Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

MotoGP Qualifying Results From Brno:

1. Max Biaggi, Yamaha YZR-M1, 1:59.646
2. Daijiro Kato, Honda RC211V, 1:59.740
3. Valentino Rossi, Honda RC211V, 1:59.997
4. Garry McCoy, Yamaha YZR500, 2:00.129
5. Loris Capirossi, Honda NSR500, 2:00.146
6. Carlos Checa, Yamaha YZR-M1, 2:00.186
7. John Hopkins, Yamaha YZR500, 2:00.241
8. Tohru Ukawa, Honda RC211V, 2:00.485
9. Sete Gibernau, Suzuki GSV-R, 2:00.567
10. Alex Barros, Honda NSR500, 2:00.619
11. Shinya Nakano, Yamaha YZR500, 2:00.659
12. Jeremy McWilliams, Proton KR3, 2:00.674
13. Jurgen vd Goorbergh, Honda NSR500, 2:00.835
14. Nobuatsu Aoki, Proton KR3, 2:00.985
15. Olivier Jacque, Yamaha YZR500, 2:01.095
16. Norick Abe, Yamaha YZR500, 2:01.239
17. Tetsuya Harada, Honda NSR500, 2:01.435
18. Regis Laconi, Aprilia RS3, 2:01.494
19. Kenny Roberts, Suzuki GSV-R, 2:01.582
20. Akira Ryo, Suzuki GSV-R, 2:02.085
21. Sylvain Guintoli, Yamaha YZR500, 2:03.054
22. Pere Riba, Yamaha YZR500, 2:04.329


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

RED BULL TEAM STARTS UP FRONT

Garry McCoy and John Hopkins both put in a tremendous performance in the closing minutes of the final qualifying session at the Czech Republic GP to start on the first and second rows, respectively. McCoy, who is in top physical condition from endless hours of endurance training, is the fastest 2-stroke rider on the grid. His rookie young gun teammate and good pal, John “Hopper” Hopkins was only 0.112 seconds behind the 3 times – GP winner.

Garry McCoy: 4th ­ 2:00.129
“I’m pretty happy to be on the front row for tomorrow and I got a real good run on my fast lap. It feels good to be riding the bike now that my leg is no longer a problem for me. We really did not make any changes from yesterday just the extra track time helped me get a better time today. This afternoon we just used one Dunlop specification qualifier.”

Christophe Bourguignon (Race Engineer ­ Garry McCoy):
“I’m delighted that we are on the front row and we really did not expect that result today. Garry is riding the bike so well probably as a result of his fitness level, he’s very sharp. We used the 17 inch Dunlop front tyre and will stay with this for tomorrow.”

John Hopkins: 7th ­ 2:00.241
“The qualifying session went great for me and I really want to thank my crew for getting me on the track real quick with all the fast changes. I am really satisfied with the bike and the tyres and we are have a great race set-up for tomorrow, we really need to change nothing tonight and just stick with what we have. At the 15-minute to go mark we tried a soft race tyre and I improved on my qualifying time from yesterday so I was aiming for something special in the last 10 minutes. We put on a qualifier at the 10 minute to go mark and I was into the 2:00s and at 3 minutes to go the last qualifier went in and I had a real smooth and comfortable run. The 17-inch front Dunlop worked for us. I am really looking forward to tomorrow and for the second-row start and I’m aiming for a good race at the front and will focus on putting in a really strong race.”

Colin Davies ­ Race Engineer for John Hopkins:
“I’m really happy with how the crew and John performed today. The bike and tyres are working really well here and we have a good race set-up for tomorrow. John has dropped 3.5 seconds off his fastest time that he set here during two different testing sessions, so I am very pleased with the ongoing improvement we are making. I am really looking forward to tomorrow and we are hoping for a Top 10 finish.”

Peter Clifford ­ Director of Racing:
“This is the first time that we’ve had two fully fit riders and therefore the chance to show what the Red Bull Yamaha Dunlop combination can do. It reminds us just what we¹ve been missing without Garry and yet another superb performance from John.”



