From a press release issued by Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha:
ROSSI AND CHECA ON JEREZ PROVISIONAL FRONT ROW
A blistering end to the first session of qualifying at the Spanish Grand Prix in Jerez today delivered a perfect result for the Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha rider and reigning World Champion Valentino Rossi. His provisional pole of time of 1:40.818 was a new absolute track record, almost 1.1 seconds faster than his own previous best, and two seconds faster than his race lap record. Rossi’s team-mate Carlos Checa, riding in front of his home crowd, went an impressive third fastest in battling style, with a fastest time of 1:41.427.
The end of the session proved to be a frantic and somewhat desperate affair, with Rossi well on his way to a further improvement in lap time with only a minute to go, only to be balked by another rider. Rossi headed the times almost throughout, but Checa went from second to seventh and back again, before making his final third place mark with no more laps left to run.
Rossi’s rich seam of form on the Yamaha YZR-M1 was evident early on, as he went fastest in this morning’s unofficial session, with Checa in seventh, still working through to an optimum set-up.
Splitting the Yamaha riders on the front row, thanks to another late charge, was local Honda rider Sete Gibernau (1:41.198), with the provisional second row headed by Max Biaggi (Honda, 1:41.546).
VALENTINO ROSSI (1st, 1:40.818)
“Honestly, when I saw the time on the computer I couldn’t believe it. We started with the same good rhythm as Welkom and we are in the front. The bike is going really well, it’s really agile and great to ride! We have some other things to try with the tyres, which we will do tomorrow morning. I don’t know if it will rain tomorrow but I’m more worried about Sunday’s weather anyway. I’m very happy, I love this track, it’s my favourite and the Yamaha goes well here. We are at a good level but for sure we are not at our maximum. We need more horsepower.”
CARLOS CHECA (3rd, 1:41.427)
“We are on the provisional front row but we know that the weather tomorrow might not be so good and I realised that today it was quite important to finish in a good position. In the morning we had a few troubles with the bike but I am happy with the work we have now done. I just need some more time to take the full potential from the bike. We are getting close with the settings and I feel more comfortable with the bike – a very different feeling from South Africa. Now I am looking forward to a dry race, but really we do not know what the conditions will be like.”
DAVIDE BRIVIO, GAULOISES FORTUNA YAMAHA TEAM DIRECTOR
“A very good session for our team. I think Valentino did an impressive lap time and would have improved even more if it hadn’t been for some traffic on track. It was a big improvement compared to the last time as well, 1.1 seconds or so. Unbelievable, and we are happy for that. It is also very good to see Carlos back again on a top position. Both riders are on the front row and that is very important today because it might rain tomorrow. It’s only Friday but it’s good to be here just in case.”
PROVISIONAL FRONT ROW
1. VALENTINO ROSSI (ITA) GAULOISES FORTUNA YAMAHA 1:40.818
2. Sete Gibernau (SPA) Telefonica Movistar Honda 1:41.198
3. CARLOS CHECA (SPA) GAULOISES FORTUNA YAMAHA 1:41.427
More, from a press release issued by Camel Honda Racing Information:
Positive first day in Jerez. Max and Makoto 4th and 5th fastest, a provisional second row start
It was an intense and supremely quick first qualifying session today in MotoGP, with times under a second faster than last year’s pole time. Both Camel Honda riders Max and Makoto ended up in 4th and 5th places after the last ditch rush for times, but this after having been the big movers in the second half of the session, where they sat in second and third place provisionally. They sit side by side on the provisional second row of the grid as it stands. Max and Makoto both made good progress, significantly putting in a good number of consistent and rapid laps. The only doubt is the weather forecast, and if the rain does arrive, the findings of the recent IRTA test session could become very useful indeed, where much of the work took place in the wet. It was a test in which Max Biaggi proved himself to be both fast and determined.
Sito Pons – Camel Honda (Team Principal)
“An extremely competitive first qualifying session, with times a second quicker than last year. I don’t think that the race times can be as low as this. In any case, the Camel Honda team riders are in the top 5 in this first session and if the weather doesn’t change we will have the necessary time tomorrow to improve our performance. Max has a good rhythm and top pace, which could prove the difference in the race.”
Max Biaggi – Camel Honda (Michelin tyres) – 4th – 1:41.546
“In comparison to this morning we’ve improved a lot, but not as much as we would have hoped. Nonetheless we’re working well and in good shape, perhaps not like the first day of practice in Welkom, but it’s only Friday and if the weather doesn’t mess us around we’ll have all tomorrow to improve too. Also if it does rain we know what to do and which direction to go in to be competitive, so the situation is quite clear. We need to improve the overall balance of the bike, which we still haven’t been able to get perfect yet.
