Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.
Dry conditions
Temperature 28 degrees C
Final Combined MotoGP Qualifying Results:
1. Kenny ROBERTS, Suzuki, 1:48.418
2. Max BIAGGI, Honda, 1:48.572
3. Nicky HAYDEN, Honda, 1:48.580
4. Sete GIBERNAU, Honda, 1:48.618
5. Alex BARROS, Honda, 1:48.675
6. Loris CAPIROSSI, Ducati, 1:48.844
7. Makoto TAMADA, Honda, 1:48.848
8. Valentino ROSSI, Yamaha, 1:49.075
9. Shinya NAKANO, Kawasaki, 1:49.153
10. Troy BAYLISS, Ducati, 1:49.546
11. Colin EDWARDS, Honda, 1:49.648
12. Carlos CHECA, Yamaha, 1:49.673
13. Marco MELANDRI, Yamaha, 1:49.773
14. Alex HOFMANN, Kawasaki, 1:49.853
15. Norick ABE, Yamaha, 1:50.128
16. Ruben XAUS, Ducati, 1:50.240
17. John HOPKINS, Suzuki, 1:50.350
18. Jeremy McWILLIAMS, Aprilia, 1:50.942
19. Neil HODGSON, Ducati, 1:51.031
20. Shane BYRNE, Aprilia, 1:51.792
21. Nobuatsu AOKI, Proton, 1:51.955
22. Kurtis ROBERTS, Proton, 1:52.054
23. Chris BURNS, Harris WCM, 1:54.092
24. David DE GEA, Harris WCM, 1:54.116
Top Speeds From Saturday MotoGP Qualifying
Cinzano Rio Grand Prix
1. Max Biaggi, Honda, 330.5 kph, (205.4 mph)
2. Troy Bayliss, Ducati, 329.8 kph (204.9 mph)
3. Loris Capirossi, Ducati, 329.5 kph (204.8 mph)
4. Sete Gibernau, Honda, 326.4 kph (202.8 mph)
5. Makoto Tamada, Honda, 326.3 kph (202.8 mph)
6. Nicky Hayden, Honda, 325.8 kph (202.5 mph)
7. Neil Hodgson, Ducati, 325.7 kph (202.4 mph)
8. Valentino Rossi, Yamaha, 325.5 kph (202.3 mph)
9. Colin Edwards, Honda, 324.9 kph (201.9 mph)
10. Alex Barros, Honda, 324.6 kph (201.7 mph)
11. Ruben Xaus, Ducati, 323.1 kph
12. Marco Melandri, Yamaha, 322.4 kph
13. Norick Abe, Yamaha, 319.8 kph
14. Carlos Checa, Yamaha, 318.9 kph
15. Shinya Nakano, Kawasaki, 318.6 kph
16. Shane Byrne, Aprilia, 318.0 kph
17. Jeremy McWilliams, Aprilia, 317.7 kph
18. John Hopkins, Suzuki, 317.3 kph
19. Kenny Roberts, Suzuki, 316.1 kph
20. Nobuatsu Aoki, Proton, 313.2 kph
21. Alex Hofmann, Kawasaki, 312.1 kph
22. Kurtis Roberts, Proton, 308.6 kph
23. Chris Burns, Harris WCM, 300.0 kph
24. David DeGea, Harris WCM, 294.0 kph
More, from a press release issued by MotoGP reries organizers:
Roberts returns to pole in Rio
Kenny Roberts returned to the top of the MotoGP pile some four years after winning the World Championship at the Nelson Piquet circuit, setting pole position for the Cinzano Rio Grand Prix with a stunning new record. Roberts’ lap of 1’48.418 represents a first pole position for tyre manufacturer Bridgestone since they joined MotoGP two seasons ago and means both he and Suzuki will start Sunday’s race, which starts at 11:30 local time (16:30 CET), from the front of the grid for the first time since Valencia 2000.
“Bridgestone came up with a great tyre that allowed me to make time up in the corners which we lose down the straightaways,” commented Roberts. “We’ve had a new motor for the last couple of races and we’re making progress, just trying to make it back to where we know we can ride. It’s a long road but at least today there was a little sunshine.”
With Max Biaggi second fastest and Nicky Hayden third, there was no room on the front row for championship leaders Valentino Rossi or Sete Gibernau. Whilst Rossi struggled to adapt his Yamaha to the Jacarepagua track and qualified eighth fastest, Gibernau starts from the front of the second row in fourth place after running out of time when returning for a soft tyre at the end of the session.
Gibernau is joined on the second row by Honda colleague Alex Barros and Ducati rider Loris Capirossi, who recorded his best grid position of the season so far in sixth. Makoto Tamada, who scored his only podium here last year, heads up the third row from Rossi, who was comfortably the highest Yamaha of the day in eighth place, and Shinya Nakano on the Kawasaki.
