Final MotoGP Qualifying Results: 1. Alex BARROS, Honda, 1:37.202 2. Sete GIBERNAU, Honda, 1:37.329 3. Carlos CHECA, Ducati, 1:37.456 4. Valentino ROSSI, Yamaha, 1:37.643 5. Marco MELANDRI, Honda, 1:37.835 6. Loris CAPIROSSI, Ducati, 1:38.000 7. Colin EDWARDS, Yamaha, 1:38.003 8. Max BIAGGI, Honda, 1:38.009 9. Nicky HAYDEN, Honda, 1:38.123 10. Shinya NAKANO, Kawasaki, 1:38.283 11. John HOPKINS, Suzuki, 1:38.412 12. Ruben XAUS, Yamaha, 1:38.949 13. Troy BAYLISS, Honda, 1:39.033 14. Kenny ROBERTS, Suzuki, 1:39.628 15. Toni ELIAS, Yamaha, 1:39.836 16. Roberto ROLFO, Ducati, 1:41.327 17. James ELLISON, Blata WCM, 1:41.699 18. Shane BYRNE, KTM Proton KR, 1:41.705 19. Franco BATTAINI, Blata WCM, 1:41.728 20. Makoto TAMADA, Honda, 1:41.930 More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki Racing Team: NAKANO PRIMED FOR STRONG RACE PERFORMANCE AT ESTORIL Kawasaki rider, Shinya Nakano, will start tomorrow’s Portuguese Grand Prix at Estoril from tenth position on the grid, following another impressive qualifying effort this afternoon. Nakano’s Ninja ZX-RR heads the fourth row with a qualifying time that was almost a full second faster than his previous best for Kawasaki at this circuit. Although Nakano expected a little more from qualifying, he was boosted by another productive day of testing and evaluation in preparation for the 23-lap race. Riding alone, with his teammate Alex Hofmann out with a fractured wrist, Nakano again completed an exhaustive technical programme today. With a focus on race set-up, Nakano used most of this afternoon’s one hour qualifying session to complete a long race simulation that produced fast, consistent times. Nakano only switched to soft Bridgestone qualifying tyres late in the session. Following adjustments to both front and rear suspension, and tweaks to the chassis set-up, Nakano reported a more balanced feel on the bumpy and twisting infield section of the 4.1 km Estoril circuit. Tomorrow’s Grand Prix will be the second race for the 2005 model Ninja ZX-RR, now running the big-bang firing order motor that only came online in February. Despite being in an early development phase, the motor powered Nakano to an impressive fifth place in last Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix. The strong winds have been absent from Estoril during two days of practice and qualifying, and the forecast for the race is for similar mild and sunny conditions. Shinya Nakano: #56 – Tenth – 1’38.283 “The second or third row would have been better, but tenth is okay for the Ninja ZX-RR at this stage with our new motor. The top guys are faster on pure speed, but my bike and tyres were very consistent during my long run this afternoon; it feels good for the race. The set-up is more balanced compared to yesterday, but we need to continue to work on acceleration and traction. Anyway, the ZX-RR is much improved from last year.” Ichiro Yoda: Technical Director “I expected more today, at least the third row in qualifying, but perhaps the race will be a different story. Shinya did an endurance run of 20 laps, and the grip levels of our Bridgestone race tyres was very good. But there are many slow corners here, and this is an area of continuing development with our big-bang engine concept. We know we need more acceleration.” Harald Eckl: Team Manager “On this track, with such a long and fast straight, Shinya is going to need a very good start and a slipstream to stay with the leading group. He did it at Jerez, so hopefully it will be the same tomorrow, although this will be a very close, very tough race. Shinya is very consistent on race set-up; this is the strong point of the Ninja ZX-RR.” More, from a press release issued by Dorna Communications: Barros smashes pole record at sunny Estoril Alex Barros continued his dominance of the betandwin.com Grande Premio de Portugal on Saturday with the fastest times in the final free practice session and in afternoon qualifying, when he smashed the pole position record by 0.731 seconds. Barros, who was also fastest in both practice sessions yesterday, held off a strong challenge for pole from Honda colleague Sete Gibernau and Ducati’s Carlos Checa, who sealed his first front row start for the Italian factory in third place behind his Spanish compatriot. “I’m really, really happy,” commented Barros. “We’ve been working all weekend to find a good base setting for the machine. We tried some new Michelin tyres this morning and I was confused about what race tyre to choose, but we spent a lot of this afternoon’s session working on it and now everything is clear. At the end I put a qualifying tyre on and I was surprised by the lap time.” After leading the way in the closing stages of the session, Checa was knocked down to the