Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

MotoGP Final Qualifying
Sepang, Malaysia
1. Valentino Rossi, Honda, 2:02.480
2. Carlos Checa, Yamaha, 2:02.885
3. Makoto Tamada, Honda, 2:03.138
4. Max Biaggi, Honda, 2:03.254
5. Shinya Nakano, Yamaha, 2:03.342
6. Loris Capirossi, Ducati, 2:03.376
7. Sete Gibernau, Honda, 2:03.381
8. Tohru Ukawa, Honda, 2:03.559
9. Nicky Hayden, Honda, 2:03.564
10. Kenny Roberts, Suzuki, 2:03.936
11. Troy Bayliss, Ducati, 2:04.000
12. Alex Barros, Yamaha, 2:04.050
13. Colin Edwards, Aprilia, 2:04.390
14. Marco Melandri, Yamaha, 2:04.832
15. Akira Ryo, Suzuki, 2:05.043
16. Garry McCoy, Kawasaki, 2:05.084
17. Noriyuki Haga, Aprilia, 2:05.150
18. Jeremy McWilliams, Proton, 2:05.365
19. Nobuatsu Aoki, Proton, 2:05.512
20. Andrew Pitt, Kawasaki, 2:06.112
21. Ryuichi Kiyonari, Honda, 2:06.819
22. David De Gea, Harris WCM, 2:06.941
23. Olivier Jacque, Yamaha, 2:07.017
24. Chris Burns, Harris WCM, 2:08.675


More, from a press release issued by Fortuna Yamaha, which does not explain why Carlos Checa, the Spaniard who insisted that officials penalize John Hopkins for hitting him at Motegi, was not penalized for knocking down his own teammate at Sepang:

Malaysian Grand Prix
Saturday, 11 October 2003
Sepang, Malaysia

CHECA SOARS ONTO FRONT ROW WITH STUNNING SEPANG LAP TIME

Fortuna Yamaha rider Carlos Checa overcame an unfortunate final qualifying incident with his team-mate Marco Melandri in today’s Sepang action, claiming a second place front row start for tomorrow’s Malaysian Grand Prix. The Fortuna Yamaha pair collided YZR-M1 machines in the halfway stage of the hour-long session and slid into the gravel trap. Unhurt but somewhat stunned, both riders were able to return to the pits and get back on track with 20 minutes of the session to go. This was just enough for Checa to produce a string of front row worthy lap times before finally claiming the second fastest time of the day of 2’02.885.

Despite the punishing heat and astonishing pace of the pack, both Checa and defending MotoGP World Champion Valentino Rossi (Honda, 2:02.480), were the only two riders able to break into the 2:02 bracket. Both front runners demolished Max Biaggi’s 2002 pole performance of 2:04.925. Makoto Tamada (Honda, 2:03.138) took the third spot ahead of fourth placed Max Biaggi (Honda, 2:03.254).

Checa focused his efforts today on a suspension and tyre combination to endure tomorrow’s main event. The Spaniard used race tyres in the early part of the session and was running at race pace until the mishap with Melandri, who had just left the pits and was on his out lap. With a vast speed difference between them, Checa misjudged the gap and hit Melandri side on, for which he apologised immediately at the close of the session.

“First of all I want to apologise to Marco for the incident,” said Checa. “I was on race tyres and had a good rhythm, and saw some riders slowing down, and Marco was one of them. I didn’t expect him to be in my line because I thought he had seen me coming a few corners earlier. He hadn’t, and I just couldn’t avoid him. Fortunately he is okay and hopefully he can still do well tomorrow.

“I am really pleased with my lap time today, which is a personal best. I wasn’t expecting to go that fast. I have felt comfortable with this set-up not only in Motegi but also here where we have gradually made some small adjustments. This is a great boost for the team, and I want to thank them for their hard work.”

