The starting grid for the Misano Grand Prix was finalized during this afternoon’s qualifying session with Randy De Puniet turning the fourteenth-best time. The Frenchman lost the front and fell just a few laps into the qualifying session, hurting his opportunity to post a lower lap time. Loris Capirossi finished the session in sixteenth place and will start from the sixth row.
Randy De Puniet:
"I’m dissatisfied with how things went: I fell on the eighth lap when I was going quite well, maybe on my way to a very good time. I wasn’t able to find the same feeling on the second bike, especially with the front. We made additional changes, but there wasn’t enough time left for me to improve my time. I very well could have started from the third row, but unfortunately the early fall hurt my qualifying session a lot.”
Loris Capirossi:
Today went the usual way: the final piece was missing. We’re all very close, and then when the time comes to cut away a tenth or so, I’m never able to do it, for different reasons. When I try to lower my time, I try to be more aggressive, but this bike doesn’t work with force. Instead, it becomes difficult to ride. It’s hard; I’ve been riding a certain way for 22 years, and changing now isn’t easy. We have a pretty good race pace, so tomorrow we’ll try to make some changes and see what happens.”
Pramac Racing Team press release
