Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

MotoGP Qualifying Session #1:
1. Valentino Rossi, Honda, 1:43.927
2. Loris Capirossi, Ducati, 1:44.333
3. Sete Gibernau, Honda, 1:44.366
4. Shinya Nakano, Yamaha, 1:44.765
5. Makoto Tamada, Honda, 1:44.922
6. Max Biaggi, Honda, 1:45.065
7. Colin Edwards, Aprilia, 1:45.106
8. Alex Barros, Yamaha, 1:45.139
9. Tohru Ukawa, Honda, 1:45.283
10. Olivier Jacque, Yamaha, 1:45.369
11. John Hopkins, Suzuki, 1:45.516
12. Carlos Checa, Yamaha, 1:45.582
13. Troy Bayliss, Ducati, 1:45.590
14. Marco Melandri, Yamaha, 1:46.061
15. Akira Yanagawa, Kawasaki, 1:46.226
16. Noriyuki Haga, Aprilia, 1:46.297
17. Nicky Hayden, Honda, 1:46.300
18. Ryuichi Kiyonari, Honda, 1:47.251
19. Jeremy McWilliams, Proton, 1:47.462
20. Andrew Pitt, Kawasaki, 1:47.473
21. Garry McCoy, Kawasaki, 1:47.505
22. Nobuatsu Aoki, Proton, 1:48.895



250cc GP Qualifying Session #1:
1. Randy de Puniet, Aprilia, 1:47.117
2. Toni Elias, Aprilia, 1:47.551
3. Manuel Poggiali, Aprilia, 1:48.061
4. Franco Battaini, Aprilia, 1:48.229
5. Sebastian Porto, Honda, 1:48.371
6. Anthony West, Aprilia, 1:48.892
7. Fonsi Nieto, Aprilia, 1:49.095
8. Naoki Matsudo, Yamaha, 1:49.260
9. Robero Rolfo, Honda, 1:49.313
10. Sylvain Guintoli, Aprilia, 1:49.412
26. Katja Poensgen, Honda, 1:54.083


125cc GP Qualifying Session #1:
1. Lucio Cecchinello, Aprilia, 1:51.403
2. Alex de Angelis, Aprilia, 1:51.417
3. Daniel Pedrosa, Honda, 1:51.453
4. Pablo Nieto, Aprilia, 1:51.636
5. Andrea Dovizioso, Honda, 1:51.793
6. Hector Barbera, Aprilia, 1:51.908
7. Stefano Perugini, Aprilia, 1:52.011
8. Casey Stoner, Aprilia, 1:52.107
9. Steve Jenkner, Aprilia, 1:52.222
10. Jorge Lorenzo, Aprilia, 1:52.451


More, from a press release issued by Fortuna Yamaha:

Catalunya Grand Prix
Friday, 13 June 2003
Catalunya, Spain

DIFFICULT OPENER FOR FORTUNA YAMAHA IN SWELTERING CATALAN HEAT

The Fortuna Yamaha Team’s difficult season continues as the MotoGP World Championship moves to Barcelona, Spain for the sixth round of the 2003 season. Both Carlos Checa and Marco Melandri found the going tough during the opening day of qualifying, held in scorching 30-degree temperatures, and were only able to feature 12th and 14th respectively on the provisional time sheets.

Local hero Checa, who won his first ever premier class race at the Catalan circuit in 1996, was unable to produce anything more challenging than a time of 1’45.582 around the 4727m circuit – a time that is shy of his pre-season IRTA test performances and the 30-year-old’s full potential. Although much of the difficulty in reproducing these competitive times is because of the high track temperatures, most of the team’s efforts today have been focused on finding a neutral chassis character that will benefit the Spaniard on race day.

Meanwhile defending MotoGP World Champion Valentino Rossi (Honda) continued to impress with yet another pace-setting performance, after producing a 1:43.927, to take today’s provisional pole position. Today’s small victory did not come easily, however, with Loris Capirossi (Ducati, 1:44.333), Sete Gibernau (Honda, 1:44.366) and Shinya Nakano (d’Antin Yamaha Team) continually challenging the Italian during the final 15 minutes of the hour-long session.

Checa, who finished third here on the YZR-M1 in last year’s race, commented on the day’s events, “I haven’t had such a clever day today. I could not really feel comfortable with the set-up. I need to keep the front tyre on the ground and there is not enough traction in the front at the moment. We have lots of references to go from after our winter testing here, and from last year. I did some lap times that I was pleased with during the winter so that’s what I’ll be aiming for again tomorrow. Once we have adjusted the set-up again I’ll check the feeling and I’m sure that we can make it better for tomorrow.”