Sebastian Porto delighted the local crowd with pole position for the 250cc race, the Argentinean clocking a new record of 1’52.503 to resist the attentions of resurgent Honda rider Toni Elias. With Elias finally settling for his highest grid position of the season in second place, Porto will also be joined on the front row of the grid by Aprilia colleagues Randy De Puniet and Manuel Poggiali, the current series leader and World Champion respectively.
Alex De Angelis and Dani Pedrosa were both impressive on their first visit to Rio with the quarter-litre machine, setting the fifth and sixth fastest times to lead the second row from privateer team-mates Sylvain Guintoli and Franco Battaini.
Hector Barberá improved his provisional pole time by 0.417 seconds to comfortably seal front spot on the grid for the 125cc race. The Spanish youngster was watched from the Seedorf Racing garage by one of the team’s major collaborators, Brazilian football star Roberto Carlos, as he set a new pole record of 1’57.323 to hold off the challenge of Andrea Dovizioso and Jorge Lorenzo at the end of the session.
With series leader Dovizioso taking second place and Lorenzo third, Mattia Pasini clinched the final front row spot with a late effort which ousted Casey Stoner from fourth. Like Stoner, Roberto Locatelli also lost his provisional front row slot after failing to improve on his time from yesterday, dropping to sixth place ahead of Mirko Giansanti, who crashed, and Pablo Nieto.
More, from a press release issued by Marlboro Ducati:
Rio Grand Prix, Jacarepagua
Final Qualifying
Saturday July 3 2004
DUCATI MARLBORO MEN ENJOY BEST GRID PERFORMANCE
Ducati Marlboro Team riders Loris Capirossi and Troy Bayliss scored the team’s best qualifying performance of the year so far at Rio de Janeiro this afternoon. The pair were sixth and tenth quickest on their Desmosedici GP4s, bettering their previous best of ninth and tenth at May’s French GP, and proving that the team is on the way back after a difficult start to the 2004 season.
Capirossi was particularly impressive on his Twin Pulse GP4, running as high as second during the session, ending up 0.426 seconds off pole despite a less-than-perfect final run. Bayliss had a more complicated afternoon, switching back and forth between his Twin Pulse and Four Pulse, completing the session on the latter after the Twin Pulse suffered a technical glitch.
“We’re happy because things are definitely getting better,” said Ducati Marlboro Team technical director Corrado Cecchinelli. “Of course, we aren’t completely happy because we still not right up front, but we know we’ve found a good direction in which to work. This is our best qualifying performance of the year so far, our best Saturday. Both riders ran a good pace on race tyres, we’ve got a good race set-up and we’ve pretty much made up our minds on which race tyres to use.”
Kenny Roberts claimed pole position today, bettering Max Biaggi by 0.154 seconds around the bumpiest MotoGP track of them all. Tomorrow’s race, the seventh of the year, will start at the earlier than usual time of 11.30am to avoid clashing with the final of the Euro 2004 football championship.
CAPIROSSI SIXTH, AND IT COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER
Loris Capirossi was happy with his sixth-place performance, though the Ducati Marlboro Team man could have been higher up the grid. Capirossi – who has both his bikes fitted with Twin Pulse engines – chose to use two different Michelin qualifying tyres during his final runs, a tactic that turned out to be a bit of a mistake.
“I decided to try two different types of tyre on my number-one bike,” explained Capirossi. “First I tried the newer, wider rear, then for my final run I used the older, narrower tyre. I didn’t really find the limit on the first run and I didn’t have enough grip with the narrower tyre. It was a mistake to try the narrower tyre because I don’t know it so well. So maybe I could have been a bit higher up the grid, but I’m happy because I’m confident of a good race tomorrow. I did a lot of laps on race tyres today and I was very happy with my pace.”
BAYLISS EQUALS BEST OF YEAR DESPITE MINOR PROBLEM
Ducati Marlboro Team rider Troy Bayliss equalled his best qualifying performance of the year today (he was also tenth on the grid at June’s Catalan GP) despite running into trouble with his number-one bike during the crucial final ten minutes of the session. Bayliss’ Twin Pulse bike suffered clutch trouble, forcing him to switch to his Four Pulse for his final qualifying runs. Despite the fault, the Aussie should be able to race the Twin Pulse tomorrow.
