Spanish GP: Alice Team Friday notes

FIRST EUROPEAN WORKING DAY FOR THE 2008 MOTOGP SEASON Sunny day in Andalusia, Spain, on the Jerez de la Frontera circuit, where MotoGP World Championship riders have ridden for the firsts kilometres of the season in the old continent. Alice Team ...

FIRST EUROPEAN WORKING DAY FOR THE 2008 MOTOGP SEASON

Sunny day in Andalusia, Spain, on the Jerez de la Frontera circuit, where MotoGP World Championship riders have ridden for the firsts kilometres of the season in the old continent. Alice Team Riders, Sylvain Guintoli and Toni Elias, have tried hard to conquer a good position in the standing, concluding respectively in sixteenth and eighteenth place. The French rider has started well the afternoon session, improving his best morning lap time than almost a second straight away, but a fall in the fifth lap has compromised his work with more than half of the session left. Toni Elias has tried to work on both bikes at his disposal, not finding the right setting to reach higher positions. Tomorrow another hour of free practice for the French-Hispanic duo, before qualifying session that will determine the starting grid of the Spanish Grand Prix 2008, the twenty-second ridden in Jerez.

Sergio Verbena -- Sylvain Guintoli track engineer

"This afternoon we started well after the modifications done at the end of the first session of the day, in fact, since the firsts laps Sylvain (Guintoli) looked really fast, but the fall at the fifth lap has slowed our work down. We made him go out with the second bike, but he couldn't find the same feeling. In this way we have used a lot of minutes to try to prepare the bike like the damaged one, but he could has ridden only for two laps in the last few minutes. Anyway, seen the good lap time he has registered only at the fourth lap, we are trustful to be able to improve our actual position."

Sylvain Guintoli -- Alice Team Rider (16th best lap time in 1'42.115 -- Total laps 30)

"This morning has been really hard for us. We have tried different solutions, modifying a lot the bike, but without finding the right setting. In the afternoon the bike was fantastic. Unluckily, maybe because I was too eager to do well, I pushed too hard and slipped at turn five. Luckily I didn't hurt my self. I have ridden some laps with Nicky (Hayden) and my bike seemed very competitive. I hope that thanks to the work done by my technicians, we will be able to find the same setting I had on bike one, being able to get back the right feeling with the bike and improve my self in tomorrow qualifying."

Toni Elias -- Alice Team Rider (18th best lap time in 1'42.183 -- Total laps 43)

"It's not easy, but we have to continue to work hard. We have meet the same problem we had during last February IRTA test done here. The only way out is to give 100%, together with Ducati and Bridgestone. By doing so I am sure results will begin to come. Now we have to analyze the data to understand where we can make a big step forward."