FIM MotoGP World Championship Circuit de Catalunya Catalunya, Spain Gran Premi Cinzano De Catalunya Final Qualifying Results: 1. Valentino ROSSI, Italy (Yam YZR-M1), 1:41.855, Michelin 2. John HOPKINS, USA (Suz GSV-R) 1:41.984, Bridgestone 3. Kenny Lee ROBERTS, USA (KR RC211V), 1:42.055, Michelin 4. Chris VERMEULEN, Australia (Suz GSV-R), 1:42.211, Bridgestone 5. Shinya NAKANO, Japan (Kaw ZX-RR), 1:42.216, Bridgestone 6. Loris CAPIROSSI, Italy (Duc GP06), 1:42.247, Bridgestone 7. Nicky HAYDEN, USA (Hon RC211V), 1:42.305, Michelin 8. Casey STONER, Australia (Hon RC211V), 1:42.344, Michelin 9. Marco MELANDRI, Italy (Hon RC211V), 1:42.492, Michelin 10. Randy DE PUNIET, France (Kaw ZX-RR), 1:42.620, Bridgestone 11. Dani PEDROSA, Spain (Hon RC211V), 1:42.648, Michelin 12. Colin EDWARDS, USA (Yam YZR-M1), 1:42.655, Michelin 13. Sete GIBERNAU, Spain (Duc GP06) 1:42.712, Bridgestone 14. Toni ELIAS, Spain (Hon RC211V), 1:42.853, Michelin 15. Makoto TAMADA, Japan (Hon RC211V), 1:42.869, Michelin 16. Carlos CHECA, Spain (Yam YZR-M1), 1:43.606, Dunlop 17. Alex HOFMANN, Germany (Duc GP05), 1:44.626, Dunlop 18. James ELLISON, Great Britain (Yam YZR-M1), 1:44.727, Dunlop 19. Jose Luis CARDOSO, Spain (Duc GP05), 1:45.562, Dunlop 250cc GP Qualifying: 1. Andrea Dovizioso (Hon RS250R), 1:46.792 2. Jorge Lorenzo (Apr RSV250), 1:46.892 3. Alex DEBON (Apr RSV250) 1:47.040 4. Alex de Angelis (Apr RSV250), 1:47.718 5. Hiroshi Aoyama (KTM), 1:47.751 6. Shuhei Aoyama (Hon RS250R), 1:47.852 7. Roberto LOCATELLI (Apr RSV250), 1:47.939 8. Jakub Smrz (Apr RSV250), 1:47.943 9. Yuki Takahashi (Hon RS250R), 1:47.978 10. Marco SIMONCELLI (Gilera) 1:48.118 125cc GP Qualifying: 1. Alvaro Bautista (Apr RS125R), 1:50.281 2. Mika KALLIO (KTM), 1:50.504 3. Pablo NIETO (Apr RS125R), 1:50.549 4. Hector FAUBEL (Apr RS125R), 1:51.082 5. Julian SIMON (KTM), 1:51.186 6. Lukas Pesek (Derbi), 1:51.338 7. Simone CORSI (Gilera), 1:51.379 8. Nicolas TEROL (Derbi), 1:51.418 9. Thomas Luthi (Hon RS125R), 1:51.454 10. Sergio GADEA (Apr RS125R), 1:51.481 More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki Racing: SECOND ROW FOR SUPER SHINYA AT CATALUNYA Kawasaki’s Shinya Nakano put in a strong performance aboard his Ninja ZX-RR during this afternoon’s qualifying session in Spain, to secure fifth position on the grid for tomorrow’s Grand Prix of Catalunya. The 28-year-old Kawasaki rider struggled yesterday with a lack of stability under braking, leaving him down in 13th place on the timesheet, but bounced back strongly today after changes made to his Ninja ZX-RR overnight. Nakano was first to stake his claim for pole position this afternoon, grabbing the top spot just minutes into the qualifying session. The Kawasaki rider remained in the top five for the next 30 minutes, before once again stealing provisional pole with another flying lap on race tyres. At the end of the qualifying session Nakano posted the fifth fastest time to secure a place on the second row for tomorrow’s race, and the Kawasaki rider is confident that his performance today on race tyres means that a good result is a distinct possibility in tomorrow’s 25-lap Grand Prix of Catalunya. Nakano’s Kawasaki teammate, Randy de Puniet, also ran top five on race tyres for much of this afternoon’s hour-long qualifying session, but was forced to settle for tenth position, and the fourth row, on tomorrow’s grid after suffering with brake problems on his final flying lap. Although disappointed not to be starting closer to the front of the grid, the 25-year-old Frenchman remains confident that a good result in the race is possible, especially if the conditions experienced during qualifying today continue into tomorrow. Shinya Nakano: 5th – 1’42.216 “Conditions were hard this afternoon. The temperature is a lot higher than yesterday, which meant there was less grip, but the bike was working well. We made some changes to the suspension settings today, to find a better balance with the bike, and we also made some changes to the gear ratios to better suit this circuit and to take advantage of the additional revs we have available from the engine. Only small changes, but they have had a positive effect, with the result that we were running top five on race tyres for much of the qualifying session, with very consistent lap times. This, more than our final qualifying position, is a good indication of our potential for tomorrow’s race. Anyway, fifth position on the grid is not so bad and, after the two sessions today, I’m more confident going into the race tomorrow.” Randy de Puniet: 10th – 1’42.620 “I’m a little disappointed with my final qualifying position; I had some brake problems as I came round to start my final flying lap and this meant that I wasn’t able to make use of my last qualifying tyre. It’s a shame, as I am confident I could have improved my grid position by at least one row. On a more positive note, we made some small changes to the bike that have definitely made it easier to ride; today I could open the throttle earlier without the rear spinning up straight away. This afternoon, on race tyres I did two good runs on the bike to go top five on the timesheet, so we know that, if the conditions for tomorrow’s race are similar, we will be competitive. So, overall, I’m happy with the progress we’ve made today and I’m looking forward to the race tomorrow.” Naoya Kaneko: Technical Manager “Between the morning and afternoon sessions we made some changes to both bikes to improve stability on corner entry without compromising agility in the turns, with positive results. We then focussed on identifying a suitable race tyre for tomorrow and then refining the set-up of the bikes to suit better the specific characteristics of the tyre we feel offers the most potential. If both riders make a good start tomorrow, then I think it’s possible for us to leave here, and head to the next round at Assen, with two good results behind us.” QUALIFYING PRACTICE – FINAL TIMES 1. