Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Friday’s Provisional MotoGP Qualifying Results:

1. Sete GIBERNAU, Honda, 1:49.553
2. Valentino ROSSI, Yamaha, 1:49.961
3. Max BIAGGI, Honda, 1:50.777
4. Marco MELANDRI, Yamaha, 1:50.845
5. Carlos CHECA, Yamaha, 1:50.954
6. Alex BARROS, Honda, 1:51.008
7. Nicky HAYDEN, Honda, 1:51.183
8. Makoto TAMADA, Honda, 1:51.185
9. Kenny ROBERTS, Suzuki, 1:51.547
10. Loris CAPIROSSI, Ducati, 1:51.560
11. Colin EDWARDS, Honda, 1:51.758
12. Shinya NAKANO, Kawasaki, 1:51.827
13. Alex HOFMANN, Kawasaki, 1:52.019
14. Norick ABE, Yamaha, 1:52.231
15. Ruben XAUS, Ducati, 1:52.494
16. Troy BAYLISS, Ducati, 1:53.090
17. Neil HODGSON, Ducati, 1:53.372
18. Jeremy McWILLIAMS, Aprilia, 1:53.428
19. Shane BYRNE, Aprilia, 1:53.486
20. Nobuatsu AOKI, Proton, 1:54.568
21. Kurtis ROBERTS, Proton, 1:54.740
22. Michel FABRIZIO, Harris WCM, 1:55.611
23. Andrew PITT, Moriwaki, 1:55.717

Not qualified (Out 107%) 1:57.221

24. Chris BURNS, Harris WCM, 1:58.174


More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM CONTINUE DEVELOPMENT WORK

Ducati Marlboro Team riders Loris Capirossi and Troy Bayliss completed this afternoon’s first qualifying session at Mugello in 10th and 16th positions, still conducting back-to-back tests between their 2003 and 2004 Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedicis. Both riders have one 2003 and one 2004 machine apiece, allowing them to continue the back-to-back evaluations they began during post-French GP tests at Le Mans, when Bayliss lapped within one tenth of the pole position pace. Tomorrow Capirossi and Bayliss will decide which bikes they will race on Sunday.

“This has been another experimental day for us,” said Ducati Marlboro Team director Livio Suppo. “Both Loris and Troy have been making comparisons between last year’s bike and the 2004 machine with weight distribution modifications. Our Le Mans tests went really well but this is a very different kind of circuit, so we needed to continue the comparison tests here. It’s all part of the development process, and we are confident that things will improve over the course of the weekend.”

CAPIROSSI FEELING BETTER ON 2004 BIKE

Loris Capirossi improved on his 2003 Mugello pace by a second today, but that was only enough to squeeze him into the top ten. The Ducati Marlboro Team man rode both bikes and so far prefers this year’s machine.

“I feel like we are now working in the right direction,” said Capirossi. “Today I preferred the 2004 bike, which has improved since we tested at Le Mans, even though it is still a little difficult to ride. Today’s times weren’t what we were hoping for. The pace is really fast out there, with today’s best lap already 2.3 seconds faster than last year’s pole time. We need to get closer to the guys up front and everyone at Ducati is working really hard for that. I’m not at all demoralised, I know we will turn things around.”

BAYLISS YET TO DECIDE WHAT HE WILL RACE

Ducati Marlboro Team rider Troy Bayliss came to Mugello with high hopes following very positive tests at Le Mans last month. Like his team-mate he is still doing back-to-back evaluations on his two bikes, but his modified 2004 machine doesn’t seem to have the pace it had during those French tests.

“I’ve been back and forth between the two bikes but so far I’m not 100 per cent certain which I’m going to race here,” said the Australian. “The plan is to race whichever bike I feel better on. It’s a bit strange because I left Le Mans really happy, the 2004 bike worked really well during the tests there, so we thought we’d be okay here but now we feel like we’re back to the same difficulties. Maybe it’s something to do with grip – the Le Mans surface was new and grippy, whereas the surface here is a bit older.”


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

PROTON KR V5 MARKS A YEAR OF PROGRESS

Round 4: Italian GP, Mugello First Qualifying: Friday, June 4, 2004

Nobuatsu Aoki: 20th, 1:54.568

Kurtis Roberts: 21st, 1:54.740

Proton Team KR’s measured a year of progress for the radical England-built KR V5 MotoGP racer at Mugello today, where team regular rider Nobu Aoki set a provisional qualifying time almost two full seconds faster than his qualifying time last year.

