Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

MotoGP Final Qualifying Results:

1. Valentino Rossi, Honda, 1:58.769
2. Sete Gibernau, Honda, 1:58.899
3. Max Biaggi, Honda, 1:58.908
4. Loris Capirossi, Ducati, 1:58.916
5. Carlos Checa, Yamaha, 1:59.295
6. Troy Bayliss, Ducati, 1:59.373
7. Nicky Hayden, Honda, 1:59.432
8. Tohru Ukawa, Honda, 1:59.629
9. Alex Barros, Yamaha, 1:59.765
10. Makoto Tamada, Honda, 2:00.145
11. Olivier Jacque, Yamaha, 2:00.165
12. Colin Edwards, Aprilia, 2:00.627
13. John Hopkins, Suzuki, 2:00.740
14. Shinya Nakano, Yamaha, 2:00.800
15. Ryuichi Kiyonari, Honda, 2:00.862
16. Kenny Roberts, Suzuki, 2:00.891
17. Marco Melandri, Yamaha, 2:00.892
18. Noriyuki Haga, Aprilia, 2:01.303
19. Garry McCoy, Kawasaki, 2:01.320
20. Alex Hofmann, Kawasaki, 2:01.753
21. Jeremy McWilliams, Proton, 2:01.809
22. Andrew Pitt, Kawasaki, 2:01.994
23. Nobuatsu Aoki, Proton, 2:02.704
24. David De Gea, ROC Yamaha, 2:04.638
25. Chris Burns, ROC Yamaha, 2:05.083


More, from a press release from John Hopkins’ publicist:

HOPKINS ENCOURAGED BY IMPROVMENTS IN BRNO QUALIFYING

BRNO, Czech Republic (Aug. 16) – Suzuki MotoGP rider John Hopkins was encouraged by the progress made by his team Saturday in qualifying for the Czech Grand Prix at the Brno Circuit. Hopkins qualified the factory Suzuki GSV-R on the fourth row (13th position) with a time of 2:00.740. World Champion Valentino Rossi won the pole with a time of 1:58.769.

“We’ve made a lot of progress since the German Grand Prix,” Hopkins said. “I qualified a half-second slower than I did here last year and that’s a bit disappointing, but at least we seemed to be finding some solutions to problems that have plagued me all year. The big issue we have here in Brno is rear tire grip. We tried some things that made that better, but it compromised the bike’s turning ability. I think we’re close to finding a good set-up. We’ve got a 20 minute session tomorrow morning to get things sorted out.”

Hopkins said he enjoys the Brno Circuit.

“It’s a long flowing track,” he explained. “You’ve got to hit your marks and when you get it right it’s a good feeling. It has a good combination of turns and elevation changes. It’s a fun place to ride.”

Hopkins is feeling very fit and ready after the break in the schedule. He traveled home to Southern California during the break and put in some intense motocross training that he hopes will pay off during the long GPs.

“I feel refreshed and ready to go,” he added. “In addition to motocross riding, I did a lot of hours on my bicycle and I’m in the best shape of my life right now.”

Hopkins is eager to race on Sunday.

“If we find the proper set-up I think we have a good shot at a top-10 finish.”

Hopkins qualified seventh at Brno last year, but his Yamaha suffered mechanical problems during the race and he did not finish.


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

TENTH QUICKEST, MAKOTO TAMADA MAKES GOOD POSITION ON GRID

By the time the qualifying sessions for the starting grid line-up came to an end, Makoto Tamada had secured a good overall position. This means he will be starting from the third row in tomorrow’s race. In the morning, Makoto had made a good improvement on the time he posted yesterday, while in this afternoon’s sessions he waited for the closing moments before going for his best lap time. Up to then, the Pramac Honda Team’s Japanese rider had worked on finding the right choice of tyres for the race, and this had kept the team technicians and Bridgestone staff very busy.

Makoto had been complaining that insufficient traction when coming out of the most important corners had made it difficult for him to be fast on the Brno circuit. The Bridgestone materials tried out here in the Czech Republic during the tests one month ago proved to be the most suitable and they solved the problem that Makoto had encountered. As well as starting from a good position on the grid, Tamada also appears to be able to maintain a good pace, and this should enable him to be consistently fast during the race.