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Camel Yamaha Team 1’41.855; 2. John Hopkins (USA) Team Suzuki MotoGP +0.129; 3. Kenny Roberts (USA) Team Roberts +0.200; 4. Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Team Suzuki MotoGP +0.356; 5. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Kawasaki Racing Team +0.361; 6. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati Marlboro Team +0.392; 7. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team +0.450; 8. Casey Stoner (AUS) LCR Honda +0.489; 9. Marco Melandri (ITA) Fortuna Honda +0.637; 10. Randy de Puniet (FRA) Kawasaki Racing Team +0.765 More, from a press release issued by Marlboro Ducati: DUCATI MARLBORO MEN WORK HARD IN THE HEAT Ducati Marlboro Team riders Loris Capirossi and Sete Gibernau were sixth and 13th quickest in this afternoon’s tightly packed Catalan GP qualifying session, with just 1.014 seconds covering the quickest 15 riders. Both men worked hard to get the best out of their Desmosedici GP6s in hot and humid conditions, World Championship leader Capirossi ending the day just 0.392 seconds off pole position after a scintillating final lap at the track where he won Ducati’s first premier-class success in 2003. Gibernau, who qualified on pole position at Mugello two weeks ago, was 0.857 seconds down today but still confident that overnight set-up changes, following detailed analysis of his data from the day’s two outings, could turn things around for his home race. The team is delighted with the progress made by Bridgestone at this difficult race, because even though the riders’ grid positions aren’t brilliant, their race pace isn’t so bad. LORIS CAPIROSSI, 6th fastest, 1m 42.247s “Considering the way I rode that last lap, I think I deserved better than sixth place! But sixth means the second row and that’s not so bad. We are still working on our bike set-up, it’s more difficult than usual, and I’m pushing harder on the track, which means it’s easy to make mistakes. There are other Bridgestone bikes faster than us, so we still have some improvements to make. Even so, I’m satisfied, not with our qualifying performance, but with the way we have worked so far. This morning I was the only guy who did 18 laps on race tyres and my lap times were pretty good. Bridgestone have made a very big step forward at this track. My best lap today would have given me pole last year and my race pace this morning would have put me on the podium last year. Obviously everyone has improved since then but while we were in real difficulties here last year, we are now in a position where we can do something. Anyway, we must believe in ourselves and I am determined as ever. Tomorrow I will give 100 per cent until the chequered flag.” SETE GIBERNAU, 13th fastest, 1m 42.712s “Starting the race from so far back is going to make it hard for me. There’s nothing we can do now about my grid position but I think we can do something for the race, because all the lap times are pretty close, so if we can get a good start and do some good laps, we could be okay, though it’s definitely going to be hard. We’ve just got to keep our heads down and work something out for warm-up. I think we have a margin of improvement that I’m sure the team and myself will be able to work around and I’ll also try and put something else into it. We are going to try quite a few things in the morning, a little bit of everything! It’s more tough than usual here because it’s my home race, I know my way around and I like the track, we just haven’t been able to get me comfortable with the bike. I can’t get into the corners the way I like to get into them, it’s something in the balance of the bike that I can’t work out. And because I’m getting into the corners bad, I’m also getting out of them bad. There’s been talk of rain tomorrow but I hope not, I want a dry race.” Temperatures: Ambient: 28 degrees C. Track: 46 degrees C More, from a press release issued by Camel Yamaha: ROSSI MAKES TIMELY RETURN TO POLE IN BARCELONA Camel Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi will line up in pole position for the first time in almost a year when the MotoGP World Championship riders take their place on the grid for the seventh round of the season at Catalunya tomorrow. The Italian has been in excellent form all weekend and after continuing yesterday’s job to set his YZR-M1 up for the 25-lap race, he was able to concentrate fully on a burst of quick laps at the end of this afternoon’s qualifying session. His fastest lap registered a new pole record of 1’41.855 and put him at the front of the MotoGP grid for the first time since the 2005 British Grand Prix last July. Colin Edwards also followed up positive work on his two machines yesterday with further progress in the morning free practice, when he set the fourth fastest time on race tyres. However, slight changes to the setting of his bike and the extra grip offered by a softer rear tyre had a detrimental effect as he pushed for a quick lap time at the end of the qualifying session, the American eventually dropping to twelfth place on the grid as a host of riders posted one-off flying laps, despite not matching the consistency demonstrated by Edwards. Rossi will be joined on the front row by two of Edwards’ compatriots, John Hopkins (Suzuki) and Kenny Roberts (Honda KR). VALENTINO ROSSI (1st 1’41.855; 26 laps) “I am really, really happy it is a big satisfaction to be back on pole after such a long time. The bike has been working really well all weekend and I have to say a big ‘thank you’ to everybody at Yamaha and all my engineers because they have worked so hard to build this new chassis and then make it work so well in such a short space of time. I said yesterday that we have been able to work in a normal way and this meant that today I was able to