Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Saturday’s MotoGP Qualifying Results:

1. Sete GIBERNAU, Honda, 1:49.920
2. Nicky HAYDEN, Honda, 1:49.922
3. Valentino ROSSI, Yamaha, 1:49.926
4. Alex BARROS, Honda, 1:50.058
5. Marco MELANDRI, Yamaha, 1:50.315
6. Max BIAGGI, Honda, 1:50.445
7. Makoto TAMADA, Honda, 1:50.584
8. Loris CAPIROSSI, Ducati, 1:50.699
9. Kenny ROBERTS, Suzuki, 1:50.736
10. Shinya NAKANO, Kawasaki, 1:50.807
11. Carlos CHECA, Yamaha, 1:50.858
12. Colin EDWARDS, Honda, 1:50.970
13. Alex HOFMANN, Kawasaki, 1:51.303
14. Ruben XAUS, Ducati, 1:51.405
15. Troy BAYLISS, Ducati, 1:51.647
16. Norick ABE, Yamaha, 1:51.659
17. Shane BYRNE, Aprilia, 1:52.355
18. Jeremy McWILLIAMS, Aprilia, 1:52.368
19. Neil HODGSON, Ducati, 1:52.496
20. Nobuatsu AOKI, Proton, 1:52.904
21. Kurtis ROBERTS, Proton, 1:54.066
22. Andrew PITT, Moriwaki, 1:54.556
23. Michel FABRIZIO, Harris WCM, 1:54.695

Not qualified (Out 107%) 1:57.614

24. Chris BURNS, Harris WCM, 1:58.243


Final MotoGP Qualifying Results:

1. Sete GIBERNAU, Honda, 1:49.553
2. Nicky HAYDEN, Honda, 1:49.922
3. Valentino ROSSI, Yamaha, 1:49.926
4. Alex BARROS, Honda, 1:50.058
5. Marco MELANDRI, Yamaha, 1:50.315
6. Max BIAGGI, Honda, 1:50.445
7. Makoto TAMADA, Honda, 1:50.584
8. Loris CAPIROSSI, Ducati, 1:50.699
9. Kenny ROBERTS, Suzuki, 1:50.736
10. Shinya NAKANO, Kawasaki, 1:50.807
11. Carlos CHECA, Yamaha, 1:50.858
12. Colin EDWARDS, Honda, 1:50.970
13. Alex HOFMANN, Kawasaki, 1:51.303
14. Ruben XAUS, Ducati, 1:51.405
15. Troy BAYLISS, Ducati, 1:51.647
16. Norick ABE, Yamaha, 1:51.659
17. Shane BYRNE, Aprilia, 1:52.355
18. Jeremy McWILLIAMS, Aprilia, 1:52.368
19. Neil HODGSON, Ducati, 1:52.496
20. Nobuatsu AOKI, Proton, 1:52.904
21. Kurtis ROBERTS, Proton, 1:54.066
22. Andrew PITT, Moriwaki, 1:54.556
23. Michel FABRIZIO, Harris WCM, 1:54.695

Not qualified (Out 107%)

24. Chris BURNS, Harris WCM, 1:58.174


More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

DUCATI MARLBORO MEN TO RACE DESMOSEDICI GP4

Ducati Marlboro Team riders Loris Capirossi and Troy Bayliss will start tomorrow’s Italian GP from the third and fifth rows of the grid after making steady forward progress during today’s practice and qualifying sessions. Both riders have two different bikes each here yesterday – one 2003 model and one 2004 model apiece – to allow them to make back-to-back comparisons, and both have elected to race this year’s machine.

“Today was quite a good day for us,” said Ducati Marlboro Team director Livio Suppo. “We are not yet back at the top but we are getting better, step by step, and we will be back. Both our riders made good improvements to their lap times today, and Loris’ qualifying lap was very good – only 7 tenths off the fastest lap of the day. They both prefer the 2004 machine with which they will race tomorrow.”

