Cardion AB Review Losail MotoGP Test

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Karel Abraham finishes last pre-season test on thirteenth position with loss of 2,468 seconds to the fastest Aleix Espargaro. The Czech rider is still struggling of shoulder injury, but he managed to move up in field of Open class compared to previous testing session in Malaysia. Abraham loses approximately one second to Nicky Hayden, the fastest rider on the same Honda RCV1000R bike. 

Karel Abraham

"We had to catch up all what we could not try in Malaysia, so they were really busy three days. For me personally it was much more relaxed test than in Sepang. At first because in Qatar there´s more comfortable weather. And at second, because shoulder seems better and it didn´t limited me at least on Friday and Saturday. Compared to the previous test we observe a big step; we got at the level of Aoyama and Redding riding on the same bike as me. Just Nicky Hayden got away from us. Unfortunately last day of the test I started to feel again the shoulder. That’s pity, because we started to improve our times and I managed to ride under 1:58,5. On the other hand it is good that we ended a little moment earlier because the temperature fall and the wind started to blow and many riders crashed out in the end of session."

Marco Grana, chief mechanic Cardion AB Motoracing

"I think that result of this test is quite success for us. Positive thing is that Karel’s problems with shoulder diminish day by day so he could work fully during all three days for the first time of this season. We don’t have any significant problem with the bike, Karel is getting use to it and he is finding differences comparing to the ART. The important thing is that we got closer to the other riders riding on Hondas. We have just minimal loss to Redding and Aoyama, Nicky got further but I believe that if Karel will be hundred percent healthy, it is not unreal to ride times as him. We finish the tests in optimistic mood and I think we can look forward to the first race in the season. If the health condition of Karel gets better even more, we can fight for a good result."

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Tough Heavy Crash for Abraham in Indianapolis Without Any Serious Injury

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Karel Abraham did not sustain any bigger serious injury after his big crash during the first free practice in Indianapolis. Doctors excluded any serious injury, however the rider has heavily bruised his foot and left shoulder. In the evening free practice, Abraham came back on the track and finished on twenty-second position. The Czech rider should fully take part of Saturday’s free practices and qualification.

Karel Abraham:

"The crash in the morning was really bad, but how it might turn out, it is good. I have bruised shoulder and heel, but important is, that nothing is broken. If I have some muscles injured it has not been seen yet, so I hope it will be fine. Of course I feel terrible right now, but I hope to feel much better until tomorrow morning. I don’t know exactly what happed. At the exit of the corner I felt as motorbike injection has missed for one second and than restart again and I could not reacted for that. We were discussing it with my mechanics and one possible reason is that I pushed by mistake gear lever, but at the end we excluded it. Well this will be another racing weekend during which I'll ride with injection for pain, but I'll do everything I can to figure it out."

Marco Grana, chef mechanic Cardion AB Motoracing

"At the end of the evening free practice we made a time around 1:42,9 and that is better than time what Karel made before he crashed out. That is quite positive. Karel has a pain in his shoulder and heel; therefore he was forced to ride under anesthetics. We did not obligate him to ride on the limit, because it would be counter-productive. After as tough crash has logically little bit fear. So for today, this result is good enough for us. We will try to put a hard tyre in front tomorrow, because Karel was complying about chattering there. We have also to solve the problem with spin on the rear. I hope that Karel will be fine tomorrow and we will get faster. In the morning, before the crash occurred, he rode very fast."

Cardion AB Motoracing Press Release

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Karel Abraham Disappointed by Season Debut

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Karel Abraham did not finished this years first MotoGP race at Losail Circuit in Qatar. Czech MotoGP rider lost front while chasing Randy De Puniet in the first lap of the race. He didn´t suffered any injury and he will be prepared for next race at Circuit of Americas in Austin, TX. 

Karel Abraham:

“I´m really pissed off. I did very good start and getting towards. I rode just behind Randy, entered the corner as usual but when I turned on the gas, I lost the front. It happened very fast and I don´t understand how. It happened really fast and I couldn´t do anything to save it.”