Checa’s crew chief Antonio Jimenez was delighted with his rider’s best qualifying performance of the year so far, “We kept Carlos’ Motegi set-up here because the bike ran well there, even though we did not have the opportunity to race there. We have fine-tuned it a little to find a better suspension balance, but the key has been not making too many changes. Thanks to Michelin’s efforts our tyre choice was spot on today. I’m really impressed with his time, which is a whole 2.2 seconds faster than last year.”

Unlike his Fortuna Yamaha Team-mate, Marco Melandri was unable to find a chassis balance to overcome his lack of feeling through the third section of the Sepang track. The young Italian intends to use tomorrow’s warm-up to find a last minute solution.

“To be honest I would rather forget about today,” said a downcast Melandri. “I was in front of Carlos and didn’t know he was coming, and the next thing I knew I was on the ground. At first I thought I had really hurt my shoulder, the one that has caused me problems ever since I dislocated it in Estoril in February. But now it actually feels okay and I’m sure it will be fine for tomorrow. I’m having difficulties because I don’t feel that I can get the power down efficiently because of a lack of grip, even when I’m braking. We have a lot of work to do this evening to improve my grip level and overall feeling.”

Team Director Davide Brivio commented on the day’s events as follows: “A great day for Carlos but we also had a very unfortunate misunderstanding between our riders when they clashed on the track. The main thing is both of them are okay, and Carlos apologised to Marco. Congratulations to Carlos for such a great lap time, and to all the team as usual for their hard work.”

FRONT ROW
1. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Repsol HONDA 2:02.480

2. CARLOS CHECA (SPA) Fortuna YAMAHA Team 2:02.885

3. Makoto Tamada (JPN) Pramac HONDA 2:03.138

4. Max Biaggi (ITA) Camel Pramac Pons HONDA 2:03.254

14. MARCO MELANDRI (ITA) Fortuna YAMAHA Team 2:04.832



More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki News Service:

RYO CUTS TIME, ROBERTS HOLDS TOP TEN

Team Suzuki rider Kenny Roberts Jr. retained his third-row qualifying position in today’s torrid final qualifying session for Sunday’s Malaysian GP, cutting almost a second off his best time of yesterday to secure a place on the third row of the grid, less than 1.5 seconds off the record-breaking pole time.

Temporary team-mate Akira Ryo, replacement rider for disqualified team regular John Hopkins, made an even bigger improvement as he gains confidence and track knowledge at a circuit where he only raced once, 12 months ago. The Tokyo rider and full-time factory tester slashed his time of yesterday by almost two seconds – but remained disappointed. He missed the chance for a crucial last attack on qualifying tyres by only seconds, when the chequered flag came out as he was rounding the last hairpin corner.

Hopkins was controversially disqualified from this race after a first-corner incident in the last round at Motegi in Japan. Ryo was originally entered as wild card, but was switched to the role of replacement rider as a result. Apart from last weekend’s GP at Motegi, he had not raced for the past year, concentrating on developing the GSV-R MotoGP machine for the factory.

Roberts’s machine is the same as at Motegi, where a round of engine and chassis developments brought an encouraging improvement after a difficult season. This is the second race with the latest version of the 2003 machine, and engineers are learning more about it all the time. Ryo is riding an experimental development version of the 990cc V4 racer, testing new ideas to help development of next year’s Mk3 version.

Hot sunshine and high humidity prevailed again for the second day of practice. Although the ambient temperature had dropped from 34 to 32 degrees C, track temperature was again 46 degrees C, and humidity up to 47 percent. With the monsoon season starting early this year, however, the threat of tropical rain is ever-present, especially with tomorrow’s race delayed to start at 15:30.

KENNY ROBERTS Jr. – Tenth Position, 2:03.936
We tried a setting this morning that they thought may help with some areas of concern. I did a couple of laps on it, but it just didn’t seem as good to me as the way the bike was for the race in Japan. So effectively we didn’t change even a click between yesterday’s qualifying and today. Again I’m aiming to stay in the fives in the race. At least it would show we’re faster than last year. But I don’t know how that’s going to end up. I can’t predict our race pace. We always seem to struggle when we get to the race, with the grip and the fuel load and all that. Basically it was a boring session from my standpoint. The only thing in the session was Valentino coming by me, on a 2:02 lap. It looks like he’s riding round in a symphony and I’m in a rock’n’roll concert with somebody bashing into my head right next to me.

