2007 FIM MotoGP World Championship Le Mans, France May 19, 2007 Final Qualifying Results: 1. Colin EDWARDS (Yamaha), Michelin, 1:33.616 2. Casey STONER (Ducati), Bridgestone, 1:33.710 3. Carlos CHECA (Honda), Michelin, 1:33.859 4. Valentino ROSSI (Yamaha), Michelin, 1:33.875 5. John HOPKINS (Suzuki), Bridgestone, 1:34.102 6. Toni ELIAS (Honda), Bridgestone, 1:34.125 7. Nicky HAYDEN (Honda), Michelin, 1:34.247 8. Randy DE PUNIET (Kawasaki), Bridgestone, 1:34.318 9. Marco MELANDRI (Honda), Bridgestone, 1:34.360 10. Dani PEDROSA (Honda), Michelin, 1:34.412 11. Sylvain GUINTOLI (Yamaha), Dunlop, 1:34.507 12. Chris VERMEULEN (Suzuki), Bridgestone, 1:34.574 13. Alex BARROS (Ducati), Bridgestone, 1:34.817 14. Shinya NAKANO (Honda), Michelin, 1:34.834 15. Loris CAPIROSSI (Ducati), Bridgestone, 1:34.903 16. Makoto TAMADA (Yamaha), Dunlop, 1:35.346 17. Alex HOFMANN (Ducati), Bridgestone, 1:35.578 18. Kenny Lee ROBERTS (KR – Honda), Michelin, 1:35.681 19. Fonsi NIETO (Kawasaki), Bridgestone, 1:36.312 More, from a press release issued by Bridgestone: Stoner takes front row in France Round 05 Le Mans – Qualifying Le Mans, France Saturday 19 May 2007 Bridgestone will see three of its riders start tomorrow afternoon’s French GP in Le Mans from the front two rows of the grid with Ducati’s Casey Stoner starting from second place. His lap of 1m33.710s was just one-tenth-of-a-second short of Colin Edwards’ pole position time and almost three-tenths quicker than Dani Pedrosa’s pole pace from last season. Suzuki’s John Hopkins will line up in fifth place on the second row alongside Honda Gresini’s Toni Elias who set the sixth quickest time. Kawasaki rider Randy de Puniet, taking part in his home race in Le Mans, claimed eighth place one spot ahead of Elias’s team-mate Marco Melandri to make it five Bridgestone-shod riders in the top ten. Practice times on race tyres have given well founded cause for optimism ahead of tomorrow’s race with Hopkins, Elias and Stoner setting the standard in the morning session. Tyre Talk with Tohru Ubukata Bridgestone Motorsport Manager, Motorcycle Race Tyre Development How satisfied is Bridgestone with this afternoon’s qualifying performance? “It is good to have a Bridgestone rider on the front row of the grid, of course, but the overall result is slightly lower than we expected. Three riders on our tyres were able to secure positions on the front two rows but we perhaps thought that the warmer track conditions could have given us more of an advantage. The field is very close again and the one second gap between the top twelve perfectly highlights the competitiveness of the MotoGP machines and tyres this season.” Was Bridgestone able to conclude the race tyre evaluation programme today? “We were able to achieve a lot of positive work on the race tyres today and to finish the programme that we started yesterday. We concluded the initial evaluations of soft and medium specifications and carried out a medium-length simulation on both types covering around half race distance. The grip levels during these runs were very competitive and we were pleased with the results. The track was about 14 degrees hotter this afternoon than in the morning session and our tyres still performed well, so I think we can be cautiously optimistic whatever conditions we face tomorrow. We must keep working hard though because it is the home race for one of our tyre competitors, so we are sure they will be strong.” Are there any areas of performance that still require improvement? “In the first sector, our riders appear to have a slight advantage and all four manufacturer bikes are setting good top speeds in this section of the race track. However, one of the most crucial parts of the track is the final sector, including the penultimate corner, which demands a lot of edge grip from the tyres. This is an area for further improvement ahead of the race.” Riding Perspective Casey Stoner Ducati 2nd Place “I haven’t been off the front two rows this season which is something of a surprise because I’m not normally much of a qualifier. I thought we may have had pole position this afternoon but Colin just pipped me at the end. Anyway, the Ducati and the Bridgestone tyres have been working brilliantly all weekend and we have just focussed on slowly improving everything. We are looking pretty good for the race tomorrow afternoon, so we just have to wait and see what is in store.” Bridgestone Qualifying Practice Session Results Pos Rider Team Best Lap Gap P2 Casey Stoner Ducati 1m33.710s +0.094s P5 John Hopkins Suzuki 1m34.102s +0.486s P6 Toni Elias Honda Gresini 1m34.125s +0.509s P8 Randy de Puniet Kawasaki 1m34.318s +0.702s P9 Marco Melandri Honda Gresini 1m34.360s +0.744s P12 Chris Vermeulen Suzuki 1m34.574s +0.958s P13 Alex Barros Pramac D’Antin 1m34.817s +1.201s P15 Loris Capirossi Ducati 1m34.903s +1.287s P17 Alex Hofmann Pramac D’Antin 1m35.578s +1.962s P19 Fonsi Nieto Kawasaki 1m36.312s +2.696s Weather: Dry – Air 22°C, Track 32°C, Humidity 16% More, from a press release issued by Rizla Suzuki: Strong second row start for Hopkins at Le Mans John Hopkins will start from fifth place on the grid for tomorrow’s French Grand Prix, following an impressive practice and qualifying performance today. The Rizla Suzuki racer signalled his intentions in this morning final free practice session by posting the fastest time. He also led the way with the highest amount of laps, as the hard-working Anglo-American circulated the 4.180km French track 32 times. During this afternoon’s qualifying session Hopkins (1’34.102, 29 laps) led the leaderboard on several occasions again on race tyres – but was just unable to grab a front row start, missing out by only 0.243 seconds. Chris Vermeulen (P12, 1’34.574, 26 laps) again made big steps on his Rizla Suzuki GSV-R during both of today’s sessions. He was unfortunately blocked on his last qualifying lap a common feature on such tight tracks as Le Mans and was unable to get as good a starting position for tomorrow’s race as he would have liked. This afternoon’s qualifying was held in warm and sunny – but also overcast – conditions. Track temperatures reached 32°C as Yamaha’s Colin Edwards took pole position. Tomorrow’s 28-lap race is round five of the MotoGP World Championship