Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Provisional Qualifying
Estorial, Portugal

1. Valentino Rossi, Honda, 1:39.391
2. Olivier Jacque, Yamaha, 1:39.680
3. Max Biaggi, Honda, 1:39.691
4. Tohru Ukawa, Honda, 1:39.730
5. Sete Gibernau, Honda, 1:39.736
6. Carlso Checa, Yamaha, 1:39.905
7. Loris Capirossi, Ducati, 1:40.144
8. Jeremy McWilliams, Proton, 1:40.325
9. Nicky Hayden, Honda, 1:40.509
10. Kenny Roberts, Suzuki, 1:40.547
11. Colin Edwards, Aprilia, 1:40.614
12. Troy Bayliss, Ducati, 1:40.654
13. Makoto Tamada, Honda, 1:40.778
14. Shinya Nakano, Yamaha, 1:40.780
15. Marco Melandri, Yamaha, 1:40.836
16. Alex Barros, Yamaha, 1:41.234
17. John Hopkins, Suzuki, 1:41.554
18. Garry McCoy, Kawasaki, 1:41.625
19. Noriyuki Haga, Aprilia, 1:41.991
20. Andrew Pitt, Kawasaki, 1:42.399
21. Nobuatsu Aoki, Proton, 1:42.443
22. Ryuichi Kiyonari, Honda, 1:42.697
23. David DeGea, Harris WCM, 1:42.919
24. Chris Burns, Harris WCM, 1:45.066



Provisional Qualifying
250cc Grand Prix
1. Toni Elias, Aprilia, 1:42.255
2. Randy de Puniet, Aprilia, 1:42.736
3. Manuel Poggiali, Aprilia, 1:42.782
4. Roberto Rolfo, Aprilia, 1:42.927
5. Fonsi Nieto, Aprilia, 1:43.009
6. Sebastian Porto, Honda, 1:43.539
7. Franco Battaini, Aprilia, 1:43.630
8. Sylvain Guintoli, Aprilia, 1:43.816
9. Naoki Matsudo, Yamha, 1:43.995
10. Anthony West, Aprilia, 1:44.096
11. Eric Bataille, Honda, 1:44.625
12. Hugo Marchand, Aprilia, 1:44.729
13. Alex Baldolini, Aprilia, 1:44.924
14. Dirk Heidolf, Aprilia, 1:45.066
15. Johan Stigefelt, Aprilia, 1:45.171


Provisional Qualifying
125cc Grand Prix
1. Alex de Angelis, Aprilia, 1:47.081
2. Daniel Pedrosa, Honda, 1:47.136
3. Stefano Perugini, Aprilia, 1:47.177
4. Simone Corsi, Honda, 1:47.273
5. Gino Borsoi, Aprilia, 1:47.303
6. Steve Jenkner, Aprilia, 1:47.556
7. Gabor Talmacsi, Aprilia, 1:47.565
8. Jorge Lorenzo, Derbi, 1:47.582
9. Andrea Dovizioso, Honda, 1:47.644
10. Lucio Cecchinello, Aprilia, 1:47.648
11. Marco Simoncelli, Aprilia, 1:47.682
12. Arnaud Vincent, Aprilia, 1:47.775
13. Casey Stoner, Aprilia, 1:47.805
14. Roberto Locatelli, KTM, 1:48.052
15. Mirko Giansanti, Aprilia, 1:48.067


More, from a press release issued by Fortuna Yamaha:

FORTUNA YAMAHA TEAM MEN COMPLETE CLOSE ESTORIL SESSION

Fortuna Yamaha Team rider Carlos Checa put in a determined and consistently solid effort at the Estoril circuit during today’s opening qualifying session of the Portuguese Grand Prix. Checa kicked off proceedings with quick lap times in this morning’s free practice, setting the third fastest time overall. The Spaniard then challenged for provisional pole in this afternoon’s opening qualifying session, despite typically gusty conditions, finally completing the session sixth fastest.

