FIM MotoGP World Championship Valencia, Spain October 28, 2006 Qualifying Results:

1. Valentino ROSSI (Yam YZR-M1), 1:31.002, Michelin 2. Troy BAYLISS (Duc GP6), 1:31.210, Bridgestone 3. Loris CAPIROSSI (Duc GP6), 1:31.307, Bridgestone 4. Shinya NAKANO (Kaw ZX-RR), 1:31.341, Bridgestone 5. Nicky HAYDEN (Hon RC211V), 1:31.378, Michelin 6. Dani PEDROSA (Hon RC211V), 1:31.385, Michelin 7. Casey STONER (Hon RC211V), 1:31.470, Michelin 8. Chris VERMEULEN (Suz GSV-R), 1:31.606, Bridgestone 9. John HOPKINS (Suz GSV-R), 1:31.663, Bridgestone 10. Colin EDWARDS (Yam YZR-M1), 1:31.711, Michelin 11. Randy DE PUNIET (Kaw ZX-RR), 1:31.892, Bridgestone 12. Marco MELANDRI (Hon RC211V), 1:32.062, Michelin 13. Toni ELIAS (Hon RC211V), 1:32.144, Michelin 14. Kenny Lee ROBERTS (Hon KR211V), 1:32.358, Michelin 15. Makoto TAMADA (Hon RC211V), 1:32.467, Michelin 16. Carlos CHECA (Yam YZR-M1), 1:32.747, Dunlop 17. Alex HOFMANN (Duc GP5), 1:33.289, Dunlop 18. Jose Luis CARDOSO (Duc GP5), 1:33.755, Dunlop 19. James ELLISON (Yam YZR-M1), 1:33.953, Dunlop 20. Garry McCOY (Ilmor X3), 1:34.811, Michelin

2006 BMW M Award For The Best Qualifier:

(This classification is made up by accumulating the qualifying time of every rider at every Grand Prix, with the addition of the MotoGP Official Test session in Catalunya. Any rider who does not complete all 18 events is discarded.)

1. Nicky Hayden, 30:57.341 2. Colin Edwards, -6.935 seconds 3. Shinya Nakano, -7.274 seconds 4. Valentino Rossi, -7.670 seconds 5. John Hopkins, -8.667 seconds 6. Loris Capirossi, -9.507 seconds 7. Marco Melandri, -11.999 seconds 8. Chris Vermeulen, -12.846 seconds 9. Kenny Lee Roberts, -14.638 seconds 10. Randy De Puniet, -15.100 seconds 11. Dani Pedrosa, -15.591 seconds 12. Makoto Tamada, -25.377 seconds 13. Carlos Checa, -26.772 seconds 14. James Ellison, -47.392 seconds 15. Alex Hofmann, -48.185 seconds 16. Jose Luis Cardoso, -68.785 seconds

More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki Racing Team:

SECOND ROW FOR SHINYA IN SEASON FINALE

Kawasaki’s Shinya Nakano will start tomorrow’s season finale from the head of the second row of the grid, after qualifying his Ninja ZX-RR in fourth position during this afternoon’s hour long timed session at Valencia.

The 29-year-old Japanese rider looked certain to start tomorrow’s 30-lap race from the front row, after an inch-perfect qualifying lap right at the end of the session, but was demoted to fourth position by a flying Loris Capirossi, who just managed to beat the chequered flag on his final fast lap.

Nakano goes into tomorrow’s race confident of ending the season with a good result, after finding a good race set-up on his Ninja ZX-RR during today’s final qualifying session. The Kawasaki rider is also happy with his tyre options for the final race of the season, after testing a number of rear race tyres from Bridgestone, before switching to super-sticky qualifiers to secure his grid position.

After settling on his race set-up early on in this afternoon’s session, Randy de Puniet was the first rider to make the switch to qualifying tyres, capturing pole position with his first flying lap as the session reached the halfway point.

De Puniet was quickly demoted by a hard charging Capirossi, but was confident of improving his grid position with his final two qualifying runs at the end of the session. Unfortunately, on the first of these runs, de Puniet suffered a mechanical failure on his number one Ninja ZX-RR, forcing him to fit the final qualifying tyre to his spare machine.

With only minutes remaining, de Puniet returned to the track for his final flying lap, but was unable to improve upon his previous best lap time, and was disappointed to finish the session only eleventh fastest, and facing a start from the fourth row of the grid tomorrow.

A record crowd is expected for the championship deciding Grand Prix of Valencia, and organisers have been appealing all weekend for those fans not in possession of a ticket to stay away from the circuit tomorrow.

Shinya Nakano: 4th – 1’31.341 “My aim today was to make sure I started the last race of the season from the front row of the grid, so I am a little disappointed to have missed out on third position by such a narrow margin. But, I am happy with my race set-up and we have good tyre options whatever the conditions tomorrow, so starting from the second row will not be such a big disadvantage I think. I crashed out of the last two races, so my first priority tomorrow is to make it to the chequered flag, but I’d also like to finish the season with a strong result for both me and the team, so I’ll be pushing as hard as ever. The battle for the championship between Valentino and Nicky is sure to be intense tomorrow, but there is no pressure on me for the championship, and I hope I can ride my own race without becoming involved in their fight for the title.”