Makoto Tamada (Pramac Honda Team): 10th – 2:00.145

“I feel I’m pretty close to the limit, so I don’t have much room for improvement any more. This means I’m going to have to find a constant pace tomorrow so as to be competitive right through to the end. However, I’d also like to go into attack mode, especially because this circuit gives lots of opportunities and there are plenty of places where it’s possible to go for your adversaries when braking. The most suitable tyres turned out to be the ones we tried out during the recent tests in July and, quite frankly, considering how fast I went during those tests, I really had been hoping to be a bit more competitive now. For the moment, I haven’t been. But we’ll see how things turn out tomorrow. During most of the session today, I didn’t have enough grip on the rear wheel when coming out of the corners.”


More, froma press release issued by Harris WCM – Moto GP Team:


CZECH REPUBLIC GP

SATURDAY QUALIFYING SESSION

David de Gea – 24th 2:04.638

“Many problems with the bike, the crankshaft broke this morning and I started late in this afternoon’s session as the mechanics were still working on the bike. The clutch was also sliding during this qualifying session. We have a clear direction on what we are doing with the rear tyre for the race and we have a good choice for the front tyre.

We have many problems with this bike, but next race we will be on the 4 stroke, so its only one more day on this bike.”

Chris Burns ­ 25th 2:05.083

“We have a good race set up for tomorrow after sorting out a few chassis problems this moring in practice. The race tyres are good from Dunlop and we are working tonight on a few issues with the steering.

I am still sore, real sore in my collarbone area, but its strong enough for me to race, I just have to take it a bit steadier than usual and ride within myself a bit, Its hard though, once you are out on the track to think like that.

Hopefully, I will finish this race, I have to finish.”

Peter Clifford ­ Team Manager

“Both guys did a superb job throughout practice and I really don’t think there is anything more to come from their motorcycles. A real achievement for the guys to go so quick on the equipment we’ve got without making any mistakes.

A big thank-you to Dunlop for giving us such superb tyres as well.”


More, from a press release issued by Alice Aprilia Racing Press Information:

CZECH REPUBLIC GP/ SECOND QUALIFYING SESSION

A POSITIVE SESSION

The chattering problems that slowed down the Alice Aprilia Racing Team riders in yesterdays session have been reduced. The Team worked hard with good results. There’s a bit of regret for the time lost yesterday but the warm up session will be helpful in order to achieve a good level. Then Colin and Haga will do the best to catch the firsts.

COLIN EDWARDS: “The chattering problem we had yesterday has been reduced but there’s still a lot of work to do. I still have some doubts regarding some technical solutions but I hope to get the right choice in the warm up session”.

NORIYUKI HAGA: “Something improved but I was not able to get the lap time as I thought. I am sorry about the loss of a complete session because of the chattering problem”.

GIGI DALL’IGNA (Project Leader): “We took a step forward but we are still searching the right setting: we want to increase our competitiveness during the warm up tomorrow. There are several solutions to solve the chattering problem: distribution of the weights and the forks set-up. We must find the correct solution without ruining the setting”.


More, from a press release issued by Fortuna Yamaha:

CHECA EDGED OFF FRONT ROW IN LAST MINUTE RESHUFFLE

It was a tale of drama for the Fortuna Yamaha Team during day two of the Czech Republic Grand Prix today. Team-mates Carlos Checa and Marco Melandri were hindered respectively by a snapped drive chain and yet another low speed crash, during today’s final qualifying session in Brno. Despite the unexpected setback, and a long run pushing the bike back to pit lane during the closing stages of the session, Checa managed to find a 1.387 second improvement over his best time yesterday. Checa will now head the second row in tomorrow’s 22-lap race.

Checa’s greatly improved form gave him a best lap time today of 1:59.295, however this personal best was still 0.526 seconds shy of Valentino Rossi’s (Honda, 1:58.768) fastest ever official lap of the Czech circuit. Following yesterday’s first timed session the 30-year-old Spaniard was confident he would break into the 1:59s, and as today’s session progressed he placed the YZR-M1 on the front row with the second fastest lap. But then, with only one minute remaining, Sete Gibernau (Honda, 1:58.899), Max Biaggi (Honda, 1:58.908) and Loris Capirossi (Ducati, 1:58.916) all broke into the 1:58s in an effort to keep defending MotoGP World Champion Rossi within reach, relegating Checa to the second row. Despite this the Spaniard is pleased with the team’s performance and is looking forward to a competitive race.

“I’m very happy to have done this lap time, which is my best ever here,” explained the Spaniard. “I have to admit that I didn’t think I had gone that fast during the lap. It’s a shame not to be on the front row, but we’ve worked very well here and the most important thing is to feel ready for the race. We’ve worked with a base set-up with fairly small modifications and a few little engine improvements. We’ve got the chassis well balanced. The race will not be easy, for sure. We still have our limitations, but we’re working well and I hope we can be more and more competitive as we head into the last part of the season.