and the race begins at 14.00hrs local time (12.00hrs GMT). John Hopkins: “I’m really happy with the way the day has gone. We got two full sessions with a dry track and we were able to dial in the set-up and finalise what tyres we’ll use tomorrow if it’s dry! We did quite a long run this afternoon and got a good race pace going that felt really comfortable. I got a good rhythm and made a point of riding on my own and doing things my own way. On the qualifiers I gave it my all and I am happy that we made it onto the front two rows because it’s going to be really crucial to get a good start tomorrow. I need to be in the front pack from the start. Hopefully it will be dry for the race and we’ll go out and just give them hell!” Chris Vermeulen: “I was a little bit frustrated at the end of qualifying as I didn’t get a clear lap on my last tyre. It’s a bit annoying, but you get that on tight tracks and it’s all part of racing. We made a lot of progress this morning and I was consistently faster lap-by-lap. I was within half-a-second of the fastest rider on race tyres all session this morning, and again this afternoon I was right up there. The bike has improved and my crew has worked really hard to get it right for here. Fourth row is not an ideal starting position, but I’ve had good results from further back than that! It’s just a matter of getting my head down and catching those front guys.” Paul Denning Team Manager: “John has done a great job to secure a second row start, but fifth place doesn’t fully reflect the work he has put in. The most encouraging thing is that his long runs on race tyres have been incredibly consistent and very fast. Anything is possible once you are in the front group and John’s worked really well with his crew to get the Rizla Suzuki the best it can be around the Le Mans circuit. Hopefully it will pay off tomorrow! “Chris had some bad luck with traffic at the end of qualifying and as it shows that a very small gap makes a big difference. He has left himself quite a bit of work to do to get amongst the fastest riders, but if anyone can do it I’m sure it’s him!” More, from a press release issued by Marlboro Ducati: STUNNING STONER JUST 0.094S OFF LE MANS POLE. TOUGH DAY FOR CAPIROSSI Ducati Marlboro Team rider Casey Stoner continued his remarkable run of performances with a stirring ride in this afternoon’s French GP qualifying session that puts him second on the grid, just 0.094 seconds off pole position. Team-mate Loris Capirossi had a tougher day, ending up 15th fastest. World Championship leader Stoner has now qualified on the front two rows of the grid at all five races so far this year, today’s second place his best grid slot since the season-opening Qatar GP. Even more impressive today was his pace in race trim – a run of low 1m 35s laps that he finished off with an amazing 1m 34.7s on well used tyres. Stoner’s best lap on qualifying tyres was almost three tenths inside last year’s 990cc Le Mans pole, highlighting the superb performance of Ducati’s 800cc GP7 and its Bridgestone tyres. Capirossi was super competitive through the faster sections of the Le Mans circuit today but struggled through the slower parts. He finished the session 1.2 seconds off pole. Latest weather forecasts suggest that tomorrow’s French GP could be the first wet race of the season. CASEY STONER, 2nd fastest, 1m 33.710s “I haven’t been off the front two rows this year which is a big surprise for me because I’m not usually much of a qualifier. I thought we might’ve had the pole today but Colin [Edwards] just pipped me at the end. Anyway, the bike and tyres have been working brilliant all weekend. Today we capitalised on the work we did yesterday – we made a few more minor improvements, improving rear grip a little bit and getting the corner entry a little better, so it’s helping me all round. This afternoon we were doing low 35s and I did a 34.7 with tyres that had done over 20 laps so we’re looking pretty strong. I’m not doing anything much different myself this year but I’ve gone up a level in team and found a bike and tyres that suit me, so the level of everything has jumped up and we’re able to keep that level through most racetracks and most sessions, so it’s real good. I’ve heard all sorts of weather forecasts for tomorrow, so we’ll just have to wait and see what tomorrow holds, you never really know what it’s going to do here from hour to hour.” LORIS CAPIROSSI, 15th fastest, 1m 34.903s “Qualifying was difficult for me today, I’m not at all happy. What’s really disappointing is that I’m one of the fastest guys in the first two splits, maybe even the fastest, but I’m losing a second through the slower corners in T3 and T4. I’ve got no feeling with the gas, with the throttle connection, so I’m struggling there. This is a big problem that we need to work on. For sure this bike is a winning machine with great potential but at the moment I can’t use it at its best. For sure I need to work on my riding style but I also need help from Ducati. I have every confidence in them but we have to work on this engine. For tomorrow I’m sure I’ll be better in race conditions. I’ll give my best as always but starting from 15th will make my race very difficult.” More, from a press release issued by Gresini Racing Honda: ELIAS STARTS FROM ROW TWO, MELANDRI CLOSE BEHIND Toni Elias and Marco Melandri will start from the second and third rows in the Grand Prix of France tomorrow after the Honda Gresini pair qualified in sixth and ninth place respectively. The Spanirad was in top form in the morning free practice, when he set the second fastest time, and made the most of his qualifying tyre in the afternoon to lap just half a second off the pace of pole setter Colin Edwards. Toni is confident that his feeling with the bike and good race pace can translate into a top result tomorrow. Marco Melandri was unable to make the most of his good effort in free practice once the qualifiers came out in the afternoon. However, the Italian also has good race pace and is typically determined to get a good start and stay with the lead group. The weather looks unpredictable for tomorrow, with a drop in temperature the forecast. TONI ELIAS (6th,1’34″125): “I’m happy to be on the second row – this was our objective. We’ve done a good job over the last two days of practice. This morning I set a good pace but the situation was a little more complicated when the temperature rose in the afternoon. Hopefully the conditions for the race tomorrow are similar to this morning and I can get a good start and fight with the lead group.” MARCO MELANDRI (9th, 1’34″360): “We’ ve been working mainly on the race setting and I have to say that my pace is quite good. