Brno, 15 August 2008: It was a difficult start to the weekend in the Czech Republic for LCR Honda MotoGP Team and their rider Randy De Puniet. Dark clouds hung over the circuit all day, but conditions remained dry for the MotoGP class as De Puniet eventually finished in fourteenth position overall after the two free practice sessions.

With the track surface having been relaid in the off-season, the teams are having to work hard to set the machine up to the new character of the asphalt, especially as regards the bike’s front-end settings. The Frenchman improved his time from the morning session significantly, knocking over a second off his lap time to end up with a best lap of 1’59.405, set on his 11th lap in the afternoon. However two strange crashes in that afternoon session put an end to his work on the track for the day just after having set his best time.

Casey Stoner (Ducati) was the fastest rider of the day with a 1’57.231.

De Puniet – 14th: “It has been a very difficult start because straight from the off this morning we were struggling for front-end feel. In the first session I destroyed the front tyre and was not able to lap as I would like. Then in the afternoon I tried to change my riding style and the bike set-up, but crashed after just 4 laps - it was a very strange crash! After that I jumped onto the second bike two but crashed again after a few laps. I lost a lot of track time and made only 11 laps in total. The overall package is good but the main problem is the front feeling. We tried to fix it but nothing worked properly. It has been a tough first day of practices but I know that the crew is working hard to solve the problem for tomorrow’s sessions”.


Free Practice:

1 Stoner – 1’57.231
2 Rossi – 1’57.410
3 Capirossi – 1’58.000
4 Nakano – 1’58.228
5 De Angelis -1’58.264
6 Vermeulen – 1’58.462
7 Edwards – 1’58.672
8 Hopkins – 1’58.830
9 Elias – 1’58.881
10 Guintoli – 1’58.923
11 Lorenzo – 1’58.977
12 Dovizioso – 1’59.094
13 Toseland – 1’59.328
14 De Puniet – 1’59.405
15 Melandri – 1’59.943
16 Pedrosa – 2’00.540
17 West – 2’00.621