second row by Valentino Rossi before a last lap charge that took him back above the reigning World Champion at the chequered flag. Rossi now heads an all-Italian second row from Marco Melandri, who made a brave challenge for pole after crashing his number one Honda just eleven minutes from the end of the session, and Checa’s Ducati team-mate Loris Capirossi. Colin Edwards was one of the riders to lose out in the late flurry for times, a mistake in the first turn of his fastest lap costing him valuable tenths and relegating him to seventh place on the Yamaha. Edwards is joined on the third row by Max Biaggi and his factory Honda team-mate Nicky Hayden, who had preceded Melandri into the gravel trap just as the pace increased in the final quarter of the session. John Hopkins also crashed out whilst putting together a lap that looked certain to put him on the front row, the Suzuki rider eventually qualifying eleventh fastest behind Kawasaki’s Shinya Nakano, whilst Makoto Tamada spent the majority of the session nursing his wrist after crashing his Honda early in the session. Fortunately for the Japanese rider his lap time on the third of his four laps was enough for the final position on tomorrow’s starting grid. Randy de Puniet bounced back from his crash in the opening round of the season at Jerez six days ago to take pole position for the 250cc race. The Frenchman and his Aprilia team-mate Sebastián Porto looked impressive throughout this afternoon’s session and look certain to provide a stern challenge Honda’s Dani Pedrosa, with Porto second fastest ahead of the World Champion today. Andrea Dovizioso completes the front row of the grid in just his second quarter-litre Grand Prix for Honda. Mika Kallio continued his domination of the 125cc class this weekend with a new pole record on the KTM. Kallio had already dipped under the previous record with his provisional pole time on Friday and today clocked held off the challenge of Honda rival Thomas Luthi. Series leader Maro Simoncelli was third fastest whilst fellow Aprilia rider Hector Faubel secured his first-ever front row start in fourth place. More, from a press release issued by Gauloises Yamaha: GAULOISES YAMAHA TEAM FACING RACE DAY CHALLENGE Gauloises Yamaha Team riders Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards will start from the second and third row of the grid respectively in tomorrow’s Portuguese Grand Prix after a highly competitive qualifying session at Estoril this afternoon. In bright sunshine and tepid ambient temperatures of 16º degrees, both Rossi and Edwards mounted pole attacks in an entertaining finale to the session but were unable to convert their good race pace into a front row grid position. Valentino Rossi, who has taken victory for the past four successive seasons at this circuit, qualified fourth fastest after working intensively on the race set-up of his YZR-M1 machine until the final fifteen minutes. The World Champion appeared to have sealed third place on the grid for tomorrow’s race after lapping inside last year’s pole record but he was dislodged by a surprise late flurry from Carlos Checa (Ducati). Rossi’s Gauloises Yamaha team-mate Colin Edwards also lost places in the late scrap for times, making a mistake on his best lap and dropping to seventh place. Alex Barros (Honda) took pole position with a time of 1’37.202 and is joined on the front row by Sete Gibernau (Honda) and Checa. VALENTINO ROSSI, 4th (1’37.643, 28 laps) “The bike has changed a lot since we raced here last year so we have had to work hard on the setting. It was probably better this morning than it was in the afternoon but it is virtually impossible to get a perfect set-up at this track and fourth place isn’t bad. I’m still having problems getting heat into the left-hand side of the tyre. We tried some different tyres today to try and fix that but we’re still not at 100%. There are four or five guys with a good rhythm and I think the pace will be very fast tomorrow. If the weather is good then it should be a group race and it will be a very tough battle.” COLIN EDWARDS (1’38.003, 28 laps) “That was tough! We’ve worked hard this weekend on my race pace and we’re pretty pleased with how it’s looking but I had difficulties again on the qualification tyres. Part of the problem is that you only have two laps to get it right and if you make a mistake it can cost you several positions on the grid. I ran a little wide in turn one on my best lap so there are definitely a few tenths we can make up. Generally we need to make the bike more stable and rider friendly but we’re getting there. We’ll see what happens with the weather tomorrow. I’d prefer it to be dry for the fans and the TV but I won’t mind if it rains it would be kind