Sepang day 3

1) Nicky Hayden (Honda) 2:01.94.
2) Max Biaggi (Honda) 2:02.108.
3) Sete Gibernau (Honda) 2:02.496.
4) Colin Edwards (Honda) 2:02.597.
5) Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 2:02.746.
6) Makoto Tamada (Honda) 2:02.962.
7) Carlos Checa (Yamaha) 2:03.100.
8) Loris Capirossi (Ducati) 2:03.100.
9) Troy Bayliss (Ducati) 2:03.544.
10) Alex Barros (Honda) 2:03.558.
11) Kousuke Akiyoshi (Suzuki) 2:03.729.
12) Shinichi Itoh (Honda) 2:04.076.
13) Shinya Nakano (Kawasaki) 2:04.625.
14) Neil Hodgson (Ducati) 2:04.674.
15) Marco Melandri (Yamaha) 2:04.753.
16) Gregorio Lavilla (Suzuki) 2:05.756.
17) Alex Hofmann (Kawasaki) 2:04.817.
18) Ruben Xaus (Ducati) 2:04.929.
19) Norick Abe (Yamaha) 2:05.059.
20) Shane Byrne (Aprilia) 2:05.059.
21) Jeremy McWilliams (Aprilia) 2:06.574.
22) Andrew Pitt (Moriwaki) 2:06.00.

 

I think this is the best over the three days. Most people at the top
went quicker but a few had a better day on the 2nd. I'm guessing this
reflects when they tried qualifiers. Big respect to Nicky for getting
into the 2:01s. Gibernau, Edwards, Rossi all looked like they were
hitting a wall; Only a 10th better each day.

The field looks like it's split in two. Top 10 and bottom 10. With the
top 5 getting regular podiums and the next 5 getting occasional podiums.
Today I think it'll be Max's year. Tomorrow I'll probably think
different. But if what we get is close racing between Nicky, Max, Sete,
Colin, Vale with Makoto, Carlos, Loris, Troy, Alex getting in the way at
some tracks I won't complain.

Day 3
1) Nicky Hayden (Honda) 2:01.94
2) Max Biaggi (Honda) 2:02.108
3) Sete Gibernau (Honda) 2:02.496
4) Colin Edwards (Honda) 2:02.597
5) Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 2:02.746
6) Makoto Tamada (Honda) 2:02.962
7) Carlos Checa (Yamaha) 2:03.100
8) Loris Capirossi (Ducati) 2:03.100
9) Troy Bayliss (Ducati) 2:03.544
10) Alex Barros (Honda) 2:03.558
11) Kousuke Akiyoshi (Suzuki) 2:03.729
12) Shinichi Itoh (Honda) 2'03.936
13) Shinya Nakano (Kawasaki) 2'04.318
14) Alex Hofmann (Kawasaki) 2'04.568
15) Norick Abe (Yamaha) 2'04.577
16) Neil Hodgson (Ducati) 2:04.674
17) Marco Melandri (Yamaha) 2:04.753
18) Ruben Xaus (Ducati) 2:04.929
19) Shane Byrne (Aprilia) 2:05.059
20) Gregorio Lavilla (Suzuki) 2'05.290
21) Jeremy McWilliams (Aprilia) 2'05.934
22) Andrew Pitt (Moriwaki) 2:06.00

 

The new guys looked like they were coming to terms with the track, power
and new bikes (not to mention new tyres) along with getting back to
speed after time out. Hodgeson, Xaus and Byrne were taking big chunks of
time out between days. I bet they're disappointed not to be closer to
the front. But I'm sure they'll put a brave face on it given that they
improved so much.

I find Aprilia puzzling. They've been so good at building small two
strokes and racing them but they've never quite found their way with the
big four strokes. It's a shame they've been quite so ambitious with the
design but without being able to really capitalise on it.

Who knows. But then being able to use the same bike to go faster in the
final minutes of practice with a qualifier is an essential skill. As a
team manager I'd want the riders to practice that and I'd want to see
the effects on the bike.