Last year Checa qualified in pole position at the Estoril venue, and finished the rain-swamped race in second place. The confidence he displayed here with his Yamaha YZR-M1 machine last year is still apparent, as with only minutes of this afternoon’s qualifying session remaining he put in a performance that placed him second fastest on the time sheets. The Fortuna Yamaha man then backed up that result with a string of fastest lap stages, which put him on course for provisional pole, before a small mistake in the final stage relegated him back to sixth place.

The last run to the session-ending flag became a six way battle between Checa, eventual provisional pole man Valentino Rossi (Honda, 1:39.391), second placed Olivier Jacque (Gauloises Yamaha Team, 1:39.680), Max Biaggi (Honda, 1:39.691), Tohru Ukawa (Honda, 1:39.730) and Sete Gibernau (Honda, 139.736). Checa’s final lap time of 1:39.905 was just 0.514 seconds off pole, and despite missing out on the provisional front row, Checa remains confident that he and the team can improve for tomorrow’s crucial final qualifying session.

“I’m quite close here to the top group, so I’m feeling pretty positive,” said a fairly upbeat Checa. “I am still having some front traction problems but I hope we can sort that out with some small set-up adjustments. We made a bit of a breakthrough, in Brno in the race and during the Michelin tyre test the day after, in terms of lap time consistency, and we’ve obviously carried that progress here with us. For sure getting pole position here along with a good race result last year gives me more confidence as well, as it’s become a circuit that I like a lot. At the end of the session I put in a good lap time with fresh tyres; then I was going for an even better when I made a small mistake. I ran a little bit wide. It was very close anyway between the top riders, just a matter of tenths of a second between us, so I’m sure we can secure a decent grid position tomorrow.”

Fellow Fortuna Yamaha Team rider Marco Melandri had a ‘first up and then down’ day in Estoril. After a strong morning practice session, during which the young Italian set the seventh fastest time aboard his YZR-M1, the 21-year-old’s afternoon didn’t proceed as planed. In order to improve the overall balance of his bike, the team opted for a new direction in geometry set-up for this afternoon’s session. This proved to be unsuccessful, as it left Melandri lacking confidence in the front-end of his machine, and as a result he was left languishing back in 15th place with a lap time of 1:40.836.

“After this morning’s practice I was hoping to improve my time quite a lot for this afternoon,” explained Melandri. “We’ve modified the front a little bit since this morning and the bike has changed quite a lot. It was not so easy to get into the corners because I felt like I was losing grip. Perhaps we have actually changed a bit too much, so this is something we will discuss before tomorrow’s practice, and hopefully rectify the problem to give me a bit more confidence. Anyway in a way I am still learning as I have not had many laps at this circuit on this bike, so I’m sure tomorrow will be easier.”

Team Director Davide Brivio said, “This is one of Carlos’ strongest tracks and it is showing in his performance so far. He is, generally, on an upwards trend at the moment in terms of confidence with the bike. We will work as hard as we can this weekend, as always, to ensure that he has a chance for a podium finish on Sunday.

“Marco has not been very sure of the bike in terms of cornering today but we must remember that because of his fall at the IRTA test here earlier this year, when he injured his shoulder, this is almost a completely new circuit for him with the M1. I’m sure that after tomorrow’s morning practice he will be more used to the bike’s handling here and ready to put in some fast laps in qualifying.”


PROVISIONAL FRONT ROW

1. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Repsol HONDA 1:39.391

2. Olivier Jacque (FRA) Gauloises YAMAHA Team 1:39.680

3. Max Biaggi (ITA) Camel Pramac Pons HONDA 1:39.691

4. Tohru Ukawa (JPN) Camel Pramac Pons HONDA 1:39.730

6. CARLOS CHECA (SPA) Fortuna YAMAHA Team 1:39.905

15. MARCO MELANDRI (ITA) Fortuna YAMAHA Team 1:40.836



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

ROBERTS IN TOP TEN ON IMPROVED SUZUKI

Team Suzuki Press Office Friday 5th September 2003.

