Monterey, 19 July 2008: LCR Honda MotoGP rider Randy De Puniet will start tomorrow’s U.S. Grand Prix from sixth position following today’s qualifying session at Laguna Seca Raceway which hosts the eleventh round of the season. The Frenchman aboard the Michelin-shod Honda RC212V clocked a 1’21.921 fastest time on Q-tyres at the 3.610 Km American track and improved also his yesterdays’ lap time on race trim of one second.

The second day of practices started out with cloudy skies and mist with air temperature of 16°C (ground 24°C) and the 27-year-old struggled with rear grip ending the free session in 16th position. Luckily the weather improved for the qualifying practice and the ground temperature rose up to 36°C with De Puniet setting consistent and fast lap times throughout the 60-minute session. Stoner gained the pole position (1’20.700) followed by Rossi and Hayden.

De Puniet – 6th: “I am very happy today and want to thank my crew for their good job. We had a tough start yesterday but we did not give up. We adjusted the bike set-up (gear ratio, engine mapping, braking stability and suspensions) and, once the grip level improved, I could lap consistently fast. We solved our rear grip problems obtaining a good pace on race tyres and we are very happy about our tyres choice for tomorrow’s 32-lap race. Honestly I think this race could be the interesting for me…”

Qualifying Practice:

1 Stoner (1’20.700)
2 Rossi (1’21.147)
3 Hayden (1’21.430)
4 Lorenzo (1’21.636)
5 Toseland (1’21.848)
6 De Puniet (1’21.921)
7 Edwards (1’21.947)
8 Vermeulen (1’21.971)
9 Dovizioso (1’21.974)
10 Elias (1’21.999)
11 Capirossi (1’22.039)
12 Nakano (1’22.092)
13 Spies (1’22.127)
14 Guintoli (1’22.719)
15 Melandri (1’22.957)
16 De Angelis (1’23.035)
17 Hacking (1’23.309)
18 West (1’24.525)

OUT: Pedrosa