More, from a press release issued by Marlboro Yamaha:

MARLBORO YAMAHA M1 TAKES SECOND POLE

Marlboro Yamaha Team rider Max Biaggi rode a superb final qualifying session at Brno this afternoon, giving the YZR-M1 its second pole position, after achieving its first pole at June’s Catalan GP. Team-mate Carlos Checa was also on fine form, in the running for a front-row start, eventually ending up on row two.

The M1 has benefited from a variety of new parts here, including a modified chassis, new fairing and new radiator, though Biaggi elected to use his older chassis today. The aerodynamic improvements are working well, making the M1 the fastest bike on the track. Biaggi clocked 293.6kmh/182.3mph this afternoon, while Checa was second quickest through the speed trap at 291.9kmh/181.3mph. Biaggi’s bike was 2.4kmh/1.5mph faster than the best non-Yamaha.

“Today was a good day and I’m confident we can have some fun in tomorrow’s race,” said Marlboro Yamaha Team director Davide Brivio. “The new parts have brought us some benefits, though Max decided to use the older chassis and new fairing this afternoon. His pace wasn’t so bad, he did a few laps inside two minutes, so things look promising for the race. Carlos is on the second row, but his times are pretty close and I think he can also have a good race. Thanks to Max and Carlos for their efforts, and also to the team and engineers, who’ve been working so hard in recent months.”


EMPEROR OF BRNO RULES AGAIN
Max Biaggi today scored the 50th pole position of his career at Brno, where the Marlboro Yamaha Team rider has taken no less than six GP victories in the last eight years, four in the 250 class and two in 500s. Biaggi’s second MotoGP pole follows on from his 15 500 poles and 33 250 poles. During this afternoon’s session the Italian also became the first man to dip inside the two minute barrier at Brno.

“I’m really happy, it’s fantastic to be on pole again,” he said. “I used my number-two bike this afternoon, with the older chassis, because although the new chassis may have more possibilities, we need to spend more time testing it to achieve the right set-up. Yesterday the new chassis felt like it would be better but today I wanted something I’m familiar with.

“Tomorrow I will give my best and give nothing to the others, though I’d like to offer my congratulations to Kato, who rode so well today. Also, my thanks go to the whole team and also to members of my fan club who’ve come here from Italy.”


CHECA RUNNING FAST ON ROW TWO
Carlos Checa concentrated on the revised M1 chassis today, chasing a front-row start and ending the session sixth, just 0.057 outside the top four. The Marlboro Yamaha Team man spent much of the day working to solve the front-end push problems he’d had yesterday and is now confident he can run with the leading group in tomorrow’s race.

“We kept working with the new chassis, trying different chassis and suspension settings,” said the Spaniard. “We have greatly reduced the front-end push, things aren’t so bad now, though I’m still not totally confident braking into turns and mid-turn. We need more stability at these points of the corner, and if we keep working in this direction, we can be faster. We won’t make any big changes for tomorrow. If I get a good start I’m sure I can run with the front group.”

KATO OUTRUNS ROSSI
First time out on his Honda RCV four-stroke, Daijiro Kato wasted little time in getting up to speed, outpacing World Championship leader and fellow RCV rider Valentino Rossi in this afternoon’s final qualifier. Kato ended the session 0.094 seconds behind Max Biaggi and 0.257 seconds ahead of Rossi.

“It’s been much easier than I thought it would be,” said Kato, who’d only ridden the bike for a couple of laps around Honda’s Tochigi test course before coming here. “Each session gets better and I’m very happy to be second first time out on the bike.”

Quickest yesterday, Rossi commented: “We ran out of time for a very fast qualifying lap but I think we have a good race set-up.”



More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki:

Team Suzuki News Service

GIBERNAU FIGHTS BACK FOR THIRD-ROW START AT BRNO

Team Telefónica MoviStar Suzuki riders Sete Gibernau and Kenny Roberts Jr will start tomorrow’s Czech Republic from the third and fifth rows of the grid, after a second day of qualifying where both riders ran into unexpected difficulties.