focus on finding a good setting for the qualifying tyre and putting some fast laps in at the end. It is the first time I have had this pleasure in a long time and to do it at this track is amazing because it is so much fun to ride here. There are some tough riders out there but I have a special feeling in front of these fans. They always treat me so well and I want to put on a good show for them tomorrow.” COLIN EDWARDS (12th 1’42.655; 26 laps) “I don’t seem to be getting any kind of luck in qualifying lately. We haven’t had so much time yet with the new chassis and unfortunately when I put the softer tyre on it kept folding the front end, so I couldn’t push harder for a time and get the place on the grid that my pace would otherwise reflect. Also we made a couple of changes to the setting nothing major, just a millimetre here or there but it seemed to add to the extra force on the front so we perhaps would have been better sticking to what we found in the morning. Tomorrow we’ll have to go backwards a little bit with the setting and no doubt we can go forwards a lot during the race!” DAVIDE BRIVIO CAMEL YAMAHA TEAM DIRECTOR “Of course it is very nice to be back on pole but the most pleasing thing is to see the constant progression we have made with the bike from Le Mans to Mugello to here. To come off the back of that win in Italy to take pole here is a reflection of the excellent work the team has done with the bike and we hope that this situation is now the ‘norm’ until the end of the season. It will be a difficult race tomorrow and we are still not sure of the conditions, but we know we can be involved and it will be up to Valentino to keep fighting to the end, as he always does. Colin has a good race pace but he didn’t manage to get the best out of the qualifying tyres at the end. He will have another fight on his hands over the first few laps so we will see what happens.” FIRST ROW VALENTINO ROSSI (ITA) Camel Yamaha Team, 1’41.855 John Hopkins (USA) Team Suzuki MotoGP, 1’41.984 Kenny Roberts (USA) Team Roberts, 1’42.055 SECOND ROW Chris Vermeulen (AUS) Team Suzuki MotoGP, 1’42.211 Shinya Nakano (JPN) Kawasaki Racing Team, 1’42.216 Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati Marlboro Team,1’42.247 THIRD ROW Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team, 1’42.305 Casey Stoner (AUS) Honda LCR, 1’42.344 Marco Melandri (ITA) Fortuna Honda, 1’42.492 COLIN EDWARDS (USA) Camel Yamaha Team, 1’42.655 More, from a press release issued by Gresini Racing: MELANDRI OPTIMISTIC AHEAD OF CATALUNYA RACE Toni ElÃas looks for turning point in front of home fans High temperatures (Ambient: 28ºC, Track: 46ºC) made life difficult for the FORTUNA HONDA riders today as they worked on their set-up for tomorrow’s race alongside the rest of the team run by Fausto Gresini. Marco Melandri and Toni ElÃas, who qualified in ninth and fourteenth place respectively, stuck to their work programme for the day as they aimed to improve rear feeling with their RC211V machines. The pair also tried several different Michelin tyre compounds at the demanding Catalunya circuit. The weather forecast for tomorrow is good and should add to a spectacular show for the thousands of MotoGP fans expected to descend on the track tomorrow. MARCO MELANDRI (1’42″492, 9th): “It wasn’t an easy day for us. In the afternoon we improved the rear feeling with the bike and I put in a good time on a qualifying tyre. Unfortunately when I tried to improve on that I crashed. Tomorrow we’ll see another great race and I’m looking forward to it because I really like this track. We still have time to respond and I hope to make the most of it. I’m sure we can find a setting that allows us to be competitive in the race.” TONI ELIAS (1’42″853, 14th): “We’ve done a good job throughout the day, gathered a lot of information and now we have to analyse the situation and react to it because that is the only way to head into tomorrow’s race with any sort of guarantee. We still have a traction problem but hopefully the heat from the crowd can eliminate that! It will be exciting start and I’ll be trying to make up as many positions as possible. I’m really looking forward to racing in front of my people.” CLASSIFICATION 1. V.Rossi (Ita/Yamaha) 1’41″855 2. J.Hopkins (usa/Suzuki) 1’41″984 3. K.Roberts jr (USA/Honda KR) 1’42″055 . 9. M.Melandri (Ita/Honda) 1’42″492 14 T.Elias (Sp/Honda) 1’42″853 More, from a press release issued by Dorna Communications: Rossi heads MotoGP grid for Gran Premi Cinzano de Catalunya Gran Premi Cinzano de Catalunya – Saturday 17th June 2006 Valentino Rossi takes his first pole since 2005 Under bright Spanish sunshine on the outskirts of Barcelona, the MotoGP World Championship held the all important qualifying sessions to decide grid positions for tomorrow’s Gran Premi Cinzano de Catalunya. Fans flocked to the circuit from far and wide, and were not left disappointed after three fantastic battles to top the timesheets. A rider with a history of success at the Circuit de Catalunya, Valentino Rossi will start tomorrow’s crucial race at the head of the field, taking the 31st premier class pole of his illustrious career. The Camel Yamaha rider justified his position as the favourite for tomorrow’s Gran Premi Cinzano de Catalunya by storming round the track in a time of 1’41.855, the fastest that he has ever ridden around the Montmelo track. The early stages of the qualifying session saw Rossi take a trip onto the grass, before he came back to take the spectacular pole. Second place on the grid goes to John Hopkins, the Suzuki rider also breaking the 1’42 barrier on a great day for the team. Another rider delighted with his qualifying performance will be Kenny Roberts Jr, one of the most prominent riders during the previous three sessions at the Catalunya Track. On board his father’s KR211V machine with the Honda engine, the American former World Champion takes his first front row start since Donington 2004, third on the grid. Chris Vermeulen earned his best dry weather qualifying position of 2006, putting two Suzuki bikes in the first four whilst Shinya Nakano continued his fine run of qualifying form with a fifth position on the Kawasaki. Championship leader Loris Capirossi rounds off the second row for tomorrow’s race, ahead of closest rival Nicky Hayden, Casey Stoner and late crasher Marco Melandri on row 3. French rider Randy de Puniet completes the top ten ahead of home rider Dani Pedrosa who disappointed in qualifying despite having shown good pace throughout the weekend. 