Team-mate Kurtis Roberts, in his first MotoGP season and his first time at the track for seven years, was only a couple of tenths of a second
slower.

The Proton KR V5 made its race debut at the Italian GP last year. This year’s machine is significantly changed, with major engine revisions and an all-new carved-from-solid chassis. Detail changes are coming almost on a race-by-race basis.

For this race, all machines have the latest revised firing order, tried for the first time at Le Mans, three weeks ago. This not only radically changes the exhaust note, but also reduces engine braking and improves throttle response at lower revs. Also for Mugello both riders have one machine with revised bore-and-stroke ratios – a longer stroke goes further in improving torque and mid-range responses.

The Italian circuit has one of the fastest straights of the year, and today Aoki edged closer towards the 200mph barrier, with a best top speed of 318.4 km/h (197.84 mph). This proves the growing strength of the machine, even though it is still some way short of its full potential.

Today’s qualifying at the 5.245km circuit outside Florence took place in dry conditions, clouding over at the end of the session. One more day of qualifying remains for Sunday’s Italian GP, the fourth round of the season. Today’s provisional pole time was set by Sete Gibernau (Honda).

NOBUATSU AOKI

Things are going pretty well, considering. My biggest problem today was the throttle connection at lower revs. At 10 percent throttle opening there is nothing, then when you give it a little more it comes in with a boom. We had improved that up until the last race, but it seems the bike has been sleeping in the last two weeks! It was better in the afternoon, but we need more work on mapping the ECU. This was my first time with the new bore and stroke, and it feels stronger and more rideable. But I still have the problem of throttle connection. Overall, things are going well. The problem is that all the other machines are going even faster.

KURTIS ROBERTS

I was starting to go faster in the afternoon, then I had some problems in the middle of the session that kept me from doing any fast laps for the last 25 minutes. I’ve only been here once, and that was seven years ago, so I still have a lot to learn, about the track and the bike. I know I can go faster, and some soft qualifying tyres would also be a big help. We’ll see tomorrow.

KENNY ROBERTS – TEAM PRINCIPAL

The smaller bore is as good as what we had before, in only its first race – though Kurtis did try it out in practice for the last one. We’re in a position now where we have the engines oil-tight and more reliable, and we’re looking for more power and performance. That takes time, and it’s especially difficult in the middle of a racing season. The chassis
development has been frozen. That’s working well. We need to concentrate on getting the engine to catch up. We’re edging up on the potential all the time.


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

SOLID PERFORMANCE FOR FUCHS KAWASAKI AT MUGELLO

Fuchs Kawasaki’s Shinya Nakano and Alex Hofmann finished today’s opening qualifying session for the Italian Grand Prix at Mugello twelfth and thirteenth fastest respectively, but both riders are confident of improving their grid positions during tomorrow afternoon’s final timed session.

Nakano concentrated on refining the front suspension settings of his Ninja ZX-RR during today’s practice and qualifying sessions. Although the likeable Japanese rider was able to make some improvements to both the set up of the bike and his lap times, he didn’t feel comfortable enough with the front of the bike to push as hard as he’d have liked during this afternoon’s timed session.

Alex Hofmann declared himself satisfied with the first qualifying session here at Mugello, after finishing just over a tenth of a second behind his more experienced teammate. Bad luck has dogged the 24-year-old German rider so far this year, but after today, Hofmann is convinced that Mugello will provide him with the opportunity he needs to kickstart his rookie season in the MotoGP class.

Shinya Nakano: 12th (1:51.827)
“It was difficult for me this afternoon because I didn’t really have the confidence in the front of the bike that is necessary to attack the ultra-fast corners here at Mugello. This is an area we will continue to work on tomorrow and I’m confident that, come final qualifying, we’ll have a package I’m happy with. On a positive note, we think we’ve identified a tyre for Sunday’s race and we’ll do an endurance test on this tomorrow to ensure it is good for full race distance.”

Alex Hofmann: 13th (1:52.019)
“We made a big improvement to the bike between the morning and afternoon sessions today, which allowed me to close right up to Shinya’s time towards the end of qualifying, so I’m happy about that. I just can’t believe the times that were being posted by everyone today; everyone was so fast for the first day here and the level is incredible. Tomorrow we will continue working to refine the set up of the bike to suit the characteristics of the Mugello circuit, but overall I am confident about the weekend ahead.”