After showing great promise during his home Grand Prix, held in Mugello, Italy only a week ago – before clutch problems robbed him of a possible top six finish – Melandri ended today a disappointing 14th. Fully aware that he and the YZR-M1 are capable of much more the 20-year-old 250cc World Champion is looking forward to another shot at Sunday’s starting grid.

“It was a difficult day for me today as we tried some different chassis settings but we are still quite a way from finding the right overall set-up,” said the Ravenna-born rider. “I have had a bit of a chatter problem today, which is strange, as I never had it before on this bike. It actually got worse this afternoon compared to this morning. At the moment I can’t find a good grip with the front, and it’s difficult to feel the tyres on the asphalt. I will now go and analyse the lap data with my engineers to find some solution. We did try the same setting this afternoon as we did at the last tests here in the winter but the temperature is so different now. I am sure that our engineers will be able to find a solution to improve my feeling for tomorrow.”

“Both riders have had a hard time today as they couldn’t get exactly the feeling that they wanted with their set-ups,” said Davide Brivio, Team Director of the Fortuna Yamaha Team. “This circuit was better for us during the winter tests so at least we have that as a marker. The temperature is so different now and we have to adapt our settings accordingly. All the guys in the team are pushing hard and we will do everything we can with our engineers to help them to find the set-up they need here to feel more comfortable. It’s only Friday and we’ll have a full day tomorrow.”

PROVISIONAL FRONT ROW
1. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Repsol HONDA 1:43.927
2. Loris Capirossi (ITA) DUCATI Marlboro Team 1:44.333
3. Sete Gibernau (SPA) Telefonica Movistar HONDA 1:44.366
4. Shinya Nakano (JPN) d’Antin YAMAHA Team 1:44.765
12. CARLOS CHECA (SPA) Fortuna YAMAHA Team 1:45.582
14. MARCO MELANDRI (ITA) Fortuna YAMAHA Team 1:46.061


More, from a press release issued by Suzuki:

SUZUKI MUSTER FORCES FOR CATALUNYA

Catalunyan GP, Montmelo, Barcelona – June 15, 2003

Just days after double misfortune took both riders out at the Italian GP, Team Suzuki is mustering forces to push ahead with the fast-forward development programme of the new 2003 GSV-R MotoGP racer.

Although 2000 World Champion Kenny Roberts Junior will not take part in Sunday’s GP of Catalunya, due to injuries sustained in Italy last Sunday, team-mate John Hopkins will race in spite of lingering pain from a couple of bruising GPs.

Suzuki’s back-up effort will be redoubled at the Catalunyan GP, the first race this year not preceded by a weekend off. In the pits and at the track-side, former Suzuki World Champion Kevin Schwantz and French motorcycling superstar Jean-Michel Bayle will be lending support to the factory team; and on Monday and Tuesday Bayle will join Hopkins and factory rider Akioshi at the same circuit for two full days of testing.

The development programme for the potent prototype is aimed at realising the full potential of the technically advanced 990cc V4. During the weekend of the Catalunyan GP, sixth of 16 World Championship rounds, the race team will concentrate on achieving the best possible results. On Monday, they and the factory engineers will be able to concentrate on maximising the motorcycle.

Over the first races, the new machine had shown steady progress, as the riders and mechanics learned how to get the best out of the high-technology racer’s groundbreaking new systems and software. The double crash in Italy, where Roberts and Hopkins collided early in the race, was an unwelcome setback.

Both fell heavily. Roberts escaped without any fractures, but was badly knocked about. His injuries ruled him out of the Catalunyan race, although he will be at the track.

Hopkins, already carrying sprains from the French GP two weeks earlier, added a wrenched neck to a painful shoulder and arm, and other aches.

“Back to back races make it tough when something like this happens,” said the 20-year-old Anglo-American rider. “Like always, my team and I will be looking to get the bike the best it can be for the track, then aiming to keep on getting better results.”

Hopkins has a best of seventh so far this year, at the first of three Spanish rounds at Jerez, and the Catalunya GP circuit at Montmelo is a favourite. Last year in his first time at the track and riding a two-stroke 500cc machine, he qualified on the second row of the grid and took the first of four top-ten results.

Team manager Garry Taylor described the condition of both riders. “Kenny is still very sort, and is being treated by team physiotherapist Dean Miller. John is also stiff and sore, and Dean will be looking after him as well to help him race … he will have a busy weekend.

