These just in:

ROSSI ON TOP DOWN UNDER AS LORENZO LOOKS FOR GRIP

MotoGP action got underway at Phillip Island in Australian today and Championship leader Valentino Rossi was in menacing form, leading the way almost from start to finish in the first practice session. His Fiat Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo finished the day sixth fastest, escaping unhurt after sliding off his YZR-M1 in the closing stages.

After heavy rain for the last two days the coastal track was granted a reprieve today and the sun shone brightly throughout the day's action. Rossi, who has not won at what is his favourite track for the last three years, set off in strong style and continued to improve his pace throughout the session as he fine-tuned the setting of his Yamaha, shaking off the issues that troubled him last time out in Portugal.

Lorenzo's meanwhile struggled today - he was feeling slightly unwell and also lacked grip, ending the session by sliding off at turn four. He was totally unhurt however and hopes that some overnight alterations to his setting and a good night's rest to recover his strength will see him on the pace tomorrow.

 Valentino Rossi
 
Position: 1st   Time: 1'31.032   Laps: 31
"Today we made a great start. We were concentrated and strong and I am really happy to start in front here at Phillip Island, which is somewhere that I love to ride. We were able to get a lot done in the practice session and try many different things and I was able to ride just how I wanted to. We can definitely improve more - even though we already have a good pace we will continue to work tomorrow and try to find a little bit more, but for the first day I think we can be very happy about our work."

Jorge Lorenzo 
Position: 6   Time: 1'32.077   Laps: 23
"I just couldn't go fast today. I wasn't feeling too good - I think that I ate something last night which didn't agree with me and I felt very weak, which made it very hard to ride the bike. We had some spin and not enough grip or confidence and there were two times where I nearly crashed before I actually did. Luckily I didn't hurt myself at all and now I will just try to get a good night's sleep and then hopefully I will be much better tomorrow."

Davide Brivio 
Team Manager
"We've made a good start and it looks like we have a good pace here. Now the target is to further improve our set-up to make sure we're at the maximum. The weather has helped us today; it's always good to have the first day in the dry. Of course now we hope that it stays like this so that we can continue our work tomorrow, but if not then we will be ready for the rain too."

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REPSOL HONDA TEAM OFF AND RUNNING AT PHILLIP ISLAND

The Australian Grand Prix weekend kicked off today with the first practice session taking place at the Phillip Island circuit in preparation for Sunday's 27-lap race. Repsol Honda riders Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso got to grips with the spectacular ocean-side track as they began setting-up their factory Honda RC212Vs for Phillip Island's combination of fearsomely fast corners and suspension-pounding bumps.

Pedrosa was quick off the mark and clocked the third fastest time this afternoon - a lap of 1m 31.528s, which was less than half a second from the time of today's pace-setter, Valentino Rossi. It was a promising start for the 24-year-old Spaniard who is looking to consolidate third place in the World Championship standings ahead of Casey Stoner, who rides in front of his home crowd this weekend. Stoner placed second today, just 0.361s in front of Pedrosa.

Dovizioso shrugged off the effects of an upset stomach to record a competitive lap of 1m 32.502s - good enough for eighth place - and give himself a good chance of improving over the weekend. The 23-year-old Italian worked with his crew on finding the delicate balance of machine set-up required for Phillip Island, and with more adjustment tomorrow the winner of the 2004 125cc Grand Prix is confident of moving further up the timesheets.

The weather at Phillip Island in the run-up to the Grand Prix weekend has been typical for springtime in this part of Australia: intermittent bright sunshine combined with heavy rain showers driven in by a strong wind. Those conditions were expected again this afternoon, but instead the MotoGP riders were greeted by continuous bright sunshine when they exited the pit-lane at 13.55. That said, few are betting against rain at some stage this weekend.
 
DANI PEDROSA - 3rd - 1m 31.528s 

"Finally we were lucky with the weather today and it's very good to start here in Phillip Island with a dry session and reasonable track temperatures. It allowed us to complete some useful testing with the Bridgestone tyres and, although the surface was a little dusty, grip should improve through the weekend. We tried both the softer and harder tyre compounds today and it'll be an important choice for Sunday because the 4pm race start means the temperature could be low. So we need to analyse carefully how fast the tyres will warm up, especially on the left side because there are so many left-handers here. I'm pretty happy with how this first practice has gone and I'm sure the times will fall further tomorrow, weather permitting."
 