250cc Grand Prix Andrea Dovizioso took his second 250cc pole position of the season after a blistering final hot lap of the Montmelo circuit allowed him to overtake both Fortuna Aprilia riders. Humangest Racing’s Italian star was one tenth of a second ahead of Jorge Lorenzo, with a lap of 1’46.792. Lorenzo had set this morning’s fastest time. The Spaniard’s team-mate and provisional pole-man Alex Debon, standing in for the injured Hector Barbera, took an impressive third position. Alex de Angelis will round off tomorrow’s front row, ahead of Aoyama brothers Hiroshi and Shuhei. Roberto Locatelli and Jakub Smrz will also start from row two for the 250cc Gran Premi Cinzano de Catalunya, with Yuki Takahashi and Marco Simoncelli the other riders in the top ten. 125cc Grand Prix Alvaro Bautista took his third pole position of the season in the 125cc category today in Catalunya, the Master MVA Aspar rider clocking a time of 1’50.281 to edge out Mika Kallio by two tenths of a second. Jorge Lorenzo’s 2004 pole record was beaten by Bautista as he headed a mainly Spanish front row, joined by Pablo Nieto and Hector Faubel. Mattia Pasini, winner in Mugello, will lead the second row, alongside Julian Simon, Lukas Pesek and Simone Corsi. Nico Terol and Thomas Luthi completed the top ten. There was disappointment for the Repsol Honda Team this morning, as their expected 125cc British partnership for tomorrow’s race was cancelled. Late wild card addition Daniel Webb, a rising star of the Red Bull MotoGP Academy, suffered a fractured radius of the right arm in the final practice session. He was assessed in the Clinica Mobile before being taken to the Clinica Dexeus in Barcelona, where the injury will be looked at by Dr Xavier Mir. Rookie Bradley Smith will continue to ride in tomorrow’s race, whilst his expected team-mate will miss the next round of the CEV Buckler in Albacete. Tomoyoshi Koyama will be another absentee from tomorrow’s 125cc grid, having suffered a fractured left wrist in the qualifying session, whilst Stefan Bradl also misses out. Pole position, Valentino Rossi (Yamaha), 1’41.855 : “It is a great, great pleasure to earn this pole. I finished with another mile left on the tyres, and I wanted to do another lap to say “ciao” to the spectators. It’s been a long time off pole, and I’ve been struggling with the M1, but I need to thank Michelin and Yamaha. Especially at the end we had time to set up qualification tyres, and the last lap was a great one, I have a lot of fans in Spain and I am looking forward to racing in front of them against other great riders.” 2nd, John Hopkins (Suzuki), 1’41.984 : “The possibility of that podium is always there, and we are trying as hard as we can. The Bridgestones are really coming along. You can’t count us out but it will be difficult race with the heat and I think we can get a good result.” 3rd, Kenny Roberts Jr. (KR211V), 1’42.055 : “Certainly since China we got some advice from Honda. We added it to the bike and we have slowly been working on the set-up. I knew we’d be competitive, the race pace has improved, and from yesterday to this morning we were riding well. When two riders arrive at the team it’s going to be interesting, with our history in motorsport. We need to improve obviously but we can do better for sure.” More, from a press release issued by Rizla Suzuki: HOPKINS AND VERMEULEN SCORCH TO TOP FOUR STARTS AT CATALUNYA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP racer John Hopkins has qualified a superb second for tomorrow’s Gran Premi Cinzano De Catalunya, with team-mate Chris Vermeulen securing his best dry conditions qualifying result to head the second row in fourth position. Hopkins (P2, 1’41.984, 26 laps) powered his Rizla Suzuki GSV-R to second place on the front row just 0.129 seconds behind pole setter Valentino Rossi. Hopkins could possibly have been on pole, but a yellow flag being shown on his final lap forced him to back off the power slightly and cost him the valuable fractions of a second that may have given him his first-ever pole position. During this morning’s final free practice session Hopkins worked hard with his crew to get the best set-up for Sunday’s race and headed the leaderboard for the majority of the session. Vermeulen (P4, 1’42.211, 26 laps) will start the race directly behind Hopkins, from the front of the second row. His fourth place is his best qualifying position since his pole in Turkey and he will be looking to capitalise on this result during tomorrow’s race. He recorded long runs on his Suzuki GSV-R in search of the optimum combination of set-up and Bridgestone tyres for Sunday afternoon. Today’s qualifying was held in very warm and sunny conditions with air temperatures reaching 28°C and track surface temperatures a scorching 46°C, making tyre choice for tomorrow’s 25 lap race an important factor. The lights will change to go for round seven of the MotoGP World Championship at 14.00hrs local time (12.00hrs GMT) when both Rizla Suzuki riders will be aiming for glory. John Hopkins: “Yeah, I can’t say that I’m unhappy with the result today. We’ve been working really hard with Bridgestone, and the Suzuki has come along very well especially from where we were here