Marco Grana, chief-mechanic Cardion AB Motoracing

“Karel did very good start and was very fast in the first lap. He get just behind Randy De Puniet but he loose the front and crashed out. We learned from it that we must focus on qualifying practice to get better position on grid. Then we won´t need to ride crazy on the beginning of the race. Aleix Espargaro and Randy de Puniet were not extremely fast and we could race against them, if Karel gets closer to them in QP. We improved our bike during this weekend and we are ready for Texas.”

Cardion AB Motoracing Press Release

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Six Row for Karel Abraham at Qatar MotoGP Season Start

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Karel Abraham will start the 2013 season first MotoGP race in Qatar from 18th place. Abraham reached 8th fastest tim during the fifteen minutes long qualification (Q1) with 1,120 second gap to the fastest Aleix Espargaro. Czech rider speeded up about 0,909 second compared to the Friday´s practice and reached 1:58,271. Abaja will join Yonny Hernandez and Hiroshi Aoyama on sixth row.

Karel Abraham:

"Yesterday I said that it would be hard to be cut one second from Friday lap time. We did it, but we needed to be even faster and cut another half second gap. We must decide which tyres to use in tomorrow warm-up. We´re not sure if the soft can make whole race, so we must check if I can make good lap time on hard. It won´t be easy race, but I believe that we can fight for points."

Marco Grana, chief-mechanic Cardion AB Motoracing

"We cut another second from our time, but we needed more to be satisfied.We´ll try to adjust the setup of the rear part in the warm-up. Bike is even better prepared after today´s practices, we´ve eliminated yesterday´s chattering which was making problems for Karel. I think we´re ready for the race. We can make fast times constantly, and that´s the most important for whole race. Our goal is to stay together with De Puniet after the start and to finish as one of three fastest CRT bikes. "

Cardion AB Motoracing Press Release

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Promising end of Sepang MotoGP tests for Karel Abraham

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Czech MotoGP rider Karel Abraham finished 22nd in the first off-season MotoGP tests at Malaysian Sepang Circuit. Learning to ride his new ART motorcycle Abraham made his best lap time 2:04,766 at Thursday evening and looking forward to next tests at Sepang in the end of February. 

Karel Abraham

“I was able to improve my best lap time and get it under 2:05. Another positive moment is that I can do my best laps constantly. Obviously I expected to be faster. Especially in the last half-hour I felt really good and it’s pity that I wasn’t able to improve the best lap time. However I really like the bike and I hope that we found a good set up in the end, which can be a perfect starting point for next tests.” 

Marco Grana, Chief Mechanic

“It was a difficult day for us. We did lot of work on the bike and we improved our lap time to 2:04,7 but we aren’t fast enough. We solved the problem with chattering on the front, but we are still weak in braking. Karel has started to understand the bike and he’s happy with the feeling on it, but he brakes too soon. It’s not a problem of the ART, Karel needs to forget the Ducati bike from the previous season. This causes his “braking problem”. For the next tests we must do everything to let Karel forget Ducati era.”

Cardion AB Motoracing Press Relase

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Seventh place in Valencia Abraham's best result of the season

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Two years ago in Valencia, Karel Abraham won for the first time in his career. Last year he battled for fourth. This year he achieved his best result of the season in a “wacky race” at Circuit Ricardo Tormo and managed to repeat his personal best in MotoGP. Battling for seventh place, Karel managed, among other things, to defeat nine-time world champion Valentino Rossi for the first time during a race.

The race was affected by weather from the very beginning. Following morning rain showers the track was getting dry and the teams chose different tactics of how to deal with the changing conditions. Cardion AB Motoracing went into the race with tyres for wet races, as did many other racers. Some of them changed their tyres, in exchange for having to start from the end of the pit lane. Other racers also had to change their tyres after only a few laps, which resulted in changes in the lead and the situation was very confusing for the racers themselves. 

Abaja demonstrated a skilful battle, which included overtaking Valentino Rossi and battling for sixth place with the best satellite racer of the season, Andrea Dovizioso on Yamaha.