of good to have a wet race at this stage of the season and the bike felt good in the wet at the Jerez tests. Either way is good for me.” DAVIDE BRIVIO TEAM DIRECTOR “With Valentino we spent quite a lot of the session working on his race setting. He has a good pace but we will try to make it better in the morning. Colin also has a good base set-up but it is fair to say there is room for improvement with both of them. The last fifteen minutes were a good battle for the hot lap and some riders emerged who we haven’t seen much of this weekend. In any case both our riders have reasonable grid positions and a good race pace so we are confident. It is going to be a very tough race. If it rains it will be even more unpredictable!” More, from a press release issued by Camel Honda: Alex Barros scores stunning pole, Troy Bayliss recovers well The beaming smile on Alex Barros’s face was replayed by every member of the Camel Honda team today, as they awaited his arrival in the pits following his perfect lap, bringing home the pole position for the Portuguese Grand Prix. Fastest in all four of the practice sessions, Barros has demonstrated both consistency and speed improving last season’s pole time by around seven-tenths and is confident for tomorrow’s race. It is the fifth pole in the affable Brazilian’s career, after two whole seasons without a start from first place, all the way back to Malaysia in 2002. Once back in the pits, the first one to congratulate him was his teammate Troy Bayliss, who despite yesterday’s painful crash, rode at a good pace on race tyres. The Australian hope to make a good start so he can repeat the great race he managed in Jerez last Sunday. Sito Pons Camel Honda “It was a heart-stopping session, but in the end Alex was brilliant to have pulled out such a daring lap. He deserves it, both him and the team, for all the hard work they have put in this weekend. I am honestly delighted for this pole position in just the second race of the season. The race will undoubtedly be hard fought and difficult, but Alex has the pace to go well. I’m also happy for Troy because he set a lap-time that isn’t bad considering yesterday’s crash. I’m certain, knowing how determined he is, that in tomorrow’s race he will give the best of himself.” Alex Barros Camel Honda 1’37.202 Pole Position “I’m really happy, that’s easy to see, we’ve been going well all weekend. Straight away we showed that we have a good base set-up in the bike, whilst regarding the tyres, Michelin has helped enormously in getting over the issues caused by the cold track surface, colder than during last year’s race. In the first forty minutes of the official session I worked for the race mostly, trying to get the right rhythm for it, and just towards the end we stuck in a soft tyre which allowed me to take this pole. I’m truly pleased for myself and the whole team and I hope to have a good race tomorrow.” Troy Bayliss Camel Honda 1’39.033 13th position “First of all “well done!” to Alex, he did an extraordinary lap. We found it hard to get good grip, but I’m happy that I did my best lap with race tyres. Tomorrow in the warm up we will try a couple of small modifications, but the most important thing will be to get a good start so we can make the most of the good pace we showed today with the harder tyres. “ More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse: CHECA TAKES FRONT ROW START AT ESTORIL Ducati Marlboro Team riders Carlos Checa and Loris Capirossi overcame lingering injuries in the single Estoril qualifying session to secure third and sixth grid positions respectively. Checa, pole for a long period of time, set a best time of 1’37.456 to earn his front row start, and almost secured the best time of all once more, with his final lap. Capirossi, second fastest at one stage of the final hour, takes a second row start with a best time of 1’38.000, despite riding with a recently cracked ankle. Pole was secured by Alex Barros, with a best time of 1’37.202, only 0.254 ahead of Checa. Sete Gibernau completed the front row, second fastest. Ducati MotoGP project manager Livio Suppo recognised the performance of the entire squad. “A very good qualifying session, it’s just a shame that Carlos didn’t quite get pole because the screens were showing a red helmet until the very last sector. However first row for Carlos and second row for Loris is good enough!” CHECA CONFIDENT AFTER CONSISTENT WEEKEND The Ducati Marlboro Team rider agreed that this was a good track for him but is confident beyond today’s performance, having set competitive times with both race and qualifying set-ups. “This is not a very difficult track and it has many slow areas. The rest of it is similar to the other circuits. I had this result