Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Friday’s MotoGP Qualifying Results:

1. Daijiro Kato, Honda RC211V, 1:49.052*
2. Max Biaggi, Yamaha YZR-M1, 1:49.162
3. Valentino Rossi, Honda RC211V, 1:49.720
4. Carlos Checa, Yamaha YZR-M1, 1:49.885
5. Loris Capirossi, Honda NSR500, 1:49.975
6. Alex Barros, Honda RC211V, 1:50.260
7. Kenny Roberts, Suzuki GSV-R, 1:50.560
8. Tohru Ukawa, Honda RC211V, 1:50.697
9. Jeremy McWilliams, Proton KR3, 1:50.912
10. Regis Laconi, Aprilia RS3, 1:51.161
11. Olivier Jacque, Yamaha YZR500, 1:51.215
12. John Hopkins, Yamaha YZR500, 1:51.356
13. Norick Abe, Yamaha YZR500, 1:51.554
14. Akira Yanagawa, Kawasaki ZX-RR, 1:51.657
15. Nobuatsu Aoki, Proton KR3, 1:51.883
16. Sete Gibernau, Suzuki GSV-R, 1:51.946
17. Tetsuya Harada, Honda NSR500, 1:52.097
18. Garry McCoy, Yamaha YZR500, 1:52.125
19. Shinya Nakano, Yamaha YZR500, 1:52.467
20. Wataru Yoshikawa, Yamaha YZR-M1, 1:52.497
21. Jurgen v.d. Goorbergh, Honda NSR500, 1:52.598
22. Pere Riba, Yamaha YZR500, 1:53.131

*new “Circuit Best” lap record


More, from a press release issued by Red Bull Yamaha WCM:

RED BULL Yamaha rookie John Hopkins ended his first day at the Twin Ring Motegi circuit full of optimism having finished 12th-fastest in today’s opening qualifying session.

The American teenager once again proved his effectiveness at learning new tracks quickly as he found the heavy braking nature of the 2.983-mile circuit perfectly suited to his aggressive riding style.

Hopkins set his fastest time on his last lap having opted to break with his normal weekend routine by running a Dunlop qualifier in the closing stages.

His best time of 1.51.356 saw “Hopper” shave a massive 1.8 seconds off his best time from this morning’s free practice session, and was just reward for his efforts in surprisingly hot and humid conditions for the Twin Ring Motegi.

Teammate Garry McCoy ended the session down in 18th place, although he is confident of significant improvements tomorrow after his final run was thwarted by slower riders. That was still 2.5 seconds quicker than this morning’s session when set-up and brake problems had hindered the 30-year-old.

The Pacific GP, round 13 of the 2002 MotoGP season, is the start of three back-to-back flyaway races that will include Malaysia and McCoy’s home race at the Phillip Island circuit in Australia over the next two weeks.

JOHN HOPKINS,­ 12th, 1.51.356

“Today went really well considering this is another track that I’ve never been to before. I spent most of the session trying out race tyres, but we never really found anything I particularly liked. We put in a qualifying tyre near the end, which we wouldn’t normally do on a Friday unless rain is forecast for the next day. I just got my head down and extended my braking markers and found I could go much quicker. I learned that I was braking too early and that made me too slow at the apex of the corner. Now I pretty much know where the limits are but I still think I can brake even deeper tomorrow. I really like the track. There’s a lot of hard braking which I like. It allows you to be really aggressive on the brakes and that’s good for my style.”

GARRY McCOY, 18th, 1.52.125

“I had some problems this morning. One bike felt it was vibrating a lot while the other one had front and rear brake problems. I was thinking more about fixing the problems than riding fast. I’m pretty happy with this afternoon and I’m close to picking a race tyre already. I had a qualifier at the end of the session and on my flying lap I came across Kenny Roberts and Sete Gibernau. They just seemed to be cruising and by the time I’d found a hole through them, it was a bit too late. I thought it was a good lap.”

PETER CLIFFFORD, DIRECTOR OF RACING

“That was another excellent performance from John. He was excellent all day and showed his ability at learning tracks quickly. At the start of the year he had to learn the bike as well as the tracks, but now he only has to learn the tracks his improvement is even faster. Garry has more to give tomorrow but his final run was spoilt today.”