Team Suzuki rider Kenny Roberts Jr. was tenth in today’s first qualifying session for Sunday’s Portuguese GP, picking up places and confidence at the very technical Estoril circuit on a machine with small but helpful improvements, and enjoying a complex circuit where riding skill can make more difference than at simpler tracks.

Team-mate John Hopkins was a second slower round the 4.182km track, and placed 17th, on the provisional fifth row. But the 20-year-old Anglo-American racer was also enjoying good progress with his machine, and confident of a significant improvement in tomorrow’s final qualifying session, as he gains knowledge of the twisty circuit.

Both riders were trying a new semi-silenced exhaust system on one of their pair of machines. The Yoshimura silencers are used in Japan by the factory test riders to comply with noise regulations at the factory test track. They were not suffering the same caburation difficulties as the GP riders on the unsilenced bikes. Today’s tests were promising, offering more consistent engine responses, without significantly affecting overall performance.

High winds – a feature of the Estoril circuit close to the Atlantic Coast – prevailed all day, in dry and sunny conditions. There is one more day of qualifying before Sunday’s race.

KENNY ROBERTS Jr. – Tenth Position, 1:40.547
This track is quite technical, and the rider can make quite a bit of difference by using the right lines and approaching the track correctly. Otherwise, it’s business as usual down here. We’re not trying anything radically different than Czecho. I did a 40.9 last year, and a 40.5 today, so it’s nice to be a little bit quicker. And I got fourth here last year in the rain, so it definitely shows how much competition is out there. We’re going to work tomorrow to get the bike better and better, and see what the outcome is. I’m definitely aiming for the points.

JOHN HOPKINS – 17th Position, 1:41.554
It didn’t go too bad today. Basically, this track is not my favourite or my worst, but it is definitely challenging. There are so many things to look out for on the first day, especially after coming from Brno, which is so wide. You find yourself getting caught out on such a tight, narrow track. Basically I’m still learning the place. I’ve been here a few times, but I seem to keep learning more. It’s a big challenge. For the bike, we’ve been chipping away at set-ups, and we found a pretty big improvement this afternoon from the morning, and now we’re trying to get better again off that. We know there’s room to improve both for myself and the bike, so we’ll go better tomorrow. The silenced bike is basically a little smoother off the bottom, which is a help at a track like this.

GARRY TAYLOR – Team Manager
We’ve already seen a small improvement for Kenny compared with last year, so we’re going in the right direction. It’s only John’s second race at this track, and as Kenny said it is very technical. Every lap John does is an appreciable learning experience. Both riders are in a positive frame of mind, and we have to keep moving forward.

FRIDAY OFFICIAL QUALIFYING TIMES ESTORIL, PORTUGAL

1. Valentino Rossi (Honda) 1:39.391

2. Oliver Jacque (Yamaha) -0.289

3. Max Biaggi (Honda) -0.300

4. Tohru Ukawa (Honda) -0.339

5. Sete Gibernau (Honda) -0.345

6. Carlos Checa (Yamaha) -0.514

7. Loris Capirossi (Ducati) -0.753

8. Jeremy McWilliams (Proton KR) -0.934

9. Nicky Hayden (Honda) -1.118

10. Kenny Roberts (Suzuki Grand Prix Team) -1.156

17. John Hopkins (Suzuki Grand Prix Team) -2.163





McWILLIAMS ON ROW TWO AFTER TWO-STROKE SWITCH

Round 11: Portuguese GP, Estoril
First Qualifying: Friday, September 5, 2003

Jeremy McWilliams: Eighth, 1:40.325
Nobuatsu Aoki: 21st, 1:42.443

Team Proton KR rider Jeremy McWilliams switched back to last year’s two-stroke machine for this afternoon’s first timed practice session, and proved the strength of the 500c two-stroke by putting it eighth, on the provisional second row of the grid, among the fastest of the 990cc MotoGP four-strokes.