ANDREA DOVIZIOSO - 8th - 1m 32.502s 

"It was good to get out on track today because Phillip Island is a fantastic circuit and riding here is always a great challenge. The track demands a completely different machine set-up and balance for the Bridgestone tyres and we haven't achieved that quite yet so I'm hoping for some improvements tomorrow - we have a few areas to work on. We started today with our machine set a bit too hard and, although we made things softer through the practice, I think we'll make things softer still for tomorrow. I wasn't feeling 100 per cent today, but actually that didn't affect the way I was able to ride the bike, and hopefully I should be in better shape for the remainder of the weekend. We were lucky with the weather today and it would be nice if it stayed clear. Still, we'll be ready for anything."

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STONER AND HAYDEN BEGIN ISLAND QUEST

Ducati Marlboro Team riders Casey Stoner and Nicky Hayden benefited from an extended spell of sunny weather at Phillip Island today as they began set-up work on their Desmosedici GP9 machines in the first free practice session for the Australian Grand Prix. Strong winds and heavy overnight rain gave way to largely blue skies this morning, allowing for a crucial opening 45-minutes of dry track time in the afternoon although both riders struggled to find grip on the cool track surface.

The Australian, celebrating his 24th birthday today, led the time sheets in the early stages of the session and stayed firm in second place after being dislodged by Valentino Rossi, closing to within 0.135 seconds of the Italian with an exciting final lap. Hayden also improved on his final effort but despite making a positive start and holding firm in the top ten for the majority of the session his best time was only good enough for eleventh place.

CASEY STONER (Ducati Marlboro Team)  (2nd; 1'31.167)
"I'm not that happy with today's session to be honest. The track conditions weren't good at all and we struggled for traction, which is usually a strong point of our bike. We tried a few different settings, one of which gave us better rear grip but compensated in turning, which was otherwise really good. The front end was quite consistent throughout so it's just a case of working on the rear tomorrow and hoping that the track conditions improve so that we can find where the limits are. The weather is always a worry here and there was a point in the session this afternoon where it began to spot with rain just as I was heading into turn one and I came back in. I probably had my best setting at that point so the lap time could have been better but I think it has been a difficult day for everybody so we're not too concerned."

NICKY HAYDEN - (Ducati Marlboro Team)  (11th; 1'32.771)
"We got a bit of sunshine today so the track temperatures came up a little but there were a few spots of rain out there during the session and that didn't help. I came out of the gate pretty fast but found it difficult to improve from there and I'm not really happy to be this far off the pace. In the past it has taken me a while to get up to speed here, even when I have had good results, so I'm not too worried but we definitely need to get the bike working better - especially over the bumps - and find some more edge grip. Hopefully we can take a big step tomorrow."

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CANEPA AT MELBOURNE HOSPITAL AFTER TODAY'S FALL. KALLIO NINTH IN THE FIRST FREE SESSION

Unlucky day for Niccolò Canepa and the Pramac Racing Team. The Italian rider has fallen during today's free practice on the Phillip Island circuit at turn one while he was going over 200 km/h burning his right elbow. Transported to the mobile clinic the doctor decided to the make him goes to Melbourne's hospital to disinfect the big cut and check if the nerves and tendons are damaged. Only after surgery it will be possible to evaluate if Niccolò will be able to step on track for Sunday's race. His teammate, Mika Kallio, has concluded the day with the ninth fastest time improving himself consistently. Tomorrow two more hours at the disposal of the Finnish rider with the qualifying session that will start at 2pm local time.

Fabiano Sterlacchini - Pramac Racing Technical Director

"We are very sad about what happened to Niccolò today: we have to wait and see how the operation will go. The doctors should make a skin transplant to close the cut. My only advice to Niccolò is to don't have any hurry in these moments but stay calm and evaluate the situation of the injury well. The Team is with him. Mika, on the other side of the garage, has done a pretty good job today registering interesting lap times. We have compared Stoner's data and we have seen that Mika has to modify some lines to follow. If he will make it tomorrow we can already make a big step forward."