Gianluca Montiron – Camel Honda – (Makoto Tamada Team Manager)
“Makoto Tamada has been very effective in this first qualifying session in Jerez. We have tried some new tyre compounds that Bridgestone brought for this Spanish GP and the first impressions are satisfactory. Makoto has also shown a step forward by putting in a sequence of very positive 5 lap stints. If the conditions don’t change too much tomorrow we hope to improve and to fine-tune the settings for the race.”
Makoto Tamada – Camel Honda (Bridgestone tyres)- 5th – 1:41.631
“We are constantly improving the set-up of the bike, and also from the point of view of the tyres. I’m eight-tenths off the provisional pole time, and even though the best time today is a really exceptional lap, my objective is still to close the gap to the front. I’ve already got an idea about my tyre choice for Sunday, and tomorrow I’ll try to confirm these thoughts.”
More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki Racing Team:
SIXTH AND SECOND ROW FOR FUCHS KAWASAKI’S NAKANO
Fuchs Kawasaki’s Shinya Nakano turned in another virtuoso performance during this afternoon’s opening qualifying session for Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix, finishing the hour long session sixth fastest aboard his Ninja ZX-RR to secure a place on the second row of the provisional grid.
But it wasn’t all plain sailing for the 26-year-old Japanese rider today. Minor machinery problems sidelined Nakano for much of this morning’s free practice session, with the result that the first opportunity the Fuchs Kawasaki rider had to evaluate a revised version of the Ninja ZX-RR engine was during the first half of this afternoon’s qualifying period.
Produced in response to feedback from both Fuchs Kawasaki riders, and providing more torque and better acceleration, the revised 990cc, inline four-cylinder ZX-RR engine certainly met with Nakano’s approval. After testing the engine during qualifying, and securing sixth position on the provisional grid as a result, the Fuchs Kawasaki rider declared the revised motor a definite improvement over the previous version.
Nakano’s Fuchs Kawasaki teammate, Alex Hofmann, was also beset by minor problems this morning, with the result that he too had to wait until this afternoon’s qualifying session to get on with the job of setting up his Ninja ZX-RR for Sunday’s 27-lap Spanish Grand Prix.
With 15 minutes of the session remaining, and having identified both a good race set up and a potential race tyre, the 23-year-old German rider returned to the pits for soft qualifying rubber. Hofmann’s first flying lap saw him jump up the timesheet, only to drop back to 14th place when a problem on his second qualifying run forced the Fuchs Kawasaki rider to back off and return to the pits, just as the chequered flag was unfurled to end the session.
Shinya Nakano: 6th – 1:41.645
“An electrical problem on one bike and a problem with the rear brake on the other may have cost us set up time this morning, but the fact that we had a successful test here less than two months ago meant that I wasn’t unduly worried going into this afternoon’s qualifying session. We have a new specification engine here this weekend, which I tried properly for the first time this afternoon. My initial impression is that it offers better acceleration over the older engine, and that could well prove crucial this weekend. We concentrated on finding a good set up and tyre for the race this afternoon because, with rain forecast for tomorrow, we knew this might be our only chance this weekend. My lap times were not so bad on the race tyre, but I think we can improve further as long as the rain stays away tomorrow.”
Alex Hofmann: 14th – 1:43.004
“It’s been a little difficult today; not what we were hoping for at all really. We had a few problems this morning that cost us practice time, with the result that we were only able to start testing race set-up and tyres at the start of this afternoon’s qualifying session. On a more positive note, we now have a base set-up that works around this circuit, which we can improve on tomorrow, and I’m satisfied that we have identified a tyre that we will be able to use in the race on Sunday. I got in one good lap on a qualifier this afternoon, but wasn’t able to improve on my second flying lap after a small problem halfway round. I’m still fairly confident going into tomorrow. Shinya has proved what the bike can do around here, and now he’s set the target, it’s up to me to try and match it.”