More, from a press release issued by Yamaha:

Marlboro Yamaha Team riders Max Biaggi and Carlos Checa concluded the opening qualifier for the Motegi MotoGP, held October 4-6, with a pair of provisional front row performances – a second and fourth place, respectively. Biaggi’s 1:49.162 laptime, well over a second below Valentino Rossi’s (Honda) 2001 lap record (1:50.591), was enough to place the Italian on pole position – at least up until Daijiro Kato’s (Honda) final flying lap. The 2001 GP250 champion undercut Biaggi by a mere 0.110 seconds to set the fastest-ever Motegi lap at his home round.

After his gutsy Brazilian performance Checa overcame some chassis set-up difficulties to place the factory Yamaha four-stroke on the front row with a 1:49.885. The Spaniard produced his best time on the final lap to be 0.833 seconds off pole, and only 0.165 behind third fastest qualifier – recently crowned 2002 MotoGP World Champion Rossi (1:49.720).

Olivier Jacque (Gauloises Yamaha Tech 3, 1:51.215) was the first of the YZR500 brigade in 11th, closely followed by John Hopkins (Red Bull Yamaha WCM, 1:51.356) and Norick Abe (Antena 3 Yamaha d’Antin, 1:51.554). Meanwhile factory Yamaha wild card entry Wataru Yoshikawa placed the third YZR-M1 contesting the Motegi round in 20th, with a 1:52.497.

Marlboro Yamaha Team
Max Biaggi 2nd, 1:49.162: “I’m quite happy, the sun seems to help. We’ve worked well today, and I’m very focused and highly motivated. This is our first time here with the M1, so we’re still looking for the best set-up, though we already have a clear idea of which direction to take and we have more things to try tomorrow. We are also evaluating some new engine parts and we have more work to do on that. Everyone up front is riding well, and I hope the weather stays nice so I can attack Kato tomorrow.”

Carlos Checa 4th, 1:49.885: “It’s great to have both bikes fitted with the same chassis. It’s a much better way to work, I can make proper comparisons when we try different settings, so we can find the correct settings sooner. At the moment we’re focusing on chassis set-up, the bike is working pretty well but we need to do some more work on the rear, I was getting some chatter this afternoon. As for the engine, we’ll check the data to compare the two different specs.”

Gauloises Yamaha Tech 3
Olivier Jacque 11th, 1:51.215: “This afternoon ended up being a good session. This morning we tried some different Kayaba suspension, which meant we had to sort it out first. We eventually ended up with something similar to last year’s base set-up, but with the front fork improvement. Of course once we had the base I was able to push harder, and the time was eventually similar to last year, but I think we still have room to develop this package further.

“I almost had one big crash in the final few minutes, it was quite scary! I’d just come out of the pits with a new tyre, just before the last run when I lost the back-end and nearly highsided. I recovered only to run off the track, which meant that I had to come back into the pits to put on a new rear tyre. When I went back out, though, I was somewhat cautious.”

Shinya Nakano 19th, 1:52.467: “It was a very difficult session for me. One bike seemed to have a problem with the front-end, a very strange feeling that we couldn’t place. I think there may be something wrong with the chassis, it’s the one I crashed in Rio last week, so tonight we may have to change that over. We did try swapping the front suspension, but that didn’t help much at all.”

Red Bull Yamaha WCM
John Hopkins 12th, 1:51.356: “It started to come together near the end. We were going through a bunch of different tyres to help with making the best choice with the race set-up, and everything seemed to be going well. The fact that it is my first time here, learning the track again, it all seemed to go in the right direction. At the end we thought we’d just go for it. We threw in a softer tyre, sure I’m still making a few mistakes here and there, and the improvement wasn’t that big, but pushing hard meant I found a few places where I can improve my riding for tomorrow.”

Garry McCoy 18th, 1:52.125: “For some strange reason my two bikes felt completely different; one was better on the brakes and the other in the corners, which took time to get sorted. In the morning I messed myself up by focusing too much on the problems rather than just sorting myself out, but I fixed that for the qualifier. It’s only Friday, but I think we’re looking good with the base set-up and a tyre choice. My time doesn’t show it, though, because when I went out for my fast lap I came up on Kenny and Gibernau, who clearly weren’t on a flying lap, and by the time I made my way past it was too late to improve.”

Antena 3 Yamaha d’Antin
Norick Abe 13th, 1:51.554: “This is one track I really don’t like, so usually it’s very difficult for me to make a good laptime. But for some strange reason I seemed to be ok this time round. And I’m sure I could have even done better, but we made a silly mistake. We had a very good tyre for the last part of the session, but I came into the pits with too little time and the chequered was already out before I could compete one whole lap on the new tyre.”