CAPIROSSI MOVES UP TO THIRD ROW OF THE GRID

Loris Capirossi moved up to the third row this afternoon, clocking the eighth fastest time aboard his Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici GP4. The Italian also bettered his Friday best by almost nine tenths of a second, suggesting that he is extracting more and more performance out of the GP4.

“I’m happy enough because I’m 1.5 seconds faster than I was last year, which proves that we are getting better,” he said. “But this is a very high-level championship, the fight is incredibly tough, so even though the bike is improving we still aren’t right back at the top. But the crucial things are this – that the team is fully united to come through this period and that we the riders continue to give 100 per cent, so that once everything is right we’ll immediately be ready to win.”

BAYLISS CUTS 1.4 SECONDS FROM FRIDAY BEST

Troy Bayliss also made significant improvements to his lap times at Mugello today. The Australian shaved a massive 1.4 seconds off his previous best to move up to the fifth row and is hoping to make further improvements to his machine in morning warm-up tomorrow.

“The 2004 bike I’m riding here is basically the same as we tested at Le Mans a few weeks back,” said Bayliss. “We’ve moved the weight around a little bit, but it doesn’t seem to be working as well as it did at Le Mans. I’m struggling with grip, the bike feels low at the back and I’m not getting the feeling I want from the front. But we did make things a little better today. We’ve got a few little things to try in morning warm-up, then we’ll give it everything we’ve got in the race. The thing at the moment is the pace of the championship – we’re getting better but so is everyone else.”


More, from a press release issued by Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha:

ROSSI THIRD FASTEST IN ITALY AS CHECA TAKES FOURTH ROW START

After a sun-drenched final qualifying session at Mugello, Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi will start from the front row tomorrow for the third time this season. His team-mate Carlos Checa experienced a small problem at the end of the session and finished eleventh fastest. An interruption to the final qualifying session when Kurtis Roberts’ Proton crashed and caught fire did not help any of the 24 MotoGP riders, causing a delay until track repairs were carried out and the final eight minutes of qualifying could be completed.

The unofficial morning practice session saw Rossi fastest and Checa second fastest, as they continued to work on finding an ideal race set-up. This afternoon the vast majority of the field were yet to improve on their own personal Friday best before the trackside fire incident, but a late flurry of activity once the session was restarted saw almost the entire field, including Rossi and Checa, improve their times. Valentino’s new best sits at 1:49.926, with Checa on 1:50.858. Pole position, thanks to his Friday time of 1:49.553, went to Honda rider Sete Gibernau, while Nicky Hayden (Honda, 1:49.922) surprised most observers with a leap to second in the last moments of the session, edging Rossi out to third by only 0.004 seconds.

VALENTINO ROSSI (1:49,926, 3rd)

“Unfortunately Sete has been in front of me during all the practice but we worked a lot on the bike today and we improved the feeling with the machine and the rhythm. The race tomorrow will be very hard because Sete is also fast in his lap-by-lap rhythm. We hope for everyone that we can have good weather for the race. I am very surprised about Hayden because Sete and I had been the fastest over most of the two days, Nicky did really well. It will be very hard to decide on the right tyres for tomorrow. Apart from the racing, some people have been asking about my helmet design. In Italy we have a joke that if you come fourth you get a wooden medal; after 23 podiums in a row I arrived fourth for the last two races, so we decided to make a wooden-looking helmet design with a four on the front!”

CARLOS CHECA (1:50.858, 11th)

“We can get a good lap time with the race tyres but with the soft tyres fitted we got held up by the Roberts crash. Afterwards the bike had a problem and I had no chance to improve my lap time. At the moment in time when I had the chance to improve I didn’t feel right and when I was ready I did not have the opportunity. We will make another step tomorrow and I hope and the race set-up is OK.”

DAVIDE BRIVIO – GAULOISES FORTUNA YAMAHA TEAM DIRECTOR

“For Valentino it is very good that he could start from the front row. We hope it is going to be dry and I believe then he will be in a fight and we’ll have to wait and see how that goes. I am sorry that he had some problems at the end; he went a little bit faster than yesterday but he did not get the chance on his final hot lap, and he was on course to improve. It’s a pity because his pace is good and tomorrow he will have the difficulty of starting from the fourth row. He will have to work hard to pass many riders in the first few laps tomorrow!”