because of the team, the bike and the tyres. The package has given me the feeling and the grip to make good lap times. I am also happy because we set good laps with race tyres and this given me more confidence for tomorrow. I hope we can make the whole weekend a nice one, as the most important part is tomorrow’. CAPIROSSI MAKES PROGRESS DESPITE PAIN Ducati Marlboro Team man Capirossi turned in an excellent qualifying performance, despite the ill effects of his broken ankle. “I am pretty happy and less worried than yesterday. Today it was warmer and the tyres worked better. We have worked a lot on the chassis settings and we have seen that I can lap in 1.39 on race tyres. This is not bad at all. Unfortunately I still can’t ride as I want because I can’t move as want on the bike and I am afraid to fall and hurt my injury again. So far I have just had massages in my ankle to stop it pumping up, and no injections. Tomorrow I will have to have an injection, otherwise I don’t think I could finish the race.” More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki: Team SUZUKI MotoGP looking for good race result Team SUZUKI MotoGP will start Sunday’s Portuguese Grand Prix at Estoril hopeful that both its riders can advance through the field to fight at the front of the pack. John Hopkins and Kenny Roberts Jr battled against strong winds on their Suzuki GSV-R prototype race bikes and qualified on rows four and five respectively. Both riders will be looking to improve on those positions when the race gets underway tomorrow. Hopkins (1’38.412, P11) should have qualified higher up the grid but suffered a crash in the final sector of his fastest lap. He said: “I was on a good lap and pushed the bike past the limit and lost the rear. I feel it’s a bit unfortunate to be down in 11th place but having said that we are in a better position than we were at Jerez last week, as we have been able to run consistently fast times through the life of a race tyre. “I really wanted to be towards, or even on, the front row of the grid, but the crash made that impossible. I now want to make a good start in tomorrow’s race and see where I can go from there.” Roberts Jr (1’39.628, P14) used the final practice session this morning to its full extent by testing the different set-ups of his GSV-R’s. After a disappointing Friday, Roberts Jr was able to make back to back comparisons of the two bikes. He said: “We have been trying to find the best way forward for the bike and losing so much time yesterday really held us up. By the end of the practice session we had found a setting and gearing that were in the right direction. “Unfortunately the lost time meant we were never able to get the best from the bike and this reflected in the lap times. I know we have a tyre that will give good durability for the race so I am hoping for a better result tomorrow.” Team Manager Paul Denning is looking toward the race with guarded optimism, and commented: “John was unlucky on his best lap, he was showing that he could post a time comparable with anybody out there, but possibly the cold conditions caused the tyre to lose traction on the left side and he crashed. “He has shown over these last two days that he can put in consistently fast laps on a race tyre so we are hoping for better things in the race. As ever, it won’t be easy but John will always give it 100 per cent, of that we can be sure! “Kenny and his team worked hard on making up the time they lost yesterday and they have made considerable gains in finding the solutions they were looking for. Qualifying was nothing short of a disaster for Kenny, he went quicker in the final practice session on a worn race tyre. “I am now looking forward to the race and hope that the wind which has again been a difficult factor for us will drop so that we can compete on a level playing field.” Honda’s Alex Barros set the fastest time and will be in pole position when the race starts at 14.00CET (13.00 local time) tomorrow. More, from a press release issued by Telefonica Movistar Honda: PORTUGUESE GP – MOTOGP OFFICIAL QUALIFYING Sete Gibernau wasn’t in peak form when he arrived Estoril, already aware that it was going to be a Grand Prix of suffering. However, things got even worse today with a crash in the morning free practice delivering another blow to his injured left shoulder. A quick x-ray in the Clinica Mobile has revealed no fractures but did show up a further sprain to the acromioclavicular joint. Gibernau was given an anaesthetic injection which allowed him to compete in the afternoon session, when he qualified on the front row of the grid, just one tenth of a second off the pole time set by Alex Barros. Despite his performance, the worry now is whether or not he can last the full