“The hardest thing for me today was pushing the bike back along the whole length of the pit lane after I lost my chain! I guess that will help my fitness for a long race tomorrow! If I can keep the rear stable tomorrow and put in consistent lap times I hope we can get a good result.”

A brilliant third place qualifying result in Donington and impressive race performances amongst the top three riders in both the British and German Grands Prix provided a glimpse of the talent that lies within Melandri. Unfortunately the young Italian slid off during both onslaughts. Since returning from his three week summer break the 20-year-old has had difficulty finding his former confidence with his YZR-M1 machine. The MotoGP rookie tumbled off for the second time this weekend, in the opening segment of today’s final session. As a result the 250 World Champion was unable to improve on his Friday performance, a 2:00.800, and now languishes back in 17th place – 2.123 seconds behind pole.

“I have fallen off twice over the past two days and I don’t know exactly why,” said the slightly despondent Italian. “I’m still not confident with the front, and today I lost the front on the exit of T9 and slid off. My feeling with the bike this weekend is like I am riding it for the first time. I couldn’t follow the other riders and I ran too wide in all the corners. I’m disappointed because I’ve been in the front group at the past two races. Hopefully I will be able to get up front, like I did in Sachsenring, despite not having a great grid position.”

Team Director Davide Brivio commented, “We’re quite pleased with Carlos who has improved a lot today compared to yesterday, in fact by more than a second. He has made good progress this weekend, despite the small inconvenience this afternoon when his chain broke. That was very strange because it’s never happened before. Carlos should be in good shape to make a good race and stay amongst the top riders.

“Unfortunately Marco had a small tumble again and never really felt comfortable. When we tested here last month he felt quite good but for some reason this time it’s not going as he would have liked, and we’re not exactly sure why. We will try again tonight to make some improvements but it could be quite a difficult race for him.”


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

Brno Final Qualifying
Aoki moves forward, McWilliams hits problems

Jeremy McWilliams: 21st, 2:01.809
Nobuatsu Aoki: 23rd, 2:02.704

Team Proton KR rider Nobu Aoki made a significant step ahead in today’s final qualifying session for tomorrow’s Czech Republic GP, cutting almost 1.5 seconds off his lap time by adapting his riding style to help the radical new V5 four-stroke Proton KR V5 round the 5.403km Brno circuit.

The Japanese rider had been plagued by rear-wheel slides on the corner entries, and although chassis geometry changes improved his situation, it was not by a significant amount. Aoki tried a different approach, going into several corners a gear higher than previously. It cost him some acceleration on the exit, but the faster entries more than made up for it, with a valuable lap time improvement.

The new bike is still in its infancy, lining up for only its fifth race in a fast-forward development programme that is perforce taking place in public. Jeremy McWilliams’s Saturday afternoon experience illustrated the possible pitfalls, when one of his two bikes suffered an entirely unexpected primary gear failure, while the other had clutch problems. He did only one slow lap in the hour-long session, and had to be content with the lap time he set yesterday.

At the same time, forward progress of the new machine continues on an almost day by day basis, with new ideas and solutions constantly being factored in to the equation. The 990cc V5 took a significant step in the break before this race, with more power and improved durability. Further detail changes from yesterday to today have yielded another noticeable improvement for McWilliams, although mechanical gremlins stopped him from exploiting it.

Pole position on the second-closest-ever front row went to defending champion Valentino Rossi, with a flying lap in the closing minutes of practice.

Jeremy McWilliams
That was an easy afternoon – I only did one lap! But I’m not getting upset about it. It’s one of those things. Though I am a little annoyed that I couldn’t improve my time, because some changes overnight meant it was going to be a bit easier. I tried them this morning, but in the afternoon I had a problem on my better bike on my first lap. We got the spare bike set up the same way, but found there was a clutch problem with that one, so that was that. The changes help the bike turn in to the corners. It feels more like a two-stroke now. We just need a little more speed, and we’re a long way further ahead than when we started.

Nobuatsu Aoki
We made a small chassis modification – longer triple clamps on the front forks that shifted the weight a little bit towards the rear. That worked pretty well, but the biggest difference was that I changed my way of riding. I used third gear instead of second into a lot of the corners. In second, it was impossible to stop the rear sliding, but staying in third it was much easier. Of course the rpm were lower, so it was a kind of a compromise and the corner exits were not so good. I would prefer the better responses of higher rpm, but the total lap time was better. We did try a slightly lower ratio third gear, but we ran out of options. We should have more gearing possibilities for the next race.