“That session wasn’t too bad,” said Bayliss, who was just 0.078 seconds off row three. “I’m happy with my times, though it’s difficult hopping from one bike to the other when they’ve got different engines. Then it all ended up being a bit of a rush, the Twin Pulse seemed like it went into neutral, so I had to get back to the pits and get the other bike for my last qualifying run. That didn’t make much difference as far as lap times go, because on a flat-out lap the Twin Pulse and the Four Pulse are pretty much the same. The Twin Pulse’s big advantage is over race distance because it’s smoother and easier to ride.”
More, from a press release issued by Fuchs Kawasaki:
MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2004
CINZANO RIO GRAND PRIX – NELSON PIQUET CIRCUIT
3RD JULY 2004 – QUALIFYING PRACTICE 2
NAKANO AND HOFMANN CONFIDENT FOR HOT RIO RACE
With final qualifying for the Rio Grand Prix bathed in glorious sunshine, Fuchs Kawasaki riders, Shinya Nakano and Alex Hofmann, have qualified ninth and fourteenth respectively for tomorrow’s race.
Both riders improved their lap times from yesterday’s first qualifying, but dropped back on the grid in a late burst of fast times on soft qualifying tyres. The closeness of the times, with Nakano just over half a second off pole position, reflects the ferocity of MotoGP competition.
Nakano had been sixth and Hofmann eleventh in first qualifying.
Hofmann’s final lap should have produced a faster time. The 24-year-old German rider was 0.3s up on his best lap through the first two sectors, but lost time when he ran wide on the exit of the left hand turn 10 and was on the grass on the short straight.
However, both Kawasaki riders are in a buoyant mood having spent a lot of time today on improving race set-up and tyre choice, which will be critical on the bumpy and abrasive Rio track.
The race will be hot and exhausting and unlikely to be run at the fast speeds set in final qualifying.
For tomorrow’s 24-lap Rio Grand Prix, Hofmann’s ZX-RR will run with revised engine management settings, aimed at improving throttle connection and feel; the latest step in Kawasaki’s engine development programme.
Nakano’s bike is running the current engine mapping specification, allowing Kawasaki engineers to compare performance data.
Hofmann will also use different clutch settings, with a view to boosting start line performance.
Kawasaki’s test program continues in Rio on Monday after the race when Hofmann will stay on to evaluate upgraded chassis parts.
Shinya Nakano: 9th (1’49.153)
“I expected a better qualifying position after being sixth yesterday, but with the times as close as they are I’m not unhappy. The positive point for us is that today our race tyre and set-up was fast and consistent, the ZX-RR chassis has good balance and is working well at this track. I’m confident for the race; I just need to make sure I make a good start.”
Alex Hofmann: 14th (1’49.853)
“I made a mistake on my final qualifying run, but I’m confident for the race because today I did some very consistent times on race tyres. The chassis balance is much better than yesterday and I think the race pace will be slower than qualifying on this track. With the new engine mapping the power connection with the throttle feels easier than before, and this is another reason to feel confident. On my final lap I was following Loris Capirossi and had a fast time going, but I was late on the brakes and then ran wide onto the grass on the exit. I stayed on the throttle but I lost a lot of time.”
Harald Eckl: Team Manager
“In terms of grid position I’m a little disappointed because the potential of the Ninja ZX-RR, our riders and the Bridgestone tyres is higher than this. However, our race set-up improved a lot from yesterday and we are well prepared for tomorrow. A top ten finish for both riders in tomorrow’s race should be a real possibility.”
More, from a press release issued by Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha:
Rio Grand Prix
Rio, Brazil
Saturday 3rd July
ROSSI AND CHECA BATTLE HARD IN FINAL QUALIFYING
Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha riders Valentino Rossi and Carlos Checa continued their joint quest to find a perfect set-up around the bumpy Brazilian tarmac at Rio today, with Rossi finishing his two days of qualifying eighth overall, Checa a disappointed 12th.
A sensational and overheated final qualifying session saw Rossi on the grass in his efforts to improve his starting position, his last lap providing him with a time of 1’49.075s. For Checa his very last lap was the only improvement on his Friday best, his time of 1’49.673s leaving him with a fourth row start in 12th place.
None of the top riders were able to improve on their first day times until the final 15 minutes of the Saturday session, at which point Max Biaggi (Honda) and Kenny Roberts (Suzuki) hopped up the starting order. Their progress started an avalanche of improvements in lap times from other top riders and all but one, Rossi’s great championship rival Sete Gibernau (Honda), went faster before the clock timed out.
Roberts was to take the pole position start, with a new qualifying record of 1’48.418s, while Gibernau starts from row two, thanks to his fourth fastest time of 1’48.618s.
