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Bad weather took centre stage at Mugello today as the Italian Grand Prix got
underway beneath heavy black skies and a series of showers that affected every
practice session.
Light rainfall in the morning session saw
the riders start out on wet tyres and it was only towards the end that a dry
line formed, allowing them to change to slick tyres - even though the pace was
still much slower than usual. Stoner, who was leading the time sheets at that
point, decided that the track wasn't dry enough to gather any accurate data and
opted not to run slick tyres. As a result he ended the day ninth fastest despite
lapping third quickest in the afternoon, when the conditions were completely
wet.
Marco Melandri struggled more than his team-mate in the difficult
conditions, which didn't give him the opportunity to work on a new engine
braking system that the team have brought to Mugello for him. Short of the time
necessary to find the right setting, the Italian ended the day with the 15th
fastest time.
CASEY STONER (Ducati
Marlboro Team) 9th fastest: 1'58.618
"This morning was half dry
and half wet so it was pretty pointless going out on slick tyres and doing slow
times. That's why we decided not to use them at the end of the session, as a few
other riders did. This afternoon we got some track time in fully wet conditions,
which is much more useful. Having said that it was very wet and visibility was
almost non-existent - especially behind the screen. It's hard enough trying to
see through the screen without having rain splattered all over it and we don't
exactly have windscreen wipers to get rid of the water! So it was quite hard
visibility-wise but it was actually quite a lot of fun because the grip was
good, especially at the beginning. The only problem was aquaplaning but other
than that I felt safe and I enjoyed it. We don't really feel as though we've got
the setting down yet. I didn't really feel 100% comfortable on the bike - it was
very nervous and I wasn't getting much feeling from the tyres so we definitely
need to work a little bit harder tomorrow and try to find a different solution
if it's going to be wet. As far as I know the forecast is dry, so I guess we'll
have to wait and see."
MARCO MELANDRI
(Ducati Marlboro Team) 15th fastest: 2'00.162
"Today has been
really difficult because we haven't been able to find a good setting with the
engine braking - to the point that this morning on a damp track I ran straight
twice because the wheel was locking. In the afternoon the rain increased and the
situation clearly got worse, so much so that I didn't feel I could ride.
Tomorrow we need to find a solution so I hope it is dry."
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