AKIRA RYO – 15th Position, 2:05.043
We lost time yesterday with the wet track in the morning, so today I wanted to do as many fast laps as possible. We only made small changes to engine and suspension this morning. Just fine tuning. I was very disappointed in the afternoon. I had a new tyre at the end of the session, but I came out of the last hairpin on my out lap, ready for a time attack, and the flag came out. I believe I could have got into the low fours with one more lap. The track and the temperature make it very hard on tyres, but Michelin gave a choice of similar tyres, and I have chosen the one with most endurance. My time is not so bad, and not so good. The same goes for my bike at the moment.

GARRY TAYLOR – Team Manager
Kenny worked hard again today in exhausting conditions, and it’s good to see that he is two seconds faster than last year with the latest version of the machine. Akira improved a lot, getting to know the subtleties of the track, and could have gone faster with another lap. There’s nothing significantly different to the bikes since Motegi, but clearly important lessons are being learned and valuable information is going back to Japan, with the long-term aim of getting back to the top positions where Suzuki, the team and the riders all belong.

SATURDAY OFFICIAL QUALIFYING TIMES SEPANG, MALAYSIA

1. Valentino Rossi (Honda) 2:02.480

2. Carlos Checa (Yamaha) -0.405

3. Makato Tamada (Honda) -0.658

4. Max Biaggi (Honda) -0.774

5. Shinya Nakano (Yamaha) -0.862

6. Loris Capirossi (Ducati) -0.896

7. Sete Gibernau (Honda) -0.901

8. Tohru Ukawa (Honda) -1.079

9. Nicky Hayden (Honda) -1.084

10. Kenny Roberts (Suzuki Grand Prix Team) -1.456

15. Akira Ryo (Suzuki Grand Prix Team) -2.563



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

HOME-RACE PROTON KR RIDERS CUT TIMES AT SEPANG

Round 14: Malaysian GP, Sepang
Final Qualifying: Saturday
October 11, 2003

Jeremy McWilliams: 18th, 2:05.365
Nobuatsu Aoki: 19th, 2:05.512

Team Proton KR riders Jeremy McWilliams and Nobuatsu Aoki both cut their lap times in searingly hot conditions in today’s final qualifying session for tomorrow’s Malaysian GP, home race for the Proton KR V5’s major sponsors.

The radical 990cc V5 four-strokes will start side by side, on the fifth row of the grid, for the machine’s eighth race. The England-built prototype appeared for the first time only after the start of the season, and has been developed in full public gaze race by race ever since. It scored points for the first time at the last round, the Pacific GP at Motegi last weekend.

The rate of development has been obvious, measured not only in better results but also improving reliability. Today’s 46-degree track temperatures were yet another severe test, which all four machines (two for each rider) passed without trouble.

McWilliams cut his best time of yesterday by 1.361 seconds, sticking to the machine with the latest smaller and more aerodynamic fairing that arrived for this race. Inside the sleek red-and-silver bodywork, a revised exhaust system has been added to other engine improvements that arrived for the last race, boosting overall performance yet again.

Aoki made an even bigger improvement, running more than two seconds faster round the 5.548km Sepang circuit, south of the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur.

Tomorrow’s race is the middle of a trio of back-to-back “flyaway” races, sandwiched between Japan last weekend and Australia next weekend.

JEREMY McWILLIAMS
I was right on the edge all day today, and again I don’t know what to do to go faster. We’re one second off last year’s pole, and on the fifth row. I stuck with the machine with the new fairing all day. I think it’s quite good, and now we have some more cooling for the brakes … at Motegi last weekend they overheated and I crashed out of the race. The most amusing thing today was watching Carlos Checa knock off his own team-mate Marco Melandri. I’m waiting to see what punishment the authorities will apply, after the disqualifications at Motegi last weekend. Or perhaps you’re allowed to knock your own team-mate off without being penalised.