Randy de Puniet: 11th – 1’31.892 “Once again we’ve been the victims of bad luck. The bike felt good in race trim, so we opted to run a qualifier early on in the session. I was happy with my first flying lap, and I was confident that we could improve further with the second and third qualifying tyres. But, on my second qualifying run towards the end of the session I suffered a mechanical problem with my number one machine. I had just enough time to get back to the pits, get the mechanics to put my last qualifying tyre on my spare bike, and head back out to try and improve my position. Unfortunately, I couldn’t improve on my first lap on a qualifying tyre and, as a result, I will start the race tomorrow from the fourth row of the grid. But, our race set-up is good, and Bridgestone have the tyres we need, so I still think it’s possible to end the season with a top ten finish tomorrow afternoon.”

Naoya Kaneko: Technical Manager “I think we will go into tomorrow’s race confident in the race set-up of both riders, and secure in the knowledge that, whatever the conditions tomorrow afternoon, we know Bridgestone have a race tyre that works well at this circuit. Shinya did a good job in qualifying today, although I know he is disappointed to have missed out on the front row. Unfortunately, Randy suffered a mechanical problem at the worst possible time and, as a result, he now faces a start from the fourth row of the grid. But, he proved in Estoril that, even starting with such a big disadvantage, it’s still possible for him to finish the season with a top ten result, and I know this is what he will be aiming for tomorrow.”

More, from a press release issued by Marlboro Ducati:

DUCATI MARLBORO’S THIRD DOUBLE FRONT ROW OF 2006

Ducati Marlboro Team riders Loris Capirossi and Troy Bayliss will start tomorrow’s final race of the 990cc era from the front row following a storming performance in today’s enthralling qualifying session. This is the team’s third double front row of the year after Jerez and Mugello.

The remarkable Bayliss, who wrapped up his second World Superbike title for Ducati earlier this month, was second quickest, just two tenths off pole, even though this is his first MotoGP outing of the year. The result equalled his best-ever MotoGP grid position, achieved at Jerez in 2003. Capirossi was less than a tenth down in third place and is feeling confident for tomorrow’s race in which he aims to secure third overall in the World Championship.

Both men ran up front throughout the session, setting a rapid pace on their Bridgestone race tyres, then getting the best out of their Bridgestone qualifiers. Among the supporters in the team’s pit this weekend are members of the America’s Cup team Luna Rossa, including skipper Francesco De Angelis, currently based at the port of Valencia. Troy Bayliss, 2nd fastest, 1m 31.210s “It’s been a great weekend so far, now I’d just like to finish it off with a good result. This is a great opportunity to finish the story I started with the Desmosedici in 2003 because this is the last 990cc MotoGP race, so I really appreciate getting the ride. I’m back with my old guys from this team in 2004 and I’ve come with a few guys from Superbikes, Ernesto Marinelli, Paolo Ciabatti and Davide Tardozzi, so I’ve felt at home all weekend. We expected quite a bit before we came here even though I hadn’t been on this year’s bike or on Bridgestone tyres. We didn’t put any pressure on ourselves, we’ve just taken it step by step and every session we’ve got better. The bike and tyres are obviously working pretty good, though we’ll be looking for a little more in the morning because you’ve never got a perfect bike. To be on the front row is so important here. Now I hope to get a good start and be part of the race.”

Loris Capirossi, 3rd fastest, 1m 31.307s “Troy and I are like wine – the older we get the faster we get! I am very happy with the work we’ve done today, especially this morning when I did a semi-race simulation of 20 laps, maintaining a very good pace throughout. This afternoon I started on new race tyres and managed a 32.2 which is really good. We will have to wait and see what the conditions will be tomorrow but I think we are pretty strong because that race simulation suggests we can be fast all race. Furthermore, it’s great that we are starting from the front row because overtaking here is very difficult.”

Federico Minoli, president and CEO Ducati Motor Holding “Troy is the promising young man of motorcycling! We are very happy for him, he’s a great racer and a great friend of Ducati. We gave him the present of racing here and he has given us the present of a front-row start. Loris is as strong as ever. To have two bikes on the front row for the last 990 race is a dream come true. Tomorrow will be interesting because the times are so close. We will enjoy the day and see what happens.”

Afternoon session temperatures. Ambient: 31 degrees. Track: 34 degrees

More, from a press release issued by Bridgestone:

Bridgestones Enjoy Valencia Quali-Flying Valencia Grand Prix – Qualifying Valencia, Saturday 28 October

2006 Bridgestone riders certainly made their presence felt in today’s qualifying session at Circuit Ricardo Tormo with the Ducatis of Troy Bayliss and Loris Capirossi taking front row seats for what promises to be an exhilarating Valencia Grand Prix on Sunday afternoon. Bayliss, making his return to the Ducati squad, rewrote the script by storming to second place in his first qualifying session on Bridgestone tyres, finishing the day just 0.2s from current championship leader Valentino Rossi.

Capirossi’s performance this weekend sets him up for a thrilling chase for third in the riders’ championship as he set the quickest time of the day on race tyres and third quickest qualifying time of the afternoon. Shinya Nakano was only 0.04s behind triple 2006 race winner Capirossi to line up fourth for tomorrow’s 30-lap race after a faultless qualifying session in which the Japanese rider had threatened to take his fifth front row slot of the season.

Three-tenths-of-a-second further back, Suzuki’s Chris Vermeulen claimed his sixth top ten qualifying result of the year with a fine ninth place, just nudging his team-mate John Hopkins into the final top ten position by 0.06s. With only a second separating pole from twelfth place, Randy de Puniet was unlucky to miss out on the top ten, the Frenchman forced to settle for a close 11th place.

