Updated Post: More Team Press Releases From Catalunya MotoGP

Updated Post: More Team Press Releases From Catalunya MotoGP

© 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

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From a press release issued by Camel Honda:

Max and Makoto on provisional front row in Montmelo

Camel Honda’s pair of yellow RC211V conquered the front row of the grid after the first day of tests at the Catalunya circuit. In order to get up there, Max and Makoto rode in particularly determined fashion; Max setting the second fastest time seemingly unaffected by a slight crash at the beginning of the session, improving his times with his ‘second’ bike and finishing with the positive result. The other Camel Honda flagbearer, Makoto Tamada, once again showed in the last few minutes of the session the grit and talent that stood him apart from the rest in the unfortunate Mugello race. He took the third best time, a provisional front row start, and completed a brilliant result for the team as a whole.

Sito Pons – Camel Honda (Team Principal)
“To have both our bikes on the front row in Catalunya is a great result for the team. We’ve got some good rhythm up for the race, and our Honda machines are very quick here. We also know that we can improve and we are working to refine all the little details so that we’re ready for Sunday. It’s an important race; we’re at home and there’s an exceptional crowd waiting for us, and infront of our fans, we want to be the stars of the show.”

Max Biaggi – Camel Honda (Michelin tyres) – 2nd – 1’43.563
“The second fastest time is quite good given that it came with the second bike. In the first minutes of the timed session, I made a slight error and I crashed out. So I had to return to the pits on foot and I lost about fifteen minutes, as well as the chance to use the bike I feel more comfortable with. I used the other and apart from doing some good times with it on soft tyres, I also did some on race tyres. So I think we still have some margins to work within. Having seen the pace that we had this morning I honestly thought that in the afternoon we would have al gone quicker, but obviously the temperature changed the grip and the conditions of the track somewhat. I think that the tyre wear in the race will become an important factor.”

Gianluca Montiron – Camel Honda – (Makoto Tamada Team Manager)
“We’re working to overcome the difficulties we find ourselves in at the moment. Bridgestone has put in so much effort in just three days that here in Spain they’ve even brought some new material. I think that soon they’ll find the solution, and as they are doing it the group has been united, working its hardest and we’ve helped our rider in the great race against the clock. Makoto has put his RC211V on the front row, with the second highest top speed, a sign that we should continue with the same amount of concentration as we have shown already.”

Makoto Tamada – Camel Honda (Bridgestone Tyres) – 3rd – 1’43.708
“Third fastest with the soft tyres and desperate to be always as quick. I wanted this result desperately, it’s very important, now we can put all our attention into the race settings, trying to find the right solution and by fine-tuning the general set-up of the bike so we can be competitive on Sunday. With the race material having barely arrived from Japan. I don’t really know what level of performance we’ll see, but if one thing is for sure, I’ll give my all as ever.”




From press release issued by Team Gresini:

GP OF CATALUNYA – 1ST QUALIFYING PRACTICES

SETE UNSTOPPABLE FROM THE START

The Catalunya Grand Prix started in spectacular fashion for the Telefónica MoviStar Honda MotoGP team as Sete Gibernau once again set the standard, taking pole position as he did at Mugello one week ago. Sete’s effort of 1’42″934 is almost a second quicker than Valentino Rossi’s pole time from last season of 1’43″927. Gibernau recovered from a crash in the morning free practice to take a provisional pole position in the afternoon session. Colin Edwards, fourteenth today, is still struggling to get comfortable on the Honda RC211V due to chattering problems but hopes to rediscover the form that saw him set some of the fastest times at the IRTA tests here in March.

SETE GIBERNAU (1st, 1’42″934) : “I wasn’t expecting to get into the 1’42s here, but once again the times are coming easily to me because everything is in the right place. We had a slight setback this morning because we didn’t quite have the front set-u! p right but the team did a great job and on my final two outings I found a really good feeling. I did a good time on the race tyre and on the qualifier it was sensational. The time gives me the chance to get some work done tomorrow and that’s how I like it – checking the feeling I’ve got and getting a good rhythm together for the race.”

COLIN EDWARDS (14th, 1’44″609): “I am really disappointed. In the morning practice we had chattering problems all round the circuit apart from in the first two turns. We tried a few different solutions to sort it out but in the afternoon it was exactly the same. The only place I am quick – perhaps the quickest rider out there, is in T1 and T2, but the bike is unrideable for the rest of the lap”.

FAUSTO GRESINI (Team Manager): “This is an important Grand Prix for Sete, the team and Telefónica because this is our home track and this pole is very important. We set a good! time this morning but the lap time in the afternoon was extremely good and particularly important after the crash, which luckily had no serious consequences. Sete continues to show his great form and in front of his home crowd he has maximum motivation. Colin is having the same problems as at Mugello – we are concerned about the situation because we believe firmly in his potential, but we will help him get out of this tunnel”.


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

PROTON KR V5 BATTLES THE HEAT IN CATALUNYA

Round 5: Catalunyan GP, Montmello
First Qualifying: Friday, June 11, 2004

Kurtis Roberts: 23rd, 1:46.945
Nobuatsu Aoki: 24th, 1:46.957

Proton Team KR riders Kurtis Roberts and Nobuatsu Aoki set almost identical qualifying times in bright sunshine in today’s first timed session for Sunday’s Catalunyan GP, with both promising improvements to come.

The team-mates placed 20th and 21st on the provisional starting grid, with one more timed session to follow tomorrow.

The Proton KR V5 made its race debut just over a year ago, and achieved its first finish at last year’s Catalunyan race, its second outing. This year’s machine is significantly changed, with major engine revisions and an all-new carved-from-solid chassis.

A revised firing order and a new longer-stroke motor are now gaining track miles, with the team able to concentrate more on fine-tuning the settings as the new parts achieve reliability. At the same time, continual development from tyre partners Dunlop is helping to move the project forward in a year when the overall standard in the premier MotoGP class has taken a significant step ahead.

The biggest problem today was blazing heat, with track temperatures soaring beyond 44 degrees under the Spanish sun. This not only punishes the tyres, but also affects the five-cylinder engine, with cooling becoming a more important issue than usual.

Today’s qualifying at the 4.727km circuit outside Barcelona is followed by one more day of qualifying before Sunday’s race, the fifth round of the season. Today’s provisional pole time was again set by points leader Sete Gibernau (Honda).


KURTIS ROBERTS
I haven’t been to this track for seven years, so I’m still remembering my way round and getting reacquainted with the place. We have a few little things to work on with the bike, mainly suspension set-up so I can get comfortable at race pace, and try to find some more grip. I had a couple of clutch problems today and I didn’t really get enough laps at one time to really get going. But it’s all getting better slowly, and physically I’m okay, after getting my insides rearranged crashing in practice in Italy.

NOBUATSU AOKI
I had trouble with my better bike in the middle of the session, with an electrical problem, so I had to switch to the spare, which wasn’t running quite so well. My real problem was when I put on a soft-compound qualifying tyre, and had really bad chatter. Then I tried another, and had the same problem. But the race tyre is working well, and I was able to run at close to my qualifying time without problems. I hope we can get a better qualifying tyre tomorrow, so I can improve my grid position.

KENNY ROBERTS – TEAM PRINCIPAL
Today wasn’t too good … the oil is running too hot, and we need to solve that problem tonight if the temperature is going to stay this high. We have a couple of ways of doing that, but we need to look at all the data first. Everything is still getting better, bit by bit, but we still have a ways to go.



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