Due to the confusing situation in the first few laps many riders, including Karel Abraham, started to fall behind and the leaders eventually started to lap everyone else. Abraham was the last rider who managed to complete the entire race, because he overtook the winner of the race, Dani Pedrosa.

Karel Abraham

“It was indeed a wacky race and there was much excitement on the track. There were many surprising moments. At one moment, I was overtaken by the winner of the race, Dani Pedrosa, but I had no idea I was just being lapped. I thought he had just had his tyres changed in the pit. So I was in fact racing with him without actually having to. On the other hand, it's great that I managed to overtake him and stay in front of him. I am really glad that I managed to achieve the best result among Ducatis and leave Valentino Rossi behind. When I caught up with him I thought he had a wet tyre and I was really surprised that he had a slick. On the other hand, I am a little upset that Dovizioso eventually overtook me, because I could have finished sixth. It was a tyre lottery prior to the race. It was not the wisest of choices on our part. I am a little disappointed, but, then again, there is no point in looking back. With slick tyres from the very beginning, I could have been on the podium. On the other hand, I would have risked falling because the dry racing line was really narrow at the beginning of the race.  

Marco Grana, Chief Mechanic, Cardion AB Motoracing

“I am really happy after today's race. Not just because it was his best race of the season and because he managed to repeat his career best. I am particularly glad that we have managed to conclude our cooperation with Ducati with a very good result. In addition, Karel proved that he is able to race against riders who have much better bikes. The decision before the race about the best tyres was a tough one. We thought, just like some other teams did, that a wet tyre would allow us to gain some advantage for a subsequent pit stop. Unfortunately we had to make the pit stop after just a few laps and lost about 30 seconds which Karel was unable to erase. On the other hand, it was a wise decision to use the front soft slick tyre, as Karel managed to achieve excellent lap times and was even faster than Pedrosa, Dovizioso or Nakasuga. We quickly managed to overtake Valentino Rossi. This race marks the end of our cooperation with Ducati. I am glad it was a dignified goodbye. Starting tomorrow, it will be a brand new chapter with an Aprilia CRT bike. We need to work hard from the very beginning. Our ambition is to have the best CRT bike in the 2013 season.”

Cardion AB Ducati Press Release

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Karel Abraham gets a superb start and battles with Rossi and Hayden in the race

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Czech motorcycle rider Karel Abraham has bagged another finish in the top ten elite in the MotoGP class at the Australian Grand Prix. He finished the race in ninth place, after having battled for much of its duration in a group with Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden, both riding more advanced factory machines. Abaja crossed the line fifty-two seconds behind race winner Casey Stoner. Finishing second was Spaniard Jorge Lorenzo – enough to secure his title as World Champion. On behalf of the entire Cardion AB Motoracing team – we congratulate him!

Karel Abraham

“I’m really happy about the race: we’ve finished in the Top 10 yet again – which also means a fair amount of points. On the other hand, I also have to feel a bit frustrated, because it could have worked out a lot better. I had a great start and even got in front of Nicky Hayden, after which I managed to hold my position in the group between Valentino and Hayden. I felt really sure of the bike for the first time in ages, and even thought I could overtake Valentino. But from about the twelfth lap the bike started to play up, Nicky passed me, and both of them started to pull away. Whilst that was a bit of a shame, we can still regard this race as being a really good result.”

Marco Grana, Chief Mechanic Cardion AB Motoracing

“Of course we’re really satisfied with ninth place. Karel put in a really good performance, he rode the seventh fastest time for a single lap, and that’s a fantastic result! For a large part of the race Karel was able to ride in contention with Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden, both on factory bikes. Unfortunately, the bike then started to develop a few problems: the rear end started to slide and Karel began to fall behind Valentino. At the moment we have no idea why the motorcycle started behaving differently during the course of the race; the rear tire was still in an OK condition, and yet it was spinning far too much and Karel was losing time when accelerating.  In contrast to Malaysia, where we all felt a bit down after the race, now we are looking forward to Valencia, and we’re confident that we’ll have another good race.”