The final qualifying session of the 2006 brings to an end the MotoGP Qualifier of the Year award, the end results of which combine the qualifying times in each GP of the year together with the riders’ best time from the pre-season test session in Catalunya. In a season which has seen significant increase in Bridgestone tyre performance both in qualifying and in races, it is fitting that five Bridgestone riders are represented in the top ten of the Best Qualifier classification with Shinya Nakano in third, John Hopkins in fifth, Loris Capirossi sixth, Chris Vermeulen eighth and Randy de Puniet tenth.

Hiroshi Yamada – Bridgestone Motorsport – Manager Motorcycle Racing: “It was a very strong day of running for Bridgestone at the Valencia circuit today and I am pleased to see such strong qualifying performances as well as some notable runs on race tyres from each of our teams. Troy Bayliss was particularly impressive on his return to Ducati and his debut weekend on Bridgestone tyres. Loris also performed exceptionally well throughout the day and his third place really bolsters Ducati’s potential around Valencia in tomorrow’s race. Shinya was competitive and his fourth place on the grid is well deserved and indicative of his qualifying pace all season.

“We are still keeping the 30 lap race distance in mind, but Loris conducted a substantial long run this morning in which he was able to lap consistently in the 1m33 bracket. His run on race tyres at the top of the qualifying hour was incredible with four out of his five laps on that tyre under 1m33s and one lap in 1m32.2 which is almost one second quicker than last year’s race best.

“The track temperature was seven degrees higher than this morning which could account for the improvement, but it was similar to last year’s race so we hope for similar conditions tomorrow afternoon.”

Troy Bayliss Ducati Corse 2nd on Grid: “It’s been a great weekend so far, now I’d just like to finish it off with a good result. We expected quite a bit before we came here even though I hadn’t been on this year’s bike or on Bridgestone tyres. We didn’t put any pressure on ourselves, we’ve just taken it step by step and every session we’ve got better. The bike and tyres are obviously working pretty good, though we will be looking for a little more in the morning because you’ve never got a perfect bike. To be on the front row is so important here. Now I hope to get a good start and be part of the race.”

Bridgestone Qualifying Results: P2 Troy Bayliss Ducati 1m31.210s +0.740s P3 Loris Capirossi Ducati 1m31.307s +0.982s P4 Shinya Nakano Kawasaki 1m31.341s +0.590s P8 Chris Vermeulen Suzuki 1m31.606s +1.171s P9 John Hopkins Suzuki 1m31.663s +0.590s P11 Randy de Puniet Kawasaki 1m31.892s +1.392s

Weather: Dry Air 31°C, Track 34°C, Humidity 13%

More, from a press release issued by Fortuna Honda:

THE FORTUNA HONDA RIDERS WILL LOOK TO MAKE A GOOD START TO FINISH THE SEASON ON A HIGH

Marco Melandri and Toni Elias will both be hoping to make a good start to Sunday’s race in Valencia to finish what has, so far, been a difficult weekend in good style.

In the morning free session both riders found good rhythm, but they did not make best use of their qualifying tyres and failed to get good grid positions for the race. Melandri will start from the fourth row, while his team-mate will Toni Elias will set off from the fifth.

The huge crowds expected on Sunday, around 120,000 people, will ensure a superb spectacle as Fortuna look to sign off their involvement with the team in style.

Melandri is hoping the team will be able to find a way to improve his feeling with the bike overnight as he looks to claim third place in the world championship ahead of nearest rival Loris Capirossi.

MARCO MELANDRI: (1’32″062, 12th): “I am not satisfied, it will be a very hard race tomorrow. I hope to make a good start as I have the race rhythm to be up with the front-runners. I did not make best use of the qualifying tyre and could not guarantee myself a good position on the grid. I want to try and get a good result so that I can confirm third place in the championship.”

TONI ELIAS: (1’32″144, 13th): “I am not happy with the result because I wanted to be further up. However, I don’t want to write off my chances as in Portugal I started 15th but ended up winning the race. I hope to make a good start and make up as many positions as I can quickly. My race rhythm has improved over the weekend so I hope I can get a good result.”

More, from a press release issued by Pramac d’Antin Ducati:

THE PRAMAC D’ANTIN MOTOGP TEAM IS READY FOR THE LAST RACE

Tomorrow, the last race of the 2006 season will take place on the Ricardo Tormo circuit of Valencia. During the qualifying practice session, ALEX HOFMANN and JOSE LUIS CARDOSO classified themselves respectively in 17th and 18th position. A race at home that will surely be very emotional for the whole PRAMAC D’ANTIN MOTOGP Team, willing to end the season with a good result. After the warm-up, the race of the premier-class will start at 2:00pm.

ALEX HOFMANN #66: “The truth is that I could have done a better laptime with the qualifying tyres. I used three of them, the first two were identical and I thought these were the best. Unfortunately, the third one was more efficient and I didn’t really take advantage of it at 100%. So We could have done a better result but, anyway, our aim was to find a set-up adapted to the temperatures of the afternoon, as the race will be done in the same conditions. Things went better than yesterday but it’s not enough and we will keep on working tomorrow morning. Personally, I hope that the weather conditions will be a bit colder. With lower temperatures, as in the morning, the bike is more stable and I can ride easier and faster. For the warm-up, we still have some options to test. This is the last round of the season and it will be necessary to make our best to obtain a good result. It won’t be an easy race but I will do my best”.