More, from a press release issued by Aprilia Racing:

MS Aprilia prepare for battle on home soil

Jeremy McWilliams and Shane Byrne ended today’s first qualifying session next to each other on the provisional grid for Aprilia’s home race in Mugello.

Just five-hundreths-of-a-second split the British pairing with McWilliams qualifying in 18th position and a fully fit Byrne one place further back. McWilliams ended with a best time of 1.53.428 despite only completing 16 laps on his three-cylinder Cube after a crash shortly before the halfway point of the session. McWilliams lost the front end at the Casanova downhill right-hand corner after 27 minutes. He suffered a cracked rib in the incident, having only recently recovered from two broken ribs he suffered in a winter test session in Malaysia. The 40-year-old set his best time on his penultimate lap near the end of the session when cloudy skies had replaced earlier bright and sunny conditions at Mugello, which hosts the Italian GP for the 19th time this weekend.

During today’s session, McWilliams’ Cube was clocked at 330.2 kmh (205.17mph), showing the Cube is one of the fastest bikes on Mugello’s long start/finish straight. “I was really happy with the way things were going before the crash. The bike felt really good but I was trying a different front tyre which didn’t have many laps on it. I was running around 14th and 15th and would have been really happy to have stayed there. I’ve cracked a rib but that won’t stop me trying 100 per cent because I know how important this race is for Aprilia.”

Byrne was making a welcome return having been forced to miss the French GP with the broken right hand he suffered in Jerez. Byrne has been undergoing intensive laser therapy treatment in England during the two weekend break to try and regain 100 per cent fitness. Byrne completed 22 laps at the physcially demanding 3.259 miles circuit which is nestled in the heart of the spectacular Tuscany mountains in between Bologna and Florence. The 27-year-old managed to set a best time of 1.53.486. That was 1.2s faster than he managed this morning. “I haven’t had any problems with the hand today. I’ve had a lot of laser therapy and having been training on my mountain bike to keep up my strength for this race, ” said Shakey who suffered from a minor technical problem that will be rectified by his engineers overnight.


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


Provisional front row for Max Biaggi in Mugello

With a few menacing clouds looming over the first qualifying session, the worst is feared in Mugello. The first official practice sessions which decide the grid for Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix were however dry and free from the rain, and both the lap times and top speeds recorded today show how the level of competition in MotoGP is forever on the increase. Four-times World Champion and Camel Honda rider, Max Biaggi, with the familiar fighting spirit, took a spot on the provisional front row of the grid with the third fastest time. Meanwhile Makoto Tamada also found himself in the upper reaches of the provisional classification, and after the last-minute rush for times ended up with the eighth fastest of the day. Now the whole paddock is hoping for stable weather conditions tomorrow, so that the final preparations can be made for Sunday’s race and so the bright yellow Camel Honda riders can set their bikes up perfectly for the fourth round of the world championship.

Sito Pons – Camel Honda (Team Principal)
“Max took an important provisional front row slot today, from a psychological viewpoint too, the expectations and hope surrounding this Italian Grand Prix are enormous. There’s still a lot of work to do both in improving the best time, as well as finding a race rhythm which would allow us to win come the race. This first session has shown, just by looking at the lap times and the top speeds, that the technological level of MotoGP is higher than ever. I’m sure that Max will give his all in this race, for his fans, for his team and for himself, whilst we will be doing our best to help him reach his objective.

Max Biaggi – Camel Honda (Michelin Tyres) – 3rd – 1:50.777
“This morning we didn’t get things right, so this afternoon we tried different things to sort out the set-up. We’re still quite a bit away, so tomorrow we have to get our heads down to find the solutions. We will analyse the telemetry data to try to understand how to improve the two areas in which we’re losing out at the moment; in traction, which I’m missing, and going into the corners, where the bike is a little bit unstable. Effectively the gap is a little misleading. We’re on the front row nonetheless and we are confident of making improvements tomorrow.”

Gianluca Montiron – Camel Honda – (Makoto Tamada Team Manager)
“Tamada has once again gone on to show that he is comfortable at the Mugello track, and so the team has been able to speed up the setting up of the RC211V straight away. So already the first solutions have been chosen for the bike’s settings for the race and also on the tyre front, some initial choices have been made. I’m confident, Makoto can go well here in Mugello, as he showed last year when he got the first chance to show his potential when he finished fourth.”

