Fifth race of thisvseason's MotoGP series took place at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona. Czech rider Karel Abraham, who finished twelfth, managed to collect his first and much needed points. After a successful start the rider from Brno was in eleventh place. Twelve laps before the end he was overtaken by Ben Spies who had returned to the race after a fall. Abaja then maintained safe distance from his pursuers and him crossing the finish line meant four points in the overall MotoGP standings.
Karel Abraham:
“I have mixed feelings about today's race. Sure, I am glad I finished the race and collected my first points this season. On the other hand, I am disappointed, as the bike is not behaving the way it should. The rear wheel keeps slipping terribly. During the warm-up session we wanted to try some settings from 2011 but we had to give up this idea due to rain. It means we will have to do it during tomorrow's tests. There were some moments during the race when I thought I would try to overtake Barbera but eventually
I realised that points were the top priority in today's race. Due to the compromised stability of the bike, I decided not to take the risk and finish with points. I want to believe that today's race represents a turn of events, towards better lap times and results.”
Marco Grana, chief mechanic Cardion AB Motoracing:
"It was a relief, finally. The most important good news is that we finally have our first four points. The racing season basically starts
today for us, which is going to determine our next steps. We still have a lot of work ahead of us, including the improvement of the traction of the rear wheel and other things. We will conduct some tests on this track tomorrow, based on the data obtained from today's race. I hope it's not going to rain. There is no denying that the result will boost the confidence of all team members,
including Karel. It is about time. We are very happy about those four points."
Morning free practice was again about searching of the ideal bike setting with the aim to improve the adhesion of the rear tyre. A hot afternoon brought a very balanced qualification, when Karel Abraham was helding long in a group of Ducati riders. The Czech rider will start from the fourth row to Sunday's race. On the winner of the qualifying session Australian Stoner he lost 1,971 seconds.
Karel Abraham:
“I am quite disappointed from the overall setting of the bike. Especially the adhesion of the rear tyre is very bad. The loss we have on breaks is connected with the problems we have on complex bike setting. The weather forecast for tomorrow is uncertain. It should be much colder, hopefully not rainy. We will see what we´ll be able to change and improve during the warm up. I hope for the happy end and for scoring some points it the race.”
Marco Grana, chief mechanic Cardion AB Motoracing:
"I cannot say that im happy about today´s result, but on the other hand we are not skeptic for tomorrow. The time from the qualification is much better than in the third free practice, but unfortunatelly it is not sufficient yet. There is still considerable space between us and the riders on prototypes. We slightly improved the bike setting, but we are not satisfied with the adhesion of the rear soft tyre. We are also losing on breaks. ¨The goal for the warm up is clear. We must solve all our problems in settings and bring the bike in the best possible setting to tomorrow´s race.“
First day of Grand prix of Catalunya brought very close battle in MotoGP class. Karel Abraham ended on 11th position between World Champion Casey Stoner and Valentino Rossi. With the best time 1:43,341 in afternoon session Abaja lost only 1,242 to the fastest Jorge Lorenzo. Czech motorcycle rider did his best time of the day in morning practice session ending in 8th position.
Karel Abraham:
„I really enjoy the morning practice, but there was really scorcher in the afternoon. Bike is slipping. Slightly in the front, extremely in the rear. We must fight with it. Problem is, that we will ride in particular conditions each day. So we can find some set up for the morning, that won´t work in the afternoon and conversely. Nevertheless this weather is more comfortable that all the unpredictable weekends before this race. So I look forward to the sunny weekend."
Marco Grana, chief mechanic Cardion AB Motoracing:
„The morning session was really good, we made eighth time. In the afternoon the track was very hot and many riders had problems. Conditions had changed from the morning and bike was sliding on rear. We tried to change something, we put softer spring but nothing wasn´t satisfying. Our lap time isn´t bad, but we want to get over one minute and forty three. Tomorrow we try to find the grip on the rear wheel and we can be better. Today isn´t negative, we have problems, but we know them and will try to find the solution.“
přeložila Aspena – translated by Aspena, www.aspena.cz