JOSE LUIS CARDOSO #30: “Today, we worked for the race. Unfortunately, we had to forget the tyre we chose yesterday as it wasn’t constant enough for the duration of race. That’s why we had to concentrate ourselves on another tyre I didn’t really like. We made the best we could and we managed to improve our rhythm. It’s not enough but we will test some other solutions tomorrow morning, in the warm-up, to find more stability. With the qualifying tyres, we made what we could. In general, we’re a bit closer to the other riders and this can be considered “positive”. Tomorrow, it will be an important race, in front of my public and I really want to make a good race “.

ANDRE LAUGIER – Track Engineer of Jose Luis Cardoso: “Yesterday we had chosen a tyre that was better than the other ones but, unfortunately, its duration was not sufficient and we had to forget it. At our disposal, we had only another tyre, very different, that was more consistent anyway, which allowed us to improve our rhythm. We will go on working on the set-up tomorrow morning, to get ready for the race. There are other variations we can make and we will control their results before the race. Anyway, I think that the rhythm of the first riders is really impressive, compared to the last few years”.

More, from a press release issued by Dorna Communications:

Valentino Rossi will start tomorrow’s Gran Premio bwin.com de la Comunitat Valenciana from pole position, after a storming qualifying practice in which he set a new best lap record. Rossi’s last remaining title rival, Nicky Hayden, will take off from row two knowing that he has to beat the Italian tomorrow if he is to stand any chance of taking the 2006 crown.

The final race of the season promises to be a humdinger, with the top seven setting times within half a second of each other and the Valencia circuit well known for a layout which provides tight finishes. Whilst Rossi aims for his eighth world championship, and sixth premier class title, American Hayden battles to take his first and become only the second rider ever to come from behind in the final race of the season to clinch the series.

As at Jerez in the first race of the season, there will be two Ducatis on the front row tomorrow afternoon. Troy Bayliss, on an amazing return to MotoGP competition as a stand in for the injured Sete Gibernau, put in the second fastest time of the session to edge out team-mate Loris Capirossi.

Shinya Nakano was relegated to fourth after Capirossi’s last-gasp lap, racing his final Grand Prix for the Kawasaki Racing team, whilst two team-mates who have it all to do to secure an individual title line up alongside the Japanese rider.

Hayden and his Honda colleague Dani Pedrosa have a valuable two-pronged attack in their armoury, despite being down in fifth and sixth respectively. Pedrosa knows that this week he can make amends for his unfortunate accident two weeks ago in Portugal with an important contribution this weekend, especially if he can finish second in the event of a Hayden victory.

Casey Stoner, this morning taken to hospital after complaining of a back problem, was seventh, ahead of Suzuki riders Chris Vermeulen and John Hopkins and Colin Edwards, too far away from his Camel Yamaha team-mate on the grid to really be in a position to aid him as he did at Estoril.

Nicky Hayden is already a winner this weekend, having been presented with a BMW Z4 M Coupé as the prize for being MotoGP’s best qualifier this season. BMW M President Professor Ulrich Bruhnke was on hand to hand the keys over to Hayden, with his combined qualifying time for this season’s seventeen GPs and pre-season Official Test totalling 30’57.341, nearly 7 seconds ahead of the nearest challenger. Basketball legend Michael Jordan joined Hayden on laps of the track in his new car.

Mr. Vito Ippolito was today presented to the press at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit after being elected as the new FIM President last week in Brazil. 250cc

Hiroshi Aoyama made yesterday’s provisional pole position stick with an inspired showing in the second 250cc qualifying session. The Japanese rider took his first top spot of the season, and the first ever for KTM in the class, as he aims for third place in the overall classification, clocking a lap of 1’35.109.

Jorge Lorenzo will also be on the front row for his home race, hoping to take his maiden quarter-litre championship tomorrow. Thirteen points behind in the standings, the only rider who stands in his way, Andrea Dovizioso, could only manage seventh on the grid.

Alex de Angelis and Roberto Locatelli complete the front row, ahead of Marco Simoncelli and Hector Barbera. Dovizioso will have to work his way past all these talented riders if he is to take victory tomorrow and get his hands on this year’s 250cc crown.

Shuhei Aoyama, David de Gea and Alex Debon completed the top ten. 125cc

The fastest man in every 125cc session at Valencia, Alvaro Bautista sealed pole position for tomorrow’s race in a Master MVA Aspar Team-dominated qualifying session.

At their home track, the Valencian squadron took all four front row spots with a dominant display, with Bautista ahead of Hector Faubel, Sergio Gadea and Mattia Pasini, the only non-Spaniard on the first line of attack. Mika Kallio and Pol Espargaro, who has already won at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit this year as part of the CEV Buckler Spanish Championship, completed the top six, followed by Lukas Pesek, Julian Simon, Sandro Cortese and Randy Krummenacher.

More, from a press release issued by Honda:

HAYDEN MANAGES SECOND ROW FOR TITLE SHOWDOWN

This final qualifying session for the final MotoGP race of the season was not quite what Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC211V) wanted. On his fastest qualifying lap Nicky was forced off line on the third time split when he encountered a slowing rider and will now start from row two as fifth fastest qualifier. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) starts from pole with Ducati riders Troy Bayliss and Loris Capirossi completing the front row.

