gresini Racing Friday report

There was satisfaction for Team San Carlo Honda Gresini in both free practice sessions at Aragon today, starting in a dry morning that saw Marco Simoncelli set a fast and consistent pace. "Super Sic" quickly got to grips with the new circuit and set the fifth fastest time, before lapping tenth fastest in the wet afternoon session. Marco Melandri was third fastest until the closing stages on the damp track, finishing fifth in a confidence boost for the whole team.

Marco Simoncelli (5th in FP1 - 1'51"768; 10th in FP2 - 2'04"151) "The track is really nice - much more so today on a MotoGP bike than yesterday on the scooter! I am quite happy because I was pretty quick in the dry and not too bad in the wet. It was definitely a good thing to have the extra session because it makes Friday a much more interesting and fun day. I didn't like having just one session in the afternoon. We started out with the setting we found at Misano and it looks like it's a good base for us to work from."

Marco Melandri (11th in FP1 - 1'52"321: 5th in FP2 - 2'03"146) "Luckily we have gone back to four practice sessions here and that meant we got a dry session in this morning. It is a really nice track but it's difficult too because there are so many blind corners where you are braking without seeing the apex and change in camber. The grip wasn't bad in the wet although the drainage isn't perfect in some corners. Overall the track isn't bad and it's a nice facility. The only negatives in my view are that there is too much asphalt outside of the track and too much artificial grass."

Fausto Gresini "This Grand Prix has started out better than usual in both the wet and dry. Both riders did a good job and I am confident about tomorrow. The guys in the team worked well and we started out with a much better base than Misano. Hopefully this is a good sign for the rest of the weekend because I would love to come away from here with a good result."

-source: gresini racing