"The bike feels very nervous still, we shortened it a bit in free practice and tried a few other things," said the double world champion. "Our set-up is not very forgiving right now and the bike flicks you around a bit on the bumps. It's not too bad but we need to find a set-up to push for the whole race. We have one choice of tyre we can use, and the duration is OK. The bump into Ascari was about half the size last year, and I think that's because of the cars pushing it up under braking. We are struggling in a few places on the bumps. We need to get off the line clean tomorrow, stay with them, and see where we end up."
"For me, Noriyuki starting on the first row is really important. For sure we are checking and analysing the data to make some more improvements if possible," stated team manager Massimo Meregalli. "For Troy, starting from the third row is not so easy here, but with the slipstream it is less difficult here than some other circuits to pass.
"We cannot understand why we are slower than last year because the bike is even better this year," he admitted. "We must be positive and for tomorrow I am sure both Noriyuki and Troy will be racing to win."