Cardion AB Ducati Press Release

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Karel Abraham competitive with Ducati factory bike at Phillip Island

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Czech MotoGP rider Karel Abraham finished twelfth in today´s free practices to Grand Prix of Australia at Phillip Island Circuit located on south-east of Australian continent. With 1:32,744 Karel is losing 2,745 to the fastest Casey Stoner and only one tenth to Nicky Hayden´s factory Ducati.  

Karel Abraham

“I´m quite satisfied with today sessions. We suffered some problems in the morning - bike had been very bumpy when leaving corners. Now after changing the set up the bike is more balanced, but we still have problem with grip on rear tyre. We finished on twelfth place, but the compared to the lap times of other riders it doesn´t seem bad. We lose only some thousandth to Hector Barbera and only one tenth of second to Nicky Hayden on factory bike.”

Marco Grana, šéfmechanik Cardion AB Motoracing

“We started in the morning with different mentality compared to the last race at Sepang. Karel like this track, and this would help us. We were immediately fast, the main problem is grip on the rear tyre. We just need to set up everything for race and improve the bike to get better acceleration. We made huge progress with tyres. We used only one set of tyres for 24 laps and from this point of view we are prepared to the race. Compared to other riders on prototypes we made good lap times. We are losing only 0,7 second to the Top Ten.”

Cardion AB Ducati Press Release

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Dramatic race in Sepang saw Abraham finish tenth

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Czech rider Karel Abraham finished tenth in last weekend's dramatic Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix and collected six points in the overall championship standings. A light rain was falling down on the riders on the grid before the start of the MotoGP class, but as the race progressed, the weather conditions kept getting worse and the track started to resemble a stream. During the early laps of the race, Abaja had to battle with himself and started to fall behind. Eventually his lap times started to improve and Karel managed to stay on his bike despite the terrible weather. With just seven laps to go, the race was red flagged due to the unacceptable track conditions. A lengthy debate ensued as to whether the race should be restarted and the remaining laps completed. The race directorate eventually decided to abandon the race and award points based on the standings in the last fully completed lap. 

Karel Abraham

“It was one of the worst racing experiences in my life. It was hard to get used to the conditions from the beginning. I was extremely nervous and I did not pull the throttle as much as I should have. Eventually I got used to the wet conditions and started to race properly, as one can see from the lap times. Perhaps there was an opportunity to overtake one more rider, but that's just a pointless what-if debate. I am very disappointed about my today's performance.” 

Marco Grana, Chief Mechanic, Cardion AB Motoracing

“Seeing the results, one could say it is a reason for optimism, but unfortunately the opposite is true. During the early stage of the race, Karel hardly raced at all. He mostly had to battle with his own mental condition. Sure, the weather was terrible, but everyone had the same rain to deal with.  I am very upset because this is not a MotoGP level of performance. We need to find an effective solution.”  

Cardion AB Ducati Press Release

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Abraham rides to eleventh place in Japan

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Karel Abraham finished eleventh in the MotoGP race at the Motegi track in Japan. The Cardion AB Motoracing rider crossed the line 1’15.658 seconds behind race winner Dani Pedroso, and less than five seconds behind Hector Barbera on the other satellite Ducati. 

Karel Abraham

“The start went surprisingly well, but I was exasperated by what followed. Once again, I had problems with the brakes – they became progressively worse, and whenever I broke hard, the brake lever was virtually touching the handlebars. The first four laps were a disaster, after which things started to improve. Unfortunately Barbera had got away from me, and despite the fact I was starting to close the gap, I ran out of time. A few laps before the finish, it became clear that I wouldn’t be able to catch him and there was no point in taking any risks, so I just protected my position through to the finish line.” 

Marco Grana, Cardion AB Motoracing chief mechanic

“There’s no way we can be happy with this result, but on the other hand, I’m glad that we finished the race. After all, this was a really tricky weekend for us, with two crashes and a race circuit that doesn’t suit Karel. Motegi is one of the worst tracks for braking: it demands a lot of hard braking and Karel was complaining of braking problems. Unfortunately, it’s all about trusting the bike, and over the course of the season Karel has found it harder and harder to    maintain that trust”

Cardion AB Ducati Press Release

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Karel Abraham 14th position on FP Motegi

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Czech MotoGP rider Karel Abraham finished fourteenth after first two practice sessions for Grand Prix of Japan at Motegi. With 1:48,757 Cardion AB Motoracing rider lose 2,669 to the fastest Dani Pedrosa.