race tomorrow. This evening he will undergo anti-inflammatory injections and painkilling treatment as he aims to recover in time. Marco Melandri knocked more than two seconds off his time from yesterday, improving his set-up and rhythm as he moved to the second row of the grid. The Italian overcame a crash ten minutes from the end of the session and will launch another podium challenge from fifth on the grid as he looks to repeat his magnificent performance at Jerez. SETE GIBERNAU (2nd, 1’37″329): “It was already going to be a tough Grand Prix for us but the crash this morning has only made things worse. My shoulder was damaged some more and we’ve had to work around it a little. We’ve got a good pace and I was able to do a fast lap thanks to the painkillers but it’s pretty clear I won’t be able to ride like that through the whole race. I don’t want to rule anything out though the treatment I get tonight will be very important but we have to be ready to suffer and be calm enough to realise that if I am limited by my physical capabilities then it will be important to just gather as many points as possible because it’s a long season.” MARCO MELANDRI (5th,1’37″835): “The bike has improved a lot and we’ve taken a big step forward from yesterday. My crash was a schoolboy error I picked the wrong gear and went flying. The second bike was a bit different, the rear spring was too hard and it was tiring to ride. We still have to make some improvements to the front end but I’m looking forward to the race; fifth place is a good result”. More, from a press release issued by Honda Racing Information: BARROS SETS POLE AND LOOKS STRONG FOR RACE An hour of qualifying for tomorrow’s MotoGP race took place in sunny, but fresh conditions with Alex Barros (Camel Honda RC211V) snatching pole in the final three minutes with a lap of 1m 37.202 seconds to deprive Sete Gibernau (Team Movistar Honda RC211V) of top slot. Carlos Checa (Ducati) qualified third fastest. Just 1.081 seconds cover the top ten qualifiers. Reigning World Champion Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) starts from the second row as fourth fastest qualifier, 0.441 seconds off Barros’ time. Marco Melandri (Team Movistar Honda RC211V) lines up alongside him after setting the fifth fastest time on his number two machine after a late-session crash. Wind, on the west coast of the Iberian peninsular, was a factor, but less of a problem than in Jerez last weekend. The fairly low 16-degree track temperature proved more troublesome for riders on race rubber where grip proved in much shorter supply than on qualifying tyres. Max Biaggi (Repsol Honda RC211V) went second fastest behind his team-mate Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC211V) early in the hour before failing to coax any more speed from his RC211V the Roman eventually qualifying eighth with a best lap of 1:38.009. Hayden crashed at the hairpin with 20 minutes to go while lying sixth. He eventually qualified ninth fastest. It was Gibernau who first topped Barros’ Friday free training time with a 1:38.363 lap of the 4.182km track in the opening 15 minutes of the session. Max lay second fastest with Barros third and Hayden fourth at the halfway stage four Honda RC211Vs filled the first four grid positions. But perhaps of more lasting significance was Makoto Tamada (Konica Minolta Honda RC211V) crashing at the midway stage. The Japanese rider sustained damage to his right wrist and finished the session way down in 20th on the grid way down on row seven. Troy Bayliss (Camel Honda RC211V), who crashed heavily yesterday, managed to put himself on row five as 13th fastest qualifier, but his best time of 1:39.033 is nearly two seconds shy of his team-mate Barros’ best and no matter what Troy’s talents as a racer his grid position is a substantial handicap. Marco Melandri (Team Movistar Honda RC211V) was the hero of the hour. He showed remarkable determination in grabbing a second row start in fifth when it looked as if he would be relegated way down the starting order as other riders made use of their super-sticky qualifying rubber in the final ten minutes. He went second fastest in the final three minutes with a 1:37.900 lap and then put in a 1:37.835 lap on the next run. Then Gibernau displaced him before Barros put the session in perspective with his pole lap of 1:37.202. The two Hondas of Barros and Gibernau dominate the front row, but questions remain over the ability of Gibernau to last the race carrying the shoulder injury from contact with Rossi last weekend and whether Bayliss and Tamada can cope tomorrow after their crashes. Melandri at least proved his fitness with those two late session laps. “I’m happy,” said Barros. “All weekend we’ve had very