MotoGP Qualifying Results: 1. Loris CAPIROSSI, Ducati, 1:46.363 2. John HOPKINS, Suzuki, 1:46.861 3. Marco MELANDRI, Honda, 1:46.867 4. Makoto TAMADA, Honda, 1:47.043 5. Max BIAGGI, Honda, 1:47.089 6. Nicky HAYDEN, Honda, 1:47.166 7. Sete GIBERNAU, Honda, 1:47.168 8. Kenny ROBERTS, Suzuki, 1:47.257 9. Carlos CHECA, Ducati, 1:47.323 10. Alex BARROS, Honda, 1:47.562 11. Valentino ROSSI, Yamaha, 1:47.563 12. Alex HOFMANN, Kawasaki, 1:47.594 13. Colin EDWARDS, Yamaha, 1:47.678 14. Shinya NAKANO, Kawasaki, 1:47.787 15. Tohru UKAWA, Honda, 1:48.194 16. Roberto ROLFO, Ducati, 1:48.733 17. Toni ELIAS, Yamaha, 1:48.861 18. Naoki MATSUDO, Moriwaki, 1:49.734 19. Ruben XAUS, Yamaha, 1:49.969 20. Franco BATTAINI, Blata, 1:51.902 21. James ELLISON, Blata, 1:51.972 More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki Racing Team: FRUSTRATING DAY AT HOME FOR KAWASAKI RACING TEAM Kawasaki Racing Team riders, Alex Hofmann and Shinya Nakano, have qualified twelfth and fourteenth respectively for the teams’ home race at Motegi tomorrow. It was a frustrating day and both riders admit they face a tough assignment in the 24-lap Japanese Grand Prix on the difficult-to-pass Motegi track. Both Nakano and Hofmann used the standard specification Ninja ZX-RR motor in today’s practice and qualifying, as they will for tomorrow’s race. The upgraded motor, which was tested by Nakano yesterday, will undergo further evaluation and development before making its race debut After thirty minutes of the one hour session Nakano had secured a place in the top ten with the seventh fastest time. With 20 minutes remaining he was the fastest rider on the track, and 0.4s inside provisional pole after two sectors, when his Ninja ZX-RR stopped with an engine problem. Nakano could not improve his time after switching to his spare machine. With nine minutes remaining Hofmann was also in the top ten with the ninth fastest time. The hard-riding German then set his best time on his 24th and last lap, but slipped to 12th in the final burst of fast lap times. Both Hofmann and Nakano have been highly impressed by the endurance, edge and drive grip of the latest generation of Bridgestone tyres. However the stop-go 4.8 km Motegi layout with tight corners and short straights provides few overtaking opportunities, although both Kawasaki riders say they have comfortable set-ups for the race distance. The warm and humid conditions, with a track temperature of 40 degrees, continued for today’s qualifying with a similar forecast for tomorrow’s race. Alex Hofmann: #66 – Twelfth – 1’47.594 “My qualifying position is not what I was looking for at Kawasaki’s home race, but then I haven’t been as close to Valentino Rossi on the grid before! It is not easy for us, we are still giving away too much top speed to our rivals, so we just have to fight with what we have at the moment. Overall I have a good rhythm on the bike, but it will be tough in the race. I did my qualifying time alone when there were a lot of guys turning this into a 125 session, waiting for a slipstream and trying to follow other riders.” Shinya Nakano: #56 – Fourteenth – 1’47.787 “I am very upset about this situation. It is very difficult to overtake here and to be starting on the fifth row makes my job tomorrow all the more difficult. I had a good feeling on my main race bike using the standard motor, but then on my attack lap for a fast time I had a broken engine. I switched to the spare bike, but I had a different feeling and could not go faster. What is clear is that the new Bridgestone tyres are very, very good here – both more edge grip and better drive traction.” Ichiro Yoda: Technical Manager “I’m a little bit disappointed and, for sure, Shinya is a little angry. Shinya did some fast laps but then he had an engine problem, perhaps some internal parts, we need to check. Shinya used the standard ZX-RR motor today, we need to modify and understand the new motor before we race it.” More, from a press release issued by D’Antin Pramac Ducati: Motegi GP : Qualifying practice In the single qualifying practice session reserved to the MOTOGP class, ROBERTO ROLFO classified himself in 16th position, improving his best time of the Friday by nearly two seconds. The D’ANTIN PRAMAC TEAM rider is confident and, tomorrow afternoon at 2pm in Japan (GMT+9), he could get back several positions by doing a good start. ROBERTO ROLFO (16th – 1’48”733): “I’m satisfied because our gap from the first riders has never been so close before. We did the work we had to do on the front part of the bike and I rode a bit faster already this morning; I found a good feeling with the race tyres as well but tomorrow during the warm-up we will make other tests about their duration. I really like riding on this track with the MotoGP and today I found a lot of new good references”. ANDRE LAUGIER – D’ANTIN PRAMAC Team Technical Chief: “Positive work and satisfying evolution, but we still have a lot to improve”. More, from a press release issued by Dorna Communications: Capirossi storms to new pole record at Motegi Loris Capirossi demonstrated why Ducati were so keen to secure a recent contract renewal for next season with a stunning lap time in today’s single qualifying session for the Grand Prix of Japan. The Italian rider will start the twelfth round of the MotoGP World Championship from pole position thanks to his record time of 1’46.363, enough to hold off his closest challenger John Hopkins by 0.498 seconds. The top two riders on the grid are both using Bridgestone tyres, who celebrated victory in last year’s race with Makoto Tamada, whilst Marco Melandri was the top Michelin qualifier with the final front row spot in third place. “For me this is great weekend,” smiled Capirossi. “We have worked very hard and I did a lot of consecutive laps on race tyres today. Bridgestone have done a great job for their home race and have given us some excellent tyres to choose from. Tomorrow is a different day, the race is always difficult but I am ready to do my best.” Valentino Rossi missed out on a final qualifying lap as he arrived at the finish line just three seconds after the