Karel Abraham

“We have had lot of problems in the morning practice, I couldn´t rely on the front nor on the rear. Rear wheel had lost contact with surface during hard braking, which is very uncomfortable. The positive thing is that we found a solution for the afternoon session. Unfortunately, despite the bike was much better, we cannot achieve better lap times. I still have some kind of „mental block“, and even I really push hard, I can´t be faster. I´m still missing a confidence to the bike and I need to come over this, feel better and trust my Ducati.”

Marco Grana, Cardion AB Motoracing chief mechanic

“We can´t be happy at all after Friday. Karel doesn´t trust his bike, he´s not familiar with the track and he cannot brake hard after long straights. Tomorrow we will try to change the set up only to help Karel to find a confidence to the bike. Compared to other riders we have problem with braking points. Karel brakes too soon and we are losing lot of time in the corners. We will try other tyres and we must hope, that together with set up changes it will help.“

Cardion AB Ducati Press Release

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Abraham on 11th place in qualifying practice

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The weather conditions has again changed a few times during the Saturday MotoGP sessions. After the slower start to the qualification practice the Czech rider Karel Abraham has been faster lap by lap. He set his best time 1.35,648 in the end of the thrilling qualification and lost only 1,791 sec to the poleman Dani Pedrosa from Spain.

Karel Abraham

„The track in the morning was unfortunatelly half dry and half wet. We did not get the chance to try something with bike setting. If we are talking about the afternoon, we are almost satisfied. In the very last lap, which was supposed to be the fastest one, I had the highsider on the front and I was very lucky not to crash. I lost free or maybe four tenths, which we needed to catch Hayden or Rea. On the other hand I feel good with this result because the crash could have had bad massive impact.“  

Marco Grana, chief mechanic Cardion AB Motoracing 

„The weather were again very tricky today. In the morning was the track again half and half. The qualification was in fact the first session under the dry conditions and we started from the begining. In the first part of the practice we were trying to understand the problem with the front setting of the bike. The rider complained about the instability in the fast corners.  We solved it hopefully but unfortunatelly we made a mistake in the last fastest lap and lost a few tenths. We are happy until now and we are ready to fight with the top rider tomorrow.“

Cardion AB Ducati Press Release

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Karel Abraham 12th after first day at Indianapolis

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12th fastest time achieved Karel Abraham on Friday´s free practices for Grand Prix of Indianapolis. Czech rider lost 2,496 to the fastest rider of day Dani Pedrosa. Indianapolis is second race for Karel after he had get back on track after hand injury suffered in Aragon tests. 

Karel Abraham

“After first day I must say that I´m quite happy. We are getting back to the time before my injury. We have good set up with only few problems. We compared our data to Nicky´s bike and we know where we are losing and theoretically how to improve it. The quest is to do it tomorrow on the track. I must say that everybody were riding very hard even if it is „only“ Friday. I´m looking forward to Saturday.” 

Marco Grana, Cardion AB Motoracing chief mechanic

“In first morning session we tried to get back to set up of the bike, which we had used before Aragon crash. The track was wet and we had problems in exiting corners. Karel´s feeling on the bike wasn´t good. In the afternoon the temperature went up and we could use hard tyres. It was much better and after the second session, we are satisfied. It´s important, that everything is under control and we are on the way to get back to group. Our target is get back to situation before Aragon crash.”

Cardion AB Ducati Press Release

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Karel Abraham on 16th place after Friday

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After the longer-term hand injury recovery is Karel Abraham back in the saddle of his motorbike and he took part in Friday´s free parctices to U.S. Grand Prix at Laguna Seca. Abraham ended the first free practice on thirteenth place with the best lap time of 1'25,215 and the loss 3,791 sec on the leader Pedrosa. The afternoon practice was influenced by a short break due to the technical problems at the track. The Czech rider was able to improve his time of almost 0,4 sec. However he finished on 16th place with the loss 3,761 sec on the day winner Dani Pedrosa.