QUALIFYING PRACTICE 1 – FINAL TIMES
1. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha 1’40.818; 2. Sete Gibernau (SPA) Telefonica Movistar Honda +0.380; 3. Carlos Checa (SPA) Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha +0.609; 4. Max Biaggi (ITA) Camel Honda Team +0.728; 5. Makoto Tamada (JPN) Camel Honda Team +0.813; 6. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Kawasaki Racing Team +0.827; 7. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda +1.093; 8. Colin Edwards (USA) Telefonica Movistar Honda +1.182; 9. Alex Barros (BRA) Repsol Honda +1.323; 10. Kenny Roberts (USA) Suzuki Grand Prix Team +1.494; 11. Marco Melandri (ITA) Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha +1.661; 12. Ruben Xaus (SPA) dAntin Ducati Team +2.127; 14. Alex Hofmann (GER) Kawasaki Racing Team +2.186
More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki:
ROBERTS IN TOP TEN IN SPANISH QUALIFYING
Team Suzuki MotoGP rider Kenny Roberts Jr. fought the wind to claim tenth position in today’s first qualifying session for Sunday’s Spanish GP, with team-mate John Hopkins dropping to 13th, slowed by minor problems on his fastest lap. Roberts had started the day with fifth-fastest time in the morning free practice, with Hopkins one place behind him. In the timed afternoon session, strengthening winds complicated matters. Although both Suzuki men went faster still, the quickening pace meant they lost some positions.
The continuing strong performance of the two riders follows a promising start to the new season, with good results in testing, and in qualifying for the first round of the year in South Africa – though Roberts failed to finish that race after an electrical glitch. Kenny was second fastest in pre-season tests at Jerez, with Hopkins a close sixth fastest.
The Spanish GP is the second round and marks the start of the European GP season. Today’s practice took place in dry and sunny conditions at the 4.423km circuit.
There are two more hour-long sessions tomorrow but today’s times might determine the final starting grid position if the weather forecast of rain comes true. If so, then 2000 World Champion Roberts will start on the fourth row of the new-this-year three-per-row grid, with Hopkins on the fifth row.
KENNY ROBERTS Jr: 10th Position, 1:42.312:
“We had a really tough day with the wind … We know our issues, with needing some horsepower and a little bit better engine response for the tyre, so whenever it’s windy, it takes away from how you can accelerate out of the corners. This is the quickest I’ve ever been around here, and quicker than testing, but I’m pushing too hard for that lap time. We’re kind of limited out; it’s not easy enough. Hopefully the wind will die down a bit tomorrow, but then they say it might rain, so we’ll have to wait and see. The team did a good job regardless. We took two steps back and one forward at the start of the session, but we stayed focused and in the end came away with one of the better settings we’ve had. We still need to improve.”
JOHN HOPKINS – 13th Position, 1:42.954:
“I have to admit it – this afternoon was frustrating after this morning. We had a couple of little glitches and right now we’re undecided about the choice of race tyres, so we’re struggling a little there. We spent most of the session working on that. I was still in the top ten for most of the session. But with the bike as it is now, I’m not satisfied unless we’re in the top seven. I really wanted a good qualifying lap, because with the new grid the position makes that much more difference than last year. With a qualifying tyre, I kind of messed up with a minor shifting problem. I’m not where I want to be – I hope it’s dry tomorrow for another chance.”
GARRY TAYLOR – TEAM MANAGER:
Today was a bit disappointing. We’d expected better and I hope the weather allows us a second shot at qualifying tomorrow.”
More, from a press release issued by Proton Team KR:
Nobu hits chatter problems, Kurtis plays it safe
Nobuatsu Aoki: 21st, 1:44.536
Kurtis Roberts: 22nd, 1:45.899
Both Proton KR riders Nobuatsu Aoki and Kurtis Roberts overcame problems today to make sure of qualifying for Sunday’s Spanish GP – opening round of the European GP season.
Aoki was battling tyre chatter problems in the timed afternoon session, and his team were puzzling over the data recordings to try to trace the source of the problem, which struck going into the 4.423km circuit’s corners.
Class rookie Roberts was still gaining familiarity – not only with the new machine and the circuit, but with the whole MotoGP experience. The second son of team principal Kenny Roberts is lining up for his first GP in the top class, after withdrawing from the last round in South Africa, still suffering from problems with a dislocated shoulder, the result of a crash in pre-season training.
Provisional pole position was set by defending champion Valentino Rossi (Yamaha), winner of the South African GP. Today’s practice took place in cool but sunny weather, with a steady strong wind. One more day of qualifying remains before Sunday’s race, but rain is forecast, which would mean that today’s dry-weather times will determine the starting grid.
Nobuatsu Aoki
We made some progress today. We dropped the front of the chassis a little in the forks after the morning session, and that was an immediate improvement. After that I was really struggling with the rear wheel chattering and hopping, halfway through the corners before you open the throttle, and just before the corner exit. It really disturbed the bike. I thought there might be something wrong with the clutch or the tyre, but it was not the case. It was even worse with a qualifying tyre. I hope we can find the reason. Dunlop brought some new tyres here that worked pretty well – better than Welkom, though we’re not sure yet about durability. We need more time to test that.