chequered flag was waved, effectively losing places instead of making them up and eventually dropping to eleventh. It means the reigning World Champion will start from the fourth row of the grid, his worst qualifying performance since being sent to the back of the grid at Qatar last season, as he looks to revalidate his title in tomorrow’s race. Tamada showed signs of a return to his best form after a difficult season, challenging for pole before dropping to fourth place as Capirossi raised the stakes in the final moments of the session. The home favourite is joined on the second row by Max Biaggi and Nicky Hayden, with Biaggi needing to take at least eight points off Rossi in tomorrow’s race order to keep his championship hopes alive. Biaggi and Hayden are two of six riders still with a mathematical chance of dethroning Rossi although the more realistic battle between them is for the runner-up spot, currently occupied by the Italian. Sete Gibernau will be looking to turn that situation around and put an end to his recent bad luck as he start from the third row, where he is joined by Carlos Checa and Kenny Roberts. Rossi is sandwiched on row four between Alex Barros and Alex Hofmann, whilst the World Champion’s team-mate Colin Edwards had an even more disappointing day today as he struggled to thirteenth place and a fifth-row start ahead of Shinya Nakano and Tohru Ukawa. Rossi was not the only World Champion with problems today, 250cc title-holder Dani Pedrosa crashing from his Honda for the third time this weekend in the morning free practice session. The Spaniard, nursing shoulder, thumb and elbow injuries after falling twice yesterday, recovered to set the seventh fastest time in the afternoon qualifying session but was unable to prevent his team-mate, Hiroshi Aoyama, from clinching a memorable pole position at his home Grand Prix. Aoyama’s younger brother Shuhei also made it a day to remember as he clinched a front row start in third place, behind Jorge Lorenzo but ahead of Alex de Angelis. Andrea Dovizioso, Yuki Takahashi and Randy de Puniet join Pedrosa on the second row whilst Casey Stoner, the Spaniard’s main challenger for the championship starts from just behind them in ninth place. Neither of the two main title contenders were able to seal a front row start for the 125cc race as Gabor Talmacsi clinched his first pole position with a time of 1’58.653. Thomas Lüthi and Mika Kallio, separated by eight points at the top of the standings, will both be on row two after qualifying seventh and fifth respectively, with Kallio unable to improve on his provisional pole time from yesterday. Local rider Tomoyoshi Koyama will start from alongside Talmacsi after qualifying second fastest, with Mattia Pasini and Marco Simoncelli completing the front row. More, from a press release issued by Gauloises Yamaha: ROSSI FACING UPHILL BATTLE TO WIN TITLE AT MOTEGI Gauloises Yamaha rider Valentino Rossi faces a difficult task at Motegi tomorrow and he aims for his twelfth consecutive podium finish this season. The Italian starts from his worst grid position since the start of the year after setting the eleventh fastest time in this afternoon’s single qualifying session, whilst his team-mate Colin Edwards is also expecting a tough race as he lines up two places behind the reigning World Champion in thirteenth. After two practice days beset by unexpected setbacks, Rossi squeezed every possible second out of the hour long afternoon session before launching his qualifying attack. However, as the time ran down he was unable to beat the chequered flag for one final attempt on a qualifying tyre and could only look on as he slipped further down the order with other riders posting their fastest times of the session. Both Rossi and Edwards knocked over a second off their times from yesterday but it was not enough to challenge for a top placing on an ultra-competitive grid. Loris Capirossi (Ducati) will start from pole position after setting a new record time of 1’46.363 ahead of John Hopkins (Suzuki) and Marco Melandri (Honda). VALENTINO ROSSI (11th 1’47.563; 24 laps) “This morning we made some good progress with the setting of the bike and we were quite fast, but in the afternoon we went in the wrong direction and it was probably our worst session of the season. Michelin has done a very good job to come up with a competitive race tyre but unfortunately we weren’t able to get the best out of it today. In the end we had a bit of bad luck, running out of time when we tried to change the rear tyre a couple of minutes from the end. Anyway, tomorrow we will go back to the setting we had this morning and use the extra data we gathered in the afternoon to try and make some more improvements, although I think all the riders can only dream about the pace Capirossi had today. The last time I was so far back on the grid was at Qatar last year but I made a lot of positions up over the first four laps so I will try to do that again, only this time finish the race!” COLIN EDWARDS (13th 1’47.678; 24 laps) “We actually went forward with the setting of the bike today and between turns four and nine we are good. The problems are the sections before and after that, with the long straights and heavy braking. We’re going from 300km/h down to almost zero, basically, and I don’t have enough feeling on the rear. If you are a couple of inches off the line into those corners then you lose some vital tenths. Usually the bike is more forgiving than this but for some reason we’re struggling with it here and this is the worst circuit for it to happen. We’ll see what we can work out in the morning but whatever happens it isn’t going to be an easy race starting from so far back.” DAVIDE BRIVIO GAULOISES YAMAHA TEAM DIRECTOR “Today just goes to show that this sport is not easy. It is always full of surprises, with top quality opposition, and you can never relax. Both our riders are in a difficult situation but it will be very interesting to see how the team reacts. We have had tough Saturdays already this season but we have good engineers and they don’t stop working right up until the start of the race. It