McWilliams was using the same drilled fairing he used to claim pole position at Phillip Island last year – the holes a measure to alleviate the effect of crosswinds, which were a feature of today’s practice. But the Ulsterman’s two-stroke switch was only temporary, and both riders will be on the four-stroke tomorrow.

The move came after teething troubles with the latest version of the Proton KR V5 machine – all part of the development programme of the infant GP racer, which will line up for only its fifth race on Sunday. Inevitably, each step forward from first prototype to mature racer brings new problems to be solved.

The latest machine incorporates a range of improvements, including a significantly better new-generation engine braking control system as well as more horsepower. McWilliams tried these at the last round at Brno and the team tested them further in Ireland during the break, before preparing four machines to that specification for this race.

This morning, one of McWilliams’s pair of engines gave trouble in the morning free session, and the team decided to withdraw the other bike for the afternoon, to make internal modifications to prevent the problem recurring. Tomorrow the team plans to return to the four-stroke in spite of the stronger qualifying performance of the two-stroke, to concentrate on developing for the future.

Team-mate Nobuatsu Aoki stuck to the four-stroke, and the team overcame a few teething troubles during the session, with throttle problems spoiling planned progress with chassis settings. Like McWilliams, Aoki has one version of the latest chassis, and the niggling problems were a minor set-back against an overall improvement in machine feel and rider confidcnce.

Today’s first practice took place in sunny but windy conditions, the notorious coastal breezes of the Estoril circuit prevailing all day. There is one more day of qualifying remaining, to determine final grid positions for Sunday’s race.

JEREMY McWILLIAMS
This is what keeps me coming back – days when we have a bit of a downer, then pull the old two-stroke out and manage the second row. It’s difficult to know what to do tomorrow, but I will go with whatever the team wants, which will be to get some more laps on the four-stroke. That’s okay by me. The four-stroke is going better than it has ever gone, and it’s a lot easier to ride into the turns.. It’s starting to feel like a racing bike. And at least we have that old relic two-stroke to pull out if things go wrong.

NOBUATSU AOKI
I have a new chassis here that has brought me more confidence, because the balance is much nicer. I like it very much. The problem is there is only one, and I had some trouble with the engine, with a throttle butterfly sticking. That cost us time we wanted to use for chassis setting, and we are a little behind schedule. The engine power was also a little down this afternoon. I need my engine to run properly, and then I know I can get a much better time.

CHUCK AKSLAND – Team Manager
Tomorrow we will have four four-strokes again, and the plan is for Jeremy to go back to the four-stroke. The bike is better than before, and he was going quite well on it in the morning free practice before he had engine trouble. If possible, we will race the four-stroke. We’re still testing the new machine, and full race distance is an important part of that process.


More, from a press release issued by Fuchs Kawasaki:

TOUGH DAY FOR KAWASAKI RIDERS AT WARM AND WINDY ESTORIL

Fuchs Kawasaki riders Garry McCoy and Andrew Pitt endured a day of technical hiccups and sickness to qualify 18th and 20th respectively on the provisional grid for Sunday’s Portugal Grand Prix.

At a warm and sunny Estoril the trademark strong and gusty winds were out in force, but these were the least of the problems for the Ninja ZX-RR pair, who battled bravely through a tough day at the track.

For most of the today’s two track sessions McCoy was restricted to one bike while an electrical problem was cured on his other race machine. The minor glitch meant that the Australian was unable to fully evaluate the revised front geometry set-up developed by Kawasaki technicians following the recent Brno tests.

Even so, Estoril expert McCoy sliced 1.2s from his morning free practice time in afternoon qualifying, overcoming the problem of a ‘fast idle’ throttle setting to finish 18th, and only bumped from 17th place by a fraction of a second after the chequered flag had come out.

McCoy is hoping to make up for lost time with test runs on the new front end set-up in tomorrow’s one hour free practice.

Meanwhile Pitt completed qualifying in an exhausted state because of the debilitating effects of a heavy cold he has been suffering for the past three days. The Australian was put on a drip in the Clinica Mobile prior to the afternoon qualifying session to help maintain energy levels in the warm and blustery conditions.