Kurtis Roberts
I’ve still done only 30 laps on the new bike, including nine in South Africa, and it’s seven years since I rode at this track. I was able to pick up a couple of seconds in my eight laps this afternoon. Then the oil pressure dropped, and rather than risk blowing the engine I pulled in. My shoulder is getting better. It’s not right yet, but I can ride. I just need to get comfortable on the bike and with the tyres. You have to build up to it, and it’s going to take a little time.
Kenny Roberts- Team principal
It’s business as usual – Kurtis’s arm is improving, and Nobu ran into a chatter problem. When Kurtis had an engine problem we decided not to take a chance on something bad happening. We’ll start again tomorrow.
More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:
Not easy start for Ducati Marlboro men at Jerez
Ducati Marlboro Team riders Loris Capirossi and Troy Bayliss dedicated today’s opening practice and qualifying sessions to testing new parts for their Desmosedici GP4 machines. The pair ended this afternoon’s first qualifier in 15th and 17th positions, hoping that what they have learned today will help them move further up the grid tomorrow. The team’s main concern at the moment is to improve the machine’s performance in high-speed corners.
“We have new swingarms and different weight balance here.” Said Ducati Corse CEO Claudio Domenicali. “We need to find something more for this weekend, so we’ll sit down with both riders this evening and see what we can come up with for tomorrow. At the moment both riders have one bike with the new parts, the other with the original parts used at Welkom. Our plan for tomorrow is to give both riders two similar bikes so we can test tyres for the race, but we don’t yet know whether we’ll go for the new set-up or the original set-up.”
Unfortunately, latest weather reports aren’t good for the weekend – rain is forecast for tomorrow and Sunday.
Capirossi 15th but still smilling
Loris Capirossi may have ended the first day of the Marlboro Spanish GP an uncharacteristic 15th fastest but the Italian is remarkably calm and focused.
“I’m perfectly relaxed because I knew that the first few races with the new bike wouldn’t be easy,” smiled the Ducati Marlboro Team man. “Of course, we always expect better results, but I’m confident that we’re in control and will find our way out of this situation. We knew that this track would be tougher for us than Welkom, because the bike isn’t yet perfect in fast corners and there are a lot of fast corners here. We are testing many new things – not just bike parts but tyres also – and it’s not easy doing this during practice. The important thing is that the team is united and working step by step.”
Bayliss looking for the right feeling
Ducati Marlboro Team rider Troy Bayliss was confident after a reasonable performance in this morning’s first practice session but the Australian didn’t make the forward progress he had hoped for this afternoon.
“This morning I felt like I was getting the right kind of feeling, it wasn’t a bad start, but we didn’t make the bike any better this afternoon,” said Bayliss, who clocked the 17th best time in qualifying. “I’m trying hard and the team is trying hard but we’ve not found what we need, we’re still looking for something to turn the bike around. I’ve used both set-ups but at the moment there’s not a huge difference between the two of them. We need to have a sit down and see what we can come up with for the rest of the weekend.”
More, from a press release issued by d’Antin Ducati:
Xaus looking good at home
The d´Antin MotoGP riders today completed their first practices for the Spanish G.P in Jerez, mainly focusing on getting the best set-up for their Ducati Desmosedici. Both Xaus and Hodgson performed well, clearly showing some constant progress.
Rubén Xaus was in the top ten throughout the practice session, and both satisfied and hopeful for more, he finally ended up in twelfth place: “It has been a positive day for various reasons. I´m in twelfth place but I have a good rhythm with the race tyres and I´m hoping to be able to squeeze into the top ten. Today when I put the soft tyre on I realised that I was running completely off the racing line because I couldn’t make the best of it, and I don’t think today it was necessary to take any silly risks. As an anecdote, I have to say that I could see the fans in the stands today, and when I’d finished I wasn’t sure whether to wave to them, but I wasn’t sure what their reaction would be… Well, I saw a red Ducati flag waving and I tried to timidly raise my hand to it and… they responded. It made me really happy, and the only thing I’m regretting is getting to this race without enough experience to give them an even better result.”