looks like it will be a difficult but interesting day tomorrow!” More, from a press release issued by Camel Honda: BARROS AND UKAWA TENTH AND FIFTEENTH IN MOTEGI It was a particularly tough qualifying session for the Camel Honda duo, who despite having proved themselves to have a good race pace, also had a bit of misfortune in the official practice for the Motegi GP. Alex Barros’s engineers actually found a small technical problem within the forks of the Brazilian’s bike, but only in the final practice session. Even though this meant Alex was unable to get a perfect feel for the front end of his bike, at least the reason has been found, and in tomorrow’s 20-minute warm-up session, the team can make some final adjustments. It was a small crash which broke Tohru Ukawa’s rhythm meanwhile, striking half-way through the session and forcing him to set a fast lap on his reserve machine. Sito Pons Camel Honda “These practices didn’t quite go as I expected, given the pace Alex had showed in the first minutes of testing at this track. I’m disappointed because I was convinced we would be fighting for the front row. Instead we had a few little problems which slowed us down. We hope to resolve this in tomorrow’s warm-up so that Alex can still do a good race. Even Tohru had a bit of bad luck, crashing at a time when he was doing some great work with the team. The slide took a bit of the shine off him in the decisive part of the session, but he’s a character and very consistent in the race, so I’m sure that he will fight to pick up places after a less than favourable starting position.” Alex Barros Camel Honda 1’47.562 – 10th position “We have discovered that the forks I have been using all weekend had a small internal defect which stopped us from making all the tests on the front end, o better put, it made them useless, because anything we tested wouldn’t have given the right results. At least we know why now though, and we have changed it, so tomorrow morning we will try some more modifications because it’s vital to be set up right for braking here, so you can take speed off quickly and overtake. This has also slowed down the tyre tests, so we still haven’t chosen the race tyre from the two we have singled out, because I wasn’t able to do a durability test with one of them. We will listen to what Michelin say of course, and we will try to make the most of tomorrow’s twenty minute session.” Tohru Ukawa Camel Honda 1’48.194 – 15th position “I lost the front and crashed during the free practice, and it’s a shame because I lost a bit of confidence when I really had to push hard. That’s why my time didn’t improve too much. In any case, tomorrow I will get a good start and give everything in the race. The tyres have made a good step forward this year, but I think the times haven’t been beaten by a lot because the track is much more irregular and quite bumpy.” More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki: Front row start for Hopkins and Suzuki at Motegi John Hopkins will start from the front row of the grid for the first time this season at tomorrow’s Grand Prix of Japan after setting the second quickest time of the day aboard his Bridgestone shod Suzuki GSV-R. Hopkins (P2, 1’46.861) used his hard charging style to the maximum and powered his Suzuki GSV-R to the top of the time sheets near the end of the hour-long qualifying session. His time was only bettered in the final moments by Loris Capirossi on his Ducati also using Bridgestone tyres. Hopkins will start tomorrow’s race from the same position as last years Japanese Grand Prix. He will be hoping to avoid any potential first corner incidents similar to that which robbed him of any chance of a good result in 2004. Kenny Roberts Jr (P8. 1’47.257) will start in eighth place his best starting position of the season so far. He used both of today’s sessions to their full extents to try many new settings on both of his race bikes. His qualifying time could have been better but a small problem on his final fast lap caused the ex-World Champion to abandon any hopes of bettering his time. Roberts Jr will take to the track on Sunday for his 100th Grand Prix as a Suzuki Factory rider and will be determined to show the kind of form that led to his two victories at Motegi in 1999 and 2000. Round 12 of the MotoGP World Championship will begin at 14.00hrs (local time), 08.00hrs CET and both Team SUZUKI MotoGP racers will be aiming for glory in front of a bumper crowd of Suzuki fans, staff and VIPs from the Hamamatsu factory. John Hopkins: “I’m really happy with the way we’ve been able to work all weekend. We’ve been running really hard and we’re looking pretty good on race tyres. Right now the reality of it is that we are going to go out and get the best position we can tomorrow. I’d like to say we are going to go for the podium but right now I think the only thing that is holding us back is a little lack of horsepower, but I know the Factory is working really hard to get it. We know that it is coming and I wouldn’t have agreed a new two-year deal if I didn’t. “If I can get through turn one I’m going to have a hell of a race!” Kenny Roberts Jr: “Perfect, I’m not too far forward for the starting position and not too far back. I’m just going to get a decent start and try to keep pace and momentum and stay with the front group. “I think I could have gone a bit faster in qualifying but I didn’t get a chance to use the last tyre due to a small problem. I think regardless of the position, if we can get a good start and be in the top six or eight after the first corner it’s about where you need to be. It doesn’t matter if you are first or eighth at the moment it’s where you are at the end of the 24 laps that matters.” Paul Denning Team Manager: “Today was a fantastic result for the team and especially for John and his hard working crew. Again here at Motegi we have made steps forward with both the Suzuki GSV-R and with the new generation of Bridgestone rear race tyres that have been introduced this weekend. We have to congratulate Bridgestone for its performance at this track, both with the qualifying and race tyres. “John’s