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to make the most of the qualifying tyre because I made a mistake on the last lap that cost me a few vital tenths. We’ll keep working in the warm-up tomorrow to improve the feeling with the front, which will be really important to make up positions from the first lap. It will be important to get a good start in the race. The weather looks like it could change so we’ll wait until tomorrow before deciding on the tyre.”. More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki Racing Team: DE PUNIET AND NIETO READY FOR LE MANS SHOWDOWN Kawasaki’s Randy de Puniet and stand in rider, Fonsi Nieto, will start tomorrow’s French Grand Prix from the third and seventh rows of the grid, respectively. Under sunny skies and with a dry track, Randy put in an early qualifier and set the pace at Le Mans this afternoon, topping the leader board for much of the session on his 800cc Ninja ZX-RR. His best time was 1’34.318, with a mere 0.702 seconds between him and eventual pole position holder, Colin Edwards. It was a thrilling qualifying practice, which saw an unusually wide variety of riders taking it in turns to occupy provisional pole: an indication that tomorrow’s race could generate any number of surprises. De Puniet will be looking for a good result in front of his home crowd and recent improvements to the bike’s set up, alongside extraordinary performance from his Bridgestone tyres, bode well for the 26-year-old Frenchman. Meanwhile, Fonsi Nieto, who is standing in for the injured Olivier Jacque, achieved 19th position. Whilst this illustrates the Spaniard’s inexperience on a MotoGP bike, he has consistently improved his lap times during the weekend so far, reflecting the effort he’s putting in and the hard work of the team to develop his performance in a very short space of time. With less than a second separating the top 12 riders, the arduous, 28-lap race at the Bugatti Circuit should prove a gripping contest tomorrow. Randy de Puniet Position: 8th – Best Lap: 1’34.318 “We definitely improved the bike today and the adjustments made to the front and rear suspension were spot on. The bike is more stable now and that lead to a quick improvement in my lap times this morning. We tried a couple more rear tyre options today but this only served to confirm that yesterday’s set-up, which I was already happy with, is the best one for tomorrow’s race, if conditions remain the same. We switched to the qualifying tyres early in the afternoon session as we had four different sets to get through. The first and the second ones were fine but the third one was much better. I was so confident for the fourth set but I had a problem during my fast lap. My out lap was too slow, so the tyre wasn’t warm enough when I had to push harder and I lost eight tenths in the first two splits. Then, when I got up to speed, it was too late to improve my lap time to get a better spot on the grid. Tomorrow’s is going to be a close race and, more than ever, I’ll need a good start to follow the leading group. I’m sure I’ll be able to, though, as the bike’s feeling very good indeed and the fans will be there to support me.” Fonsi Nieto Position: 19th – Best Lap: 1’36.312 “Things are much better today! Yesterday I was quite nervous and spent both sessions trying to get used to the Ninja ZX-RR and the tyres. Today, I’ve been much more relaxed and quickly improved my lap times. As soon as I went out on track this morning I was two seconds faster and every time I got on the bike I was quicker and more confident. I’m still struggling with braking and getting the most from the tyres but I’ve only had three hours on the bike. It would have been great to have more time to find the best set up but I’m happy with the job we’ve done. My first experience with the qualifying tyres has been a bit frustrating. The grip is amazing but I wasn’t able to make the most of the three sets I used. With the first two, the front was pushing and vibrating a lot. I improved my times a little on the second lap out with the third set but the tyre was already worn. Anyway, we’re feeling positive for the race tomorrow. My target is to finish and it would be fantastic not to have to ride the race alone, but either way, I know it will be fun.” Ichiro Yoda Kawasaki Racing Director “Overall, we are happy with the performance of our bikes and our riders so far this weekend. Randy had some problems yesterday that his crew has been able to fix, enabling him to post faster lap times. We expect him to finish within the first eight, as in the last two races, although a better position could be possible. The bike and the race tyres are working well and he is confident, so we are confident too. We are really satisfied with the race tyres, though we are still having the same problem with the qualifiers we’ve been having all the season, with our riders being unable to fully exploit the extra grip. Fonsi is here as a replacement for Olivier and this is his first experience with a MotoGP bike. Considering he’s had just two days to practice, we are satisfied with the job he’s done. We’ve also been able to collect some data and get his feedback, which is very positive for our development. I hope, in the race tomorrow, he’ll be able to get into a good rhythm and follow some other riders, although his only real duty is to finish.” More, from a press release issued by Fiat Yamaha: EDWARDS SETS FRENCH FLYER FOR FIRST MOTOGP POLE Colin Edwards took his debut MotoGP pole and Yamaha’s fourth of the season at Le Mans today after a close Qualifying session ahead of tomorrow’s French Grand Prix. The 33-year-old Texan’s achievement was made all the more impressive as it followed a crash in this morning’s practice session, when his M1 high-sided and he fell hard into the gravel