last year. Right now we have been trying to put in as much effort as possible on the race tyres and things aren’t looking too bad. It’s going to be a hard race for us tomorrow with the heat and everything but we are looking to get the maximum out of myself, the bike and the tyres. Front row is where I wanted to be so we just have to get off the line good and go for it. “With the qualifying tyres this afternoon I just went out, turned my brain off and went for it! Luckily I got on the front row, but it’s about time I got that watch for pole position we’ll certainly be going all out to get that the next two or three races, that’s for sure.” Chris Vermeulen: “Things have gone well this afternoon; we’ve made a lot of changes to the bike today. We learned a lot this morning, we tried to do lots of laps with a race tyre and we have found one that is quite consistent. I did 19 laps this afternoon on it and my last lap was reasonably quick. Obviously with the qualifiers on we improved the times dramatically and almost got to the front row but we’ll work on that for the next time!” Paul Denning – Team Manager: “Today has been the best qualifying result for the team as a whole all season, and that’s a result of the outstanding efforts of Suzuki, the full crew and of course John and Chris. To get into the 1min 41 second lap times in this heat is hell of an effort and John’s commitment was there for all to see today. Second is a fantastic result but it surely can’t be long before he gets that pole position that he wants! Today was Chris’ first run on a qualifying tyre around the Catalunya circuit, and to put his Rizla Suzuki anywhere near the front row is an amazing achievement and to be only 0.356 off pole is fantastic. “As far as the race goes, when you consider the difficulties that Bridgestone suffered here in 2005, the step they have made this year is superb, but it’s going to be hard work in these temperatures to maintain durability and the lap time of which the bike and riders are both capable. Having said that the starting positions help a great deal and I’m sure both riders will get their heads down to run as close to the front group as possible.” Gran Premi Cinzano De Catalunya Qualifying Practice Qualification: 1. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) 1’41.855: 2. JOHN HOPKINS (RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP) +0.129: 3. Kenny Roberts Jr (KR211V) +0.200: 4. CHRIS VERMEULEN (RIZLA SUZUKI MOTOGP) +0.356: More, from a press release issued by Honda Racing: ROBERTS FINDS FORM TO START FROM FRONT ROW Kenny Roberts (Roberts KR211V) was the star of MotoGP qualifying here in Catalonia as he put his Honda-powered machine on the front row. Only Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) on pole and second fastest qualifier John Hopkins (Suzuki) outpaced the former World Champion. In searing heat, with track temperatures at an elevated 43 degrees, this was a punishing hour of final qualifying that proved tough for Honda’s regular front-runners. Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC211V) could only manage seventh on the grid, Casey Stoner (LCR Honda RC211V) eighth, Marco Melandri (Fortuna Honda RC211V) ninth, and local hero Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC211V) 11th. Stoner had been showing his speed in the previous three sessions, but could not up his pace to the level required in this timed hour. Although he topped the timesheet very early on, the Aussie rookie slipped back as the clock ticked down and he will have work to do in tomorrow’s race. Pedrosa showed well early on too with a 1m 43.227s lap, until Hayden dislodged the rookie revelation with a 1m 43.189s time to take an early provisional pole. But Dani had more in store and ran a 1m 42.926s time to take back the lead in the standings. But as the half-hour mark approached Shinya Nakano (Kawasaki) made his presence felt with a 1m 42.806s lap to head the grid. Marco Melandri (Fortuna Honda RC211V), Toni Elias (Fortuna Honda RC211V) and Makoto Tamada (Konica Minolta Honda RC211V) were languishing in 14th, 15th and 16th at this stage. The Montmelo track is notorious for its changing levels of grip according to variations in temperature and this hour had all the hallmarks of a typical Barcelona afternoon as the thermometer climbed so the grip level varied and made choosing a possible race tyre and getting in a hot lap on qualifying rubber a difficult operation. Nakano’s Kawasaki team-mate Randy de Puniet briefly occupied pole with 20 minutes to go, as did Suzuki’s John Hopkins, but with 13 minutes left Rossi turned a 1m 42.264s lap to head the standings. Sete Gibernau (Ducati) then deprived his bitter rival of pole before Rossi regained it with the 1m 41.855s lap that was not to be beaten in the remaining minutes. But if the pole remained off limits for the rest of the field, the fight for the remainder of the grid placings was compelling. Roberts went fourth with ten minutes to go and recent history suggested that the American would soon lose out as rivals upped the pace. Sure enough, Hayden slotted into second with six minutes left, but his time of 1m 42.368s would not prove quick enough for the joint World Championship points leader to remain on the front row. And it was Hopkins who first nudged him off. Then as Hayden’s bid for the front places lost its shine, Kenny Roberts upped his game to place the KR machine on the front row as fastest Honda qualifier. With Vermeulen, Nakano and Loris Capirossi occupying the second row, Hayden heads row three next to Stoner and Melandri, who fell without injury at the hairpin in the final minutes. Roberts said, “We were pretty close at Mugello and we learned a lot at the test on the Monday after the race and we just put it altogether here. If we had a second rider in the team we would improve even faster than we have done these past