Pere Riba 22nd, 1:53.131: “The injury I have with my leg is much better, and the stop-and-go nature of this track doesn’t put anywhere near as much pressure on it as in a place like Brno, but I haven’t been able to keep up my physical fitness with all these injuries. This is my problem, and it really has been all year. I’m working towards improving this but time is running out, so I’m just focusing on staying upright and keeping smooth.”


More, from a press release issued by Telefonica Movistar Suzuki:

TEAM Telefónica MoviStar Suzuki rider Kenny Roberts Jr. was a close seventh-fastest in today’s first qualifying session for Sunday’s Pacific GP, exploiting the latest round of improvements to the GSV-R four-stroke prototype MotoGP machine.

Team-mate Sete Gibernau was 16th and struggling, having problems finding the right set-up for the stop-and-go Motegi circuit, but confident of finding the key for tomorrow’s second day of practice.

The GSV-R is nearing the end of its first season of competition – a year of race-development for the youngest of the full-time four-strokes racing in the new-this-year MotoGP series, open to 990cc four-strokes as well as 500cc two-strokes. The machine has come a long way since its debut in the first Japanese race this year, the opening round at Suzuka.

The latest improvements continue work on the all-important slipper clutch, which reduces engine braking, rear-wheel hop and lock-up when the throttle is closed. An all-new Suzuki-designed clutch was introduced for the Portuguese GP two races ago. For Motegi, the first round of changes to the design have refined the performance still further.

Other changes are also aimed at solving problems that came to light when the machine achieved a new and higher level of performance – primarily to try to improve weight transfer to the front of the machine.

KENNY ROBERTS – Seventh Position, 1:50.560

“We’ve raised the level a bit with the new clutch, but it’s also doing some bad things that weren’t a problem before. We were never able to get enough slip with the old clutch. Now we can do that, but we need to find the right level. This morning, with one adjustment we gained a full half-second in time. Apart from that, we’re going through the process. We also have some new stuff here to do with riding position and settings, to get some weight on the front, and we made some more changes with that during the session. Basically I’m happy with the progress we’ve made. Now we’ll make a translation of my feelings and what the data shows, and tomorrow we’ll see if we’ve made it better again.”

SETE GIBERNAU – 16th Position, 1:51.946

“I really don’t have much to say. We had a bad session, basically because we screwed up. I’m sure we can get it better tomorrow, and that’s all I’m thinking about right now.”

GARRY TAYLOR – Team Manager

“As ever, we’re in a balancing act between trying to do the best we can at this race, and at the same time getting as much technical information as possible for next year’s new and improved machine. So far, it’s going well for Kenny, but Sete is having problems. I’m sure we can help his situation for tomorrow and more importantly for the race on Sunday.”


More, from a press release issued by Team Proton KR:

Jeremy McWilliams was the second-fastest two-stroke in today’s first qualifying session for Sunday’s Pacific GP, placing ninth for a provisional third-row grid position. The British rider’s strong performance came in spite of suffering from a fractured collar-bone, sustained two weeks ago at the Rio GP.

His good position has allayed the team’s fears that the stop-and-go nature of the Motegi circuit would count heavily against the KR3 lightweight triple, which trades power and acceleration for cornering performance.

Top speed figures from the first session confirm the situation … McWilliams recorded 266.8 km/h against the 285.2km/h of provisional pole qualifier Daijiro Kato’s Honda. But the Proton takes it back with its good braking performance compared with the heavier and clumsier four-strokes, said McWilliams.

Team-mate Nobuatsu Aoki was searching for the right settings to give him the confidence he needs to exploit the machine’s strengths, but 15th place was worse than he deserved, after he ran out of time to put in a single fast lap on qualifying tyres.

The Motegi circuit, in the hills 100km outside Tokyo, comprises mainly short straights linking simple single-radius corners. This gives a big advantage to the more powerful machines, in spite of their extra weight, because it puts a big emphasis on acceleration. A more technical circuit repays cornering performance more generously.

Today was the first time on provisional pole for Japanese rider Kato, who won the 250 title last year. There is one more day of qualifying tomorrow before Sunday’s race.

Jeremy McWilliams
I feel pretty second-hand now, but on the bike, though my shoulder feels awkward, it’s not slowing me down. I didn’t take anything for the pain today, but I’ll have to do that tomorrow. As to the bike, Ohlins did something to the front forks at Rio, which is why we went so well there. It’s helped here. The brakes are perfect, and what I lose on the straight I’m taking back under braking. I can brake so late I feel every time I’m not going to make the corner … then you get there, flick it in, and it’s okay. I think we have an even better setting on my spare bike, which I haven’t ridden today, so maybe there’s more to come. Braking is the only place to make up time. This track is so nondescript, with single corners then short straights, though there’s a short section out the back where we can enjoy ourselves. It’s looking good for the race, and I’m not expecting any problems with our tyres. I feel I can do 1:51s in the race. I hope the others run out of grip.