Makoto Tamada – Camel Honda (Bridgestone Tyres) – 8th – 1:51.185
“I was unhurt in the crash this morning. I lost control on the white line around the edge of the track and went down. I tried a lot of things today and we found a really good base set-up which adds to the great feeling I have at this fantastic circuit. Although our search for a front tyre for the race is at a good point, I am still concentrating a lot on the rear tyre and at the end of the first day of qualifying for the Italian GP I can say that I have found a good combination between the bike set-up and the tyres. Tomorrow I will try and improve even more.”


More, from a press release issued Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha:


Rossi second fastest on opening day, checa close behind

Valentino Rossi showed the speed and intimate track knowledge that has made him the only man to win in every contemporary MotoGP category at Mugello by taking second spot on the provisional front row. Carlos Checa, his Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha team-mate, followed on from his second place finish at the Le Mans Grand Prix three weeks ago with a fifth best lap time at the classically sculpted Mugello circuit in Tuscany.

With one dry session of free qualifying completed in the morning, the speeds and times were quick from the very start of this afternoon’s qualifying session, and the Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha riders were sitting in first and second places only ten minutes in. Rossi had set a time of 1’51.541s and Checa 1’54.653s, with 50 minutes left to run. At that early stage Rossi was only 0.3 seconds from his own best ever fastest lap of 1’51.258s, a time he later improved to 1’49.961s. Other than Sete Gibernau (Honda), who set a new track record time of 1’49.553s, Rossi was the only rider to break into the 1’49s bracket.

Gibernau initially chopped his way to the lead with half an hour remaining to run and Kenny Roberts (Suzuki) split the pairing of Rossi and Checa with only 19 minutes left, going third fastest. The customary flurry of qualifying tyre changes and intense effort from the 25-strong MotoGP grid in the last few minutes of qualifying placed Rossi an eventual second, sharing the provisional front row with Gibernau and his Italian countryman Max Biaggi (Honda). Marco Melandri rode his Yamaha M1 to fourth spot with Checa fifth, setting a personal best lap of 1’50.954s on the way.

One qualifying session remains for each Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha rider to improve their set-up and start positions for Sunday’s 23-lap MotoGP race.

Valentino Rossi (2nd, 1:49.961)
“My time was pretty fast, better than last year, but still not enough because Sete went faster. I have put myself in quite a good place, so I am quite happy. We’ve already improved the bike a lot this morning and again this afternoon. Sete is on top form; so to be more competitive I still need to improve my general set-up. My pace feels quite good but I’m sure we can improve. We’re having some problems with the rear and the last corner is where we need to make the biggest improvement to suit the racetrack. There is more pressure here in Mugello than anywhere else, so to get a top result this weekend would be the ultimate satisfaction.”

Carlos Checa (5th, 1:50.954)
“With qualifying tyres I have been able to improve my lap time at the end but not as I expected. We expected to improve more and we couldn’t. For the race I feel not so bad, we are still working, and we have time tomorrow. We need to work on a race tyre over distance to make preparations for the race itself. I am satisfied with the work we did but at the end you must be 100% focused, have the bike and the tyre correct and maybe at some points we lost a few tenths and I couldn’t improve the time. From the first Valentino has had a big difference and we have to work on that tomorrow. The times are faster than ever but last year we couldn’t improve the times from 2002. Maybe this is just the different track conditions at work, or maybe improvements in the tyres. It wasn’t a surprise as such but it was not so difficult to get good lap times right away.”

Davide brivio, Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha Tean director
“I think the improvements in lap time are impressive already because it’s only Friday. Valentino finished not so far from Gibernau but that was just one lap of qualifying in any case. We are working with both riders to make improvements and there is some room for them. I think the pace they are going at is a good pace; we just need to carry out some fine-tuning. Both Carlos and Valentino were towards the front in the whole session, part of the top package. They are going their own way in set-up and they each have a base. We are going forward with small adjustments, without changing too much.”


More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki:

Solo Roberts in practice top ten again

Team Suzuki MotoGP rider Kenny Roberts Jr made a strong start to his Italian GP weekend at Mugello, placing ninth on the third row of the provisional grid for Sunday’s race.