Gibernau’s best lap time came from yesterday, when he was fourth fastest, although he came within a few tenths of matching that time today. Significantly, he was endurance testing tyres at the time rather than going for a single fast lap, so that lapping below 2:01 demonstrated a promising race pace.

Former 500cc champion Roberts similarly failed to improve on his previous best time, while persevering with new chassis settings that he and his team hoped would eventually yield better results. For tomorrow’s race he will take a step back to try to regain lost momentum. His fifth-row start means he will need all his legendary fast-starting ability to overcome his unfamiliar poor grid position in the early laps.

Both riders tried the latest evolutionary chassis this morning, but unsurprisingly discovered that the revised unit would require dialling in before it can even be fully assessed. With the race tomorrow, they decided to leave that until two days of testing planned for after the race, and to stick with the more familiar older unit. Delivery of the new chassis was delayed when it was held up in customs in flood-hit Prague … had it been available from yesterday morning, they might have persevered with it instead.

The GSV-R machine is in its first year of development after being put on the tracks a full year earlier than originally planned, giving team and riders the challenging task of developing an all-new motorcycle at the same time as trying to achieve good results in the races.

SETE GIBERNAU – Ninth Position, 2:00.567:
“This morning I ran off the track twice after the throttle stuck open … which is not too pleasant. It meant that we weren’t able to run through the usual Saturday morning tests, so I had to do them in the afternoon instead – running half race distance and trying tyres and so on. That was more important than going for a lap time, and so I never did get the chance for that one fast lap for grid position. I was working on a steady race pace instead, and with race tyres I was lapping in 2:00, so really our position is not bad in terms of race pace and rhythm.”

KENNY ROBERTS Jr – 19th Position, 2:01.582:
“I could say a lot of negative things, but my position reflects that anyway. Obviously I’m not at what I consider to be my level. The short answer is that both my bikes have chassis settings that I have never used before, that were found when I missed the last race in Germany. We continued in that direction because we believed it would get better. That’s evolution. But it didn’t work out: the bike was bad everywhere, doing things at the wrong time in the corners and giving me bad feedback. Every time I pushed I felt as if I was going to jump off. Tomorrow we’ll go back to the settings I used at my last GP at Donington Park. If that can give me a little spark of confidence, that will ignite everything, but right now I am in an area that I just don’t know.”

GARRY TAYLOR – Team Manager:
“Sete recovered well from his problems this morning, and his third row position is not so bad, especially considering the respectable and consistent times he was running on race tyres this afternoon. Kenny couldn’t find the way forward – perhaps we took on too much trying to feed in a new chassis halfway through qualifying. But he is very motivated, and I’m sure if we can find a setting that works better for him, he will build on that.”


More, from Aprilia:

Régis Laconi and the Cube unfortunate in final qualifying

Tough qualifying sessions for tomorrow’s starting grid with Régis Laconi having trouble with a hitch in the Cube’s electronics system. Power was cut off in the initial section of the Brno circuit and Régis had to push the bike back to the pits: of the two bikes, this was the one with the settings he liked best. The Cube started up at first go when it was back in the pits and was ready to start out again. When the sessions come to an end, closer analysis will make it possible to find out exactly what happened out on the track. Régis was out again at the end of the session and had time to make two sorties on qualifying tyres to try to improve his grid position. Each time, he lowered his time and the last lap, just a few moments before the chequered flag came, down put him on fifth row for tomorrow.

# 55 Regis Laconi – (MS APRILIA RACING) – 18th – 2’01.494

“It was a pretty complicated afternoon. I wanted to take the bike back to the pits because it was the one with the settings I felt most comfortable with. I lost a number of minutes pushing it back and got almost no help at all. Not the slightest attempt to give me a hand. Anyway, let’s forget that. Back in the pits, the Cube fired up at the first attempt, so now we’ll have to see what happened. I didn’t have time to make a long-distance test on the tyres that gave me the best results yesterday but even so, for tomorrow we can now choose between two different solutions that have given some very interesting results. It’s a pity about today: I was hoping for a better position on the grid, especially since the clutch problems we had at the green light in the last few races should be solved now.