result was nothing less than he deserved after two days of riding at the absolute limits and Kenny’s final position whilst a great result in itself doesn’t indicate what was possible. On his last qualifying run he had to abort due to a small problem, or I’m sure he would have done a quicker time. “The bikes are safely on the first three rows of the grid and we hope that can translate into our best dry race performance of the year.” More, from a press release issued by Telefonica Movistar Honda: MELANDRI BACK ON THE FRONT ROW Sete Gibernau starts from the third row but is confident of a good start and has faith in his practice pace GP OF JAPAN – MOTOGP QUALIFYING PRACTICE The Telefónica Movistar Honda MotoGP team tackle the Grand Prix of Japan tomorrow with Marco Melandri on the front row of the grid and Sete Gibernau on the third row for the twelfth round of the season. The Italian rider set the third fastest time of today’s qualifying session, half a second off the pole time set by his compatriot Loris Capirossi, whilst Sete was eighth tenths down and, for only the second time this season after Laguna Seca, was unable to make the front two rows of the grid. However, the Spaniard is confident of getting a good start and maintaining the good pace he has shown in practice to keep his podium hopes alive. Marco Melandri, meanwhile, hopes to make the most of his good starting position to stay at the front from the start. MARCO MELANDRI (3rd, 1’46″867): “It’s a nice feeling to be back on the front row. We’ve worked well over the last two days, finding a good setting for the race without worrying about the lap times. Today the bike improved and tomorrow we have to make some minor adjustments but I’m looking forward to what will definitely be a tough race. Michelin have helped me find the correct rear tyre and that has allowed me to take a step forward.” SETE GIBERNAU (7th, 1’47″168): “Obviously I would have liked to be on the first or second row of the grid because here the first lap can be the key. I hope to get a good start and be in the top five from the start in order to have a chance at the end. My pace is good, we’ve worked well in that sense, but the first lap will be decisive. We’ve been trying out a few things and in the end we ran out of time with the qualifying tyre but we have made a choice on tyres and set-up. We’re all very close apart from Capirossi”. More, from a press release issued by Honda Racing Information: MELANDRI ON FRONT ROW, TAMADA BACK ON FORM Marco Melandri (Team Movistar Honda RC211V) starts the 12th race of the season from the front row for the sixth time this year and the Italian star will line up alongside John Hopkins (Suzuki) who qualified second fastest and Loris Capirossi (Ducati) on pole. Makoto Tamada (Konica Minolta Honda RC211V) heads row two in fourth. In warmer conditions than yesterday’s first day of free practice with the track temperature at 40 degrees and ambient temperature at 31 degrees, riders attacked the hour of qualifying with typical gusto Tamada, who had been quickest in the morning free training, especially. With turn one having provided opening lap chaos at the previous two races, all riders were doubly anxious to secure good grid position for this race. And it was Tamada who topped the timesheet at the halfway stage of the hour. Capirossi had proved he had the speed to make his presence felt at the sharp-end of the grid and the Italian spent the session putting in consistent laps on race rubber before snatching pole with an initial 1m 46.957 second lap. He would go faster still at 1m 46.363s. Max Biaggi (Repsol Honda RC211V) continued what appears to be a late-season rejuvenation by achieving provisional pole just after the halfway stage, but the Roman did not have the impetus to get his time below the 1m 46 second mark only the front row riders did that. Yet again the top ten riders are covered by just over one second the grid is close, as the majority have been all year. Max eventually finished as fifth fastest rider and will start the race from row two tomorrow. Hopkins was determined to stay somewhere near the front and after Melandri had relegated him to third fastest with 18 minutes to go, the American took pole back again with his team-mate Kenny Roberts briefly going second fastest. With ten minutes of the hour remaining and super-sticky qualifying rubber ready to fit, the grid order was: Hopkins, Roberts, Biaggi, Capirossi, Valentino Rossi (Yamaha), Tamada, Melandri, Tamada, Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC211V) and Sete Gibernau (Team Movistar Honda RC211V). Alex Barros (Camel Honda RC211V) never got higher than ninth fastest and would finish up tenth quickest. Tohru Ukawa, standing in for the injured Troy Bayliss (Camel Honda RC211V) qualified 15th. Naoko Matsudo riding the Moriwaki Honda RC211V starts from 18th place. With five minutes of the session left, just 0.9 seconds covered the fastest 16 riders. Max went as high as second on the grid before Melandri knocked him back to third, Hopkins then relegated Melandri to third, while Tamada’s final flying lap 1m 47.043s shunted Biaggi to fifth. Rossi could do no better than 11th. Melandri, third fastest, said, “It feels nice to be back on the front row. The bike worked really well over the last two days and we just worked at finding a good set-up without worrying about the lap time. Tomorrow we’ll make some minor adjustments. It will be a tough race, but I’ve got a good rear tyre from Michelin.” His team-mate Sete, who will start from seventh, on row three, said, “I would have liked to have been on the first or second rows because the early laps are key here. I’ve just got to hope for a good start and to be able to run in the top five in the early stages. My race pace is good, but the early laps will be decisive.” Tamada, in fourth on row two, said, “The bike has improved compared to yesterday and the race tyres today gave me much more confidence. On the other hand, the tyres used during the fastest lap gave me a strange sensation in the last turns, but I can’t complain seeing how today’s qualifying session