Neil Hodgson, in contrast, decided to do the whole session testing race tyres, and picked up a whole host of information for Sunday’s race: “At the moment I’m in eighteenth spot, but I’m still of the opinion that position isn’t that important for us at the moment. Today I didn’t even try to set a time on a qualification tyre either. I had a technical problem in the first minutes of the qualifying session, and this always upsets your rhythm a bit, but we’ve worked towards the race and tomorrow we will continue to do so. I have to fine-tune the set up still, and then choose the tyre I’ll use in the race, because I’m still not certain. I like this circuit, and I’m very confident that I can get a good result.”
TIMES:
1st V.ROSSI 1.40.818
2nd S.GIBERNAU 1.41.198
3rd C.CHECA 1.41.427
4th M.BIAGGI 1.41.546
5th M.TAMADA 1.41.631
…
12th RUBÉN XAUS 1.42.945
18th NEIL HODGSON 1.43.627
More, from a press release issued by MS Aprilia:
Byrne on form in Jerez
MS Aprilia Racing’s Shane Byrne underlined his huge MotoGP potential this afternoon as the critical European phase of the 2004 season got underway at a cool and blustery Jerez.
The British rider ended first qualifying for Sunday’s Spanish GP in 16th position, the 27-year-old also showing the RS3 Cube’s potential when he was placed ninth with just five minutes of the hour-long session remaining. The British superbike champion knocked a massive 2.6s off his best time set in this morning’s free practice session, proving he’s also adapting to the super-soft Michelin qualifying tyres which become a key factor in the decisive final minutes of qualifying. Today was only the fourth time Shakey has used qualifiers and he ended with a best time of 1.43.024.
“On my first lap on qualifying tyres I made a couple of small mistakes, and on the second lap I came across a bit of traffic, “said Shakey, who made big strides with ignition mapping and chassis set-up for this afternoon’s session. “But I’m still pretty happy even though I’m 16th. On my second lap I was really fast in the second section of the track but it turned out my first lap was when I set my best time.”
Team-mate Jeremy McWilliams finished the session in 19th position, the experienced Irishman also producing a huge improvement by almost three seconds from this morning’s effort. McWilliams set his best time of 1.43.730 on his last lap, despite struggling with a chatter problem. “I had some problem with chatter so 19th position is pretty good. I’ll be trying a different set-up in the morning to see if we can find a solution.”
Both riders plan set-up changes for tomorrow to further improve the Cube, although forecasters are predicting rain to spread from northern Spain for both final qualifying and Sunday’s race, which is expected to attract a near 150,000 strong crowd to the 4.423km circuit.
More, from another press release issued by MS Aprilia:
Poggiali on provisional Jerez front row
Reigning world champion Manuel Poggiali qualified his RSW250 on the provisional front row of the grid for Sunday’s opening European race of 2004 at Jerez.
The San Marino rider was just 0.381s behind provisional pole-setter Sebastian Porto with a best time 1.44.054, which was well under the lap record pace. That was a vast improvement of 1.3s from this morning’s free practice when he finished fourth fastet.
Remarkably, Poggiali is still searching for his first ever podium finish at the Jerez circuit, located 100km south of Seville, but is confident he will change that statistic in Sunday’s race. “As usual, I was working a lot towards the race set-up, “said Poggiali. “The bike is working pretty good and the team has been working in the right direction.”
After such a positive start to the weekend, Poggiali will be hoping to continue Aprilia’s excellent Jerez record in Sunday’s Spanish GP. Aprilia has won five of the last six 250 GPs at the popular Andalucian venue, famous for an electric atmosphere on race day with well over 100,000 fans packing the grandstands and hillsides.
There is a major doubt though about the weather for the rest of the weekend, with rain forecast. But Poggiali said: “I have been looking at the forecasts and it won’t be good for us or for the show. I don’t think the rain will be a problem though.”
More, from a press release issued by Aprilia Racing:
Alex on provisional second row
Brimming with confidence after his brilliant fifth place in the season’s opening race in South Africa, Aprilia Racing’s Alex de Angelis qualified his RSW250 on the provisional second row in Jerez today.
The San Marino rider, preparing for only his second world 250 championship race on Sunday, ended the session with a best time of 1.45.258. Although he was satisfied with today’s performance, de Angelis knows he must do better if he is to repeat his podium finish in the 2003 Spanish 125 GP.
It should be better”, said de Angelis, who finished third twelve months ago. “Last year in the 125 race I finished on the podium and I am hoping to do the same again now I’m riding the 250. The bike was working well but I need to push harder to make a better lap time.”
Today’s provisional grid positions may ultimately count for Sunday’s race, with rain expected to replace this afternoon’s dry and sunny conditions over the remaining two days.