Kenny Roberts – Team Owner
We’re not ready to race yet – far from it. Jeremy had a primary gear fail for some reason, and problems on the other bike. But we’re still testing, and that’s what happens when you’re testing. The performance is better, but it’s not in race condition yet.


More, from a press release issued by Camel Pramac Honda Pons:

Max Biaggi and Tohru Ukawa optimistic going into tomorrow’s race

Max Biaggi was unable to maintain yesterday’s position at the head of the starting grid, but the Camel Pramac Pons rider will start the Czech Republic Grand Prix, the tenth race of the MotoGP World Championship taking place tomorrow, from the front row of the grid. As has been the case in his previous ten outings at the Brno Circuit, Biaggi was among the fastest and not even a fall in the fourth minute of the session kept him out of the leading positions, underlining his real chances for the important race tomorrow. Elsewhere, there was great equality between the other riders with the top four being separated by only 147 thousandths of a second. Tohru Ukawa, who also improved on his time by over half a second from Friday, will start the race from the second row of the grid and is confident of scoring his first podium finish of the season at a track where he has finished in the top five in the last two seasons.

3rd Max Biaggi
“I crashed on my second lap out because I saw that the bike in front was smoking and losing oil so I probably fell when I hit an oil patch on the track This incident forced me to use the second bike for the rest of the session. I did not feel as comfortable with this bike and for this reason I set a realitively discreet time. However I know that I can go quicker and this gives me confidence for the race”.

8th Tohru Ukawa
“I improved notably on my times from Friday but clearly it is not enough. I have a good feeling with the bike though, and I hope to make a good start and stay with the leaders. I am not concerned about starting from the second row of the grid at this circuit with these characteristics and I am certainly motivated although I know that we must work more during warm-up on the correct tyre-choice for the race as the hot conditions are complicated for the tyres.”

Sito Pons:
“I think that Max is in a good position to have a good race as he has a clear idea already about the tyres and settings to use for the race. The fall he suffered early in the session had an effect on his times and we have had very little time to set up the new engine parts. In this respect the training session scheduled here for Monday will be of great help in optimizing the performance of the bike. The differences between the riders is minimal and, even though he is on the second row of the grid, Tohru has a lot of pace and has shown that he has improved greatly on his performances in previous races. I think he is also in a good position to have a good race tomorrow and has a chance of finishing on the podium”.


More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

Ducati Marlboro men grab first-and second-row starts

Ducati Marlboro Team riders Loris Capirossi and Troy Bayliss rode to first and second-row grid positions in baking-hot conditions at Brno this afternoon, putting the whole team in confident mood for tomorrow’s Czech GP.

The second day of practice and qualifying at this challenging high-speed track proved the efficacy of a new chassis being used for the first time by the team. The new unit features optimised stiffness for improved performance during direction changes, an aspect of handling that the team’s engineers have been working on for some while. Bayliss set his fastest lap with the new chassis, Capirossi was also delighted with the improvement, though he was unable to use that bike for his fastest end-of-session run after it encountered a minor technical glitch.

“We’re very happy,” announced Ducati Marlboro Team technical director Corrado Cecchinelli. “The first and second rows is a great qualifying result for our first GP here, and we’re feeling confident for the race because we’ve been working on race performance rather than one-off qualifying laps. Both riders like the new chassis, which has improved stiffness and is slightly lighter than the previous unit. Loris would’ve used it for his final run but the bike stopped, probably due to an electrical fault. There’s not a night-and-day difference between the two chassis, but we can already say it’s not worse than the existing chassis! We’ve not made a final decision for the race but it’s possible that both guys will use the new unit.”

Fourth-Quickest Capirossi predicts trilling race

Loris Capirossi had a productive second day of practice today, qualifying fourth quickest while focusing his efforts on the new chassis. The Ducati Marlboro Team man cut 0.823 seconds from his Friday best to grab a front-row start in a frantic final qualifying session, during which track temperature soared to 44 degrees. Capirossi’s best lap was just 0.147 seconds off pole, producing one of the closest front rows in MotoGP.

