MotoGP - Round 11 qualify

Posted by StickyAdmin, Saturday, July 22nd 2006

With just the MotoGP class to be run here in the USA, it was Chris Vermeulen (Suzuki) who secured pole from Colin Edwards (Yamaha) and third fastest qualifier Kenny Roberts (Roberts KR211V) in searing heat at this dusty yet undeniably spectacular California track.

Dani Pedrosa (Honda) put in a mature performance to qualify on the second row at his first ever visit to this tough-to-learn track. And conditions were as hard as at any other environment on the 17-race calendar too – a 55-degree track temperature combined with a 40-degree ambient temperature. Punishing in the extreme.

This one hour of timed qualifying saved just about everything for the last few minutes, with Pedrosa, Edwards and Roberts leaving it desperately late to plant themselves among the top grid positions. Vermeulen secured pole with a lap of 1m 23.168 seconds with 15 minutes to go and it was not bettered by anyone – try as they did.

Casey Stoner (Honda) headed the timesheet in the early stages with a 1m 24.104s lap as most riders worked on achieving an optimum race rubber set-up while short-listing a selection of potential tyres for tomorrow’s race.

This was a start-from-scratch exercise at a track that has been totally resurfaced for this weekend – and although grip has not been lacking, bumps have been introduced by the work done in places where they have not previously been an issue. This was most notable on the exit of the notorious downhill Corkscrew turn.

At the mid-way point of the session, the top 15 riders were covered by just one second. Proof, if any were needed, of the exalted level of competition in this premier series. But it would not stay quite like this for long.

Nicky Hayden (Honda) elevated himself to third on the grid with 15 minutes to go and it looked as if there might be more to come from the winner of last year’s race. With ten minutes to go the Kentucky Kid made second place his temporary property with a 1m 23.558s time, but it would not prove fast enough to sustain a front row start for the American.

With five minutes to go Dani hoisted himself to fifth on the grid while Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) languished in 13th place. Dani then looked like he had done enough for second place with just 13 seconds remaining with a 1m 23.490s lap, before Edwards posted a 1m 23.321s time to snatch second. Then it was Roberts’s turn to do his stuff and he stopped the clock at 1m 23.420s for third. Rossi could only make it eventually to tenth fastest for a fourth row start with a best of 1m 24.047s.

Hayden will start from the second row, but his time is only four tenths of a second off Vermeulen’s pole. The top 11 riders are covered by less than a second.

Circuit Length - 3610
Weather: -Dry

2006 MotoGP Laguna Seca 21/07/2006
qualify

1. Chris Vermeulen Suzuki AUS 1'23.168
2. Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 1'23.321
3. Kenny Roberts Team Robert KR USA 1'23.420
4. Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 1'23.490
5. John Hopkins Suzuki USA 1'23.498
6. Nicky Hayden Honda USA 1'23.536
7. Casey Stoner Honda AUS 1'23.651
8. Shinya Nakano Kawasaki JPN 1'23.656
9. Marco Melandri Honda ITA 1'23.750
10. Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 1'24.047
11. Carlos Checa Yamaha ESP 1'24.153
12. Toni Elias Honda ESP 1'24.230
13. Loris Capirossi Ducati ITA 1'24.268
14. Makato Tamada Honda JPN 1'24.578
15. Randy De Puniet Kawasaki FRA 1'24.592
18. James Ellison Yamaha GBR 1'25.763

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