FRONT TWO ROWS

1. Sete Gibernau (SPA) Telefonica Movistar Honda 1:49.553
2. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team 1:49.922
3. VALENTINO ROSSI (ITA) Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha 1:49.926
4. Alex Barros (BRA) Repsol Honda Team 1:50.058
5. Marco Melandri (ITA) Fortuna Gauloises Tech 3 1:50.315
6. Max Biaggi (ITA) Camel Honda 1:50.445

11. CARLOS CHECA (SPA) Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha 1:50.858


More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki Racing Team:

NAKANO SECURES TOP TEN START FOR FUCHS KAWASAKI

Fuchs Kawasaki rider Shinya Nakano sliced one second from his previous best lap time in final qualifying to claim a top ten starting spot for tomorrow’s Italian Grand Prix at Mugello.

The Japanese ace will start tenth on the grid, just three places ahead of German teammate Alex Hofmann, who qualified thirteenth with a confidence boosting performance.

Hofmann’s first full time MotoGP season has so far been one of misfortune but he is hoping that the 23-lap race at a sun-drenched Mugello will be a turning point for him.

Both Nakano and Hofmann claimed a surge in confidence with set-up changes to their Ninja ZX-RR machines that enabled them to dramatically reduce their lap times from Friday’s first qualifying session.

Nakano went one second faster today after eliminating front end chatter, enabling him to push much harder through Mugello’s long, sweeping curves.

In Hofmann’s case the improvement was 0.7s after adjustments to both front and rear geometry produced better balance at the super-fast Mugello circuit.

The one hour session was red-flagged with just under nine minutes remaining to enable repairs to the safety air fence after Kurtis Roberts crashed his Proton with the machine bursting into flames.

Shinya Nakano: 10th (1:50.807)
“This is a good time for us at this track and today I was feeling much more confident, both in the bike and myself. The front end chatter was much reduced in qualifying and that enabled me to concentrate on race set-up and tyre selection; there is very little difference between my best times on race tyres and soft qualifying rubber. I feel we have a very good race set-up and the only thing left to do is a final tyre run in Sunday morning warm-up.”

Alex Hofmann: 13th (1:51.303)
“Overall we made a good step forward with the bike and I am now feeling more comfortable and confident; we played with the geometry and suspension to get a good feeling. The bike feels good everywhere although, like everyone, you are always looking for more lean angle and grip through the fast corners here. My time would have easily been fast enough for pole position a year ago and the grid for this race just goes to show the amazing progress that is being made in MotoGP performance. I’m looking to score a good bunch of points in the race after the disappointment of not finishing at Le Mans.”

Harald Eckl: Team Manager
“This is a positive result at a very fast circuit like Mugello where I thought we might suffer a little with engine performance. Shinya is in the top ten and both he and Alex are ahead of some factory Honda, Yamaha and Ducati riders, so we are in a good position for the race. Bridgestone have some very consistent race tyres here, so a top ten result would be fantastic for us. Kawasaki engineers in Japan have worked very hard to overcome the problems we had in Le Mans and today’s results are proof of that work.”


More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki:

ROBERTS TAKES THIRD-ROW START
Team Suzuki Press Office, Mugello, Italy – Saturday June 5, 2004.

Team Suzuki MotoGP rider Kenny Roberts Jr slashed his lap time to maintain his ninth position in qualifying for Sunday’s Italian GP.

The 2000 World Champion will start tomorrow’s fourth round of the year from the third row of the grid, which improves on his best qualifying position in the previous three races this year, when he was twice tenth fastest.

So far this season the Suzuki GSV-R has shown a consistent and continuing improvement over last year’s results and Kenny’s time of today was 2.6 seconds faster than his best time here in 2003. But with a return to winning positions closer all the time, the son of a racing legend is still hungry for more, and impatient for the arrival of further engine improvements, expected soon.