good settings and so we could work hard on race pace. I was confused by tyre choice initially, but now it’s all clear for the race. The qualifying tyre worked really well and I was surprised at my lap time. This is good for Honda.” Gibernau, who crashed without injury in the morning free training session said, “This morning didn’t help, but this is a tough weekend and we have to stay strong. I’m going to suffer in the race and I’m not sure I’ll be able to stay on the pace my shoulder still needs treatment.” Melandri continues to shine on a Honda in MotoGP and said, “The bike has improved a lot and we made a big step forward from yesterday. My crash was a schoolboy error I picked the wrong gear and went flying!” Max said, “That was better than yesterday. We’ve been working on the electronics and the improvement was due to the work we did. But the job is far from done yet and some parts of the track are still a problem. But we’ll continue working in warm-up tomorrow and see how we go.” “That session was pretty lame really,” said Nicky. “I’m struggling to go fast consistently. Then when we got the bike going a bit better I crashed on my ‘in’ lap.” Brave Troy Bayliss, determined to get used to his RC211V after two seasons on Ducati, said, “First of all well done Alex that was a great lap he did. We’re finding it hard to get grip here, but I still did my best lap on race tyres which is more encouraging.” Makoto Tamada will undergo a medical assessment of his right wrist tomorrow morning after intensive physiotherapy overnight to decide whether or not he rides. “I’m very disappointed with today,” he said. “I’m determined to ride tomorrow even though I’m last on the grid and the pain will not be easy.” Randy de Puniet (Aprilia) secured pole position in the 250cc class with team-mate Sebastian Porto second fastest and Dani Pedrosa (Team Movistar Honda RS250RW) having to rely on his Friday time to stay third on the grid. Rapid rookie Andrea Dovizioso (Scot Racing Team Honda RS250RW) makes his first front row start in the class from fourth. Honda’s rookies are showing their class after graduating from 125cc racing with not only Dovi in fourth but Hector Barbera (Fortuna Honda RS250RW fifth fastest, Hiroshi Aoyama (Team Movistar Honda RS250RW) seventh quickest and Jorge Lorenzo (Fortuna Honda RS250RW) also on row two in eighth. Dani said, “I got caught in traffic on the last lap so couldn’t better my time, but I’m happy with things and ready for the race. I just hope it doesn’t rain like it has been in the mornings so far.” “I’m very confident for the race,” said Dovi. “Everything’s going well after the hell of Jerez. The chassis is good and the engine is strong, so we’ll see what the race brings tomorrow. I like this track, so if conditions don’t change too much we should be in good shape.” The final half-hour of 125cc qualifying belonged to Mika Kallio (KTM), who put his machine on pole for the first time in his career. But the Finn was shadowed all the way by lightning-quick Thomas Luthi (Elit Grand Prix Honda RS125R) who qualified second fastest. Marco Simoncelli and and Hector Faubel (both Aprilia) are third and fourth on the grid. Kallio had been fastest yesterday and held onto his advantage early as other riders strove to topple him. But try as Luthi might, first with a 1:46.215 lap, and then with his eventual best of 1:45.393, the young Swiss had to be content with second on the grid. Fabrizio Lai (Kopron Racing World Honda RS125RW) starts from the second row. The Italian got caught in traffic when he was trying for a quick lap, but is happy with his set-up and feels he has a race pace that should keep him in contention tomorrow. Alvaro Bautista (Seedorf Racing Honda RS125RW) starts from 11th on row three after shaving two seconds off his Friday time. After two seasons riding an Aprilia, he is getting comfortable on an RS125RW, and said, “The two sessions today were the best so far on the Honda for me, the front-end is really good and that gave me a lot of confidence.” Luthi said, “The bike is very good, both engine and chassis-wise. Yesterday I didn’t get a fast time because of the traffic so today I went alone to get a good time and I’m happy with what I achieved.” HONDA RIDERS QUOTES: MotoGP: Alex Barros, Camel Honda, Pole Position: “I’m really happy, that’s easy to see, we’ve been going well all weekend. Straight away we showed that we have a good base set-up in the bike, whilst regarding the tyres, Michelin has helped enormously in getting over the issues caused by the cold track surface, colder than during last year’s race. In the first forty minutes of the official session I worked for the race mostly, trying to get the right rhythm for it, and just towards the end we stuck in