trap at turn two. His Fiat Yamaha team-mate Valentino Rossi was also a front-row contender but was edged out in the closing seconds and will start from fourth tomorrow, the first time this season that he starts off the front-row. Proving there were no problems remaining after his eventful morning, Edwards was quickly running consistently at the top of the standings as he looked to perfect the race set-up of his Yamaha. After yesterday’s issues Rossi had shown considerable improvement this morning and he too was looking to use this afternoon’s session to continue his progress towards finding the right race setting. The closing minutes of the session saw Rossi move into second behind Carlos Checa before the Italian was nudged down a place by Casey Stoner. Edwards meanwhile, having made a small mistake with his first qualifying tyre, was determined to make the most of his second and the Texan Tornado stormed into pole with a perfect final lap in a time of 1’33.616, a new pole position record for this circuit. Colin Edwards Position: 1st Time: 1’33.616 Laps: 28 “This morning’s off was a pretty big one and as I was flying through the air I was pretty sure it was going to hurt! Somehow though I landed, the bike sort of rolled over me, I stood up and realised I was ok! I honestly think that had a positive bearing on my performance this afternoon; my bike was working great but I screwed up the last section with my first qualifying tyre and so I knew it had to make or break the second time around. As I went into that final section I thought “here goes, it’s pole or crash and after this morning I’ve realised the ground doesn’t hurt so much after all!” I gave it everything I’ve got and it paid off. Yet again the Michelin qualifying tyres were brilliant and my bike worked really well with them. It’s my first pole in MotoGP so it feels good. As for the race, this place is something of a turnaround for us because we’ve actually got two race tyres that are working well. I can do 35.0s with both so it’s just a case of checking a few things tonight and making our final decision for the race. I’ve got to say a big thank you to my team because they worked flat out to rebuild my bike after this morning and that’s the one I did my lap on. I’m really looking forward to tomorrow; hopefully this is the start of a great weekend.” Valentino Rossi Position: 4th Time: 1’33.875 Laps: 29 “Today was much, much better than yesterday! We changed a lot of things on the setting and straight away this morning I could ride better, although things still aren’t perfect and we definitely still need to improve more. I didn’t use my qualifying tyres so well today and I lost the front row through a small mistake, but anyway fourth isn’t so bad. Of course it would be better to be on the front row because I think, with these bikes and with everyone so close, it’s going to be a big battle tomorrow! Our biggest decision now is about the tyre for the race and I think we’ve got some work to do tonight and in warm-up. Colin is looking really strong and I’m happy for him. Now I hope we can get a good start and stay with the leaders tomorrow.” Davide Brivio Fiat Yamaha Team Director “Once again Yamaha is on pole and this time with Colin! It’s his first pole position in MotoGP so we’re all very happy for him. He did a great job and now we hope this can be a forerunner of his first win as well! This pole position is amazing after such a big crash this morning, and it’s proof that he has enough trust in his bike to push hard like this despite this morning’s problem. Valentino didn’t quite make the front row but starting from fourth isn’t a problem for him as we know. However with him we know we still have some more work to do to perfect his race package for tomorrow, when we have the real job to do!” More, from a press release issued by Dorna Communications: Colin Edwards took his first ever MotoGP pole position as the fastest rider in history at Le Mans, something long overdue for the popular ‘Texas Tornado’. Edwards’ only previous experience of heading the World Championship field was when he won last year’s Official Test BMW Award, but his final all-or-nothing lap at the French circuit in a ‘proper’ qualifying session comes with the bonus of giving him a great chance of his second podium of the year and first GP victory. The Fiat Yamaha rider had experienced a crash at the end of the morning session, but he appeared unfazed by the high side as he smashed the circuit record at the last possible moment. Already assured of a place on the second row, Edwards had nothing to lose by going all-out for pole, a decision for which he reaped the rewards with a time of 1’33.616. The fastest lap of the day came somewhat out of the blue, as Casey Stoner had looked all but certain of his first pole of the season. The championship leader was less than a tenth of a second slower than Edwards, and has not been off the front two rows this season. A rider who has more experience of the Le Mans circuit than most put his knowledge into practice in the afternoon outing, as Carlos Checa returned to the front row on the LCR Honda. He was joined by five time MotoGP World Champion Valentino Rossi as part of the four-rider group who went round in under 1’34. John Hopkins and Toni Elias completed a top six split equally between Michelin and Bridgestone riders, ahead of reigning World Champion Nicky Hayden and home rider Randy de Puniet. The latter will be hoping for better luck than he had at his maiden MotoGP race in France, in which he was involved in a collision on the opening lap and forced to retire. The 2006 racewinner and poleman rounded off the fastest ten riders of the day. Marco Melandri was unable to match his timesheet-topping achievement from yesterday and ended up ninth, whilst Dani Pedrosa never looked like troubling the frontrunners onboard the Honda RC212V in tenth. Special mention must go to the second French rider competing at this week’s Alice Grand Prix de France, Sylvain Guintoli. The Yamaha satellite rider had his best ever MotoGP qualifying session, and at one point was even the fastest rider of the day much to the delight of the fans gathered at the historic Le Mans circuit. He will start from eleventh place tomorrow. 