ended. The front-end set-up of the of the bike is ready for tomorrow’s race, while during the warm up we’ll concentrate to improve the rear set up.” “We’re definitely getting better,” said Max in fifth. “It’s good to be starting higher up the grid than usual. We still have a long way to go to get to the front but the second row is better than we’ve had for much of the season. We’ve worked very hard on the set-up this weekend and the bike is definitely working better. It will be a big fight tomorrow especially with the Bridgestone guys who are going very well here and went very well here last year too.” Hayden, sixth fastest, said, “This afternoon’s session was the best we’ve had all weekend. Capirossi’s really going fast he set the bar out there and made it tough on us for sure. After this morning we made a lot of changes on the bike. What we found worked in the tests at Brno just wasn’t working here so we went back to what we’ve been running all season and things started to go better immediately. I’ve got a lot more confidence with the front and we picked up the pace quite a bit.” Alex Barros, who will start from tenth tomorrow, said, “We have discovered that the forks I have been using all weekend had a small internal defect which stopped us from getting the front-end set-up right. At least we know why now. So tomorrow morning we will try some more modifications because it’s vital to be set up right for braking here, so you can take speed off quickly and overtake. This has also slowed down the tyre tests, so we still haven’t chosen the race tyre from the two we have singled out.” “I lost the front and crashed during the free practice,” said Ukawa in 15th. “It’s a shame because I lost a bit of confidence when I really had to push hard. That’s why my time didn’t improve too much. In any case, tomorrow I will get a good start and give everything in the race. The tyres have made a good step forward this year, but I think the times haven’t been beaten by a lot because the track is much bumpier.” Hiroshi Aoyama (Team Movistar Honda RS250RW) snatched his first pole of the season here at his ‘home’ track and his brother Shushi riding another Honda for the Harc-Pro Team qualifed third fastest in the 250cc category. Jorge Lorenzo (Fortuna Honda RS250RW) starts from second on the grid while Alex De Angelis (Aprilia) completes the front row. Dani Pedrosa (Team Movistar Honda RS250RW) has had a torrid time here so far, crashing three times, and injuring his shoulder. He eventually qualified seventh fastest after a gritty peformance. Andrea Dovizioso (Scot Racing Team Honda RS250RW) heads row two in fifth and his team-mate Yuki Takahashi (Scot Racing Team Honda RS250RW) lines up alongside the Italian in sixth. “At the start of the session we worked on engine settings,” said Hiro. “Then we worked through tyres and suspension for the race. I know I have the speed to win here and I have to make sure that’s what happens tomorrow.” Lorenzo said, “I made a small mistake on my final fast lap and couldn’t quite get the time I was looking for, but my rhythm is good here and I should be able to run a fast race tomorrow.” Dani said, “My bad luck continues. This morning we were improving a bit but I kept losing the front-end and I bashed my shoulder again. This hasn’t happened to us before, but at least this afternoon I managed to get onto row two.” Home hope Tomoyoshi Koyama (Ajo Motorsport Honda RS125R) qualified second fastest in the 125cc class at his ‘home’ race behind Gabor Talmacsi (KTM). Mattia Pasini and Marco Simoncelli (both Aprilia) were third and fourth fastest qualifers. Thomas Luthi (Elit Grand Prix Honda RS125R) qualified seventh fastest and will start for the second row. His title rival Mika Kallio (KTM) crashed, without injury, towards the end of the session and starts from the second row too, in fifth. Alvaro Bautista (Seedorf Racing Honda RS125RW) qualifed in the top ten, in ninth. “I’m very happy with this,” said Koyama. “We made changes to the gearbox, the gearing was too long to start with. Then I was much faster and managed to put my fastest lap in tucked in behind Luthi. Tomorrow I will race for the win, and hope to at least be on the podium. I will do my best.” Luthi said, “The whole team has worked to fix the front-end problems, the engine feels good and the bike is fast which is why everyone wants to follow me that’s how Koyama set his time. I never got to follow anyone when they see me they shut the throttle. But the second row is not too bad. I was lower than that at Catalunya but was in the lead at turn one.” Honda Team Quotes: MotoGP: Marco Melandri, Movistar Honda MotoGP: 3rd: “It’s a nice feeling to be back on the front row. We’ve worked well over the last two days, finding a good setting for the race without worrying about the lap times. Today the bike improved and tomorrow we have to make some minor adjustments but I’m looking forward to what will definitely be a tough race. Michelin have helped me find the correct rear tyre and that has allowed me to take a step forward.” Makoto Tamada, Konica Minolta Honda: 4th: “The bike has furthermore improved compare to yesterday. Also the solution of race tyres used today gave me much more confidence. On the other side, the tyres used during the fastest lap gave me a strange sensation in the last turns, but I can’t complain seen how today’s qualifying session ended. The setting of the front part of the bike is ready for tomorrow’s race, while during the warm up we’ll concentrate to improve the rear set up. The race pace I obtained today is more than satisfying and make me thing good for tomorrow.” Max Biaggi, Repsol Honda Team: 5th: “We’re definitely coming better and it is good to be starting higher up the grid than usual. We still have a long way to go to get to the front but the second row is better than we have had for much of the season. We have worked very hard on the set-up this weekend and the bike is definitely working better. It will be a big fight tomorrow especially with the Bridgestone guys who are going very well here and went very well here last year too. I’ll be riding, as usual, at 