a soft tyre which allowed me to take this pole. I’m truly pleased for myself and the whole team and I hope to have a good race tomorrow.” Sete Gibernau, MoviStar Honda MotoGP, 2nd: “It was already going to be a tough Grand Prix for us but the crash this morning has only made things worse. My shoulder was damaged some more and we’ve had to work around it a little. We’ve got a good pace and I was able to do a fast lap thanks to the painkillers but it’s pretty clear I won’t be able to ride like that through the whole race. I don’t want to rule anything out though – the treatment I get tonight will be very important but we have to be ready to suffer and be calm enough to realise that if I am limited by my physical capabilities then it will be important to just gather as many points as possible because it’s a long season.” Marco Melandri, Movistar Honda MotoGP, 5th: “The bike has improved a lot and we’ve taken a big step forward from yesterday. My crash was a schoolboy error – I picked the wrong gear and went flying. The second bike was a bit different, the rear spring was too hard and it was tiring to ride. We still have to make some improvements to the front end but I’m looking forward to the race; fifth place is a good result”. Max Biaggi, Repsol Honda Team, 8th: “Much better than yesterday for sure. We’ve been working on the electronics and our step forward comes from there. Obviously, our job isn’t done yet. Particularly in some points of the track it is still too difficult to keep the lines. The qualifying lap could be much better but now we are thinking about improving the race set up for tomorrow. There’s not much time left but at least we know what to do.” Nicky Haydon, Repsol Honda Team, 9th: “The session was pretty lame really. I felt alright at the beginning but I was struggling to go fast consistently in the mid part of the session. We got the bike going a bit better then I crashed on my ‘in-lap’. Really strange. I checked the time and I was well off the pace. I just tipped the bike in and I was down. We had to switch bikes to my spare that was not set up the same. It’s never easy to get on a different bike with qualifying tyres on but we had no choice. Initially I thought the time was okay but when you’re a bit off here it’s row three! We’ll see tomorrow.” Troy Bayliss, Camel Honda, 13th: “First of all “well done!” to Alex, he did an extraordinary lap. We found it hard to get good grip, but I’m happy that I did my best lap with race tyres. Tomorrow in the warm up we will try a couple of small modifications, but the most important thing will be to get a good start so we can make the most of the good pace we showed today with the harder tyres. “ Makoto Tamada, Konica Minolta Honda Rider, 20th: “I’m very disappointed for what happened today. I was only at the beginning of the qualifying session and I still needed to find the right balance of the bike. The doctors are trustful that I can race tomorrow, but we’ll take the definitive decision only when I’ll wake up in the early hours of the morning. My hope is that I will make it to ride my bike tomorrow, even if I know that starting from the last position and with pain in my wrist will not be easy, but I will try to give my best.” 250cc: Dani Pedrosa, MoviStar Honda 250: 3rd: “I tried to improve my time at the end of the session but I ran into traffic on the track and I couldn’t complete my fast lap. But it’s important to be on the front row and I’m satisfied with both the rhythm and the set-up of the bike if it’s a dry race, although we haven’t selected the tyres yet. I think it will be a long race with a group of riders at the front, but as with Jerez I’d like my luck here to change and at least make the podium.” Andrea Dovizioso, Scot Racing Honda 250: 4th: “I’m happy not only with my front row position but also for the good setting of my bike, which I like very much. I could have got a better time following in the slipstream of another fast rider but I prefer to ride alone and not loose my concentration. I am ready to race but it will depend on the weather conditions and on the grip. We haven’t decided the tyres for the race yet, the warm up will be fundamental for tat decision.” Hector Barbera, Fortuna Honda: 5th: “The gap between me and the leaders is less this time and this has given me great motivation. If I start on the front row or second it doesn’t matter because I have a clear vision of my goal I will take the maximum out of this race.” Hiroshi Aoyama, MoviStar Honda 250: 7thth: “I’ve improved my lap time from yesterday quite a lot and that has allowed me to move up one row on the grid, although I am not completely happy with the session. I was only able to get one really good lap in and I need to be more consistent