250cc Jorge Lorenzo appeared unaffected by the huge highside that he suffered yesterday afternoon as he blew away the competition for his fourth pole of the season. The reigning 250cc World Champion’s time of 1’37.934 was over half a second quicker than his nearest rival, fellow Spaniard Julian Simon. Quarter-litre rookie Simon’s second place on the grid is his third front row start and his best ever position since his move to the category. A Spanish top three was completed by Hector Barbera, with another rookie Swiss rider Thomas Luthi – completing the front row. Luthi has won the previous two instalments of the French race in the 125cc class, and looks to have the same skills required for the task with a 250cc Aprilia. Aspar riders Alvaro Bautista and Alex de Angelis complete the top six, which consists of only one non-Aprilia rider in Simon. 125cc World Champion Bautista has had a great start to his rookie season in the category, which has been memorable for his battles with both Lorenzo and Andrea Dovizioso. The latter joins him on the second row, with the duo separated by Marco Simoncelli. 125cc Mattia Pasini will start on pole for the 125cc race in France for the second consecutive year, but had yet another mechanical scare to contend with after confirming his fourth qualifying success of the season. The Italian knocked over a second off his time from the opening session to clock a 1’43.111 hot lap, but had no sooner seen his place confirmed than the exhaust of his Polaris World Aprilia flew off behind him. Such matters will be of concern to Pasini, who has finished just one race so far in 2007 despite three previous poles. It was an incredible day for British rider Bradley Smith, who achieved his best ever grid position with a time just over half a second slower than Pasini’s flying lap. The 2006 Rookie Of The Year became the fastest ever Honda 125cc rider at Le Mans with an assured performance nearly 1.5 seconds quicker than last year’s pole lap, and has a great chance to show just how far he has come in the past year and a half since his World Championship debut. Tomoyoshi Koyama and Hector Faubel complete the front row for tomorrow’s race, whilst World Championship leader Lukas Pesek made it four factories in the top five. The Czech rider crashed early on in the final session, but was soon back on track to try and give himself the best chance of repeating his maiden victory from China. Sergio Gadea, Andrea Iannone and Gabor Talmacsi complete the second row, with the latter looking to regain the lead in the overall classification. The Alice Grand Prix de France begins tomorrow at 11am local time, with the MotoGP race taking place at 2pm. More, from a press release issued by Team Roberts: KENNY JUNIOR HOPES FOR A CHANGE IN THE WEATHER Le Mans, France – May 19, 2007: Kenny Roberts Junior qualified 18th for tomorrow’s French GP, with the rider and team left puzzling over the lack of a more competitive performance. It is not for lack of effort. Roberts, World Champion in 2000, described his bafflement. Riding at his maximum, he was unable to prevent other riders charging past much faster. It will make another difficult race for Kenny, the only rider in his father Kenny Senio independent team. Roberts is campaigning a unique hybrid prototype racer, powered by a Honda V4 engine mounted in a chassis of the team’s own design. In 2006, last year of the 990cc MotoGP era, the combination was developed during the year to become highly competitive, with a rostrum finish at the Portuguese GP. The switch to 800cc this year, along with a new rule limiting each rider to 31 tyres for the weekend, pre-selected before practice, has meant starting again. Practice at the 4.180km Bugatti circuit at Le Mans was run in muggy and mainly overcast conditions, with rain forecast for tomorrow. Pole was claimed by Colin Edwards (Yamaha), at 1’33.616. Kenny Roberts Jr.: 18th position, 1’35.681 Everything’s pretty standard down at our end. I don’t know what’s missing. When I am by myself, everything is to the maximum … pushing the front, trying not to fall down mid-corner, then sliding the rear and wheeling and doing all the stuff you do to go fast … then guys ride round the outside of me like I’m going slow – so I’m not really sure. Hopefully it will rain tomorrow, and change our situation. Chuck Aksland: Team Manager It’s not where we want to be, but it seems the rule changes affect small independent teams doing what we do the most. The engine development is in Honda’s hands. We have one rider and we’re trying to compare chassis, compare tyres. These are areas where it’s possible to lose your way, or not have the correct direction, just because there’s nothing really to compare against. The other satellite Honda teams at least start on the same bikes, and they have information amongst themselves. This is the benefit in having two riders. Our bike is completely different, and it has a different reaction to the same tyres. It’s taking a while to figure it out, but we’ll keep working on it. More, from a press release issued by Honda: CHECA STARS FOR HONDA AS EDWARDS TAKES POLE MotoGP welcomed a new name to pole position here in France as Colin Edwards (Yamaha) achieved his first top slot in 71 attempts in the premier class. Casey Stoner (Ducati) qualified second fastest and Carlos Checa (LCR Honda RC212V) put himself right back at the business end of the grid with a fine front row performance as third quickest rider. The hour-long session began with Stoner at the top of the pile, but it wasn’t long before John Hopkins (Suzuki) stole provisional pole with a time of 1m 34.963s giving riders an early marker to shoot at in settled conditions of a 22-degree ambient temperature and with the track at 32-degrees. The early order was Hopkins, Edwards, Stoner, Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC212V), Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC212V), Marco Melandri (Gresini Honda RC212V) and then veteran Alex Barros on a Ducati. Kawasaki man Randy de Puniet then opted for his usual routine of fitting qualifying rubber early and putting in a hot lap. With 37 minutes to go he hit the pole with a time of 1m 34.837s. He then reduced this further to 1m 34.801s to stay pole as the halfway mark was passed. Marco Melandri hoisted himself to fourth with a 1m 35.006s time before Shinya Nakano (Konica Minolta Honda RC212V) powered to a provisional second fastest time when the Japanese rider recorded a 1m 34.936s time on his seventeenth lap of the session. At this stage Dani was lying tenth. While more was expected of the Spanish star and his team-mate, the reigning World Champion Nicky Hayden in 11th, Frenchman Sylvain Guintoli (Yamaha) rocketed to pole with a time of 1m 34.716 seconds. The top four riders were now covered by a mere tenth of a second, the order being Guintoli, Stoner, Hopkins and de Puniet. Then Checa dropped his bombshell, finding form after a difficult season so far. His 1m 34.038s lap stunned pit lane. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) who had been quietly getting on with race set-up laps then pulled himself up to third in the order and Nicky went fourth fastest while Checa remained at the top of the pile. Nearly all riders were on qualifying rubber now and it was Checa again who figured at the top reducing his time to 1m 33.859s to go five hundredths of a second faster than Dani’s 2006 qualifying record time. And with seven minutes left Dani was down in 15th place. As the last desperate laps unfolded, Elias went to fourth fastest, Nicky to fifth and Rossi to second. When Casey Stoner put in a 1m 33.710s lap to snatch pole it looked as if events had rune their course, but that reckoned without Edwards who finally went 0.374 seconds inside Dani’s record to steal pole at the end with a 1m 33.616s time. Carlos Checa, on the front row in third, said, “We are happy. At the last two races we had problems that we just couldn’t seem to fix. Now, after some changes I can go fast again. My first qualifying tyre was good, the second was good too, but on my third run I hit traffic and couldn’t push as hard as I wanted. But at least we are the right level now. The front row is always my target, but getting the bike right is a bigger achievement this weekend.” Toni Elias (Gresini Honda RC212V) finished the session in sixth on row two and said, “I’m happy to be on the second row. We’ve done a good job and set a good pace and I’ve just to get a good start and hope that the race conditions will be like this and that the weather doesn’t play too much of a part tomorrow.” Nicky qualified seventh and said, “That’s the best my bike has felt on qualifiers for a while, with the least amount of chatter, and it felt pretty good today. I didn’t get the final section of my best lap perfectly right and I wish I could have got through there a little bit quicker. So it wasn’t a stellar day finishing back in seventh in both sessions but overall I’ve felt better than I have in the last few races and the Michelin tyres seem to be working well too. Also there aren’t any long straights around this circuit so I’m not losing out a whole lot top speed wise.” “We’ve done some good work on the settings,” said Marco in ninth. “Unfortunately I wasn’t able to make the most of the qualifying tyre because I made a mistake on the last lap that cost me a few vital tenths. We’ll keep working in the warm-up tomorrow to improve the feeling with the front, which will be really important to make up positions on the first lap. It will be important to get a good start in the race. The weather looks like it could change so we’ll wait until tomorrow before deciding on the tyre.” Dani heads row four as tenth fastest man. He said, “Today we couldn’t make as much progress in the practice and qualifying sessions. Obviously starting from tenth isn’t really where I want to be and that will make a good start especially important tomorrow. There were a couple of issues with the machine today which cost us some time and then in qualifying I had some traffic in the second section of the lap which meant my time wasn’t as quick as it should have been. It’s a little frustrating, especially as I was on pole position last year, however we have some more options to try in the warm-up tomorrow morning.” Nakano starts tomorrow’s 28-lap race from 14th on the grid. He said, “This morning we had a good session and did a fast run and then we made some changes to the clutch which helped reduce chatter from the front a little for a few laps at least. This is our main problem now and with it it’s hard to really push in the corners. The new Michelin front tyres are helping to give me more confidence in the front-end of the bike, which is an improvement. The start here will be vitally important, as will who gets through the first chicane.” Kenny Roberts (Roberts KR212V) troubles continue with a 18th place qualifying effort. The 2000 World Champion said, “Everything’s pretty standard down at our end. I don’t know what’s missing. When I am by myself, everything is to the maximum pushing the front, trying not to fall down mid-corner, then sliding the rear. Then guys ride round the outside of me like I’m going slow so I’m not really sure. Hopefully it will rain tomorrow, and change our situation.” In the 250cc class Jorge Lorenzo (Aprilia) set another pole with Julian Simon (Repsol Honda RS250RW) pressing him hard as second fastest man. Hector Barbera qualified third with Thomas Luthi (both Aprilia) completing the front row. Andrea Dovizioso (Scot Honda RS250RW) managed eighth fastest time for a second row start while Shuhei Aoyama (Repsol Honda RS250RW) slotted into the top ten in tenth overall. Simon said, “I’m very happy with qualifying. This weekend we have worked very, very hard and the bike is good and I’m pleased with the way we have performed. The only worry I have is the start. Every time I qualify on the front two rows I make a bad start!” Dovi said, “I’m not satisfied about today’s practice but anyway I’m not down about it. In the afternoon we tried new tyres that were not good for us and tomorrow will not use them in the race. Here the gap between us and Aprilia is less evident but it is still there and today Lorenzo demonstrated that by making a great pace. But if he made it we can also, and tomorrow we will try to recover the difference.” Mattia Pasini (Aprilia) notched up his fourth pole position of the season so far in the 125cc class with Honda’s Bradley Smith (Repsol Honda RS125R) hot on