From a press release issued by Team Proton KR:


PROTON TAKES FIRST PROVISIONAL POLE IN GERMANY

Round 9: German GP, Sachsenring First Qualifying: Friday, July 19, 2002

Jeremy McWilliams: First, 1:26.067
Nobuatsu Aoki: 17th, 1:27,743

Nobody could beat Proton Team KR rider Jeremy McWilliams at the Sachsenring today. At the tortuous track where the three-cylinder lightweight 500cc two-stroke KR3 machine achieved its first good results, the Ulster rider set the pace, challenging in the later stages of the first timed session, then setting a blistering pole time at the end.

Team-mate Nobuatsu Aoki had the opposite experience, battling to find grip and ending up down the order, looking for solutions to improve his prospects in tomorrow’s second and final hour of qualifying.

This is not the first time McWilliams has put the lightweight Proton KR3 among the heavyweight opposition, but it is the first time he has been fastest. The result reflects not only that he likes the track – having twice finished on the rostrum here in the past, but also that the constant corners and changes of direction bring out the best in the sweet-handling machine.

McWilliams used the latest chassis for his fast run, after trying both the standard version and the new “wideline” frame, which is itself a development stage for the 990cc V5 four-stroke engine the team is developing for next season.

Ironically, McWilliams set the slowest speed through the trap at the end of the straight – 259.2km/h compared with Biaggi’s Yamaha at 278.2: proof of how the KR3 makes its time through the corners.

The Sachsenring is the third of the Big Four tracks that will most favour the Proton KR3 lightweight two-stroke, which sacrifices ultimate horsepower and top speed for better steering and roadholding.

Jeremy McWilliams
“This is one of the tracks that suit the bike. Our weight advantage is important here, and Bridgestone gave me a really good soft rear tyre at the end … I had my race tyre from Donington on the front. It was one of those laps. I made no mistakes, and everything went perfectly. I tried the standard and the new chassis today, and my best times came on the new chassis, so obviously that’s the one I’ll stick with from now on. It’s a little more physically difficult to ride, but a lot more stable. I’m slowest through the speed trap, but I’m making up time through the first two twisty sections. I used to prefer the old Sachsenring, but after today I’m beginning to like the new one!”


Nobuatsu Aoki
“Not so good today. I am having a couple of problems. One is lack of feeling from the front tyre when I am leaned far over, and the other is a similar lack of feeling from the rear when I open the gas. These are big problems at this track, where it is all corners. I think we can find a solution. It seems that the position of the swing-arm pivot is too high. We’ve been using this position for a few races, but at this track it seems too much. We’ll do some fine tuning to the chassis tonight, and I hope it will work well tomorrow.”

Chuck Aksland – Team Manager
“The top of the page is nice. Jeremy was knocking on the door at Donington, and now he’s done it. It was a great effort. He’s been trying both chassis, and he’ll stick with the development chassis for tomorrow. They have some work to do on Nobu’s side of the pit. He’s struggling for grip, but we have a few ideas on how to improve that.”



From a press release issued by Marlboro Yamaha:

GERMAN GP, SACHSENRING
First Qualifying, Friday July 19 2002

MARLBORO YAMAHA MEN CHASE SET-UP AT THE ‘RING
Marlboro Yamaha Team YZR-M1 riders Max Biaggi and Carlos Checa were fifth and tenth in this afternoon’s first German GP qualifying session at the Sachsenring, chasing the right kind of set-up for this ultra-tight and complex racetrack.

As if to illustrate the very special demands of this unusual circuit, Jeremy McWilliams claimed provisional pole on his three-cylinder Proton KR3 two-stroke, the least powerful but lightest bike on the MotoGP grid.

“It’s interesting to see the two-strokes fighting back here,” said Marlboro Yamaha Team director Davide Brivio. “This isn’t the easiest of tracks for the four-strokes. It seems more complicated than usual to find the right set-up, though, of course, this is only day one. Both our guys seem to be struggling with manoeuvrability and stability, so we’ve got to work at finding the best compromise. Max and Carlos were fastest on the ‘top speed’ sheets this afternoon but it’s lap times that count. We’ll keep working hard and see how we can improve things for tomorrow and Sunday.”


BIAGGI A FRACTION FROM THE FRONT
Max Biaggi gave his all in the closing moments of this afternoon’s qualifier, forcing himself on to the provisional front row, only for Jeremy McWilliams to demote him to fifth quickest seconds later. The Marlboro Yamaha Team star, who won here on his YZR500 last year, ended the day fifth, a tantalizing 0.044 seconds outside the top four.