“We worked very hard and very well today,” said the Italian. “We’ve got the new chassis working really nicely, I was using that bike until we had a little problem with it this afternoon, after which I switched to my other machine, riding my fastest lap with that bike. We’ve made some big improvements since we tested here last month, but I know that tomorrow’s race is going to be really tough, because it’s so hot here and because there are four or five of us running a very similar pace. Anyway, it should be an exciting race for everyone!”

Bayliss goes 1.8 seconds faster to qualify sixth

Ducati Marlboro Team rider Troy Bayliss rode a superb second day of qualifying at Brno today. The Australian, who has never raced here, ended day one on the fourth row, improving to the second row this afternoon after cutting a massive 1.830 seconds off his Friday best.

“We made slow progress today but we got there in the end,” said a delighted Bayliss, who ended up just 0.604 seconds off pole. “We spent most of this afternoon’s session on race tyres and the times came when we fitted a softer rear – I did three 1m 59s in a row, which is good. I got into a groove and things finally clicked, I’m really happy. The difference between the two chassis isn’t chalk and cheese, but the new one is definitely a little better in direction changes.”


More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki:

Roberts Slashes Lap Time to Move up at Brno

Brno, Czech Republic – Saturday, August 16, 2003: Team Suzuki riders John Hopkins and Kenny Roberts Jr. will start tomorrow’s Czech Republic GP from the fourth row of the grid, after both improved their lap times in today’s second and final qualifying session, held in bright sunshine and warm conditions at the sweeping Brno circuit.

Hopkins qualified 13th, after cutting half a second off his previous best lap time, maintaining the provisional grid position gained yesterday.

Roberts made a huge leap forward, slashing more than 2.5 seconds off his first-day time to move from a lowly 22nd position up to 16th, on the same row as his younger team-mate.

Brno is one of the longest tracks of the year, with a lap time of more than two minutes. Even so, times were very close, with the front row covered by 0.147 seconds, the second-closest front row in GP history. Hopkins was less than two seconds off pole, and Roberts only just over that.

Roberts’s day went smoothly, as he carved away at his lap time. It was Hopkins’s turn to run into problems, as his squad worked to improve a rear-wheel grip problem he complained of yesterday. But he ended the afternoon running faster, and hopes to tie up a few remaining loose ends in tomorrow morning’s warm-up session.

Sunday’s race is the tenth in the 16-round series, and comes in the middle of the summer break, with two more weekends off before the next round in Portugal.

John Hopkins – 13th Position, 2:00.740
We made a bit of an improvement on race tyres – but only in one area, and that compromised other areas, so overall there was no improvement. We improved the rear grip so I can come out of the turns better, but that meant I was losing time on the way in. I need to go over things with Stu (Shenton, race engineer) to see if we can change that. We’re a little behind, after losing yesterday morning’s session because the track was wet, and at the end I went back to the original set-up, put in a new tyre, and went for it. I have some things to try tomorrow, and I’m still undecided on choice of race tyre, so we have some work to do tomorrow morning. But I’m looking forward to the race, and still aiming for the top ten.

Kenny Roberts Jr. – 16th Position, 2:00.891
Everything went smoothly today. As I said in Germany, there are a couple of guys in front of us who are probably a little slower, and a couple behind who should be faster. Without really trying anything silly, it’s about the grid position I expected. For the race, I’ll try to make something fun out of it, or something interesting, anyway. There’s nothing really new or different for this race, so I’ll try and stay out of trouble for the first three or four laps. This track is one where everything seems to take forever. You’re always on your side and trying to get the thing to steer, no matter if you’re in first or 25th. The team did a good job today getting the bike a little better than when we started.

Garry Taylor:Team manager
Both riders are in good spirits and looking forward to the race. I am sure that as always they will give of their best, and get the best possible result.


More, from a press release issued by Yamaha Racing:

Checa turns a day of drama into a fifth place start

It looked like a tale of drama for Yamaha during day-two of the Brno Grand Prix when a dramatic high-speed crash, during the early stages of practice, claimed Shinya Nakano (d’Antin Yamaha Team) – putting him out of action for this afternoon’s final qualifier. Marco Melandri (Fortuna Yamaha Team) and Alex Barros (Gauloises Yamaha Team) were two other victims of the Brno circuit, both escaping injury when they went down, while a snapped drive chain hindered Carlos Checa’s (Fortuna Yamaha Team) progress. Yet despite this unexpected setback, and a long run pushing the bike back to pit lane, Checa managed to find a 1.387 second improvement over his Friday best and will now head the second row in tomorrows 22-lap race.