few weeks. Thanks to the input we had from Honda at China and our own design team I’m pretty sure I can run a fast race pace tomorrow.” Hayden said, “We were alright this afternoon on race tyres, we were up there close to the front, though we’ve definitely still got some work to do if I want to be a contender tomorrow. It hasn’t been the most silky smooth day of my life. This morning I was going quite well when I had a little crash on the brakes when I tipped it in at the end of the back straight. I was just pushing hard and I was in a bit hot it was a little bit of rider error.” Stoner, who showed no ill effects from his crash at Mugello two weeks ago, said, “I’m relaxed about today and not bothered that I’m not starting closer to the front, I have a very strong race set-up. On the qualifying tyre I didn’t have a good feeling and I’ll have to make up some positions at the start of the race. We made a big step with the rear-end and race tyre set-up today which has improved rear grip.” Melandri, 9th fastest, said, “It wasn’t an easy day for us. In the afternoon we improved the rear feeling with the bike a little but and I put in a good time on a qualifying tyre. Unfortunately when I tried to improve on that I crashed. Tomorrow we’ll see another great race and I’m looking forward to it because I really like this track Pedrosa, down in 11th, said, “My team has done a really good job from the beginning of this weekend and we’ve been quick and consistent in the other sessions. But unfortunately we didn’t make such a good plan for the qualifying tyres and at the end of the session I had a lot of traffic. On the warm up lap with my last set of qualifiers there were four riders who were slowing down from their flying laps in the middle of the track. This cost me a lot of time and I couldn’t make a fast lap.” Elias, 14th fastest qualifier, said, “We’ve done a good job throughout the day, gathered a lot of information and now we have to check the data and react to it because that is the only way to head into tomorrow’s race with any sort of guarantee. We still have a traction problem but hopefully the heat from the crowd can eliminate that! It will be an exciting start and I’ll be trying to make up as many positions as possible.” Tamada was downbeat about his 15th place on the grid, more than one second shy of the pole time. The Japanese said, “I’m not happy about my grid position. I’ve got rear grip problems and what disturbs me most is the rear tyre movements are starting early during acceleration and not allowing me to check the slides.” 250cc series points leader Andrea Dovizioso (Humangest Racing Honda RS250RW) notched his second pole of the season with a lap of 1m 46.792s. The Italian was faster by just one tenth of a second than his title rival and home hope Jorge Lorenzo (Aprilia). The man standing in for the injured Hector Barbera, Alex Debon, qualified third fastest on the second factory Aprilia, and Alex de Angelis (also Aprilia) completes the front row of the grid. With the immediate retirement of Sebastian Porto (Repsol Honda RS250RW), it was left to his team-mate, the rapid Shuhei Aoyama (Repsol Honda RS250RW) to keep the team in the hunt for honours with a sixth place on the grid. There will be no replacement rider this weekend for the veteran Porto, who has now called time on a glittering career. Yuki Takahashi (Humangest Racing Honda RS250RW) slotted his machine onto the third row of the grid with a ninth place display. The Japanese, who is currently in third place overall in the points standings, will thus have more work to do than he would wish tomorrow. Dovi said, “It was important for me to do well here in Barcelona and this pole makes me feel even better than at Le Mans. I don’t usually care so much about my position in qualifying, but this time I’m very satisfied to be in front because this is a nice, hard, technical track, where a rider can make the difference. The Aprilias are very fast here with this straight so long, but I did the pole anyway so this is good.” Aoyama said, “I’m more or less satisfied with practice today, because I could have been quicker in my final fast laps, but I made some mistakes that prevented me from improving my time. We are however in a good position and we’ve been improving step-by-step, as we did in France. We have a good set-up, the tyre choice is clear and the rider is ready to make a good race, just like in Le Mans a couple of weeks ago.” Takahashi said, “Despite a tyre that wasn’t at the right temperature as I went out of the pit box, I decided to push hard because I was behind Andrea, who was doing his ‘hot’ lap. Unfortunately, though, I lost the front and fell off and so I couldn’t improve my time. I crashed out twice this weekend, but apart from this I am satisfied about the job we’ve done so far.” The half-hour of 125cc final qualifying belonged to Spanish World Championship points leader Alvaro Bautista (Aprilia) who coaxed his machine to an unassailable 1m 50.281s lap time. Mika Kallio (KTM) qualified second, Pablo Nieto (Aprilia) third and Bautista’s team-mate Hector Faubel fourth. Kallio was among the front-runners early in the session, as was Gabor Talmacsi (Humangest Honda RS125R), but the Hungarian Honda man faded as the session wore on and he had to be content with an eventual 14th fastest time for a fourth row start. Fabrizio Lai (Seedorf Racing Honda RS125R) qualified 13th fastest while reigning World Champion Thomas Luthi (Elit Grand Prix Honda RS125R) was tenth fastest and will start from the third row in tomorrow’s race. This is Luthi’s second best qualifying performance so far this season. Luthi said, “When the final session started I had to try some different tyres. The first set I had was so-so but I liked the second set I tried. The bike was really good in that session handling was good and the engine really fast. I was alone out