Nicky has Kawasaki man Shinya Nakano ahead of him in fourth and his team-mate Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC211V) alongside him in sixth. Nicky briefly held pole with 15 minutes of the hour remaining but if his race set-up proves ideal for tomorrow’s 30-lap encounter he would gladly relinquish the top grid slot in exchange for a win.

It was Capirossi who laid down the first marker here with a 1m 32.255s lap as riders worked on race tyre endurance tests in the 50 minutes before the majority of riders fitted ultra-sticky qualifying rubber. But with 25 minutes gone Randy de Puniet (Kawasaki) opted for a qualifier to put in an early pole time of 1m 31.914s.

Capirossi then returned the compliment on the half-hour mark with a 1m 31.682s time to hold pole before the pace hotted up. With 20 minutes to go the action started with the order; Capirossi, de Puniet, Bayliss, John Hopkins (Suzuki), Rossi, Hayden and then Casey Stoner (LCR Honda RC211V)

Nakano then rocketed to the second fastest time before Bayliss marked his one-off return to MotoGP with a blistering 1m 31.585s lap to go pole. But delighted as most onlookers were with the Australian visitor’s impact, most eyes were on the more serious business of where Hayden and Rossi would end up.

Nicky hit the front on the 15-minute mark and Rossi went second fastest ahead of Bayliss. With ten minutes left on the clock, Rossi put in a 1m 31.234s lap to snatch pole, the order on the front row being Rossi, Hayden, Nakano.

Then with three minutes remaining Bayliss stole pole again, but only for a matter of seconds as Rossi followed him over the line to record a 1m 31.002s lap that would not be bettered. The placings behind pole would be fiercely disputed though.

Nakano fought back onto the front row in third and it looked as if he might stay there until a fired-up Capirossi charged into third spot relegating Nakano to row two in his final ride in green livery.

Casey Stoner, riding with an injured back, ended the day in seventh place with Marco Melandri (Fortuna Honda RC211V) 12th fastest, Toni Elias (Fortuna Honda RC211V) 13th on the grid, Kenny Roberts (Roberts KR211V) 14th and Makoto Tamada (Konica Minolta Honda RC211V), in his last MotoGP ride, 15th.

Nicky said, “We’re starting on the second row and that means I need a lightning start tomorrow. We’re definitely going all in for the win and it’ll be interesting because there are some guys going really fast out there. I need fast guys but I don’t need them to be faster than me! I didn’t get on the front row where I needed to be which makes it a bit harder for me and I’m not thrilled about that. I just need to focus on the race and finish the year strong whatever happens happens.”

Dani said, “On the qualifying tyres this afternoon at first I was not so fast. I improved a little on my later runs and we finished in sixth place which is not perfect because Rossi is on pole. From the second row I will need to do a great start tomorrow and get away with the leaders. It’s going to be a big race in front of many, many fans so I’m really looking forward to it.”

“I made a small mistake on my fast lap,” said Stoner. “And lost 0.2s, which would have put me up in the top four positions. But I’m close to the front, and not 14th, which is where I was before I got that new tyre from Michelin. The tyre felt more predictable and didn’t upset the bike. My back is OK when I am riding so that’s OK. This race is always close in qualifying but a lot of riders drop-off towards the end. I’m just going out to do my own thing in the final race of the season.”

Melandri said, “I am not satisfied because it will be a very hard race tomorrow. I hope to make a good start as I have the race rhythm to be up with the front-runners. I did not make best use of the qualifying tyre and could not guarantee myself a good position on the grid. I want to try and get a good result so that I can confirm third place in the Championship.”

Elias said, “I’m not happy with the result because I wanted to be further up. However, I don’t want to write off my chances as in Portugal I started 15th but ended up winning the race. I hope to make a good start and make up as many positions as I can quickly. My race rhythm has improved over the weekend so I hope I can get a good result.”

Kenny Roberts said, “I think the machine is closer than I am at the moment. There’s probably more to come from myself than anything. This morning I did some mid- to low-33s, and felt pretty good. I thought I could go quite a bit faster. I started on used tyres, then we got down to the time that I was doing this morning. I guess if we’d have left the bike with one setting and just kept throwing in tyres I might have been a little bit better off, but we’re always trying to improve it, and just never seemed to hit.”

Makoto Tamada said, “I made a long series of laps with a race bike setting and I have to say that, with these conditions, the set up I’ll have at my disposal tomorrow is really satisfying. When using qualifiers, the feeling with the bike changed completely and, as many times throughout the season, I was not able to make the best use of the grip I had. The bike handling becomes harder in corner entry.”

In the 250cc class Hiro Aoyama (KTM) qualified on pole for the first and last time this season, with series points leader Jorge Lorenzo second fastest qualifier, Alex de Angelis third fastest and with veteran Roberto Locatelli completing the front row (all Aprilia).

The only man capable of depriving Lorenzo of the 250cc World title, Andrea Dovizioso (Humangest Racing Honda RS250RW), qualified seventh for a second row start. Shuhei Aoyama (Repsol Honda RS250RW) qualified eighth and David de Gea, standing in for the injured Martin Cardenas, (Repsol Honda RS250RW) ninth.

Dovi said, “It’s difficult for me as this track doesn’t suit me at all. The main problem is my riding because I struggled a lot. On top of that, we lose out on acceleration compared to my rivals, especially the KTMs. However, the bike set-up is OK but I can’t take full advantage of the Honda’s potential. The hope for the title is really slim but I’ll do my best until the chequered flag.”