“For sure this track is very well suited to the two-strokes,” said Biaggi, who finished second in last weekend’s British GP and currently holds third overall in the 2003 MotoGP World Championship. “I’m finding the surface very bumpy in a few places, I want to brake deeper but at the moment it’s very difficult. I’m also finding the bike a bit difficult to turn. Halfway through the session I worked out what we need to do to the set-up to improve things but there wasn’t enough time to do what we needed, so we’ll change the settings for tomorrow. Then we’ll see if the four-strokes really have a disadvantage or advantage here. It will be difficult to get pole, but I’ll try everything I can to do that.”


CHECA HUNTS SOLUTIONS TO PROBLEMS
Carlos Checa ran inside the top four on several occasions this afternoon but slipped to tenth in the flurry of end-of-session lap times, albeit only 0.644 seconds off provisional pole. The Marlboro Yamaha Team rider, who led most of last Sunday’s British GP before sliding off, needs more front-end performance if he’s to challenge again this weekend.

“This track is quite hard work for us,” said Checa, runner-up here in 2001. “We’ve got more problems here than we expected, mostly front-end push, especially through some of the faster corners. We haven’t made any big changes to the set-up since Donington, so I suppose it’s the nature of the track that’s giving us the difficulties. So far we’ve not been able to find a good way around the problem, but we’ll sit down and examine the data, then decide which way to go for tomorrow’s sessions.”

LIGHTWEIGHT McWILLIAMS LEADS THE WAY
Hard-charging Briton Jeremy McWilliams was the surprise man on provisional pole, using his lightweight Proton KR3 to outpace Yamaha 500 V4 rider Olivier Jacque. “This track suits our bike, we’ve got a weight advantage,” he said. “I’m making all my time through the first two tighter sections, and I’ll need some help in the race through the last part of the track.”

Top four-stroke rider was Valentino Rossi (Honda) in third, with Honda 500 V4 man Alex Barros completing the provisional front row.


PROVISIONAL FRONT ROW
1. Jeremy McWilliams (GBR) PROTON Team KR (KR3) 1’26.067
2. Olivier Jacque (FRA) Gauloises YAMAHA Tech 3 (YZR500) 1’26.178
3. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Repsol HONDA Team (RC211v) 1’26.201
4. Alex Barros (BRA) West HONDA Pons (NSR500) 1’26.480
5. MAX BIAGGI (ITA) Marlboro YAMAHA Team (YZR-M1) 1’26.524
10. CARLOS CHECA (SPA) Marlboro YAMAHA Team (YZR-M1) 1’26.711



From a press release issued by Team Suzuki:

Team Suzuki News Service

SUZUKI RIDERS PROMISE BETTER THINGS TO COME

Sachsenring, Germany – First Practice, Friday July 19th, 2002:

TELEFONICA MOVISTAR SUZUKI rider Sete Gibernau was 15th-fastest in today’s first practice session for Sunday’s German GP at the twisting 3.704km Sachsenring circuit outside Chemnitz, after an afternoon when he concentrated on identifying and solving set-up problems rather than going for a lap time.

Temporary team-mate Yukio Kagayama, standing in for the absent team regular Kenny Roberts Jr, was 16th, just one place down, in his first visit to the short and tight circuit outside Chemnitz. It was an impressive start. It is the factory rider’s first time at the track, and on Michelin tyres on the 990cc four-stroke prototype GSV-R racer, which he races in the All-Japan championship on Dunlop tyres.

Wild card entry Akira Ryo placed 19th, as he also gains familiarity with the track. The factory Suzuki rider has been enlisted to help with development of the GP machine.

Roberts is at home in California, recuperating from surgery earlier this week to his right arm, to cure compartment syndrome problems that had become severe over the last two races, causing his arm to pump up and considerably hampering his race performances.

Both Suzuki riders were using the latest version of the GSV-R chassis, with revised stiffness ratios round the swing-arm pivot – another sign of progress in the fast-developing machine, which was rushed to the race tracks a full year earlier than originally planned, after the promise shown in early tests.

There is one more day of practice remaining before Sunday’s race, and if the present warm and dry conditions last as forecast, one more crucial chance to set a good lap time and gain a good starting position at the tightest and slowest track of the year, where overtaking is difficult and a good start very important.

Provisional pole position was set by Jeremy McWilliams, on a Proton.

