US GP: Ducati Friday practice one notes

STONER INSIDE 2007 POLE PACE IN FIRST SESSION AS MELANDRI MAKES BRIGHT START Casey Stoner set the pace in the opening free practice for the USGP, which started out under uncharacteristically grey Californian skies and amidst fresh temperatures of ...

STONER INSIDE 2007 POLE PACE IN FIRST SESSION AS MELANDRI MAKES BRIGHT START

Casey Stoner set the pace in the opening free practice for the USGP, which started out under uncharacteristically grey Californian skies and amidst fresh temperatures of 14DEGC, before the sunshine finally broke through and warmed things up to around 19DEGC. The Australian was quickly into the groove around the Laguna Seca circuit, located just north of Monterey, and in the final couple of minutes of the morning session he was lapping inside his pole position time from last season.

Marco Melandri also did an excellent job this morning as he started out with the same setting he found at Sachsenring, continuing to make constant progress before ending with the fifth fastest time.

CASEY STONER (Ducati MotoGP Team) 1st: 1'21.915

"At the start the track surface was a little cool but grip wasn't bad and after a few laps it was back to a normal level. It took a few laps to get used to the new bumps that have emerged since last season though. In general the track is in good shape and I enjoyed riding because it's a fun layout and we found a good set-up pretty quickly, using the base from last year. That allowed us to improve as the session went on and I think that if it wasn't for a bit of traffic at the end I could have gone even faster. For now I'm very satisfied but we have to keep working hard because the temperatures are sure to keep rising in the afternoon and that will have an effect on the track conditions."

MARCO MELANDRI (Ducati MotoGP Team) 5th: 1'23.455

"Finally we've had a 'proper' free practice - I'm pleased. At the beginning the circuit was tricky but that was probably because of the fact it was cool, because suddenly the grip came in. I had a good feeling from the start with the bike, I was getting decent feedback and that is something I've been missing a lot this year. I was able to ride well and stay on the good line. From then on we made constant progress, refining the base set-up that we used at Sachsenring. Now we need to try and continue like this in the next session, when the temperature will no doubt be higher, because I want a good race here."