there and had to push really hard to get my time. Apart from a couple the riders ahead of me on the grid no one can is likely to be able to run at that pace for more than a few laps.” Talmacsi said, “I pushed at the limit throughout the qualifying session but eventually it wasn’t enough. I need more acceleration out of the turns and, more importantly, in turning the bike because the balance of the bike doesn’t let me run fast enough. The positive thing is that I made the same times with race tyres on and this is good for tomorrow.” MotoGP: Kenny Roberts Jnr, KR Honda: 3rd. “That was pretty good for us I had been out there alone and it was only in the last few minutes that I had somebody ahead of me to aim at. The lap timer was not working so I didn’t know the lap time till I came in. We were pretty close at Mugello and we learned a lot at the test on the Monday after the race and we just put it altogether here. If we had a second rider in the team we would improve even faster than we have done these past few weeks. The rain here didn’t help but we have a good base set up now thanks to the input we had from Honda at China and our own design team. I’m pretty sure I can run a fast race pace tomorrow. The chassis works the way we want it to the engine is strong and the tyres and suspension couldn’t be better.” Nicky Hayden, Repsol Honda: 7th. “We were alright this afternoon on race tyres, we were up there close to the front, though we’ve definitely still got some work to do if I want to be a contender tomorrow. It hasn’t been the most silky smooth day of my life. This morning I was going quite well when I had a little crash on the brakes when I tipped it in at the end of the back straight. I was just pushing hard and I was in kinda hot it was a little bit of rider error which didn’t help and slowed down progress a little bit. Plus, we’re getting a bit too much heat in the rear tyre which is a bit of a worry for me and I might have to shake-up my tyre choice a little bit. Qualifying didn’t go just great. On my last lap I had a pretty good lap going but in the last split I just got completely hosed in last corner, a dude just pulled in front of me, and that cost me a shot at the front row. Still, we’ll give it all we’ve got in the race tomorrow.” Casey Stoner, LCR Honda: 8th. “I’m relaxed about today and I’m not bothered that I’m not starting closer to the front, I have a very strong race set-up. On the qualifying tyre I didn’t have a good feeling and it’s easier to make up some positions at the start of the race. We found a big step with the rear-end and race tyre set-up today which has improved rear grip. I’m going to race with the standard 16.5 inch front tyre, the newfront tyre I tried yesterday still lacks some braking stability although it has better mid-corner feel.” Marco Melandri, Fortuna Honda: 9th. “It wasn’t an easy day for us. In the afternoon we improved the rear feeling with the bike a little but and I put in a good time on a qualifying tyre. Unfortunatley when I tried to improve on that I crashed. Tomorrow we’ll see another great race and I’m looking forward to it because I really like this track. We still have time to respond and I hope to make the most of it. I’m sure we can find a setting that allows us to be competitive in the race.” Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 11th.. My team has done a really good job from the beginning of this weekend and we’ve been quick and consistent in the other sessions. But unfortunately we didn’t make such a good plan for the qualifying tyres and at the end of the session I had a lot of traffic. On the warm up lap with my last set of qualifiers many riders were waiting for me, and then at the first corner there were four riders who were slowing down from their flying laps in the middle of the track. This cost me a lot of time and I couldn’t make a fast lap. Well, I’m 11th so I have to think about tomorrow and try to do a really great start this is now very important and a great race. Obviously I’m disappointed to be this far back, especially at my home race, but the race set-up of the bike is pretty good and we’ll have to see if we can handle the race pace tomorrow.” Toni Elias, Fortuna Honda: 14th. “We’ve done a good job throughout the day, gathered a lot of information and now we have to analyse the situation and react to it because that is the only way to head into tomorrow’s race with any sort of guarantee. We still have a traction problem but hopefully the heat from the crowd can eliminate that! It will be exciting start and I’ll be trying to make up as many positions as possible. I’m really looking forward to racing in front of my people.” Makoto Tamada, Konica Minolta Honda: 15th. “I can not be happy of my position in the starting grid of the Catalunya Grand Prix. This morning we could obtain a clear improvement of the performance of yesterday while in the afternoon, with the hot weather, I could not sufficiently exploit the rear tyre grip. What disturbs me the most are the rear tyre movements starting in acceleration and impeding me to check the sliding efficiently.” 