Mika Kallio - Pramac Racing rider - 9th fastest lap time - 1'32.572

"We are satisfied of the work done today, a pity only about the slip that made us lose too much time. I went long at turn four and when I was on the grass trying to get back on track I found a water puddle and I couldn't manage the bike anymore. I ran back to the box and jumped on bike two on which we made some modifications straight away. My feeling is good and to start in the top ten on Friday is always positive. Tomorrow with some adjustments we can be even more competitive."

Niccolò Canepa - Pramac Racing rider

"I have fallen when I was in fourth gear at more than 200 Km/h and while I was sliding on the asphalt I burned my leather and so my right elbow got burned quite deeply as well. I feel a lot of pain from the shoulder to the hand but it seems like nothing is broken. We have to go to Melbourne's hospital to clean and disinfect at the best the cut. Only at that time we will be able to understand if a skin transplant will be possible. For Sunday's race we should know something more only after surgery."

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Capirossi finds a clear direction in first session

Rizla Suzuki's Loris Capirossi put a tough start to the first practice for this weekend's Australian Grand Prix firmly behind him as he made big steps in the final quarter of the session to record the 10th quickest time.

Capirossi (1'32.606, 25 laps) used both of his Suzuki GSV-Rs throughout the session to find a good base setting at the 4,448m Phillip Island circuit. His best time came on his last lap of the day as the modifications his crew made to the bike started to come to fruition and leave the number 65 racer with a clear indication on the route to take for the rest of the weekend.

Chris Vermeulen (P15, 1'33.504, 24 laps) had an unfortunate first day at his home Grand Prix, as he too struggled to get the best set-up for his GSV-R at the fastest track on the calendar. A setback with one of his bikes meant he only had a single machine for most of the session and was unable to test the different setting geometries that he wanted to. Vermeulen is still upbeat that he will improve dramatically over the weekend as he looks to bow out of his final home Grand Prix in style.

Today's single practice session was held in conditions that kept the local penguin community comfortable as air temperatures only got up to a maximum of 17ºC. World Championship leader Valentino Rossi on his factory Yamaha recorded the fastest time of the day.

Rizla Suzuki has one more free practice session tomorrow morning followed by an hour of qualifying. Sunday's 27-lap race at the stunning Phillip Island circuit gets underway at 16.00hrs local time (05.00hrs GMT)

Loris Capirossi:

"Overall it has been a tough day, especially the first 45 minutes of the session, because we really struggled to get the set-up of the bike working. We had to change a lot on both bikes and in the end we did some big modifications and made some good steps with the set-up. We are not very close to the top guys, but we now understand where we can improve over the weekend. We were quite lucky with the weather today as well because it has been very bad here for the last couple of days. The temperature was not too bad today and the tyres still had to work quite hard, if it had been five degrees less it would have been almost impossible to ride. We hope we get some good weather tomorrow so we can continue with the improvements we were making and be able to challenge over the weekend."

Chris Vermeulen:

"At the beginning of the session the bike didn't feel too bad and we made some small changes to the suspension, but when I went back out there was a few drops of rain so I did a slower lap. Unfortunately I had a problem with that bike and I wasn't able to use it again. I then got on to my other bike - which took a bit of time because we had to swap over some components from the first bike - and it then became a matter of getting that bike and set-up working for me. We certainly have a direction for tomorrow and if we'd had both bikes for the whole session I'm sure we would have tried those things, but I'm sure we'll be ok for tomorrow and go a whole lot quicker."

Paul Denning - Team Manager:

"It wasn't easy at all today and it felt like the hour really rushed by and we never really found the opportunity to fine-tune the bikes in the way we would have liked. Since the new chassis was introduced in Brno we have had to go to every track and pretty much ignore the base settings we have from 2008 or the winter tests. At the start of the session the guesstimates weren't quite right and we spent most of the hour trying to find the best solutions. We've still got some big steps to make, but the direction found towards the end of the session is going to help us start on a much better footing tomorrow and hopefully close the gap to the fast guys."

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Strong start for Edwards and Toseland in Phillip Island

Colin Edwards and James Toseland made a strong start to the Australian MotoGP weekend today, the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team duo both finishing inside the top seven in opening practice at the spectacular Phillip Island circuit.

Despite gloomy forecasts, today's session was run in sunny but blustery conditions with no repeat of heavy rain that had battered the circuit earlier this week.

And Edwards and Toseland took full advantage of the favourable conditions to post competitive lap times throughout the session that bodes well for a strong performance in Sunday's 27-lap race.