Roberts was one of the first riders to better his Friday time in a sun-baked final session at the scenic 5.245km circuit in the shadow of the Apennine mountains. By the end of the session, all but two riders had taken advantage of the fine conditions to improve times, but Kenny kept on improving as well to maintain his position.

Roberts is riding alone at Mugello, with regular team-mate John Hopkins still recovering from a left thumb fracture suffered three weeks ago when he was an innocent victim of a three-bike pile-up in the French GP.

Today Hopkins again acted as trackside observer, studying form through the track’s series of medium-speed and fast corners to back up the data gathered from Roberts and the on-board computer equipment. The 21-year-old Anglo-American was in the perfect spot to watch a fiery crash that caused the session to be stopped for some minutes – and to give victim Kurtis Roberts a lift back to the pits on his scooter directly afterwards. Kurtis is Kenny Jr’s younger brother, the latest in the Roberts dynasty to challenge the premier motorcycle racing class.

Tomorrow’s Italian GP is the first in a punishing series of six races in eight weeks as the European season gets into full swing.

KENNY ROBERTS Jr: Ninth Position, 1:50.736:

“I think we’re right around where we should be – not too far up to be in an awkward place. Our straightaway speed is not good enough to stay with the top six or seven riders. If I can get a good start and be in the top ten, that’s a realistic goal at the moment. I’m going to try a new tyre that Bridgestone have brought here that seems to be a better shape, so hopefully that will have good endurance and we can stay in a competitive situation. Again, the crew and the engineers worked really hard today to get the best out of what we have. We have something new coming soon that should improve our situation and I’m looking forward to that.”


More, from a press release issued by Camel Honda Racing Information:

Max and Makoto take sixth and seventh on grid at Mugello

The final minutes of the final qualifying session saw a red flag stoppage today, so the last eight minutes turned into a shootout to see how the grid would be formed for tomorrow. Max Biaggi had already shown good rhythm on his yellow RC211V on the first two days in Mugello, but was just not quite in the groove when trying to confirm yesterday’s provisional front row spot. Meanwhile Makoto Tamada, who set the fourth fastest time in the free practice in the morning, eventually finished in seventh place, good enough for a third row start. The Japanese Camel Honda rider last year showed his talent at Mugello with a scintillating recovery through the field and tomorrow hopes to repeat the feat.

Sito Pons – Camel Honda (Team Principal)
“Even if we don’t necessarily have a good grid position we can count on having a good rhythm for the race, which is the main objective. The red flag eight minutes from the end broke our working rhythm a little, especially as we came down to the fast lap. In any case we can still improve in tomorrow morning’s warm-up, so that we can start the race in the best possible conditions and fine tune the last details so Max has everything at his disposal to fight for the victory.”

Max Biaggi – Camel Honda (Michelin Tyres) – 6th – 1:50.445
“I’m not happy with how these practices have gone, because in two days we have been unable to get the bike’s set-up ready. I know this racetrack perfectly and I think I know how to ride it as well as you can and because of that I’m particularly happy not to be in the best position for tomorrow and above all to be losing time in the parts of the track that I’m quick in normally and that are usually my strong points. T2 and T3. My race pace is around a half-second slower than the top guys so the prospects aren’t exactly the same as when I came here. I think that we have tried our best in the team, but we will have to analyse all the data we’ve collected so we can find some last-minute solution. I’m not happy now, but that doesn’t mean that I won’t give one hundred percent in my home race.”

Gianluca Montiron – Camel Honda – (Makoto Tamada Team Manager)
“The difference in the asphalt temperature from the first minute of the morning session to the last moments of the afternoon hour was around twenty degrees Celsius and at the moment we are quite sensitive to such drastic heat changes. Makoto was unable to take advantage of the crucial moments to set a fast lap but in contrast, I think he has the necessary rhythm to be up with the leaders. The tests we did on tyre-life in the morning were satisfying and I think that Makoto will be in prime condition to do a good race.”

Makoto Tamada – Camel Honda (Bridgestone Tyres) – 7th – 1:50.584
“The asphalt’s temperature changes upset the confidence I had this morning in the rear tyres, and it wasn’t the same in the afternoon. Less grip and less able to be aggressive. If the heat continues then we have to find the right combination between set-up and tyres to suit the race but I think that tomorrow I can be at the front.”