250cc: Andrea Dovizioso, Humangest Honda: 1s: “It was important for me to do well here in Barcelona and this pole makes me feel even better than Le Mans. I don’t usually care so much about my position in the qualifier, but this time I’m very satisfied to be in front because this is a nice, hard and technical track, where rider can make the difference. Aprilias are very fast here with this straight so long, but I did the pole anyway so this is good. I want to thank my team because they are doing a great job: race by race, session by session I feel more and more confident riding my Honda. My pace is also good and so I can do well tomorrow. I think that my main rival is going to be Jorge Lorenzo, but there are other riders that have a good rhythm”. Shuhei Aoyama, Repsol Honda: 6th”Despite the tyre wasn’t at the right temperature as I just went out of the pit box, I decided to push hard because I was behind Andrea, who was doing his ‘hot’ lap. Unfortunately, though, I lost the front and fell off and so I couldn’t improve further my time. I crashed out twice this weekend, but a part of this I am satisfied about the job we have done so far. I have a good feeling with the bike and I’m okay with the tyres for tomorrow as well”. Yuki Takahashi, Humangest Honda: 9th. Despite the tyre wasn’t at the right temperature as I just went out of the pit box, I decided to push hard because I was behind Andrea, who was doing his ‘hot’ lap. Unfortunately, though, I lost the front and fell off and so I couldn’t improve further my time. I crashed out twice this weekend, but a part of this I am satisfied about the job we have done so far. I have a good feeling with the bike and I’m okay with the tyres for tomorrow as well”. Martin Cardenas, Wurth Honda BQR: 18th. “The qualifying session was the best one of the weekend so far. We had front-end problems from the start of practice and I couldn’t get the bike to hold its line. We changed the settings, made them stiffer an it helped. We still have some work to do before the warm up but we are close. The rear end was sliding a bit but that’s nothing to worry about. The engine is very good so if we improve a little I will be OK in the race.” Arturo Tizon, Wurth Honda BQR: 19th. “”Tomorrow we have to turn everything up-side-down to find solutions to the setting problems we had in the qualifying session. I will go back to close to the set up we ha at the IRTA pre-season test at this circuit.” Fabrizio Perren, Stop and Go Racing: 21st. “I had a small problem with the engine today, a little down on power. We expected to run at 1m 49s but could not get below the 1m 50.1s time we set yesterday. We are closer to the leaders than at Mugello so I feel OK with that. If I get a good start and get in a good group I know I will have a good race.” Arnaud Vincent, Molenaar Honda: 22nd. “The session was bad because the engine was down on power. No acceleration and not enough top speed. Pity because I rode well today and the team have given me a good chassis and suspension set up. If I get a good engine fo tomorrow I will have a good race.” Sebastian Porto, Repsol Honda: Sebastian Porto has announced his retirement from racing. 125cc: Thomas Luthi, Elit Honda: 10th. “When the final session started I had to try some different tyres. The first set they gave me were soso but I liked the second set I tried. The bike was really good in that session handling was good and the engine really fast. I was alone out there and had to push really hard to get my time. I felt the limit apart from a couple the riders ahead of me on the grid cant run that pace for more than a few laps.” Gabor Talmacsi, Humangest Honda: 11th.”I pushed at the limit throughout the qualifying session but eventually wasn’t enough. I need more acceleration in exiting the curves and, most important, I struggle in turning the bike because the balance of the bike doesn’t let me running fast. The positive thing is that I make the same times with race tyres on and this is good for tomorrow”. Fabrizio Lai, Seedorf Racing World: 12th. “Today all the riders were motivated to do the best: in the first corner we were three or four very near each other. I was the more exterior and I touched someone and I crashed out. After I used the second bike, but it wasn’t perfect as the other one. I wasn’t perfect, too: my left hand hurt. I tried to do my best but the gap to recover for Hondas is too much. On fast tracks Aprilias are favoured and tomorrow it will be an hard race”. Sandro Cortese, Elit Honda: 19th. “I have many, many problems with the front tyre, and just a little on the rear but the rear we fixed already. I lost the front end completely once I had to bang my knee down on the track to get the bike back on two wheels. Then I came into the pit changed tyres but the front was just the same and I went into the gravel. I’m riding well and I set my time alone. If we can sort out the front end the bike will be good, the engine is fast. Tito Rabat, Wurth Honda BQR: 20th. “I have a very good set up for this track. This is the first time I will race a GP at Montmelo. I have raced two Catalan Championship races here so I know the circuit. The bike is fast and I am now 1.5s faster than ever before around here.” Aleix Espargaro, Wurth Honda BQR: 22nd. Once again a circuit with a long straight where my bike is not fat enough. was down on top speed today. I also had a few setting problems in the qualifying session so no way I could get a fast5 lap. Tomorrow I will give my best and hope to score my first points of the championship at my home GP.” Lorenzo Baroni, Humangest Honda: 23rd. “Finally we have found a good set-up of my Honda and my feeling with the bike has improved a lot. It has been made a good step forward since the first races, therefore I’m able to be more constant and fast in the long distance. So, I fell confident for tomorrow, but I need to make a good start and try to stay with the faster riders”. Michele Conti, Seedorf Racing World: 34th. “Today the qualifying session was well balanced and the classification shows it. The bike is ok but I have still to learn a lot”¦ Tomorrow it will be a very difficult race: I have not to lose the contact with the fastest group during the first lap to recover important positions”. Joey Litjens, Molenaar Honda: 36th. “I’m quite angry with myself. OK ‘half a second faster than at the test her but should have been faster. In final qualifying I was with a group but we didn’t go fast enough we just kept getting in each others way. Pity because the bike is really good, the engine is really fast. I know I can go at least half a second faster and will do it in the race tomorrow.”