Aoyama said, “I’m not so happy with the result. We had some problems with the suspension. In fact, we managed to improve a bit compared to yesterday and this morning, but it was not enough, the problem is still there. The start position is not as good as I expected, second row, so I’ll have to make a good start in order to be able to keep up with the leading group. I’ll give my best, let’s see what happens.”

His team-mate de Gea said, “The afternoon practice was definitely not as good as in the morning, I was fifth in the morning and ninth in the afternoon. However, we all know that no rider gives it all during the free practices. But I think that the result is good, because we also had a problem during the practice that made us lose some time which I would have needed to get a better pace.”

True to form, Alvaro Bautista (Aprilia) was the dominant force in the half-hour of 125cc qualifying. The Spanish World Champion headed the timesheet early and was only knocked off the top spot once during the session by his team-mate Hector Faubel. The front row comprises Bautista, Faubel, Sergio Gadea and Mattia Pasini (all Aprilia)

This is Bautista’s eighth pole of his World Championship season and he made it look easy, improving his time with 18 minutes to go, then besting Faubel’s attempt, before shaving his 1m 39.083s time down to 1m 39.058 on his final lap.

Bradley Smith (Repsol Honda RS125R) fell four times during qualifying over these two days, the fourth with 20 minutes of this stint remaining. He qualified 23rd, while the best Honda qualifier was Sandro Cortese (Elit Grand Prix Honda RS125R) in ninth on the grid. Gabor Talmacsi (Humangest Honda RS125R) qualified 12th fastest.

Talmacsi said, “Well it was a positive session this afternoon and we worked well on the race set-up. Unfortunately, we chose the wrong rear tyre at the last turn of the qualifying session and the bike was sliding too much. In general, though, we are almost ready; we’re all very close and tomorrow it could be a spectacular race.”

Smith said, “Tomorrow is when everything counts, so I’ll try to make a really good start, give everything in the first few laps and try to keep going until the end, and we’ll see what we can get.”

Honda GP rider quotes:

MotoGP:

Nicky Hayden, Repsol Honda: 5th: “We’re starting on the second row and that means I need a lightning start tomorrow. We’re definitely going all in for the win and it’ll be interesting because there are some guys going really fast out there. I need fast guys – but I don’t need them to be faster than me! I didn’t get on the front row where I needed to be which makes it a bit harder for me – and I’m not thrilled about that. On my last qualifier I had a good lap going and then had a bit of an issue with traffic in the last split when I had to pass a guy who was starting a lap while I was still on a hot one. It kinda got me off line and I lost a lot of time in the last split but I don’t want to make excuses. We need to tweak on it tonight and see if I can find a little more pace. Regardless I just need to focus on the race and finish the year strong – whatever happens happens.”

Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 6th: “Today we had a good practice in the morning and made some more progress with the race set-up and tyre choice. We more-or-less have the set-up now although we still need to find a few tenths of a second because some riders improved their race pace in the afternoon. On the qualifying tyres this afternoon at first I was not so fast. I improved a little on my later runs and we finished in sixth place – which is not perfect because Rossi is on pole. From the second row I will need to do a great start tomorrow and get away with the leaders. It’s going to be a big race in front of many, many fans so I’m really looking forward to it.”

Casey Stoner, LCR Honda: 7th. “I did the best qualifying lap I’ve ever done compared to my times on race tyres after finally getting a decent qualifying tyre. And I made a small mistake on my fast lap and lost 0.2s, which would have put me up in the top four positions. But I’m close to the front, and not 14th, which is where I was before I got that new tyre from Michelin. The tyre felt more predictable and didn’t upset the bike. My back is OK when I am riding so that’s OK. This race is always close in qualifying but a lot riders drop-off towards the end; I’m just going out to do my own thing in the final race of the season”.

Marco Melandri, Fortuna Honda: 12th. “I am not satisfied, it will be a very hard race tomorrow. I hope to make a good start as I have the race rhythm to be up with the front-runners. I did not make best use of the qualifying tyre and could not guarantee myself a good position on the grid. I want to try and get a good result so that I can confirm third place in the championship.”

Toni Elias, Fortuna Honda: 13th. “I am not happy with the result because I wanted to be further up. However, I don’t want to write off my chances as in Portugal I started 15th but ended up winning the race. I hope to make a good start and make up as many positions as I can quickly. My race rhythmhas improved over the weekend so I hope I can get a good result.”

Kenny Roberts Jnr, KR Honda: 14th: “I think the machine is closer than I am at the moment. There is probably more to come from myself than anything. This morning I did some mid- to low-33s, and felt pretty good. I thought I could go quite a bit faster. I started on used tyres, then we got down to the time that I was doing this morning.”

“We’ve been trying different settings in both bikes each time I went out. I guess if we’d have left the bike with one setting and just kept throwing in tyres I might have been a little bit better off, but we’re always trying to improve it, and just never seemed to hit. We’ll change a bit more for the morning and try and get to the low 33s. If we do that, that’s pretty good for the race. Just a matter of getting a good start. I was never really in synch with it today, so I don’t think it’s the end of the world. We were round the same place in Portugal. Get a good start and have a good pace, and that should be us.”