NOBUATSU AOKI
Another hard day, but I had a freshly rebuilt engine, and that gave me a little more … not horsepower, but better mid-range, where it runs more sweetly. We moved the steering head forward to take some weight off the front, and that was pretty good. It’s better balanced for braking, and better at the apex of the corner. I think Jeremy and I both worked very hard today. The biggest problem is the heat coming off the engine. In these conditions it’s really exhausting. I feel it especially on my shins. I’ve been wearing heat shields under my leathers and they worked okay at Motegi and Rio. Here, it’s just too hot. It would probably be impossible without them.

KENNY ROBERTS – Team Owner
This is not a battle, it’s a war. We’re chugging along. All our engines are still running, and they ran in Japan too, so it looks like reliability is going in the right direction. Now we need to take the next step in performance. We may well have the prospect of points tomorrow, but to be honest I’m not interested in that. I’m thinking of getting this development season over and going to bigger and better things. We know the bike’s not good enough, and we’re anxious to start with the new one.



More, from a press release issued by Pramac Honda:

Sepang – (Malaysia)
Round 14- 10/11/12 October 2003
Saturday – Qualifying

Makoto Tamada on front row

Makoto Tamada posted the third quickest time in sweltering Sepang where the tarmac again reached a searing 51°C. The Pramac Honda Team’s Japanese rider responded to the many attempts of his rivals to snatch his provisional front-row placing: five minutes from the end of the session, Makoto was eighth in the ratings, but three attempts one after the other took him up to second place, before a lap by Checa put him into third on tomorrow’s grid. Front row: like last Sunday at Motegi.

It will be a tough race, and hard to interpret. In today’s sessions, Makoto spent most of his time testing race tyres and only came up with good results in the afternoon. The morning sessions did not give satisfactory results, so different means were tried out during qualifying. Once the front tyre had been decided on, work concentrated on finding the best solution for the rear of Makoto’s RC211V. There was little time however for endurance tests, so the final choices for the race will be made tomorrow morning in the warm-up session.

MAKOTO TAMADA (PRAMAC HONDA TEAM): 3rd – 2:03.138
“The settings on the bike in race configuration still aren’t quite perfect and we need to make a few more tests. The rear tyre we found to be the best compromise for 21 laps on this scorching circuit today seems to be good but possibly doesn’t quite have the performance I need in order to ride the race always on the offensive. Even so, I’m able to keep up with those in front, but I still like to have some extra margin so I can aim for the top. We’ll see: we’ll be able to try out a few things during the warm-up tomorrow morning, just so long as it doesn’t rain, as the weather forecast seems to suggest.”



More, from a press release issued by Honda Racing:

Final Qualifying Malaysian Grand Prix
Sepang, Malaysia

Final Qualifying Saturday September 11

Track temperature: 46 degrees C
Humidity: 47%
Ambient temperature: 32 degrees C, strong sunshine, light breeze

ROSSI SCORCHES TO SEVENTH POLE OF SEASON AT SEPANG

The meaning of a hot lap took on a new dimension here in sizzling Malaysia today as Valentino Rossi (Repsol Honda RC211V) took the heat out of his rivals with a pole-setting lap that was a full four tenths of a second faster than second-placed Carlos Checa (Yamaha) could muster. With track temperatures at a heady 46 degrees both rider and tyre endurance were at an absolute premium.

Makoto Tamada (Pramac Honda RC211V) continued his excellent first season of MotoGP racing with another front row start from third after his Motegi front row last weekend while Max Biaggi (Camel Pramac Pons RC211V) made it onto the front row in fourth. But none of them were truly in touch with the reigning World Champion, although Checa did make it into the 2m 02 second category.

Rossi’s pole time of 2:02.480 looked pretty untouchable almost as soon as he posted the time at the half way stage of the hour. He made it on super-sticky qualifying tyres and while others tried to match the time on equally grippy minimal-endurance rubber, Rossi had timed his move perfectly. He was fresh and he had a reasonably clear track.

