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Practice cancelled as biblical scale downpour soaks Misano |
Practice cancelled as biblical scale downpour soaks Misano
All of this afternoon's practice sessions were cancelled at Misano in
Italy as a
torrential downpour flooded the track and left both the Rizla Suzuki
MotoGP racers
in search of snorkels and Suzuki outboard motors to navigate the
circuit, rather
than their GSV-Rs.
A huge thunderstorm broke just after midday and the deluge of water that
fell in a
short time made the Misano track look more like an aqua park rather than
a Grand
Prix circuit fit for the top two-wheeled machines in the world.
MotoGP officials tried to clear the track of water that was over a metre
deep in
places, but even Moses would have had problems parting the gushing
torrent as it
flowed down onto the racing surface from the surrounding hillsides.
John Hopkins and Chris Vermeulen did get out in the morning session –
which was also
hampered by heavy showers – and recorded the eighth and 11th quickest
times
respectively. Vermeulen crashed during the session in the wet
conditions, but was
unhurt and managed to continue with the practice on his spare bike.
Marco Melandri
set the fastest time on his satellite-team Honda.
A new schedule will now be arranged to allow all riders to get some much
needed
practice on the new Misano circuit in time for Sunday's 28-lap race.
John Hopkins:
"Well, you could say that everything went swimmingly today! In these
conditions the
only one that got any significant practice was the Team's rubber duck!
We weren't
able to test much this morning as it was so wet, so all we really learnt
was which
direction the track went. Hopefully it will be better tomorrow and we
can get some
dry time, because if not and it is fine for the race it will be a
complete lottery
as to what could happen. I wonder if Bridgestone has rubber rings that
we could fit
to the bike, so we could have some extra buoyancy to float around!"
Chris Vermeulen:
"I was looking forward to coming back here, but if I'd have known this
weather was
going to be here I'm sure I would rather have stayed on the beach in
Australia. I
thought at one point we were going to need a submarine to get out of the
circuit
this evening! We'll have to see what happens tomorrow and pray that we
get some dry
sessions."
GP Cinzano Di San Marino E Riviera Di Rimini Free Practice
Classification:
1. Marco Melandri (Honda) 1'46.948: 2. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) +1.684:
3. Casey
Stoner (Ducati) +1.904: 4. Loris Capirossi (Ducati) +2.219: 5. Colin
Edwards
(Yamaha) +2.271: 8. JOHN HOPKINS (RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP) +3.009: 11. CHRIS
VERMEULEN
(RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP) +4.216:
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