More, from a press release issued by MS Aprilia:

Aprilia roll out heavily-revamped Cube

Shane Byrne and Jeremy McWilliams will start next to each other on the sixth row of the grid for the Italian MotoGP race after a positive final qualifying session on a heavily-revised Cube four-stroke machine.

Both riders knocked over a second off their best times from yesterday at the Mugello circuit and are now confident they will be in contention for points-scoring finishes at the 3.259 miles venue, which is home for the MS Aprilia Racing team. Byrne and McWilliams’ fastest laps today were comfortably inside the 2002 official lap record, giving the team plenty of reason to be optimistic for tomorrow’s 23-lap race after several technical updates proved an instant success.

The three-cylinder machines featured a new narrower fairing incorporating a revised air intake system and new airbox. There were also new engine components, electronics and re-designed exhausts in what is the biggest overhaul of the Cube in 2004. The new fairing has fins on either side to improve handling when the bike is leaned over, and the updates are the first in a series of on-going development steps being taken by Noale factory engineers.

Byrne set a best time of 1.52.355. That was good enough to secure 17th position on the grid. The 27-year-old improved by an impressive 1.131s on his Cube, proving that he is completely recovered from the broken right hand that kept him on the sidelines in France. He said: “The new bike is easier to ride and the steering is better but it is still not at 100 per cent. It is good to get the new parts in Mugello and the first steps are very positive and have worked very well and shown potential.”

One place further back on the grid was McWilliams who produced a typically gutsy performance, despite the niggling pain of a broken rib that he suffered yesterday. Jeremy knocked over a second off his time, ending the interupted session with a best of 1.52.368. Underlining just how much the Aprilia duo improved today, only four other riders in the 24-strong field managed to reduce their times by bigger margins. He said: “When the team told me we’d have new parts delivered on Friday night, I didn’t expect to find a new bike. The bike handles much better and the rear tyre doesn’t spin so much. It also doesn’t wheelie so much and you can be much more precise with the throttle.”


More, from a press release issued by Telefonica Movistar Honda/Gresini Racing:

GIBERNAU READY TO FIGHT FOR ANOTHER WIN
GIBERNAU READY TO FIGHT FOR ANOTHER WIN

Telefónica MoviStar Honda MotoGP rider Sete Gibernau will start tomorrow’s Italian Grand Prix from pole position in the knowledge that he has given everything since arriving at Mugello on Wednesday afternoon. The Spaniard set a sensational lap time yesterday, destroying the Tuscan track record by 1.7 seconds and was once again the fastest man on the track today as his rivals failed to threaten his pole time. The most important thing for Sete, however, is his race rhythm – the only thing the Spaniard didn’t get to check today was whether he could beat his fastest lap here as he was held up by a slower rider at the end of the session. Overall, the situation at the moment couldn’t be better. His team-mate Colin Edwards managed to improve his time from yesterday by eight tenths but this was only good enough for twelfth on the grid .The American is hoping to find a solution in the morning warm-up that will improve his! chances in the race.

THE OPINION OF THE PROTAGONISTS

SETE GIBERNAU (1st, 1:49.553): “The best thing about today, without doubt, was that we set a good race pace. I am really satisfied because we were quickest yesterday and again today, even though I couldn’t improve my lap time because of traffic on the track. But these things happen and it’s not a problem. We are working in the right way and now we just need to decide which tyre to use in the race. So far my feeling is good and hopefully it can be justified in the race”.

COLIN EDWARDS (12th, 1:50.970): “At the start of the session we changed a few things to improve the feeling, but we didn’t come up with any sort of solution. I can’t be too happy because I haven’t got a clear set-up for tomorrow’s race. We’ve got a lot of work to do and hopefully I can find something in the warm-up”.

FAUSTO GRESINI (Team Manager): “We’ve done some good work this weekend. Once! more Sete was the fastest rider out there and he’s in good shape. Today we concentrated on preparing for the race and tomorrow all we have to do is make some small adjustments. Colin was unable to get comfortable with the bike, and he didn’t get a set-up. I hope that tomorrow he can get a good start and ride with the lead group.”.