The only man who truly looked likely to trouble Rossi was Checa. The Spaniard was quick out of the blocks and carving away at his times with resolution within five minutes. He was lying fifth when he collided with his team-mate Marco Melandri and they both went down, but neither was injured.

The incident cost Checa time and it’s not inconceivable that he could have edged closer to Rossi had he not collected Melandri in his enthusiasm. Checa was circulating faster and faster as the session closed and his eventual 2:02.885 lap was the only time, apart from Rossi’s, that dipped below the 2m 3 second barrier.

As Rossi edged closer to MotoGP title number three (and his fifth in all categories) he found it hard to hide his satisfaction. “I’m very happy because we did good work and tried to change our tactics a little bit for the session,” he said. “With two qualifying tyres we put one on early because when you use two together it can be difficult to calculate the time remaining in the session. Pole position is always the best position.”

Tamada spent most of the session testing tyres for race endurance, but has more in store for tomorrow’s crucial warm-up session. “The settings in race configuration still aren’t quite perfect. Even so, I’m able to keep up with those in front and I have some extra margin left, so we’ll see what happens in the warm-up tomorrow.”

Biaggi rode a clever session too. “I chose not to do a flying lap with the softer tyre I’ve got,” he said. “I preferred to complete the job we planned for today, looking for a good setting with the balance of my bike. Tomorrow’s race will be tough, no doubt about that, but it should be a great show.”

The second row comprises Shinya Nakano (Yamaha) in fifth, Loris Capirossi (Ducati) in sixth, Gibernau seventh and Tohru Ukawa (Camel Pramac Pons RC211V) marking a major improvement in qualifying form with a second row start from eighth.

“My fastest lap time is almost the same as I managed in winter testing here,” said the Japanese ace Ukawa. “I’m happy because it’s positive for me to start from the second row – it’s somewhere I haven’t been for a while. The track was better than yesterday but the race will be at 3:30pm tomorrow and who knows what the conditions will be like.”

Gibernau is realistic about his grid position. “As far as race pace goes we can be optimistic,” said the Spanish title hopeful. “I don’t think the fastest lap reflects the work we have done in the session. This morning we set good times and in the afternoon we went well although we were perhaps a little bit down on top speed and acceleration.”

Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC211V) managed 9th on the grid. He had been suffering from a cold and was feeling better about his chances. “From the third row it ain’t going to be easy,” said the American rookie. “I’ve got to make a good start and get up there with the boys, but it’ll be another great race from me to learn from.”

Ryuichi Kiyonari (Telefonica Movistar Honda RC211V) struggled but remains determined to improve his times in the warm-up, although his 21st place is permanent until the lights go green tomorrow. “This is perhaps the most difficult circuit I have ever ridden,” said the Japanese. “The heat is not too much of a problem and I think I can improve a little tomorrow.”

HONDA TEAM QUOTES:

Valentino Rossi , Repsol Honda Team: 1st: “I’m very happy because we make great work and we tried to change our tactics a little bit for the session. Now with two qualification tyres we decide to put one on early because two together are difficult to calculate the time remaining. Also, because it is so hot I’m fresher when it counts. We make a great result; – 2:02.4. I’m very happy. Now we wait for the race. The pole position is the best position and we need to make our tyre choice for the race and then we hope for a good result for tomorrow.”

Makoto Tamada (Pramac Honda Team, 3rd: “The settings on the bike in race configuration still aren’t quite perfect and we need to make a few more tests. The rear tyre we found to be the best compromise for 21 laps on this scorching circuit today seems to be good but possibly doesn’t quite have the performance I need in order to ride the race always on the offensive. Even so, I’m able to keep up with those in front, but I still like to have some extra margin so I can aim for the top. We’ll see: we’ll be able to try out a few things during the warm-up tomorrow morning, just so long as it doesn’t rain, as the weather forecast seems to suggest.”

Max Biaggi (fourth): “My pace was better than yesterday, it was more consistent, but I didn’t get a chance to complete a flying lap and I ran out of time to fit a qualifying tyre. I used a soft tyre to get my time, but not a qualifier, or the race tyre. I think I can run a good race tomorrow. The heat makes it really hard on tyres and it’s going to be tough out there.”