his heels as second fastest qualifier. Tommy Koyama (KTM) was third fastest and Hector Faubel (Aprilia) completes the front row. Gabor Talmacsi (Aprilia) headed the order early in the half-hour session, but at the halfway point it was series points leader Lukas Pesek (Derbi) who lead the field before Pasini recorded a 1m 43.820s lap to go pole. With seven minutes left home hope Mike di Meglio (Scot Honda RS125R) moved up to fifth with Smith lying third before the young British rider sped to the second fastest time with just four minutes left. But his 1m 43.569s time proved good enough for the front row and he will be itching to get on the grid for tomorrow’s 24-lap race. This is his first front row start and after two races where he has figured among the leading group of riders and this qualifying result is another big advance for Bradley. He said, “Starting from the front row is obviously a big advantage and if I can make a similar start to the race in China I have a great chance of a really good result. It’s very important to get away with those top guys. The Honda is not the fastest on top speed but the rest of the package and especially getting out of the corners is very good.” His team-mate Esteve Rabat (Repsol Honda RS125R) fell heavily yesterday and will not ride tomorrow after injuring both his chest and left hand. Di Meglio who ended up tenth fastest for a third row start said, “At the beginning of the session there was traffic on track and I wasn’t able to make a better lap time. Anyway I’m satisfied, I have a good pace and a good feeling with my bike and with the settings, so tomorrow I’ll be able to give my best.” Honda rider quotes Le Mans final qualifying. MotoGP. Carlos Checa, LCR Honda: 3rd. “This is a very important front row, especially at this track, and I feel I am ready to fight for a strong result in the race. Plus I have a very good pace on race tyres. When I set my fastest time on my first set of qualifying tyres I thought, OK, I want to fight for pole, but then on my final run I hit traffic and then lost the front end in turn four because the brakes and tyres were cold. I feel this pace and position should be normal for us, but it has not been possible to have the speed show this at the past two races.” Toni Elias, Gresini Honda: 6th.”I’m happy to be on the second row – this was our objective. We’ve done a good job over the last two days of practice. This morning I set a good pace but the situation was a little more complicated when the temperature rose in the afternoon. Hopefully the conditions for the race tomorrow are similar to this morning and I can get a good start and fight with the lead group.” Nicky Hayden, Repsol Honda: 7th. “That’s the best my bike has felt on qualifiers for a while, with the least amount of chatter, and it felt pretty good today. I didn’t get the final section of my best lap perfectly right and I wish I could have got through there a little bit quicker. So it wasn’t a stellar day finishing back in seventh in both sessions but overall I’ve felt better than I have in the last few races and the Michelin tyres seem to be working well too. Also there aren’t any long straights around this circuit so I’m not losing out a whole lot top speed wise. My team came up with a few ideas, which we tried today and that helped me get a better feeling – so the key thing will be selecting the right race tyre. I’ll try to get an awesome start and fight like a dog tomorrow – it’s pretty simple really. Back there on the third row it could get ugly in Turn One because it’s really tight here. And the weather tomorrow could go either way so we’ll see what we get. I’m definitely looking forward to this race.” Marco Melandri, Gresini Honda: 9th. “We’ ve been working mainly on the race setting and I have to say that my pace is quite good. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to make the most of the qualifying tyre because I made a mistake on the last lap that cost me a few vital tenths. We’ll keep working in the warm-up tomorrow to improve the feeling with the front, which will be really important to make up positions from the first lap. It will be important to get a good start in the race. The weather looks like it could change so we’ll wait until tomorrow before deciding on the tyre.”. Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 10th.”Yesterday went pretty well here but today we couldn’t make as much progress in the practice and qualifying sessions. Obviously starting from tenth isn’t really where I want to be and will make a good start especially important tomorrow. There were a couple of issues with the machine today which cost us some time and then in qualifying I had some traffic in the second section of the lap which meant my time wasn’t as quick as it should have been. It’s a little frustrating, especially as I was on pole position last year, however we have some more options to try in the warm-up tomorrow morning. We’ll look at the information from today and work with Michelin tonight to make the decision on the race tyre. I certainly need to get off the line quickly tomorrow and hopefully make up some places quickly.” Shinya Nakano, Konica Minolta Honda: 14th. “This morning we had a good session and did a fast run and then we made some changes to the clutch which helped reduce chatter from the front a little – for a few laps at least. This is our main problem now and with it it’s hard to really push in the corners. The new Michelin front tyres are helping to give me more confidence in the front-end of the bike, which is an improvement. Our tyre choice for the race is decided, but in the morning tomorrow we will make some changes to the front suspension to see if we can reduce chatter still further. I don’t give up – the start here will be vitally important, as will who gets through the first chicane.” Kenny Roberts Jnr, KR212V: 18th. “Everything’s pretty standard down at our end. I don’t know what’s missing. When I am by myself, everything is to the maximum pushing the front, trying not to fall down mid-corner, then sliding the rear and wheelying and doing all the stuff you do to go fast then guys ride round the outside of me like I’m going slow – so I’m not really sure. Hopefully it will rain tomorrow, and change