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Search for grip keeps Kurtis guessing |
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Posted by Staff
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Saturday, 13 October 2007 |
Phillip Island, Australia - October 13, 2007: Kurtis Roberts will start
tomorrow's Australian GP from the seventh row of the grid, after placing 19th in
qualifying, run in the only fully dry hour at the weather-hit event at this
scenic seaside circuit.
Cold conditions, strong winds and frequent rain
showers have made two days of practice fraught, conditions changing sometimes
from one lap to the next. The final qualifying hour was dry, but run in a brisk
16 degrees with track temperature at only 24 degrees.
For Kurtis Roberts,
riding the England-made Honda-powered hybrid for his father Kenny's race team,
the rain made a hard job even harder. The second son of a legend is returning to
the fast and challenging circuit after an absence of ten years, and had plenty
of relearning to do. This is the 16th of 18 rounds in a season that has been
difficult for the only independent constructor in MotoGP -awaiting upgrades to
the engine at the same time as developing their own unique chassis, with just
one rider.
More rain in the race may help Kurtis's chance of adding to
his points score, but he generously turned his back on the chance, preferring
safer dry conditions for all.
Spanish factory Honda rider Dani Pedrosa
qualified on pole, from Yamaha's Valentino Rossi and new World Champion Casey
Stoner (Ducati).
KURTIS ROBERTS - 19th Position, 1:32.948
I
haven't been here in ten years so I don't know if it's the lines I'm choosing,
but getting the thing to hook up and move forward is not going well, that's
plain. The thing is moving around all over the place. The big slides look cool
on TV, but looking cool and going fast are different things unfortunately, right
now.
Things are slowly moving forward, but it hasn't been the easiest
weekend to come to grips with the thing, with the changing weather. If it rains
for the race, it'll help us, but I just want it to be a safe weekend for
everybody. It was almost like it was hailing here yesterday. I've said
all
year, it's not a good thing to have to want it to rain. I have to work harder,
and we all have to work to get the thing to go round the race-track better in
normal conditions.
CHUCK AKSLAND - Team Manager
We're
struggling for grip, definitely. Yesterday was an up-and-down day with the
weather conditions - same for everybody, but we struggled with the rain tyre,
and with dry tyres we're struggling for grip. Even the qualifier didn't have
grip for the full lap. We need to find where the problem is in that area,
whether it is the tyre or the bike. When we do add grip with qualifiers, the
bike starts behaving normally, for as long as the qualifiers hold out. We have
to find an improvement somewhere, see what tomorrow brings, and I'm sure Kurtis
will give us his best.
from Team Roberts press
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