At one point, the 2000 World Champion lay third overall, only losing positions the closing-minutes rush on qualifying tyres.

Kenny’s best time was almost two seconds faster than his qualifying time from last year, and more than a second inside the lap record for the scenic 5.245km circuit, in the shadow of the Apennine mountains. Roberts also reinforced his position in the 200mph club, recording a best top speed of 201.7mph (324.6km/h).

The figures prove the significant improvements to the 990cc prototype Suzuki GSV-R in the past 12 months, with more to come in the races to follow.

Roberts was riding alone, after team-mate John Hopkins withdrew from the race. The 21-year-old Anglo-American rider suffered a fractured left thumb at the last round in France three weeks ago, and although now out of the plaster cast lacks the strength to race his 220-plus horsepower Suzuki prototype at this track, which has one of the fastest straights of the year.

The Italian GP is the fourth of 16 rounds in the MotoGP World Championship series. One more day of qualifying remains before Sunday’s race.

Kenny Roberts Jr: Ninth Position, 1:51.547
We’re at the start of a six-race stint, all pretty close together. We know we have a better engine coming soon, and that should help our engine braking and tyre grip, and help me to ride it a little harder than I am currently able to do. On the flip side of that we’re here, and we have to do the best we can with what we have. Today we were able to do that. We tried to find the best race tyre we could in both sessions, and I think we are getting close to a decision. We’ll mess around with the bike tonight and see if we can get it through the corner faster, because we’re already maxed out on the straightaway. It’s unfortunate, because I’m probably one of the fastest guys on the track but it doesn’t show on my lap times. We’ll continue to do the best we can. The team is in good spirits, and they’re doing a great job with setting the bike, so hopefully we can continue to improve the bike this weekend and have a good result on Sunday, and look forward to the new engine that will give us a different outlook.

Garry Taylor – Team Manager
John and his race engineer Stuart Shenton took the opportunity to go out on the track today, which gave us an interesting perspective, and justified the fact that there’s a lot of excitement in the team. We can all see we’re sustaining the good progress we’ve made already. Kenny is certainly riding as well as anybody out there, and John and Stuart confirmed that he is making full use of his considerable skills. We all have the feeling that we’re knocking on the door of the inner sanctum, where we believe we belong.


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


Sete Gibernau: The sky is the limit

Sete Gibernau could not have planned a better start to the Italian Grand Prix, the Telefónica MoviStar Honda MotoGP rider setting the fastest time in the morning free practice session but saving his best for the afternoon, when he set a sensational time of 1’49″553 to seal provisional pole position. Sete, whose time was three seconds under the existing lap record at Mugello set by Tohru Ukawa in 2002, moved to the top of the time sheets on the seventh lap and improved his time by over a second some thirteen laps later to secure top spot. Colin Edwards, who is using a new front suspension fork after experiencing problems in Le Mans, was unable to find a comfortable setting at such a technical track and had to settle for eleventh place.

Sete Gibernau
(1st.- 1:49.553): “We have started with an incredible time but we can’t afford to relax. Not everything is in its place for the race although the time I have set is marvellous and it may give the impression that everything is perfect. I have to improve my rhythm and that is what I want to concentrate on tomorrow. I can’t deny that this is a fantastic start to the Grand Prix and that our plan is working – I wanted to play my cards well and set a good time today so that I can concentrate on my rhythm tomorrow. I am in a good run of form and a positive frame of mind, and that is allowing me to control each session.”

Colin Edwards
(11th.- 1:51.758): “We had a few problems with the bike at Le Mans so we decided to change the front fork, the tyre. basically started from scratch. The Clermont Ferrand test went well and I was looking forward to coming here, but I’m still struggling to control the front end and get it to turn into the corners. I don’t have any references to work from but at least we know which way we have to go tomorrow and hopefully things should be better”.

Fausto Gresini
(Team Manager): “Sete’s time is incredible – I didn’t think he could go that fast but he has been strong since the first session and he’s been a cut above the rest. His qualifying lap on the soft tyre was simply perfect and he is working well towards the race, which is the most important thing. It has been a fantastic day and we hope to keep going like this. The relationship between Michelin and Honda is very good and the results are there to see – the whole package has enabled us to take a major step forward. Colin isn’t comfortable, he hasn’t got clear references of this circuit and he wasn’t able to lap quickly – hopefully tomorrow will be a different story for him.”