100% and will want to finish well to keep my place in the championship.” Nicky Hayden, Repsol Honda Team: 6th: “This afternoon session was the best we’ve had all weekend. Capirossi’s really going fast he set the bar out there and made it tough on us for sure. After this morning we made a lot of changes on the bike. What we found worked in the tests at Brno just wasn’t working here so we went back to what we have been running all season and things started to go better immediately. I’ve got a lot more confidence with the front and we picked up the pace quite a bit. A big thanks to the team for doing a great job they really did their homework. We still have got some stuff to look at tomorrow morning the race will be hot for sure there are a lot of fast guys out there. It’ll be a big one tomorrow.” Sete Gibernau, Movistar Honda MotoGP: 7th, “Obviously I would have liked to be on the first or second row of the grid because here the first lap can be the key. I hope to get a good start and be in the top five from the start in order to have a chance at the end. My pace is good, we’ve worked well in that sense, but the first lap will be decisive. We’ve been trying out a few things and in the end we ran out of time with the qualifying tyre but we have made a choice on tyres and set-up. We’re all very close apart from Capirossi”. Alex Barros, Camel Honda: 10th: “We have discovered that the forks I have been using all weekend had a small internal defect which stopped us from making all the tests on the front end, o better put, it made them useless, because anything we tested wouldn’t have given the right results. At least we know why now though, and we have changed it, so tomorrow morning we will try some more modifications because it’s vital to be set up right for braking here, so you can take speed off quickly and overtake. This has also slowed down the tyre tests, so we still haven’t chosen the race tyre from the two we have singled out, because I wasn’t able to do a durability test with one of them. We will listen to what Michelin say of course, and we will try to make the most of tomorrow’s twenty minute session.” Tohru Ukawa, riding as substitute for Troy Bayliss, Camel Honda: 15th: “I lost the front and crashed during the free practice, and it’s a shame because I lost a bit of confidence when I really had to push hard. That’s why my time didn’t improve too much. In any case, tomorrow I will get a good start and give everything in the race. The tyres have made a good step forward this year, but I think the times haven’t been beaten by a lot because the track is much more irregular and quite bumpy” . 250cc: Hiroshi Aoyama, MoviStar Honda: 1st. “I know that the result that counts is tomorrow but this pole at my home track makes me very happy. We have improved in every session and the race pace I have now is good. We have also improved the bike, especially in the suspension, and I feel good. I am ready for a long and difficult race and I think Dani will be up there. There is more pressure on me at my home race but it is also an extra motivation. Hopefully I can be celebrating.” Jorge Lorenzo, Fortuna Honda: 2nd. “I feel good after that last qualifying session. I had good rhythm and I’m only sorry that on my best lap I made a small mistake which made me lose a bit of time. Tomorrow I want to put on a good show for the fans and, if I can win, I will give it everything I’ve got. Aoyama (Hiro) and his brother (Shuhei, wild card) are very strong here, but I’m not ruling out getting away on my own and lapping at the front. I am only thinking about winning and will continue to until the end of the season.” S Aoyama, Team Harc Pro Honda: 3rd.: “At the beginning of practice I studied some riders like De Puniet, my brother Hiro and others to see where they brake for the corners, how they enter the corners things like that. Then I went to the pit to make some small changes to the front and rear suspension. I did a few laps to check the sitting was good then put in a soft rear tyre for my time attack. Everything went OK and I set third fastest time. I am very happy.” Andrea Dovizioso, Scot Honda: 5th. “Tomorrow it will be probably a group race even if it will depend on the performance of Pedrosa and Lorenzo. A good start and beware of the Japanese brothers Aoyama will make the difference, otherwise they, helping each other, could leave everyone behind! We have improved the performance of the bike compared with yesterday and the free practice of this morning but I’m not satisfied”¦ My bike lacks stability in corners and I can’t ride as I want. We have to make other tests during the warm up because I can be very fast and I want to do my best tomorrow”. Yuki Takahashi, Scot Honda: 6th. “On their home circuit the Japanese riders are always fast. The Aoyama brothers are really good and fearful: I rode many times here with them and I know what it means”¦ it will be an interesting race! As for me I’m satisfied, I found a good setting and I made many laps at the same high rhythm. It is very important for the race. Tomorrow I will make a race as protagonist”. Dani Pedrosa, MoviStar Honda: 7th. “The bad luck continues. This morning we were improving bit by bit but at the end I crashed for the third time in this Grand Prix, losing the front end and bashing my shoulder again. This has never happened to me before but at least this afternoon I was able to complete a few laps and get on the second row of the grid, which is important. With so many crashes and so much pain we haven’t been able to test the set-up. I’m obviously finding it hard to ride because I’m trying to move as little as possible on the bike and that limits your riding. But I’m hoping that I can get some rest tonight, that time stays on our side and that I can have the best possible race tomorrow.” Hector Barbera, Fortuna Honda: 13th: “At the end of the session I put on a soft tyre to try and lower my time but it did not work and that’s why I’m not better placed on the grid. But I feel as confident as I have all season on the bike and with the rhythm I have found I really think I have a great chance to score some big