Checa produced an impressive performance during the final qualifying session – in the form of a 1:59.295 – yet, despite clocking a personal best, he was still 0.526 seconds shy of Valentino Rossi’s (Honda, 1:58.768) benchmark. Following yesterday’s first timed session the 30-year-old Spaniard was confident he’d break into the 1:59s, and as the session progressed Checa placed the YZR-M1 on the front row with the second fastest lap. But then, with only one minute remaining, Sete Gibernau (Honda, 1:58.899), Max Biaggi (Honda, 1:58.908) and Loris Capirossi (Ducati, 1:58.916) all broke into the 1:58s in an effort to keep defending MotoGP World Champion, Rossi, within reach – relegating Checa to the second row. Despite this the Spaniard is pleased with the team’s performance and is looking forward to a competitive race.

Although frustrated, after missing an opportunity to place the Gauloises Yamaha Team YZR-M1 on the second row when he crashed out of contention on the final lap, Barros is reasonably confident he’ll put in a respectable show tomorrow, even after starting as far back as ninth on the grid (1:59.765).

Meanwhile Nakano placed himself 14th fastest, despite missing the second session due to a frighteningly fast crash in practice, which saw the likeable Japanese hit the circuit tyre wall at nearly 200kmh after highsiding his 220-horsepower machine. Although battered and bruised, Nakano escaped relatively unhurt, but spent the afternoon at the Brno University Hospital just as a precaution. He will attempt the morning warm-up before making a final decision on whether he will race or not.

A brilliant third place qualifying result in Donington, and impressive top three race performances in both the British and German MotoGPs – despite eventually crashing out – provided a glimpse of the talent that lies within Melandri. But for reasons beyond explanation this impressive learning curve did not continued during the two days of qualifying in the Czech Republic. With little confidence in the way he has ridden the YZR-M1 since returning from his three week summer break the 20-year-old MotoGP rookie crashed, yet again, in the opening segment of the final session. As a result the 2002 GP250 World Champion was unable to improve on his Friday performance, a 2:00.892, and now languishes back in 17th place – 2.123 seconds behind pole.

Fortuna Yamaha Team
Carlos Checa 5th, 1:59.295: “I’m very happy to have done this lap time, which is my best ever here. I have to admit that I didn’t think I had gone that fast during the lap. It’s a shame not to be on the front row, but we’ve worked very well here and the most important thing is to feel ready for the race. We’ve worked with a base set-up with fairly small modifications and a few little engine improvements. We’ve got the chassis well balanced. The race will not be easy, for sure. We still have our limitations, but we’re working well and I hope we can be more and more competitive as we head into the last part of the season.

“The hardest thing for me today was pushing the bike back along the whole length of the pit lane after I lost my chain! I guess that will help my fitness for a long race tomorrow! If I can keep the rear stable tomorrow and put in consistent lap times I hope we can get a good result.”

Marco Melandri 17th, 2:00.892: “I have fallen off twice over the past two days and I don’t know exactly why. I’m still not confident with the front, and today I lost the front on the exit of T9 and slid off. My feeling with the bike this weekend is like I am riding it for the first time. I couldn’t follow the other riders and I ran too wide in all the corners. I’m disappointed because I’ve been in the front group at the past two races. Hopefully I will be able to get up front, like I did in Sachsenring, despite not having a great grid position.”

Gauloises Yamaha Team
Alex Barros 9th, 1:59.765: “It is a pity that I fell just before the end of the session, as I was on target to improve my time and would have almost certainly finished on the second row. Still, that aside, I’m pretty happy with how everything has gone so far this weekend. I haven’t been fit for quite a while now, and although I still have some pain in my shoulder, I feel much better than I did at Sachsenring. I’m also pretty happy with how we have set up the bike and overall I feel confident for the race. It is obviously difficult to say how it is going to go, but hopefully I can make a good start and stay with the front group. It will be difficult to fight with Valentino, Max and Sete, but I think I should be battling with the riders just behind them.”

Olivier Jacque 11th, 2:00.165: “We went back to the old spec’ forks, but still haven’t managed to eliminate the front-end chatter that has been plaguing us yesterday. It is causing the bike to run wide in the corners and costing me quite a lot of time. It is strange because I have never suffered from this problem before, especially since we switched to the four-stroke. Having tried pretty much everything we can think of, as far as the suspension is concerned, I think we’ll now have to start looking at the chassis to see if we can find a solution for the warm-up.”

D’Antin Yamaha Team
Shinya Nakano 14th, 2:00.800: “I can only remember that I found Tohru Ukawa in front of me, running