LAP TIMES.
ITALIAN GP. GRID
1. Sete Gibernau (Spa/Honda) 1:49.553
2. Nicky Hayden (USA/Honda) -0.369
3. Valentino Rossi (Ita/Yamaha) -0.373
4. Alex Barros (Bra/Honda) -0.505
5. Marco Melandri (Ita/Yamaha) -0.762

12. Colin Edwards (USA/Honda) -1.417


More, from a press release issued by Honda Racing Information:

COOL GIBERNAU GRABS SECOND CONSECUTIVE POLE

Sete Gibernau (Telefonica Movistar Honda RC211V) confirmed his status as the man to beat when he set the fastest ever lap of Mugello in yesterday’s provisional qualifying session. His time of 1m 49.553s remained unbeaten as weather conditions today contrived to deprive his challengers of a chance to better his time. Track temperature was sufficiently elevated at 36 degrees from yesterday’s 33 degrees to make the difference. Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC211V) qualified second and Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) completes the front row.

The session was red-flagged with eight minutes to go when Kurtis Roberts’ Proton caught fire after he crashed. This left most riders with a set of qualifying tyres that they would have to use in heavy traffic and without the benefit of a good rhythm in the session. And the delay upset a lot of team’s plans.

But Hayden was one to benefit from the break as he hoisted himself from a provisional seventh up to second. “Things haven’t gone to plan so far this season,” he said. “So this is a really big step forward. To be on the front row is really important, but it doesn’t mean much unless we can back it up in the race tomorrow with a good fast rhythm. After the break in the session I knew I had to go for it and I just put my head down and charged.”

Pole man Gibernau is in a confident mood. “Everything is good,” he said. “And I even thought I could go faster than yesterday, but I hit some traffic and that prevented me from doing that. The main thing is my race pace is fast and that will be the key tomorrow.”

Alex Barros (Repsol Honda RC211V) managed the sort of grid position he needs to compete at the front and he’s also much happier with his ability to run at a decent pace in the race. “Much depends on the start,” said the Brazilian. “I need to ride a clever race. The last laps will be very important to conserve the tyres. It will be a hard race and now I need to get a good night’s sleep to be ready for tomorrow.”

But Max Biaggi (Camel Honda RC211V) is not happy with sixth. “We had two days of qualifying and we still haven’t found a set-up,” he said. “I know this track well and I know I’m fast here so this is very disappointing. I’m losing out in sections where I know I’m strong and my pace is about half a second away from where it should be.”

Makoto Tamada (Camel Honda RC211V) riding on Bridgestone tyres is set to fight all the way tomorrow. “The temperature change from the morning to the afternoon affected things and I lost a bit of confidence in the rear. So we’ll see what tomorrow brings and whatever it is I’m confident I’ll do my job whatever the situation.”

Colin Edwards (Telefonica Movistar Honda RC211V) confesses to being confused. “We made some changes at the start of the session,” he said. “And we just haven’t been able to find the right feeling with the bike. Any changes we made failed to solve the problem. We’re trying so hard to get there but we just can’t seem to find a way through this at the moment. It’s very frustrating.”

The final 250cc qualifying session gave the field a chance to knock Sebastian Porto (Aprilia) off the pole, but the session in some ways mirrored the premier class hour with Porto hanging onto pole with his time from Friday – like Gibernau.

The rest of the front row is occupied by Danny Pedrosa (Telefonica Movistar Junior Team RS250RW) who qualified second after lying fourth overnight, with series points leader Randy de Puniet (Aprilia) third and Tony Elias (Fortuna Honda RS250RW) fourth.

Danny is more than ready to race. “I found a good, fast rhythm here,” he said. “But sometimes when you are going well, it’s easy to overlook some little things that might affect performance. So we’re looking to find even more speed. Tyres will be critical and I’ll let my chief mechanic choose the tyres tomorrow because he has so much more experience in this class than me.”