points. We’ll see what happens tomorrow but I have been concentrating on racing for 23 laps. The two days of qualifying have been positive and I am happy with the set-up I’ve found. I hope luck is on my side because I was well prepared at Brno but didn’t manage to finish the first lap.” Alex Debon, Wurth Honda BQR: 17th: “Qualifying was not good to me today. On my fast lap the front end turned in on me a couple of times and that cost me a little time. Still I have a good bike setting for the race. The new parts we have improved the engine power a little and I have confidence in the bike. One thing for sure, I need to make a very good start if I am to make an impression in the race.” Jakub Smrz, Molenaar Honda: 19th: “Not so good today, I just could not get it together. On my fast lap I came up on Cardenas and he backed off the gas – until I got alongside him then he accelerated again and got in my way. I am half a second slower than yesterday but I know the bike was very good yesterday and I’m confident that I will be fast in the race. You an say it was a rider problem today, not the bike.” Dirk Heidolf, Kiefer Castrol Honda: 20th: “Today was better than yesterday for me. My grid position is the same but I was faster and have a good feeling with the bike. I have a problem with the front end when I let off the brake, the bike feels as if its running over bumps in the track. The engine is fast w have a small problem with it but nothing we cant fix. The first three or four laps of the race will be important. If I get a good start I will have a good race tomorrow.” Radomil Rous, Wurth Honda BQR: 21st: “This is my second time here at Motegi but I still find it difficult to ride the ideal line on this track. The bike is good, in fact the chassis is perfect for me and I have good power from the engine. I hope to take points from this race but it will be difficult with so many fast wild card riders in the race.” 125cc: Tomoyoshi Koyama, Ajo Motorsport Honda: 2nd: “I’m very happy with this result from qualifying. We made a change to the gearbox before the last session because the gearing was too long. I “was much faster and I made my fastest lap behind Luthi with just a one-bike slipstream. Of course tomorrow I will race for the win and I really hope I am on the podium but Luthi, Kallio, Pasini and Simoncelli will be very hard to beat. Thomas Luthi, Elit Honda: 7th: “The whole team has worked hard to fix the front-end problem we had yesterday so I thank them for their work. The engine is really fast and I have a good feeling with the bike for this race. My bike is fast which makes everybody want to follow me in qualifying, that’s how Koyama san set his fast time today. The problem for me is that I never get to follow somebody else to get a fast qualifying lap. Still the second row is not too bad. I was lower down the grid than this at Catalunya but I was leading when we got to the first corner.” Alvaro Bautista, Seedorf RC3 Tiempo Holidays Honda: 9th: “I have kept my qualifying position of yesterday and will start from the 3rd row, and looking back at this year it is a good result because this is my best position on a grid. The most important thing is that I have a good feeling with the bike, I feel very confident in this GP. This morning we have made some tests, and I think we have found the best options for tomorrow. Tomorrow it could be another race in the group, so let’s see if I can be there. Then, my performance will depend on many things but first of all you must bein the top positions to have options, and after that everything can happen.” Mike Di Meglio, Kopron Racing World Honda: 12th. 12th “We have tried different solutions in free and official practices, improving the chassis. In general today we have made some good steps forward and starting from the third row, with this Honda, is not a problem. A good start tomorrow, like those I made so far this year, will help me to make a race in the front group”. Fabrizio Lai, Kopron Racing World Honda: 14th: Fabrizio Lai, Kopron Racing World: 21st: “The bike is ready for the race but I need to start very fast because I’m really far back on the starting grid. I lost the right concentration and I have made mistakes in the official practice: I didn’t sleep very well last night and this morning I wasn’t very fit. Nevertheless I made a quite good free practice (8th). Instead, during the official practice, I had problems riding at a good rhythm then I found too much traffic and I couldn’t improve on the time I made in the morning”. Sandro Cortese, Kiefer Bos Castrol Honda: 16th: “This is my first time at Motegi and i like the track. You have to brake real hard then throw the bike on its side for the corner and I like that. This morning the bike was very good and in the afternoon the engine was really good. Pity my rear tyre was finished in the last few minutes maybe I could have been a little faster.” Toshihisa Kuzuhara, Angaia Racing Honda: 20th. Alexis Masbou, Ajo Motorsport Honda: 21st: “I’m not so happy but not sad. This morning I broke an engine and did not do many laps. This afternoon I was a lot better and I’m learning the track. Despite my problems I am only half a second off the points positions. We now have to concentrate on the warm up to improve the bike more and my lap times.” Aleix Espargaro, Seedorf RC3 Tiempo Holidays Honda: 24th: Aleix Espargaro, Seedorf Racing: 24th: “I like this circuit, but it is a pity that I am having too many problems. Yesterday I couldn’t ride the second half of qualifying, and today I didn’t feel too comfortable on the bike. Despite this I have improved my time by almost one second, although I think I can do better. We still have a lot of work to do, and mainly try to improve in the warm up. I will try to make a good start, and if the bike goes as I like, make a funny race and try to score more points.” Takumi Takahashi, replacement rider for Raymond Schouten at Molenaar Honda: 29th. “This is the first time I have raced a kit bike and I feel OK on the bike. Every session my lap time has improved so I am happy. Yesterday I ran a 2m 03.32s lap time and today 2m 01.97s so