Sete Gibernau, Telefonica MoviStar Honda: 7th : “Compared to yesterday we have improved a lot and as far as the race pace is concerned we can be optimistic. I think the fastest lap doesn’t reflect the work we have done in the session. This morning we set good times and in the afternoon we worked well although we were missing a little on top speed and acceleration. I’m sure if Honda can once more give us some help with the engine then we can be in the right shape to fight for the podium. It will be a long race but hopefully I can get a good start and we’ll take it from there.”

Fausto Gresini: “We could have ended up a bit better off in the classification today but I think we have done a good job. Sete has a good rhythm and if we can improve the performance of the engine a little in tomorrow’s warm-up I am sure we will have a good chance of a podium finish. It will be a tough race and it will be important to get a good start.”

Tohru Ukawa, Camel Pramac Pons: 8th: “My lap times were almost the same as I managed in winter testing here. In the final few minutes I went for a qualifying tyre but there something not quite right with the combination I had. But the second row is okay – and it’s been some time since I’ve been there. We’ve decided on tyres for the race and the engine response is good now. The track was slightly better than yesterday with more grip. But the race is at 3:30pm tomorrow, so it could be hotter than this – or it could be raining, you can’t always tell with the weather here.”

Nicky Hayden, Repsol Honda Team: 9th: “I’m feelin’ a little bit better today thanks to Dr Costa’s staff. It was so hot, I found it real tough to go as fast as I wanted. I’m not real happy with the set-up. We gotta’ find a little more speed from somewhere. I’m probably being too aggressive on the throttle – spinnin’ up everywhere. We’ve gotta’ lot to talk about with the team to work out what to adjust for the warm up and onto the race. Michelin have got some good options. From third row; it ain’t gonna being easy. Gotta’ make a good start and get up there with the boys. It’ll be another good learnin’ race for me.”

Ryuichi Kiyonari, Telefonica MoviStar Honda: 21st: “This is perhaps the most difficult circuit I have ever ridden. I have improved my time from yesterday but I need another couple of sessions to gather more confidence and get further up in the classification. The heat is not too much of a problem and I think I can improve a little further in the warm-up.”



More, from a press release issued by Fuchs Kawasaki:

MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2003
ROUND 14 – MARLBORO MALAYSIAN GRAND PRIX
11TH OCTOBER 2003 – QUALIFYING PRACTICE 2

SEPANG SAUNA PROVIDES CHALLENGE FOR FUCHS KAWASAKI RIDERS

Fuchs Kawasaki’s Garry McCoy rose to the challenge in the sauna like conditions of Sepang to qualify his Ninja ZX-RR on the fourth row of the grid for tomorrow’s 21 lap Malaysian Grand Prix.

The Australian cut almost three seconds off his opening qualifying time, to propel himself five places further up the grid, after Dunlop’s tyre technicians came up with the answer to yesterday’s lack of performance on soft qualifying rubber. Revised chassis and swing arm settings and the grip that he is familiar with from Dunlop qualifying tyres were the basis of McCoy’s faster speed as track temperatures nudged 49 degrees.

Fuchs Kawasaki team-mate, Andrew Pitt, also made a dramatic improvement, although he admitted to failing to maximise his fast lap opportunities on qualifiers late on in the final session. Pitt sliced a second and a half from his Friday time, but was disappointed to drop back one place to 20th on the grid in what was a fiercely competitive qualifying session.

Pitt will celebrate the first anniversary of his Grand Prix debut aboard the Ninja ZX-RR tomorrow, having commenced his career in the top flight at this race twelve months ago. Pitt’s qualifying time today was three seconds faster than last year, a measure of the impressive improvement that Kawasaki’s former World Supersport Champion has made since his switch to MotoGP.

Both Fuchs Kawasaki riders admit the heat and tropical humidity of Sepang will provide a significant test over race distance tomorrow.