Taylor also welcomed the presence of the top-level advisers.

“Kevin’s coming as our guest, but I’m sure the whole team will welcome his observations,” said Taylor.

“When the going is tough, there’s no better man to have around than Kevin.”

Schwantz, from Texas, won all of his 25 GPs on a factory Suzuki, as well as the 500cc World Championship in 1993.

Bayle’s expertise will also be called on, not only as an observer but also for a second time from the saddle, when he, Hopkins and Akioshi spend two days running through all the possible combinations of new ideas and equipment from the factory racing department.

The Catalunyan GP is followed by the Dutch TT at Assen on June 28, as the season moves rapidly towards the halfway mark. Roberts is expected to be fit in time for that race.

ABOUT THIS RACE
Motorcycle GP racing was inaugurated at the new Montmelo Circuit in 1992, as the European GP. The annual race took the name of Catalunya in 1996, a second race in Spain, reflecting the growing national passion for the sport. Now there are three Spanish races, and another in Portugal, and the fans come in vast numbers to cheer their local heroes. Numbers have been boosted still further by the lure of the MotoGP four-strokes, which raced for the first time last year.

ABOUT THIS TRACK
Built with no expense spared in the early Nineties to coincide with the Barcelona Olympics, this is still a state-of-the-art facility, with spacious paddock buildings and facilities, extensive grandstands, and a variety of viewing areas. It also plays host to Spain’s F1 car grand prix, and is a popular testing track for the cars as well as motorcycles. With the immense braking and cornering forces generated, this has caused some damage to the track surface, while another wave-like deformation from the track’s construction is also a factor, especially on the straight. At almost one kilometre, this is one of the fastest places of the year, the MotoGP machines exceeding 200 mph before braking hard for the first right-left-corner that leads up the hillside. The track continues to climb, before plunging down through some difficult downhill corners, then up again before the last complex, leading back onto the straight through a vast natural grandstand. Races are often won or lost on these corners, and the atmosphere is electric.


GP DATA
Circuit of Catalunya
Circuit Length: 2.937 miles / 4.727 km
Lap Record: 1:45.594 – 100.138 mph / 161.156 km/h. V Rossi (Honda) 2002

2002 Results
Race Winner: Valentino Rossi (Honda)
Race Average: 44.20.679 -99.354 mph / 159.895 km/h.
Fastest Race Lap: see lap record
Pole Position: Max Biaggi (Yamaha) 1:44.623
Kenny Roberts: Seventh, qualified eighth, 1:45,532 (Telefónica MoviStar Suzuki)
Fastest Race Lap: 1:46.179
John Hopkins: Tenth, qualified sixth, 1:45.148 (Yamaha YZR)
Fastest Race Lap: 1:47.536





More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

Marlboro Catalan GP, Catalunya
First Qualifying
Friday, June 13 2003

DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM IN THE HEAT OF THE ACTION

Ducati Marlboro Team riders Loris Capirossi and Troy Bayliss rode through sweltering heat at Catalunya this afternoon to record second- and 13th- fastest times in the opening qualifying session for Sunday’s Marlboro Catalan Grand Prix. Despite the conditions – with ambient temperatures at 35 degrees C and track temperature soaring to 53 degrees C – Capirossi battled throughout for provisional pole, recording the fastest top speed in the process – at 325.9kmh202.5mph.

The Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedicis are unchanged from last Sunday’s Mugello GP, where Capirossi stormed to a superb second-place finish, apart from one small modification – the team has cut extra cooling vents in the seat units.

“We knew it was going to be very hot here, so we’re just helping the hot air to get out,” said Ducati Marlboro Team technical director Corrado Cecchinelli. “We started Troy with more or less the same set-up he used for the race at Mugello, but he wasn’t totally satisfied with that. With Loris we tried a different front-end set-up – as we used here for the tests in March – and it seems to work quite well with him, so I think we’ll try those settings with Troy tomorrow. It’s just a small difference in geometry – Catalunya seems to have special requirements for front-end set up.”


CAPIROSSI SECOND QUICKEST

Loris Capirossi led the early stages of this afternoon’s qualifier, then began a lengthy contest for provisional pole with Honda riders Valentino Rossi and Sete Gibernau, ending up between the two, just 0.406 seconds behind Rossi. The Ducati Marlboro Team man knows that the scorching conditions forecast for the entire weekend place a bigger than ever emphasis on chassis set-up and tyre choice.