Pitt cut a massive 1.6s off his morning free practice time as he prepares for his first race start at Estoril on Sunday.

Garry McCoy – 18th – 1:41.625
“We just ran of time today. It was difficult to get through our technical and tyre program with just one bike but the guys worked hard to get it fixed. The second bike was ready to run late in the qualifying session but it did not have the set-up changes we had already made to my first bike. I was expecting to be a little faster today but it felt like the throttle idle was set too fast and this was forcing me to run wide, especially while trying to stop and turn for the slow, tight corners here. It’s a simple thing to fix and hopefully tomorrow we can get a clear run with two bikes. The wind is not easy but I’ve seen it a lot worse here; back in 2000 when I won the race it was blowing a lot harder than this.”

Andrew Pitt – 20th – 1:42.399
“That’s hard work, especially with the cold I’ve got; it’s gradually getting better but getting hot and sweaty and then cooling down doesn’t help. I’m okay for about ten laps but then I start to feel a bit weak and an hour before that session I was on a drip in the Clinica Mobile. But otherwise I’m pretty happy with the way things are going. I’m basically running a Brno set-up, with a shorter wheelbase to get through the tight stuff, and just trying to work on getting the best out of the bike and the track without changing too much. The wind is going flat out; it’s a tail wind down the straight which makes it pretty interesting to pull the bike up for turn one.”




More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

DUCATI MARLBORO MEN ON ROWS TWO & THREE AT WINDY ESTORIL

Ducati Marlboro Team riders Loris Capirossi and Troy Bayliss eased into this weekend’s Marlboro Portuguese GP at Estoril today, taking provisional second- and third-row starts in treacherous windy conditions. Both men came here testing in February but the data gathered during that session isn’t of much use this weekend since the bike has come on a long way in the past seven months and the weather conditions are completely different.

“The wind makes things quite difficult for everyone,” said Ducati Marlboro Team technical director Corrado Cecchinelli. “You can choose the correct gearing, then the wind stops, so the gearing is no longer correct. And the wind also blows sand onto the track which makes things slippery for the riders. As far as the bike goes, we’re continuing with the new parts we used successfully at Brno last month. Loris is also using some new larger diameter Ohlins forks that make the bike more stable on the brakes and better in direction changes. Troy isn’t using them because he didn’t get much of a chance to try them during our Brno tests after the Czech GP, so he prefers to stick with what he knows.”

CAPIROSSI SEVENTH AFTER ABORTING ‘POLE’ LAP
Loris Capirossi ended day one at Estoril with seventh-best time, putting the Ducati Marlboro Team man on the provisional second row. Remarkably the Italian pulled in at the end of a lap that could have put him on pole – Capirossi had clocked the fastest intermediate times in the first three sections of the track but didn’t feel like he was going that fast, so he came into the pits! But overall the former 125 and 250 champ is delighted with progress at this complex circuit.

“We used today to verify the modifications we used at Brno, and we’re very happy with our progress,” said Capirossi who was just 0.753 seconds off provisional pole position. “We’re very close to the fastest guys and we know exactly what to do to improve for tomorrow. It’s a pity about the fast lap that I ended early – I never realised I was going that quick so I came into the pits. But we’re confident we can be fast when we need to be tomorrow and Sunday.”

BAYLISS WINS & LOSES WITH THE WIND
Ducati Marlboro Team rider Troy Bayliss was 12th quickest this afternoon, just over a second off provisional pole position. The Australian, who has never raced here, expects to move closer to the front tomorrow as he hones his Desmosedici’s chassis set-up.

“It’s super bumpy here and we’re struggling with a couple of settings things, just little stuff,” commented Bayliss who had one of his bikes stop mid-session. “Things would be better if it wasn’t so windy, but the wind does seem reasonably consistent and you know where it’s really blowing hard. It hurts you on some corners but it can actually help you in other turns, like the kink onto the back straight. You’re flat out in fourth through there and the wind definitely helps you get the bike turned.”