than that now that my feeling with the bike has improved. I’ll have to stay concentrated and get a good start to chase the lead group.” Jorge Lorenzo, Fortuna Honda: 8th: “I was better today than at Jerez. I need to study the best lines to take with this machine if I am to improve my performances.” Yuki Takahashi, Scot Racing Honda 250: 11th: “I found the right rhythm and I’ve memorised the track. During this session I have my performance but the setting was better this morning. Tomorrow we will use the solution adopted during free practice. If it rains on this track anything could happen. I will be careful.” Jakub Smrz, Molenaar Honda: 14th: “I didn’t start the session very well and crashed on the fourth lap. I got a bit of a bang on the head but I’m OK. The team worked hard to repair the bike and I got in 15 laps at the end of the session and set my fast time on my very last lap. I managed to beat my time of yesterday by 0.5s. The time is 1.4s faster than last year so I have to be happy, despite the crash.” Alex Debon, Wurth Honda BQR: 16th: “I crashed in the morning when I lost the front end, one corner before the place I crashed yesterday. I’m ÓK, the bike was damaged but the team has fixed everything. The engine is very strong this year and we have a pretty good set up. The race is tomorrow and I hope to again be in the top 10.” Radomil Rous, Wurth Honda BQR: 19th: “I had a clutch problem in qualifying and went into the pits. The mechanics fixed the problem and I had 20 minutes to get a fast time. I was 0.5s faster than yesterday and could have been faster but I ran into slower riders on my fastest lap.” 125cc: Thomas Luthi, Elit Honda: 2nd: The bike is very good, engine and chassis settings, I feel very comfortable on the bike. Yesterday I didn’t get a fast time because of traffic so today I went out first and set a fast time alone. That done I came in and changed tyres and went out and improved again so I have to be happy.” Fabrizio Lai, Kopron racing World Honda: 8th: “I had a lot of problems getting passed slower riders so didn’t get the best time possible. I am happy with my bike and hope to get a good start, and no rain in the race!” Alvaro Bautista, Seedorf RC3 Tiempo Holidays Honda: 11th: “The two sessions today were the best I have ridden on the Honda. We found a really good front end setting for the bike and that has given me a lot of confidence. Now we have found the right direction to go with the basic set up I feel very comfortable. The engine is strong so I think I will have a good race tomorrow.” Mike Di Meglio, Kopron racing World 12th: “I am satisfied. I am two seconds faster than yesterday. The changes we made to the set up, especially the rear end have really improved the bike. I met a lot of traffic and could not improve my time. I hope for a good start tomorrow and am able to stay with the lead group. “ Toshihisa Kuzuhara, Angaia Racing Honda: 15th: “The bike settings get better and better each time I ride the bike, I have learned a lot about this circuit. On my time attack lap I was caught in a traffic jam caused by a rider crashing. I still have some pain in my legs while walking but it is no problem while riding the bike.” Tomoyoshi Koyama, Ajo Motorsport: 16th. “We had a small carburetor problem this morning but we fixed that. The engine is very fast and the set up is getting better. My only problem is that I don’t have enough laps at Estoril. If I get a good start I will have a good race.” Alex Espargaro, Seedorf RC3 Tiempo Holidays Honda: 17th: “I am very happy with my performance so far, this is my first time at Estoril. The bike is very good, engine works well and now we have improved the feeling with the front end I am confident. I was one second faster today than yesterday and I am confident that I will be even faster tomorrow.” Alexis Masbou, Ajo Motorsport: 20th: “The engine is really good once we had sorted out the carburattion. This is my first GP here so when I started to go faster I needed to make suspension adjustments because it was difficult to change direction and I also had a little rear wheel chatter. Everything is much better now, I am very happy and looking forward to the race.” Sandro Cortese, Kiefer Bos Castrol Honda: 19th: “I am very happy my bike is very good. This is my first GP at Estoril and I like the track and have learned a lot in practice. I was more than one second faster today than yesterday and I set my time riding alone. The race will be very hard but I am really looking forward to racing tomorrow.” Angel Rodriguez, LG Mobil Galicia Honda: 34th: “Not so good today! The problem is that we didn’t get enough testing before the season started. I am still adjusting to the new bike and have not found the ideal set up.”