“I’m happy enough but not completely satisfied,” said Capirossi. “We need a few little improvements, which means we’ll have to make the best use of both sessions tomorrow. We learned a lot here during the tests in March but the conditions are totally different now – it’s much, much hotter now, so the track feels very slippery. Once again we are focusing on race settings, rather that a set-up that will give us a very fast one-off lap. The heat is the concern – for us and for the tyres – so we need settings that will work throughout the race, especially when the tyres are past their best.”

BAYLISS WORKS ON FRONT END

Ducati Marlboro Team rider Troy Bayliss is still looking for a front-end set-up that will give him the confidence he needs to really attack turns. The former World Superbike champion believes the secret lies in a small settings change. Bayliss has never raced at Catalunya but he did the two-day all-teams test session here during March.

“I’m struggling with a few things, mostly just bike set-up,” said Bayliss. “The last two races I’ve been missing something with the front – it’s not doing what we want it to do, so it’s up to us to fix it. It’s nothing big, but in this kind of racing just one little thing can make a big difference. We’ll try some other settings tomorrow, though my times aren’t so bad, just five or six tenths off what we did in preseason testing here and it’s way, way hotter today.”


More, from a press release issued by Fuchs Kawasaki:

MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2003
ROUND 6 – GRAND PRIX OF CATALUNYA
13TH JUNE 2003 – QUALIFYING PRACTICE 1

YANAGAWA CONTINUES WILD CARD FORM AT CATALUNYA

Japanese wild card, Akira Yanagawa, continued the excellent form of Fuchs Kawasaki ZX-RR test riders by setting the 15th fastest time for a fourth row place on the provisional grid for Sunday’s Grand Prix of Catalunya, after another boiling hot MotoGP qualifying session.

As track temperatures went above a baking 50 degrees C, Yanagawa posted his fast time on his 23rd and final lap in a highly competitive session. Team-mates Andrew Pitt and Garry McCoy both survived off-track excursions to finish 20th and 21st respectively.

The Australian pairing of Pitt and McCoy were disappointed to be well outside their IRTA preseason test times, with McCoy having posted a 1m 45.96s lap here during the pole shoot-out in March. Pitt was inexplicably less comfortable on his regular Barcelona set-up and struggled with front end confidence.

Pitt stayed upright as he ran wide just seven minutes into the session, while McCoy had a much more spectacular spill as the chequered flag came out to end proceedings. After throwing in a soft qualifying tyre, McCoy crashed on his final attempt at a faster lap, losing the front on the entry to the downhill left-hander (turn 5).

Yanagawa is riding a Ninja ZX-RR brought in from Japan for this race, which sports a similar chassis specification to that employed by Alex Hofmann in Mugello last week. Yanagawa is, however, using revised suspension settings that have evolved from the intensive development programme he has been undertaking in Japan.

Akira Yanagawa – 15th – 1:46.226
“It’s like a Japanese sauna, very hot. In these conditions the temperature is a problem, especially for tyres, it is easy to get them spinning a lot. My lap times got better and better in each session, so I hope to continue this progress for the rest of the weekend – I’m just happy to be back racing. My bike is similar to the one Alex used in Mugello, just different settings.”

Andrew Pitt – 20th – 1:47.473
“It’s a little confusing as the bike doesn’t feel exactly like it did when I went one second faster at the tests here. I felt competitive against the other guys while doing faster times at the tests, but now I’m struggling to get confidence in the front end and the bike doesn’t seem to be riding the bumps very well. Traction wise it doesn’t feel too bad, but I just can’t push it through the turns; I’m struggling on entry and with mid-corner steering. We’ll look at the data overnight and try to find some answers for tomorrow.”

Garry McCoy – 21st – 1:47.505
“Right at the end I ran a qualifier, but it had too much grip and really pushed the front. The new front tyre I was using had felt good earlier in the session, but with the soft rear in I lost the front three times before I had a big slide into the downhill left. The track grip levels are different from our earlier test here and it seems really dirty off line. We made a front end change on one bike, but I had a problem with that, so I basically ran only the other bike for fast laps this afternoon.”


More, from a press release issued by Pramac Honda:

Pramac Honda Team Press Information
Catalunya – (Spain) 13/14/15 June 2003
Friday – qualifying sessions

Fifth quickest time, second provisional row.

Tamada gets ready for Sunday’s race.