More, from a press release issued by Harris WCM:

PORTUGESE GP- ESTORIL
HARRIS – WCM

David de Gea – 23rd ­ 1:42.919
“I am happy with the new 4 stroke and I like very much this track. The team and I are happy with today’s qualifying and I improved on my time from practice this morning. The power with the 4 stroke is good; we just have to work on a few issues with the front braking, but other then that everything seems to be working nicely with the bike.

Chris Burns ­ 24th ­ 1:45.066
“I’ve not had a great start to the weekend. This morning I missed 20 minutes of practice due to some electronic problems and in the afternoon qualifying session, there were problems with the throttle and I had no option but to run it through the gravel and jump off. I only did 9 laps in this afternoon’s session. It’s such a shame, I have not been to this track before and I need as much time as I can to learn the track, this has really set us back a bit.”

Peter Clifford ­ Team Manager

“A classic day of ups and downs. Very sorry that a technical problem caused Chris’s fall this afternoon, marring an otherwise fantastic day for our new engine’s debut.

“I certainly didn’t believe that everything could go so well on what should really should be a test outing. The fact that bike ran and ran so well is a real tribute to the whole host of people who have been involved in making this happen.

“Chris’s accident was nothing to do with the new engine and I am sure both riders will have a chance to put in decent qualifying times tomorrow afternoon.”


More, from a press release issued by Pramac Honda:

THIRTEENTH, MAKOTO TAMADA DEBUTS AT ESTORIL ON FOURTH PROVISIONAL ROW.

Makoto Tamada sees yet another circuit for the first time. Twelfth in the free practice in the morning, and 13th quickest in the first round of qualifying sessions. This was the first time Tamada had tackled the Portuguese track, and he did so with the basic set-up he used in the previous race (Brno, Czech Republic), gradually asking for the first modifications to the settings on his RC211V so that he could improve his lap times. By using a set-up he already knows, he was able to concentrate immediately on the best tyres in order to get a good grip on the 4,182-metre track.

This is a circuit that should not be too difficult to interpret from the point of view of choice of tyres since there are no particularly long curves where the bike leans down for long. Everything will be done to give Makoto a bike that brakes efficiently and thus gives the Japanese rider the feeling he needs in order to be aggressive during the race.

MAKOTO TAMADA (PRAMAC HONDA TEAM): 13TH – 1:40.778
“Not a bad track, and one where I think I should be able to do well, even though once again I’m starting from scratch: I’d never seen it before. There are some pretty strong gusts of wind here at Estoril, but it’s not too much of a problem. We’ve really got to work to get the most endurance out of the tyres: today I felt I was losing grip when the tyres started wearing down. As a result, we’ve been working to find settings that’ll give us consistent performance, and we’ve already made some good progress. We’ll see what happens tomorrow: we’ll be working on further developments.”


More, from a press release issued by Alice Aprilia Racing Information:

OPTIMISTIC THINKING

Estoril – At the end of the first qualifying session of the Portuguese GP, the RS Cube of Alice Aprilia Racing Team are involved in a big work of technical development planned by the racing department. The principal enemy is the chattering which created a big crisis during the last races. So the worked made by the technicians concerns the fork and the new chassis. The main objective is still the same: getting good results to improve the performance of the Italian four cylinders.

COLIN EDWARDS: “Compared with the first laps of this morning the situation improved a lot: in the afternoon the chattering problem was smaller so I rode as I like. The good result came from the tyres and the good work made by the Michelin technicians including the new chassis. I feel we found the right way to become more competitive in the final part of the season. I am confident but we still have to work hard”.

NORIYUKI HAGA: “Since this morning I tested several settings but I did not find the right one in order to solve my problems: the chattering is to irritating and I have no feeling with the bike. Moreover the wind is terrible so I do not feel satisfied today”.

GIGI DALL’IGNA (Project Leader): “We are working hard on the forks because in our opinion that’s the main element of the chassis setting to solve the chattering. We improved the situation this morning and tomorrow we have the right way to work it out. The new chassis we are using is a good solution”.