Rever ting to a front-end setting that he hadn't used since pre-season testing, Texan Edwards lapped in an impressive 1.31.846 to finish fifth quickest, missing out on fourth spot by just 0.060s.

British rider Toseland quickly found his rhythm to sit comfortably in the top six for most of the opening half of the hour-long session. The 28-year-old suffered a small crash at Turn 10 when he lost the front-end of his YZR-M1 machine shortly after the halfway stage.

The tumble did little to dent Toseland's confidence as he bounced back to finish in strong fashion, his best lap of 1.32.255 securing him an encouraging seventh place.

Colin Edwards 5th 1.31.846 - 24 laps

"I went back to a geometry setting on the front that I haven't tried since we were testing in Malaysia right back at the start of the year. Honestly, I asked what Jorge (Lorenzo) has been running and they said it was the setting I'd used in the Malaysia test. So with it obviously working well for him lately, I decided to give it another go because I really liked it in testing. It's basically just taking a bit of weight off the front compared to what I've been running most of the season. At the start it didn't feel that great but we played around with some spring settings and the feeling was much better. This track is so fast that you've got to make the setting much softer and that's what we did. And it felt much better because once you've got a stable bike underneath you at this track then it becomes a piece of cake. But if the bike is set too hard then it makes it really difficult to ride with such a rigid feeling. I need to thank my guys at Tech 3 because in one hour we got through a lot of work this afternoon to get to where we ended up with the bike. Generally we show up and the bike is in the ballpark, but today we were still out in the car park waiting to get in. But my guys did an amazing job and we can still make it better tomorrow, so I'm confident we can have a strong weekend."

James Toseland 7th 1.32.255 - 26 laps

"I'm satisfied with seventh because we've managed to get some good information on the set-up and I feel I'm in my best position on a Friday for a long time. I was fast right from the off and in the top six for a long period which was really encouraging. My guys worked hard as always to improve the bike and by the end of the session I felt we'd made some real progress. I had a small issue with the balance from front to rear when exiting corners, but we've got some ideas on how to improve that tomorrow. I had a small crash going down the hill after Lukey Heights and that was just a small mistake of mine. I was good in that section of the track and looking to make up some time on the splits where I wasn't quite so fast and I just lost the front. It cost me a bit of time but didn't knock me out of my rhythm too much and by the end I was happy with my times and confident I can be fighting for a top six on Sunday."

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SAN CARLO HONDA GRESINI RIDERS STRUGGLE FOR GRIP AT COOL PHILLIP ISLAND
Warm spring sunshine welcomed the MotoGP paddock to Phillip Island for the start of the Australian Grand Prix this afternoon but several days of cold, wet and windy weather took their toll on the track surface, which was even more precarious than usual. San Carlo Honda Gresini rider Alex de Angelis made the best of the conditions to lap fourth fastest in an impressive performance on board his satellite Honda RC212V, although his team-mate Toni Elias struggled to get to grips with the cool track surface and faces another uphill battle ahead of tomorrow's qualifying session.

Alex De Angelis (4th; 1'31.786): "That was a very good session - I had a really positive feeling with the bike from the beginning but we expected that to be the case because we have been very strong at all the fast tracks this year. We struggled for rear grip and the bike was moving around a lot but I think this has been the same problem for everybody today. There was one moment where I hit a damp patch under braking and the rear came around on me. It looked pretty dangerous on television but I can assure you it was under control! We definitely have plenty of room for improvement tomorrow and even though we are in a good position today we know our rivals will get much faster so we have to match their progress."

Toni Elias (13th 1'33.304): "I expected us to have traction issues here this weekend but I honestly didn't think they would be quite this bad. I have to say this is the worst the tyres have performed at any of the circuits we've been to this year. It's a strange circuit with very particular demands and we've struggled to come to terms with them today. We have a lot of work to do but we're not scared of that, as we have shown many times already this season."

Fausto Gresini - Team Manager: "I'm definitely satisfied with Alex's performance today. We knew he liked this track very much and obviously it is good to see him in fourth position. I'm sure he has the potential to keep staying at the top of the classification also for the rest of the weekend.  Toni has some traction problems, which didn't allow him to ride as he wanted. We'll check the data and see how we can sort the problem and help Toni get a better feeling with his bike. "

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