Makoto Tamada, a hairsbreadth from the first provisional row, ended the first qualifying sessions at Montmelò with the fifth best time of the day. The Pramac Honda Team’s Japanese rider and technicians started work on preparing for the race by working on the set-up of last week’s encounter at Mugello. Then came the task of fine-tuning the details. The data gathered during the IRTA tests in March here on the circuit of Montmelò needed to be modified to take into consideration the improved performance of the tyres achieved by Bridgestone in their incessant work since March. As a result, Makoto Tamada was well in the spotlight during the first qualifying sessions: he concentrated entirely on finding a level of competitiveness that would let him perform well in Sunday’s race. In terms of choice of tyres, the technicians tested a range of compounds that should provide the basis for the tests tomorrow and for the race on Sunday.


Makoto Tamada (Pramac Honda Team): 5th – 1:44.922

“With Sunday’s race in mind, I worked on the set-up of the bike and my fifth place today was made using a soft tyre. I also got some help from Ukawa, as we did a couple of laps together. The important thing was to get an idea of the best tyres for the weekend and then try to keep up a good fast pace on race tyres. We also got the gearbox sorted out so as to have power-delivery management the way I like it: so far, I must say I’m pleased with the way things are going. I’m also working on making a good start: this is a key aspect of the race and I’ve just got to improve. Compared with the IRTA tests in March, the tyres have improved enormously – the vibrations have gone and now I can take them to the limit. We’ll see tomorrow: I’d like to get a good position on Sunday’s grid so I can be up racing with the leaders.”


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

NEW PROTON KR FOUR-STROKE RIDERS HOPE FOR MORE

Round 6: Catalunyan GP, Montmelo
First Qualifying: Friday, June 13, 2003

Jeremy McWilliams: 19th, 1:47.462
Nobuatsu Aoki: 22nd, 1:48.895

Both Jeremy McWilliams and Nobuatsu Aoki have qualified for Sunday’s Catalunyan GP – but with special power-up parts due to arrive in time for tomorrow’s final qualifying session, both were hoping to move up the order for the brand new machine’s second ever race.

The radical new V5 four-stroke racer made a stunning GP debut last weekend at the Italian GP, with McWilliams running in the points before following team-mate Aoki into the pits – both suffering from fuel starvation attributed to heat transfer problems. The England-based team has been flat out in the intervening four days, with heat shields installed to keep the fuel and the pump cooler. At the same time, they have been working on power-up engine parts, which are expected to arrive either this evening or tomorrow morning, in time for the final session.

Today, the engines were in the same relatively soft state of tune in which they ran at Mugello. The new parts will sharpen the performance and improve top speed, by taking power away from the middle of the rev range and moving it up to the top. But the bike, which only ran at a circuit for the first time three weeks ago, is still at a very early stage of development, and this is just one of a raft of upgrades planned for the coming weeks, as the team take the bike towards full race specification.

Another area receiving early attention is the crucial slipper clutch and associated engine management software; while McWilliams was running out of ride height and scraping the fairing on the ground, which was slowing his corner speed. Team owner Kenny Roberts explained the solution. “A sensor in the exhaust is fouling the swing-arm. We will move the sensor tonight, then we can move the swing-arm down, to get more ride height.”

FOOTNOTE: Tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. Proton Team KR will be presenting Jeremy McWilliams with a special cake, to celebrate his 150th GP start on Sunday. Only three riders have more experience than the 39-year-old Ulsterman – Max Biaggi, Alex Barros and Loris Capirossi.


JEREMY McWILLIAMS
We have too much more to learn before I can really comment. Today we worked on how the slipper clutch works, and adjusting the ride height, and we have to pull that together before we can move on. Now I can’t put together fast laps because the fairing is grounding – it’s just about worn through. It was the same at Mugello, and they’re going to have to work some miracle overnight. At the moment, I’m still riding it like a two-stroke because we don’t have enough corner exit speed, so I am riding it right to the edge of the tyres. We have a long way to go; we’re probably a month away from where I’d like to be.

NOBUATSU AOKI
I had a lot of trouble with my bike today, but for the last session they changed the whole fuel injection system, and now it is running well. It’s not really nice, but it’s okay. Unfortunately I made a small mistake. I missed my braking marker for the first corner by about 50 metres, and I went into the gravel. I thought I was going to hit the wall because I was going so fast, but I touched the brake and fell down. The bike wasn’t damaged, and the engine was still running. I only did four laps this morning, and nine in the afternoon – so it’s still as though it’s the first morning session for me. Start again tomorrow.

KENNY ROBERTS – Team Owner We’re going to have some more stuff for tomorrow, but basically the bikes are as they ran in Italy. We’ve been trying to solve the fuel pump problems, with different pumps, getting some air to them, and making some heat shields. So far it looks okay – we still have some problems, but it’s better.