Nobuatsu Aoki
I’m lacking confidence in the front fork set-up. We’ve made some changes, like heavier springs and different settings, and they helped a bit. But it’s still not good enough to give me the feeling I want, and the front-end feeling is very important here. We’ll try to figure out how to solve this problem. At the end of the session I fitted a fairly hard-compound qualifying tyre, but it didn’t work well. I came back to the box to change for a softer compound, but I was too late to make another flying lap.

Kenny Roberts- Team Owner
We need more power, as usual. Other than that, the bikes are working pretty good, which is a little better than what I’d expected. The race set-up already looks good, at least for Jeremy. We’ll keep going.


More, from a press release issued by MS Aprilia:

Tenth quickest, Régis Laconi makes third provisional row at Motegi

The official Aprilia RS Cube rider had some very positive qualifying session today. Just a quarter of an hour into the session, Régis had already taken a second off his speed in the morning free practice. Then ten minutes before the end, he made his final attempt and got the tenth best time today with 1:51.161. The new Dunlop rear tyre he tried out gave better grip than the one he had used in the morning and Régis made the most of it, achieving a provisional position on the grid which augurs well for tomorrow and Sunday.

# 55 Regis Laconi – (MS APRILIA RACING) – 10th- 1:51.161

“This is a new Japanese tyre that has a very particular grip. Feeling more confident at the back meant I could open up more, right from the beginning of the session. Then we concentrated on the settings of the rear shock absorber and of the gears. The gears are really important as there are four corners which need to be taken in first and we can improve the Cube’s performance on the straight too. We’ve gathered some good references to work on tomorrow. The attempt to improve the lap time at the end of the session went well too. It’s a pity I came up against some traffic on the second fast lap, as I felt I could have done even better. But we’ve still got tomorrow and we’ll be able to do a good job.”


More, from a press release issued by West Honda Pons:

Alex Barros makes a promising start on the Honda RC211V at Motegi
10/4/2002 – Pacific Grand Prix of Motegi

Alex Barros and his brand new Honda RC211V grabbed the limelight today during the first day of Practice for the Pacific Grand Prix, the thirteenth race of the season taking place this weekend in Motegi. The Brazilian West Honda Pons rider made first contact with the new bike in the morning session and proved to be very competitive right from the off before a problem with the radiator forced him to sit out the last twenty minutes of the Official Practice session. Loris Capirossi, meanwhile, missed out on the pole position he set last year by just one tenth of a second.

Loris Capirossi (5th):
“I am happy with my performance which I feel was good. I set nearly the same lap time as last year and on that occasion it was good enough for pole position. I still have some room for improvement, but it is impossible to get close to the four-strokes. During Practice with the two-strokes we can still be competitive, but in the race it is very difficult to stay with the leaders. Anyway I will try my best as always”.

Alex Barros (6th):
“My first experience with the Honda RC211V has been fantastic. It is an incredible gift for me and I am really excited about the race and the rest of the season. I spent today’s sessions learning how the bike responds and I had a few problems with the front suspension under braking. I still need to find out more about the bike and gain more control. With 20 minutes left I had to abandon the session because when I was following Biaggi he rode on the grass and threw up some stones which unluckily smashed into the radiator on my bike. We did not have time to repair it and I could not go back out on the track. This is the problem having only one bike”.

Antonio Cobas (Technical Director):
“Today we could work with two different bikes and compare the potential of the Honda RC211V. With the four-stroke we still have a lot of work to do, like setting up the front suspension to make braking easier for Alex who is a very meticulous rider with the front wheel. However, the RC211V is an easy bike to adjust to the style of the rider and you can go quickly with relatively little effort. The difficult thing is getting the maximum out of it. However, with the other bike we are practically on the limit, as was demonstrated by the fact that Loris was already on the first day only one tenth off last year’s pole. We will try to refine the settings still further to try and squeeze out a little more performance”.

Sito Pons:
“Alex’s debut on the four stroke has been excellent and it now looks like both riders have tremendous potential and that results will be great from now until the end of the season. I strongly believe that Alex will be very competitive and Loris, who is a rider that never gives in, will be competitive too”.