Kenny Roberts – Team Owner: “We’ve been fighting grip since we got here. Now the package is getting better. It’s a combination of not getting it right on day one and practice one, then playing catch-up the rest of the time. We have no experience on the race-track, and if you hit it wrong at the beginning, it’s difficult. In Portugal it seemed good right from day one.”

Makoto Tamada, Konica Minolta Honda: 15th. “I made a long series of laps with a race bike setting and I have to say that, with these conditions, the set up I’ll have at my disposal tomorrow is really satisfying. When using qualifiers, the feeling with the bike changed completely and, as many times throughout the season, I was not able to make the best use of the grip I had. The bike handling becomes harder on corner entry.”

250cc:

Andrea Dovizioso, Humangest Honda: 7th: “It is difficult for me as this track doesn’t suit me at all. The main problem is my riding because I struggled a lot and this doesn’t help. On top of that, we loose in acceleration compared to my rivals, especially the KTMs. However, the bike set-up is okay but I can’t take full advantage of Honda potential. The hope for the title is really slim but I’ll do my best until the chequered flag”.

Yuki Takahashi, Humangest Honda: Will not start the race due to broken leg sustained in Friday’s free practice session.

Shuhei Aoyama, Repsol Honda: 8th: “I’m not so happy with the result. We had some problems with the suspensions. In fact, we managed to improve a bit compared to yesterday and this morning, but it was not enough, the problem is still there. The start position is not as good as I expected, second row, so I’ll have to make a good start in order to be able to keep up with the leading group. I’ll give my best, let’s see what happens.”

David de Gea, Repsol Honda: 9th: The afternoon practice was definitely not as good as in the morning, I was fifth in the morning and ninth in the afternoon. However, we all know that no rider gives it all during the free practices. But I think that the result is good, because we also had a problem during the practice that made us loose some time which I would have needed to get a better pace. I’m really looking forward to the race tomorrow. The position is not bad; I’m the first of the third row, so I’m going to give it all. The bike’s setting is very good and I also have a good pace, so I’ll try to give my very best.

Aleix Espargaro, Wurth Honda BQR: 15th. “I’m losing a little confidence with the bike. I had several real bad slides so we tried several different tyres but I got a little confused about what to do with the suspension. We have to work tonight to choose the best option to stop the sliding. My race rhythm is good and I can run 1.36.5s no problem. In the race I need a good start and I will have to pass a lot of riders if I want to get a good result, I am aiming for the top ten. I can run a fast race but not as fast as I was in Portugal.”

Fabrizio Perren, Stop and Go Racing: 18th. “Everything is OK. In the final session I had found a very good race rhythm and didn’t want to push too hard to chase a time and risk a crash. The track is so – so, not a particular favourite of mine. I can run 1m 37s times all the race and will be OK. The engine, chassis and tyres are working well and all I need to do is get a good start and run my race pace and I will score points.”

Arturo Tizon, Wurth Honda BQR: 22nd. “The bike was much better this afternoon than in the morning when the suspension settings were causing the rear end to slide badly. The team have found a good solution. The engine is good and with the chassis working well I should have a good race tomorrow. I live less than one hour from the track and know it well, I won a Spanish Championship race here but even then its not one of my favourites.”

125cc:

Sandro Cortese, Elit Honda: 9th. “That was my best qualifying session of the season and I’m the best Honda on the grid so I am pleased about that. We did have a few problems in that session. From the start we had carburetion problems but the team fixed that. My engine is good and I could out-accelerate Talmacsi, and I have good top speed. The front suspension was not helping me hold my line but it’s now working the way I need it to. Good engine, good chassis so I’m ready to race – I just need another good start tomorrow.”

Gabor Talmacsi, Humangest Honda: 12th. “Well it was a positive session this afternoon as we have worked well on the race set-up. Unfortunately, we have chosen the wrong rear tyre at the last turn of the qualifying session and the bike was sliding too much. In general, though, we are almost ready; we all riders are very close and tomorrow it could be a spectacular race”.

Thomas Luthi, Elit Honda: 13t. “I was aiming for the second row of the grid but end up on the fourth row. I am down on acceleration and need to slipstream riders but to get the best time you need to slipstream the best and I wasn’t in a good group to do that. We will fight in the race tomorrow this is my last race on a 125cc and I want to finish as the top Honda rider in the championship. From my grid position I need a good start and then try to pick them off one by one to get to the front – try and score as many points as possible. “

Fabrizio Lai, Seedorf Racing World: 14th. “The bike set up today was better than yesterday and this morning. The bike lacks acceleration but it was always like that this year. I’m satisfied because we are solving some set up problems and tomorrow I can be competitive”.

Tito Rabat, Wurth Honda BQR: 17th. “I’m happy with my time, my best ever here, but unhappy with my grid position, the speed is high this year. The bike is pretty good we did have an engine problem – I could feel something was not quite right so I didn’t push too hard, it felt as if it was not pulling too hard. I like this track, I was second here in a national race, so when the team fixed the problem I could run very fast today. I need a good start – if I get that then I can have a good race.”

