Team San Carlo Honda Gresini rider Marco Simoncelli made a positive return from the summer break at Brno on Friday, setting the third fastest time of the day ahead of the Cardion ab Grand Prix Ceské republiky race.

The Italian is satisfied with his performance and confident that he and the team know how to improve the handling of his RC212V still further. Hiroshi Aoyama rode the Czech circuit for the first time on a MotoGP bike, and although his position is not the best, his feeling is good and everything is in place for improved performance tomorrow.

Marco Simoncelli:

“I’m happy with the two sessions today because we have come back from the holidays immediately on the pace. Pedrosa's speed is impressive, but right now the priority for me is to improve my confidence with the bike and not think about him. We are working on my position on the bike and the general set-up and I’m sure we can have a great weekend. We need to improve on corner entry to give me more confidence on the brakes and try to create a bike that allows me to hold my line through the corner. Overall, I’m feeling confident and with this small adjustment we can only improve.”

Hiroshi Aoyama:

“I am happy to be back on track here at Brno after the summer break. I found a good feeling on the bike, even though this is the first time I have ridden it at this circuit. The team is working well and I’m sure we can improve our position tomorrow. My confidence with the bike is good and I think we should easily move up the order with more time on track.”