I am satisfied. We have the warm up to improve some more.” More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse: DUCATI MARLBORO RIDER CAPIROSSI ON POLE AT MOTEGI Ducati Marlboro Team rider Loris Capirossi scored pole position and a new qualifying record of 1’46.363 at Motegi, topping off truly competitive pre-race preparations in the best possible style. Carlos Checa also made advances in machine set-up almost throughout the day but was to miss the chance to move up the qualifying grid, and ended up ninth fastest. Capirossi’s front row start was his third of the year and the second in succession, after an early season third spot in China and another at Brno last month. Capirossi was also one of the most consistently fast riders on race tyres, after several long runs on the same rubber. Checa and his crew concentrated their energies on improving both lap time and potential grid position, making great strides in machine balance and feel. Checa is confident that his pace on race tyres is better than his grid position suggests, and thus hopes for a good start to the 24-lap race on Sunday. “I think we had a very good tyre, as everyone could see, and I think the bike and the settings were well balanced,” said Ducati Marlboro Team Technical Director Corrado Cecchinelli. “I also think Loris put something special in from his side to make such a lap. Bridgestone has a good knowledge of this track and its surface and they have always been good here – but this is just a base. We were particularly pleased with our performance because our times were done on the new generation of tyres, and this is an indication that they have maybe really got a result which we can take to the next races as well.” CAPIROSSI FASTEST AT NEW RECORD SPEED Loris Capirossi earned his first pole of the 2005 season on the same weekend as he confirmed he would stay with the Ducati Marlboro Team in 2006, presenting the squad with the perfect reason for celebration after the first two days of track action. “I am very happy because I’m working really hard,” said a satisfied Capirossi. “On Friday and this morning we do a lot of consecutive laps and the bike has been quite good, the tyres working very well. For sure Bridgestone have made a great job for this race in Motegi. I am quite confident for the race itself, but anyway tomorrow is a different day, as the race always is different. But I am ready to try to do my best.” CHECA IMPROVES TIME BUT TRAFFIC HALTS HIS PROGRESS Carlos Checa found other riders on his line as he tried to improve his grid position in the last minutes of qualifying, and therefore did not get optimal traction when he set about a final attempt at cutting his time. “We improved our time but just at the end I found traffic and I lost the lap when the tyre was freshest,” said Checa. “I did one more lap but I had no chance. My qualifying is not my best so far and today we did a good job with the race tyres. We will see tomorrow if we can stay with the group and at the pace, and then we can see what we can do at the end. I just need to be in a good position after the start.” More, from a press release issued by Fortuna Yamaha: Qualifying practice / FORTUNA’S MOTOGP TEAM HOPING TO IMPROVE THEIR PERFORMANCES IN TOMORROW’S RACE Fortuna Yamaha riders Toni Elias and Rubén Xaus will start tomorrow’s Grand Prix of Japan from the sixth and seventh row of the grid respectively. Toni Elías started the weekend well but has been unable to build on his progress from the first day today as he tested a variety of configurations for the YZR M1. Rubén, meanwhile, has worked together with his team to try and find a set-up that will allow him to look forward more confidently to the race. Both riders are confident that their lap times will improve in the race. Toni Elias, 17th, 1’48.861, + 2’498 from the pole time set by Capirossi “We’ve worked a lot, everybody was very keen. This is a circuit with a lot of hard braking and we have had some stability problems that we haven’t been able to overcome. It’s difficult to ride like this because I can’t get 145 kilos to stop! I have to brake a long way before the corner otherwise I’m going in with the bike crossed over, out of position and miss the braking marker completely, which makes the exit slower too. Now I need to work out which is the best set-up we have found this weekend, most likely the one from Friday morning. The only thing I can try to do is improve and leave Motegi with as many points as possible. My left wrist is no excuse but I am not yet at 100% and we just have to keep working like this.” Rubén Xaus, 19th, 1’49.969, + 3’606 from pole “I improved this morning. I am obviously a long way off and it is a problem of my adaptation to the bike, not the track. We have been fighting to get used to the M1 all year. We’re working hard, with the objective of overcoming the problems we’ve had getting the bike to stop in the corners. This Yamaha has less top speed than the bike I rode last year and the difference is notable, especially with my extra weight. The soft tyre is solving some of the problems but that should not be the case. It is at least good to know where you are going wrong. I would like to get out of this whole tomorrow but if I can’t improve here I will keep working hard at Malaysia and Qatar, where I finished on the podium last year.” Hervé Poncharal, Team Director “I am not happy. The results in qualifying are not as good as we could expect. We’ve got difficulties and the only thing we can hope for is to improve in the race, which I am sure will happen. It is difficult to understand why Toni seemed to be making progress yesterday morning but went backwards this afternoon, only covering up for it a little bit with the qualifying tyre. Rubén is not well placed either but I hope that tomorrow in the race he can improve, looking ahead to the next rounds. The package of rider, machine, tyres and track has not come together here so far. Even though the Yamaha is not the best bike at this track we have a lot of support and we should do better. Tomorrow we must improve because up to now we have not done what is expected of us.”