Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Series point leader Valentino Rossi and his Repsol Honda teammate Tohru Ukawa missed Friday’s MotoGP qualifying session at Donington because they were undergoing medical tests to determine the extent of injuries they suffered received in crashes during Friday morning practice crashes.

According to sources at the track, Rossi has a broken thumb and a concussion.

Meanwhile, the top six riders in Friday’s qualifying session, including 19-year-old MotoGP rookie John Hopkins, smashed Simon Crafar’s four-year-old lap record of 1:32.661.

Friday’s MotoGP Qualifying Times:

1. Alex Barros, Honda NSR500, 1:31.877
2. Kenny Roberts, Suzuki GSV-R, 1:32.123
3. Max Biaggi, Yamaha YZR-M1, 1:32.197
4. John Hopkins, Yamaha YZR500, 1:32.523
5. Carlos Checa, Yamaha YZR-M1, 1:32.541
6. Jeremy McWilliams, Proton KR3, 1:32.602
7. Norick Abe, Yamaha YZR500, 1:32.695
8. Shinya Nakano, Yamaha YZR500, 1:32.810
9. Daijiro Kato, Honda NSR500, 1:32.850
10. Tetsuya Harada, Honda NSR500, 1:32.900
11. Olivier Jacque, Yamaha YZR500, 1:32.997
12. Sete Gibernau, Suzuki GSV-R, 1:33.172
13. Nobuatsu Aoki, Proton KR3, 1:33.290
14. Regis Laconi, Aprilia RS3, 1:33.598
15. Garry McCoy, Yamaha YZR500, 1:33.754
16. Pere Riba, Yamaha YZR500, 1:34.009
17. Jurgen vd Goorbergh, Honda NSR500, 1:34.274
18. Alex Hofmann, Honda NSR500, 1:34.728
19. Akira Ryo, Suzuki GSV-R, 1:34.941
20. Tohru Ukawa, Honda RC211V, no time
21. Valentino Rossi, Honda RC211V, no time


More, from Red Bull Yamaha WCM:

BRITISH GP – DONINGTON

Qualifying No. 1 Friday July 12th 2002

RED HOT DAY FOR HOPKINS ON THE RED BULL


John Hopkins had an amazing afternoon at Donington today, claiming 4th place on the provisional grid for the British GP. Hopkins, who is the youngest permanent Moto GP rider by over 4 years was in dazzling form today, flying onto the front row on his second-last lap. In only the 8th GP of his career this is a truly outstanding performance from the 19-year-old American.

His teammate, Australian Garry McCoy re-acquainted himself with the Yamaha and set the fastest two-stroke top speed of the session. Garry appeared relaxed, fit and strong during the session and showed no signs of pain from his previous leg break.


John Hopkins: 4th – 1:32.523

“This is a dream come true, provisional front row in only my 8th GP. I’ve been working really hard to get to this point and I’m so happy that my family are here to see me at my best yet.

“I felt like I had a little bit more to give in the last lap, I set my best time on the second last lap and on the last lap I got held up by Sete. If I could of got a good run at it, I’m sure I would have been even quicker on my last lap.

“I came to Donington on a Track Day about a month ago with Niall Mackenzie and he really helped me a lot. I rode a Yamaha R1 here in both the wet and dry conditions so I could get a feel for the track and learn my way around, that way I’m productive from the first minute I get on the bike. I’m running the track with Niall again tonight to review my lines again as there is still a lot more I can learn about the track. We’ve got a few more things to try tomorrow but I’m pretty happy with everything.”


Garry McCoy 15th 1:33.754

“My leg and ankle feel fine and I’m not even thinking about it. I’m a little surprised at my times given it’s my first day back, I thought I would have been a bit further behind. Now it’s just a matter of getting up to speed. I tried a qualifying tyre in the last few minutes but it’s been a while since I’ve been in that situation and for one lap you can’t make a mistake.”

Colin Davies (Race Engineer – John Hopkins)
“John got held up on the last lap and I know he could of improved but Sete held him up; the bike is working really well, we’ve got a good race tyre already and I know he has more to come yet. As John gets more time on the circuit he’ll continue to improve.”


Christophe Bourguignon (Race Engineer -Garry McCoy)

“It is a good step forward today and we tried a few various set-ups and tyres. We are now using a new generation Dunlop Tyre and its Garry’s first time riding on these.”


Peter Clifford – Team Manager

“Its great to have Gaz back and good to see him moving the motorcycle around. He obviously just needs a little time to get back to his awesome best. John’s front-row position is magnificent and fractionally under the lap record still held by Simon Crafer on the Dunlop-shod Red Bull Yamaha from ’98.”


More, from a press release issued by Aprilia:
First qualifying session, Laconi 14th best time

Two illustrious riders, Rossi and Ukawa, both fell during the free practice and failed to make the afternoon qualifying. The Cube went through its first paces on the Donington circuit, where some problems of grip made it hard to choose race tyres able to keep up with the enormous power delivery of the engine. The sorties using the qualifying tyres were not so hard and, as the tests were coming to a close, Régis made 14th quickest time.

# 55 Régis Laconi – (MS APRILIA RACING) – 14th – 1:33.598

“I had problems of grip using race tyres, especially round the corners where the bike stays down a lot and the angle puts the tyres under greatest pressure. The bike easily starts to skid and gets hard to control. You can get round this by controlling the bike physically but it’d be pretty hard to keep it up for a whole race. To lessen the effort, I’ve had a shim put on the saddle to bring my riding position slightly forward. I tried other race-tyre solutions – they slip less but they don’t provide the same traction. So we’ve still got lots of work to do to find the right configuration for the race. The qualifying tyres were much better, they give much better grip and we can do some good work to get a fast lap time. There’s still room for improvement.”