British GP: Gresini Racing qualifying report

THIRD ROW FOR THE TWO MARCOS AT SILVERSTONE

A positive qualifying practice saw Team San Carlo Honda Gresini's two riders seal eighth and ninth place on the grid for tomorrow's race. Marco Melandri was the quickest of the two, lapping close to the pacesetters in the class and putting together an impressive rhythm that should serve him well tomorrow. Marco Simoncelli lost the first ten minutes of the session as his mechanics worked against the clock to fix his bike following a heavy crash in the morning free practice. "Super Sic" was pleased with his performance in the time available and is confident he has taken another step forward in his MotoGP education.

Marco Melandri (8th 2'04"555): "It has been a good session during which we have worked well and given ourselves a shot at an even better race. I'm a little annoyed about finding Barbera on the racing line when I was going for my first hot lap and lost a few tenths of a second on turns two, three and five. However, for the rest of the lap I was riding well. The following lap I started out very strong, but the tyres had already lost grip. Damn! Tomorrow we will work out exactly which tyres to use for the race, but the feeling is good. We've done a good job of cutting the distance between us and the fastest riders, and I think that with a good start I can be one of the big players tomorrow afternoon."

Marco Simoncelli (9th 2' 04" 868): "Unfortunately the crash that I had this morning with cold tyres had a knock-on effect o qualifying. We lost ten-to-fifteen minutes that would definitely have proved useful. In any case, I can say that we are happy despite the setback. I like the track and the bike hasn't been bad at all. We need a few improvements, but we can aspire to a good race tomorrow and to fight for fifth or sixth place. We'll see. I am ready for it."

Fausto Gresini: "Regarding the race, I can say that I am very happy with the team and the riders. It was unfortunate that we had the crash with Simoncelli this morning, because he would definitely have done better without losing precious time in that session. Melandri has had a good pace, similar to Simoncelli, and I think that tomorrow we can do really well. It obviously won't be an easy race, but we have the potential to fight for some great positions."

-source: gresini racing