Karel Abraham

"The condition of my hand after the injury seems to be good. I still can feel some kind of pressure and armor in my fingers, especially while braking, but it´s not really a big problem now. I think I will be able to go all race with no restrictions. Maybe I will take some pain killer tabletes before. We haven´t changed anything on bike´s setting today and we tried just the one bike. I feel quite uneasy at the moment, it is difficult after so long pause. I´m glad to be back and hope that tomrrow we will be one step better"

Marco Grana, Chef Mechanic Cardion AB Motoracing

"We did not make any changes on bike´s setting today. We started with the one which is much comfortable for our rider. He had to adapt to the racing again and set in motion after the long-term hand injury. I hope tomorrow will be time to try both bikes and make some improvement of settings for the race."

Cardion AB Ducati Press Release

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Battaini is getting used to ride the bike

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The Friday free parctices were influenced by the exploring of the bike from the Battaini´s side. The best time of the day was reached in the morning free practice session and it was set on 1´24.646 with the loss of 3.289 on the fastest Pedrosa. The afternoon practice was influenced by heavy rain. The team is in optimstic mood.

Marco Grana, Cardion AB Motoracing
"We are quite satisfied with today. The rider is still getting used to ride the bike, he haven´t been racing for six years and it must occur somewhere. We had the opportunity to test the bike settings on dry track in the morning and also on wet in the afternoon practice. It is very good, because we really need to get much needed data. From this point of view we don´t care what is the weather like tomorrow. On the wet we had firstly tried Abaja´s setting but afterwards we had to completely change it. The lap times weren´t that much important for us today. Our closest goal is to set up the bike in the best way for tomorrow and I believe we will be faster."

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Karel Abraham Hope to be Able Endure Whole Race with Injury

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Karel Abraham will start to Dutch Grand Prix at TT Circuit Assen from 5 th row. Abraham completed his best lap time 1:37,110, which is 3,397 seconds behind fastest Casey Stoner. The final decision about tomorrow´s race will be done after warm up.

Karel Abraham

"Doctors must give me stronger anesthetics than yesterday. I don´t feel pain so much but the hand is less sensitive and I haven´t enough power to handle. Moreover I was able to ride only three fast laps together, than I must let the hand rest. It´s naturally unthinkable to do this in race, so the key aspect is if I will be able to ride fast so long time."

Marco Grana, Cardion AB Motoracing chief mechanic

"We are in the same situation as yesterday. We tried to do the best lap we can, but the key problem is physical condition of rider. We improved the bike and eliminated sliding on the rear. Karel has better feeling on the bike and I hope we do everything to be prepared for tomorrow. After warm up we will make the final decision."

Cardion AB Ducati Press Release

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Karel Abraham is still limited by injury

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Karel Abraham is still fighting with pain in left hand caused by injuries suffered in Aragon three weeks ago. Czech rider completed two Thursday sessions for Dutch Grand Prix at TT Circuit Assen only thanks to anesthetics. Abraham reached the best lap time 1:37,628, which is 2,762 slower than the fastest rider of Thursday Ben Spies.

Karel Abraham

"I started first practice session hoping that the hand won´t hurt too much. But I must enter pits after three laps, it was unthinkable to continue. We were running to clinic immediately to anesthetize the hand. It helped a little and I was able to get back on track, but I needed another injection before afternoon practice. After anesthetics I don´t feel the pain so much, but the hand is less sensitive and I haven´t enough power to handle. Naturally this is affecting the results. We will try to ride again tomorrow and hope that it won´t be worse."

Marco Grana, Cardion AB Motoracing chief mechanic

"We are in the situation, when the physical condition of rider is limiting our work. There are lot of fast corners in this track and it´s problem for Karel to change the direction with his handicap. We will try to set up the electronics to make the engine softer to help Karel to ride. Good news is, that we found the correct tyre set up, but the biggest quest is to adapt the bike to Karel´s situation."