Roberto Rolfo (Fortuna Honda RS250RW) is disappointed with his eighth place. “Not so good,” he said. “I came across a few slower riders and pitted to try some different suspension settings. I haven’t got a good feeling at the front end yet – and that is so important round here.”

The 125cc final session involved Andrea Dovizioso (Team Scot Honda RS125R) taking the fight to the Aprilia riders during the half-hour allocated. The Italian managed to keep himself in the reckoning with a fourth place on the front row. But Steve Jenkner (Aprilia) snatched pole, with Casey Stoner (KTM) second and Mattia Pasini (Aprilia) third.

Pasini is a newcomer to the front row while Stoner and Jenkner have been there before. Dovizioso knows that a front row start here on the uphill Mugello start/finish straight is vital and the Italian will be eager to assert his authority on a race where the Aprilia runners will be especially hungry for victory.

The KTM riders Stoner and Kallio are looking strong here too and were it not for a crash in the session, Kallio might have done better than sixth on row two. Lukas Pesek (Ajo Motorsports Honda RS125R) managed 13th on the grid and the Czech is the Honda rider closest to Dovizioso who is putting together a season of commendable consistency so far.

“Not bad at all,” said Dovizioso. “I’m pretty close to a final race set-up for tomorrow. The engine is really strong and the bike feels good. But the big question mark is over tyres and I’ll have to wait for the warm-up tomorrow to make a final decision. We’re all very close at the top and with the warm-up at nine o’clock and the race at eleven there will be a bit of guesswork involved too.”

Pesek was encouraged by his performance. “I’m happy enough with my time and my place on the grid,” he said. “The engine is good and the bike is nice and settled. All I have to do is find a good race rhythm and I’m really looking forward to racing tomorrow.”


Honda team quotes”

Motogp:

Sete Gibernau, Telefonica MoviStar Honda, 1st: “The best thing about today, without doubt, was that we set a good race pace. I am really satisfied because we were quickest yesterday and again today, even though I couldn’t improve my lap time because of traffic on the track. But these things happen and it’s not a problem. We are working in the right way and now we just need to decide which tyre to use in the race. So far my feeling is good and hopefully it can be justified in the race”.

Nicky Haydon, Repsol Honda Team 2nd: “Just really happy! Things haven’t gone to plan so far this year so this really is a big step forward. To be on the front row is really important. We managed to get together a really good lap but it doesn’t mean that much if we can’t back it up in the race tomorrow with a good fast rhythm. All in all I’m really happy to give my boys something to smile about. We really needed this. We’ve had a few new parts from HRC to use on the bike this weekend and they seemed to have helped a little bit. After the break in the session I knew I had to go for it and I just put my head down and charged. Yesterday I was way back – the team has made a really big step. Gonna’ need another big step tomorrow in the race. Definitely looking forward to getting off with the leaders and hanging in there.”

Alex Barros, Repsol Honda Team:4th: “I tried a new Michelin this afternoon – better than the other tyres but I felt a little too much of a risk so I choose the tyres I use yesterday and managed to make a good high regular rhythm so I am pretty happy with the pace. Now much depends on the start. I make a good grid position for the first time this season. I now need to make a good start and ride a good, clever race. The last laps will be very important to conserve the tyres and the energy. It will be a hard race. I need to make some good sleep tonight to be ready for the race tomorrow.”

Max Biaggi, Camel Honda 6th: “I’m not happy with how these practices have gone, because in two days we have been unable to get the bike’s set-up ready. I know this racetrack perfectly and I think I know how to ride it as well as you can and because of that I’m particularly happy not to be in the best position for tomorrow and above all to be losing time in the parts of the track that I’m quick in normally and that are usually my strong points. T2 and T3. My race pace is around a half-second slower than the top guys so the prospects aren’t exactly the same as when I came here. I think that we have tried our best in the team, but we will have to analyse all the data we’ve collected so we can find some last-minute solution. I’m not happy now, but that doesn’t mean that I won’t give one hundred percent in my home race.”

Sito Pons, Camel Honda: “Even if we don’t necessarily have a good grid position we