Garry McCoy – 16th – 2:05.084
“Our qualifying tyres hooked-up today, although I also did a run on a soft race tyre just as a back up. I made a mistake on my fastest lap which cost me some time; I had a big front end slide in the double-right hander before the hairpin and had my knee dragging to keep the bike upright. We got the set-up better today with some geometry changes and different swing arm position. The hot weather is hurting us for race tyre choice, I ran some laps on a pretty good option today but I think we need the weather to be cooler, or for it to rain for the race.”

Andrew Pitt – 20th – 2:06.112
“I didn’t go fast enough to move up the grid, simple as that. I couldn’t get the grip I was looking for from the qualifiers again today; they were spinning up too much. Overnight we moved some weight to the front and that seemed to help, but I’m not able to carry the corner speed and get on the throttle as early as Garry. I need to sit down with the team and look at the data and find some answers for the race. I’ve worked out the best race tyre option, but if it stays hot like this then race distance consistency may be a worry.”

Harald Eckl – Team Manager
“There is no doubt that the Sepang track and this very hot weather are challenging conditions for the Ninja ZX-RR and our tyres. Finding a suitable tyre is not easy, especially for consistency over race distance. Garry did a surprising lap time and again showed the potential of both the bike and rider. Andrew was one second slower on qualifiers, but it seems the gap is closer with race rubber; no doubt this is going to be a long and difficult race for our riders.”



More, from a press release issued by Harris WCM:

MALAYSIAN GRAND PRIX

Final Qualifying
Saturday 11th October 2003

DAVID DE GEA: 22nd 2.06.941
“I pushed hard during this afternoon’s session and I am happy with the result, a big improvement since yesterday. The settings on the bike are good and I am beginning to understand this bike and how to get the best from it.

“For sure we always want a little bit more but I am happy that everything is working well and I should have a good race.”

CHRIS BURNS: 24th 2:08.675
“I had a lot of trouble in the last ten minutes or so of the session when we put on the qualifiers. I tried three qualifiers and I just could not get any grip at all. At least we know we have good race tyres for tomorrow and we all know it’s the race that counts.

“I am feeling really good, really looking forward to it. We had no problems during that session so hopefully I will put in a good race tomorrow.”


PETER CLIFFORD ­ (Team Manager)
“A really great effort from the whole team in the last two days. We may not be as close time-wise to some of the others as we would like but the length and nature of this track exaggerates the situation.

I think if Chris had enjoyed using the qualifying tyres more, he would have ended up with a far better time then recorded.

We will have to work out if we have to do something different with the bike in the future or whether it’s a case of him getting us to the qualifiers.”



More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

Marlboro Malaysian Grand Prix, Sepang
Final Qualifying
Saturday, October 11 2003

DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM MISSES FRONT ROW BY A FRACTION

Ducati Marlboro Team rider Loris Capirossi will start tomorrow’s Marlboro Malaysian Grand Prix from the second row of the grid after missing the front row by just 0.122 seconds in this afternoon’s boiling hot final qualifying session. But the Italian is confident of a good race here because he’s got a fast race pace. Team-mate Troy Bayliss will commence his debut race at Sepang from the third row of the grid.

“That was a difficult session,” said Ducati Marlboro Team director Livio Suppo. “Loris had an engine problem with his number one bike in the early stages so he had to do most of the session on his second bike. Nevertheless he rode a very good rhythm for the race. Our end-of-session plan was to use two Michelin qualifying tyres, because he didn’t use one yesterday, but we called him in too late, so we ran out of time to use the second qualifier. For sure he would’ve been on the front row if he’d had time for another run, so we’d like to apologise to him for that. Troy improved a lot today. His best lap this afternoon was 1.2 seconds faster than his Friday times, even though he had also used a qualifying tyre yesterday, so he’s still really getting to know the track. Tomorrow will be a tough race, the weather conditions always make this GP difficult for everyone, but we should definitely be up there.”

CAPIROSSI SIXTH WITH A GOOD RACE RHYTHM
Loris Capirossi may have missed the front