our situation.” Chuck Aksland: Team Manager Team Roberts. “It’s not where we want to be, but it seems the rule changes affect small independent teams doing what we do the most. The engine development is in Honda’s hands. We have one rider and we’re trying to compare chassis, compare tyres. These are areas where it’s possible to lose your way, or not have the correct direction, just because there’s nothing really to compare against. The other satellite Honda teams at least start on the same bikes, and they have information amongst themselves. Our bike is completely different, and it has different reaction to the same tyres. It’s taking a while to figure it out, but we’ll keep working on it.” 250cc. Julian Simon, Repsol Honda: 2nd. “It’s been quite a positive practice. The whole team has been helping me to improve the bike and set it as good as possible. And the truth is that we managed to find a good set-up. There are still a few details to fix in some of the corners to be able to gain some time, but I have a good pace and I’m happy. I really hope to make a god start tomorrow, to stay with the tope group and to hold on. I hope to be able to fight for the podium, that’s basically the aim, because I’m always being good in practices, so I think that I’m able to do it in the race as well.” Andrea Dovizioso, Scot Honda: 8th. “I’m not satisfied about today’s practice but anyway I’m not down about it. In the afternoon we tried new tyres that were not good for us and tomorrow will not use them in the race. Here the gap between us and Aprilia is less evident but it is still there and today Lorenzo demonstrated that by making a great pace. But if he made it we can also and tomorrow we will try to recover the difference.” Shuhei Aoyama, Repsol Honda: 12th.”The last time I went onto the track to try to make a fast lap I made a mistake at the end of the back straight. I braked too late and entered too fast. Anyway, I managed to improve my lap time and to feel more comfortable on the bike, although there are a few problems we still have to fix. The gap to the faster riders is big, but I hope to improve that tomorrow morning to get a better place in the race.” Eugene Laverty, LCR Honda: 19th. “I am really happy. I tried a different Dunlop front tyre this morning and combined with a better front-end set up for braking I made a big step. It’s tight and narrow here, I need a good start but I aim to score points.” Ratthapark Wilairot, Thai Honda PTT-SAG: 20th. “I believe things could have gone better, I was expecting to improve my fastest time by much more. The truth is I never felt totally comfortable with the bike and I’m sure that the crash I suffered in free practice session has something to do with it. However, I believe I can maintain a good pace in race trim and I hope I can make a good start so I can quickly move up within the top 15 places.” Yukio Katayama, Scot Honda: Takahashi will not contest the French GP due to injuries sustained at the GP of Turkey. 125cc: Bradley Smith, Repsol Honda: 2nd. “I was second fastest in qualifying so I’m obviously very happy. I’m only four tenths behind the fastest time, which is the closest I’ve ever been in a timed session. There will be nobody in front of me tomorrow during the start, which is positive. I’ll only need to make a good start and to be careful in the first corner, because it’s a bit hard. I hope not to have any problem and to find the way to stay in the lead group. We have a long race ahead, 24 laps, and we’ll try to stay among the leading riders. Let’s see what happens.” Tito Rabat, Repsol Honda: Will not start due to a broken bone in his left hand. The injury is the legacy of a high speed tumble in Friday’s practice when he was brought down by another rider.. Mike di Meglio, Scot Honda: 10th. “At beginning of the session there was traffic on track and I wasn’t able to make a better lap time. After the stop for tyres changes I followed Gadea’s trail and I and set my best lap time. I had a little problem with the bike when I was riding alone and that forced me to go straight on at one point and I lost important seconds. Anyway I’m satisfied, I have a good pace and a good feeling with my bike and with the settings, so tomorrow I’ll be able to give my best.” Alexis Masbou, FFM Honda: 11th. “We modified our way of working during practice. During the previous races I was tense at the beginning of the session, I was trying too hard at first and was unable to make regular progress. Here, given the inevitable pressure when you’re racing in front of your home crowd, I tried to relax as much as I could and to progress in an efficient and constant manner. I’m both happy because this is my best result so far this season in practice, and frustrated because I know I could have qualified on the second row of the starting grid. For the race tomorrow I must have an excellent start once again, in order to gain a few places in the opening lap. It should be complicated, especially in the kink before the first chicane ! All the riders can win positions there, its going to be wild!” Dino Lombardi, Scot Honda: 23rd. “The bike has improved and also my performance, consequently. I’m quite satisfied, also if when I was following the group in order to make a better lap time, but Iannone out braked me and forced me to go wide. We have some little problems with the rear suspension but session after session we are improving a lot and I hope tomorrow to put in a good performance.” Joey Litjens, Molenaar Honda: 30th. “I’m not really satisfied with qualifying. I found a good tow but the group I was in was not the fastest and I set my best time while running alone. 1 set a 1.46.7n lap time but really needed a high 1.45. The bike is good, engine power and handling – it’s just me that needs to improve.” Danny Webb, Molenaar Honda: 32nd. “I’m really disappointed with my performance today, I was trying too hard and not riding freely. The team have been working with me to make me more relaxed but then I go slower. The bike is running really well, engine, chassis, tyres everything. I am also experiencing some pain from my left wrist that I injured in Turkey. I cannot use the clutch as I need to. I went to the Doctor for treatment after training and it’s a little better.