SETE GIBERNAU – 15th Position, 1:27.475
“We have the new chassis, which seems good … but then I had some trouble with one bike that meant I wasn’t able to try everything we needed to test. I decided the best response was to stay out there with my other bike, and put in as many laps as possible. I wasn’t focused so much on lap times as trying to understand more clearly what we need to do. There was quite a bit of traffic and I was using race tyres. By staying out there, I think I understand what we need. I’m looking forward to tomorrow. We need to get a good grid position, because I know I can race okay, but at this track a good start is crucial, because there are so few opportunities to overtake.”

YUKIO KAGAYAMA – 16th Position, 1:27.688
“This is my first time with Michelin tyres on this bike, because we use Dunlops in the Japanese championship. It is my first time to see the course. I like the layout, but it’s bumpy and too slow, so these bikes have too much power. Maybe it would be easier to disconnect three of the four plug leads! The feeling from the Michelin tyres is not so bad, but at the moment my speed level is relatively low. To go faster will make a big risk, but that is what I have to do.”

WARREN WILLING – Technical Adviser
“The new frame doesn’t seem to have made much difference – yet. It’s a fairly small change, revising the stiffness around the swing-arm pivot. But our pace is the same, and the bike still feels heavy to change direction. We’ll try some different combinations to improve that.”

GARRY TAYLOR – Team Manager
“This is a very hard track, and we have some work to do tomorrow before we can say we’ve got to grips with it. Sete’s been trying hard, and I’m sure he’ll make a jump tomorrow. Yukio’s performance has been fantastic, on a strange track and on unfamiliar tyres.”

FRIDAY OFFICIAL QUALIFYING TIMES SACHSENRING, GERMANY
1. J. McWillams (Proton) + 1’26.067,
2. O. Jacque (Yamaha) + 0.111,
3. V. Rossi (Honda) + 0.134,
4. A. Barros (Honda) + 0.413,
5. M. Biaggi (Yamaha) + 0.457,
6. D. Kato (Honda) + 0.501,
7. T. Ukawa (Honda) + 0.547,
8. S. Nakano (Yamaha) + 0.611,
9. T. Harada (Honda) + 0.619,
10. C. Checa (Yamaha) + 0.644,
15. SETE GIBERNAU (TELEFONICA MOVISTAR SUZUKI) + 1.408,
16. YUKIO KAGAYAMA (TELEFONICA MOVISTAR SUZUKI) + 1.621.


From a press release issue by Red Bull Yamaha:


GERMAN GP – SACHSENRING
Qualifying No. 1 Friday July 19th 2002

RED BULL LOOKING FOR MORE

Red Bull Yamaha riders, Garry McCoy and John Hopkins line up side by side on the provisional grid for the ninth round of the MotoGP World Championship at Sachsenring in Germany. McCoy who is riding in only his second GP since returning from a severe leg break, is finding form at the twisty, tight track and during the session briefly snatched 3rd place on the provisional front row. Team-mate, John “Hopper” Hopkins is looking again at scoring in his ninth consecutive MotoGP race.


John Hopkins:11th 1’26. 930
“I’m definitely not happy with how things went for me today, although I did manage to drag myself up the ranks towards the end of the session. We’ve got to change a few things with the set-up so I can continue to improve tomorrow and I’ve asked Colin my Crew Chief to look at getting me some more rear grip.

“This track is really tight, it¹s a strange place and to me it’s more like a go-kart track and nothing like what I’ve raced on this season so far. I rode here a few weeks ago on a R1 on an open day, to learn my way round this twisty tight place but everything is of course so different on the YZR 500. The track day definitely has helped me know my way around here, now I just need to find the right settings for the race bike.

“Hopefully it is dry tomorrow and I can improve some more.”


Garry McCoy: 12th – 1’26.982
“I’m still working on building up to the rhythm of qualifying and racing and its getting better every day. I was up there for a little while and I had a few good laps behind Barros. It was my first real opportunity to get behind someone who is up there at the moment. I didn’t get the opportunity in Donington to see anyone up close. Barros blocked me at a couple of places and I didn’t realise we were going so quick.

“On my quick lap at the end of the session, I caught Cardoso, but it was going to be a bit dodgy to try and pass him, so I let him go and I think I was only two-tenths slower than my best lap time. Friday is not the time to do anything silly.

“On my qualifier, I went two-tenths faster and really you should go a half a second quicker. I’ve still got to get the best out of the qualifying tyre, so I’m working on that.”


Peter Clifford – Team Manager
“It’s completely ridiculous that we can be a little disappointed that John is “only” 11th fastest and 0.8 seconds from pole on his first day here, but, we’ve already come to expect so much from him.

“Garry is obviously working his way back up to speed and I think both guys have got more to come tomorrow.”