Cardion AB Ducati Press Release

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Karel Abraham Disappointed with the Bike Setup

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A hot afternoon brought a very balanced qualification, when Karel Abraham was helding long  in a group of Ducati riders. Karel Abraham will start from the fourth row on the Catalunya race.

Karel Abraham said,  “I am quite disappointed from the overall setting of the bike. Especially the adhesion of the rear tyre is very bad. The loss we have on breaks is connected with the problems we have on complex bike setting. The weather forecast for tomorrow is uncertain. It should be much colder, hopefully not rainy. We will see what we´ll be able to change and improve during the warm up. I hope for the happy end and for scoring some points it the race.”  

Marco Grana, the chief mechanic added, "I cannot say that im happy about today´s result, but on the other hand we are not skeptic for tomorrow. The time from the qualification is much better than in the third free practice, but unfortunatelly it is not sufficient yet. There is still considerable space between us and the riders on prototypes. We slightly improved the bike setting, but we are not satisfied with the adhesion of the rear soft tyre. We are also losing on breaks. ¨The goal for the warm up is clear. We must solve all our problems in settings and bring the bike in the best possible setting to tomorrow´s race.“

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Another Unsuccessful Race for Karel Abraham

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Karel Abraham retires from Grand Prix of France due to technical problems. The problem is on tyres and the Cardion AB team sending the tyres to Bridgestone to solve the problem. Abraham told that the bike was repeatedly slides. 

Karel Abraham:

“We started the race with the settings from the morning warm up. We knew the motorbike was sliding a little but we believed it was due to new tyres. It was a disaster right from the start and it was getting worse and worse, the motorbike was sliding so bad that it was impossible to keep it on the road. As for the brakes, these were OK, we had managed to improve these settings, but when I leaned the motorbike, the rear started to slide immediately and I couldn’t do anything about it. That’s all I can say, it is another unsuccessful race, I’m very disappointed, and it’s hard for all the boys in the team.”

Marco Grana:

“I´m very disappointed, because I expected to finish in top level and we have another zero. The bike was completely same as in the morning and there is nothing strange in telemetry. Only one thing didn´t work – the temperature of the rear tyre was very low, because in the first lap Karel didn´t go fast enough. Now we are sending the tyre to Bridgestone and we will try to understand, where the tyre should have the problem.”

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No finish for Karel Abraham after crash at Portuguese Grand Prix

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Czech rider Karel Abraham had just five laps remaining to claim his first points of the season, but after a heavy fall in 12th place he was unable to finish the Portuguese Grand Prix. Throughout the race he kept the Ducati Team rider Nick Hayden in his sights, gradually closing the gap down to 1.5 seconds, before suffering an unlucky crash. 

Karel Abraham

„‘I wasn’t seriously hurt in today’s crash. I was trying to catch Nicky, but lost my rear wheel coming out of a corner. I wasn’t expecting a highsider, and I finished up getting thrown off. I’m really angry, that’s all I can say about it! Tomorrow during testing we’ll see if there’s anything else we can do to improve the bike’s set-up’ said the Czech rider after the race, adding, ‘before Le Mans I will get my spine looked at. After the fall in Jerez, I wasn’t 100 %, but I’m not going to make excuses for myself. Over the next two weeks I’m going to have to sort myself out and finally get a few points in France.’ 

Marco Grana, Chief Mechanic Cardion AB Motoracing

‘This is a real disappointment - the bike was working well, and compared to yesterday, Abaja rode one lap over half a second quicker, which we were all very pleased about. Unfortunately, the incredible effort to overtake Hayden ended with him crashing out. After the morning’s warm-up, the track surface had cooled a little, so today we chose a combination of hard front tyre with a soft mixture for the rear. Tomorrow we’ve got tests, and we’ll again be trying out new settings on the motorcycle. The main problem we’re facing right now, though, is the mental state of our rider – which after three race failures isn’t too good.’  

Cardion Ducati AB Press Release

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