Bradley Smith, Repsol Honda: 23rd.: “Well, today didn’t go really as planned. The first crash was really my fault, I didn’t allow the front tyre to warm enough. It’s a left-handed circuit and I went into the right-hander and the heat wasn’t quite in, my line wasn’t quite correct and with this mix together I crashed. Then I went out with the second bike and didn’t really do so well, though I did the best I could. We made some changes in the afternoon which I thought were ok but from the beginning the rear didn’t feel quite right. When I crashed I didn’t realise. It was all of a sudden. The rear slid and I went down. I went out on the second bike and improved on my lap time. After three crashes in the weekend and improving with bike number too, it’s a slightly positive thing, but negative overcomes everything positive this weekend. Tomorrow is when everything counts, so I’ll try to make a really good start, give everything in the first few laps and try to keep going until the end, and we’ll see what we can get.”

Michele Conti, Seedorf Racing World: 35th: “I found a lot of traffic during all the session and I couldn’t do a good lap”.

Kazuma Watanabe, Humangest Honda: 36th. “In this morning session and at the beginning of the qualifier my feeling with the bike wasn’t so good and I could not push as I would. Then, we put a different tyre and things went definitely better. In the last two laps, I suffered a small technical problem and couldn’t improve further. Anyway, we are going in the right direction”.

Joey Litjens, Molenaar racing: 38th : “I put too much pressure on myself in the qualifying session, I was too focused on a fast lap and was just trying too hard. The high temperatures of today didn’t help us, the near 30′ robbed us of a little power. The team have worked really well and have given me a bike that works well. They found a solution to the front fork problem we had yesterday and put in a longer first gear. I was 1.1 seconds faster today but I know if I had been relaxed I could have gone 0.5s faster.”

Clement Dunikowski, replacement rider for Mike Di Meglio, FFM Honda: 39th: “Today, the practices were more difficult than yesterday. This morning I started the session quite well with a Honda bike that had a very good maximum speed; I was 20th for a while and I quickly improve my lap time of two tenth. Then, I entered a corner faster and I unfortunately crashed. I finished the session with the second machine of the team but my ankle was very painful. After the free practice, I went to the medical centre because I could not walk. However, despite the medical cares, I was not in a good shape for the qualifying session. My ankle was still painful and I had a lot of difficulty to feel comfortable on the bike. I could not do again the lap time realized in the morning and so now, I am in 39th place on the starting grid. “

More, from a press release issued by Camel Media Service:

Camel Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi will launch his bid for the MotoGP World Championship title in the best possible circumstances tomorrow after sealing pole position for the final race of the season in today’s qualifying session at Valencia. The Italian repeatedly smashed the pole record here to make sure of the top spot, eventually clocking a best lap of 1’31.002 to hold off the twin challenge of Troy Bayliss and Loris Capirossi (Ducati), who join him on the front row. Tomorrow, in front of an expected crowd of over 120,000 fans, the five-time MotoGP World Champion will defend an eight-point advantage over Nicky Hayden (Honda) as he aims to secure his sixth consecutive title.

Hayden, the only man with a mathematical chance of denying Rossi, starts from the second row after qualifying fifth fastest, meaning there are three riders between the championship contenders on the grid. Unfortunately Rossi’s Camel Yamaha team-mate Colin Edwards is not one of those, having struggled to significantly improve his lap times on a qualifying tyre this afternoon. Nevertheless, the in-form Texan has set an impressive pace throughout the day on race rubber. In the morning free practice, when Rossi also topped the time sheets, Edwards was fourth fastest and in the afternoon he lapped consistently inside the circuit record before being forced to settle for tenth place on the grid.

VALENTINO ROSSI (1st 1’31.002; 30 laps) “We knew we had great potential with the qualifying tyre because we tried it this morning in the free practice and then this afternoon I did three very good laps, each one better and better and then the final lap was very fast. To do a 1’31.0 was really incredible. This pole position is crucial for me because it is an important part of my race tactics to start from the front. The session couldn’t have gone much better for us because we have a couple of other riders between myself and Nicky. It is a shame Colin is not one of them but he has a good race pace so hopefully he can help me out like he did at Estoril. The team has done a great job this weekend, especially with the balance of the bike. Now we need to make one or two small changes for tomorrow and then we’ll just wait and see. I hope the weather will be like this for the riders and for the fans because it looks like there will be a great crowd! Now we have the most important thirty laps of the season left to complete our target.” COLIN EDWARDS (10th 1’31.711; 28 laps) “I’m really pleased with the race setting although we could still make a little more time up in the second sector so that is something we will look at in the warm-up tomorrow. I’m also having a slight problem under braking into turn one but it’s good to know that even with those small setbacks we are still right up there in terms of the pace we can expect to see at the front tomorrow. The bike is a lot better than yesterday we were confident that the changes we had in mind would work and they did, so I have to give my thanks to the team for that. They’ve done a great job on the bike and we’re all set to give a good showing in the last race. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to get it done on the qualifying tyre today so the starting position is a little further back than we would like but I know this circuit really well and hopefully I can use that knowledge to make as many passes as possible at the start of the race, get up there and help Valentino win this championship.” DAVIDE BRIVIO CAMEL YAMAHA TEAM DIRECTOR “We couldn’t have asked for a better starting position for the most important race of the season but the main thing is that Valentino’s general feeling with the bike is good and he is comfortable going into such a big day tomorrow. Of course, anything can still happen but we feel ready for this last battle and happy in the knowledge that our bike will be competitive enough to go out and race. Unfortunately Colin wasn’t able to take advantage of the qualifying tyre today but we’re pleased with his pace on race rubber and we expect a big effort from him tomorrow. If he can get a good start then I’m sure he can stay with the lead group and help out Valentino, just like he did at Estoril. We are ready for D-Day!”