VALENTINO ROSSI (8th, 1’49.075)
“We are having many problems here and we have tried to resolve them, but with not much luck. The set-up and the tyres are not working satisfactorily. The bike is moving around too much. Tomorrow will be difficult because we will be starting from further back. It’s quite an interesting starting grid and I’m still going to fight for the podium. We will try more modifications tomorrow morning to improve the stability. The bike is affected a lot by the track here. We still have some ammunition up our sleeves and hopefully in the 20-minute warm-up tomorrow we can make a difference.”
CARLOS CHECA (12th, 1’49.673)
“When we got rid of one problem in one area we had another problem in another area. It is difficult to find a good compromise here without losing something important somewhere else. We have to increase the grip of the front contact patch and improve the rear movement. With this feeling it is impossible to keep the speed up when leaning over. That was the main reason that I cannot be more competitive on this track, a track I really like. I am struggling to find a better compromise. For tomorrow, I hope we can start the race in a better condition.”
DAVIDE BRIVIO – TEAM DIRECTOR
“For Valentino we were able to fix some problems with his bike set-up and he had a good pace through the session. I think it is a pace which will allow him to stay in the top positions tomorrow. The problem is that after his last lap on a qualifying tyre he did not have time to come in and get another one, so he had to stop before the end. Also he made a small mistake when coming out of the last corner, when he drifted onto the grass. That is why we have this grid position, but overall Valentino has a good consistent pace. The grid position on the third row means he will have to work more tomorrow. With Carlos it is a little bit different because he is still not fully comfortable with the settings. We will have to see what we can improve in morning warm-up. It will be a difficult race because of the starting positions, so we will have to
More, from a press release issued by Telefonica Movistar Honda:
RIO GP – 2nd OFFICIAL QUALIFYING SESSION
SETE SETS THE RHYTHM IN RIO
Sete Gibernau is prepared to go for his third victory of the season at the Rio Grand Prix, which kicks off with the MotoGP race at 11.30 local time on Sunday. With 28ºC ambient temperatures and 37ºC on the track, the Spanish rider focused on an endurance test for the race, which promises to be a tough affair given the high temperatures and bumpy track surface. Sete starts in Rio from the front of the second row thanks to his time from yesterday (1’48″618), but is confident of fighting for victory after setting a consistently quick pace. Colin Edwards knocked half a second off his time from yesterday and starts from eleventh on the grid.
SETE GIBERNAU (4th, 1’48″618): “If you look at the race times we have done they are really good and at the end, when we were putting the qualifying tyre on, the rear clip came off and I wasn’t able to put a fast lap in. If it wasn’t for that I’m sure I could have improved my time but ! I’m not worried by it. If I have to choose between pole and race rhtyhm, I’ll definitely take the rhythm. I am really happy with the work we have done ahead of this race.”
COLIN EDWARDS (11th, 1’49″648): “The circuit is poor, but it’s the same for everybody. I’ve got problems turning the bike, as usual. We have worked to improve the setting but were unable to find a good compromise. My rhythm was better yesterday but we have made some changes to try and improve the bike which didn’t have the results we hoped for. I’m a bit confused really.”
FAUSTO GRESINI (Team manager): “We have prepared for this race really well. Sete has a good rhythm and it was a shame that he couldn’t put together a lap to go for pole. But I am not worried about that at all because he has a very high rhythm and there are very few riders who have that. Colin is still having a few problems and he isn’t able to make the most of the qua! lification tyre. His race rhythm isn’t great but hopefully we can improve things in the warm-up tomorrow.”
More, from a press release issued by Honda Racing:
Brazilian Grand Prix, Jacarepagua, July 3, 2004, Final Qualifying Saturday
HONDA MEN LOOK STRONG AS RIVALS STRUGGLE IN RIO
Two sun-drenched days of qualifying finished here at Jacarepagua today with Kenny Roberts (Suzuki) qualifying on pole with Max Biaggi (Camel Honda RC211V) and Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC211V) joining the former World Champion on the front row in second and third places.
Row two comprises Sete Gibernau (Telefonica Movistar Honda RC211V) in fourth, local hope Alex Barros (Repsol Honda RC211V) in fifth and Loris Capirossi on the revitalised Ducati in sixth. The track proved a tough proposition for everyone. The heat (track temperature at 37 degrees and ambient at 28) and the bumps made life exceptionally hard.
This is a track that is only visited once a year by teams, there is no testing here. And although the bumps are a known quantity, their severity varies form year to year owing to subsidence on the reclaimed land the track is built on.
Everyone struggled here, but with the exception of Roberts, it was the Honda runners who made the best of things. Teams are setting great store by race distance work completed in this final hour, but the ability to qualify well remains at a premium.
Gibernau was the only rider, with the exception of last-placed qualifier David de Gea (WCM), who failed to better his time from yesterday, but his Friday time is only slightly shy of the laps put in by the front row qualifiers at 1m 48.618. He is only two tenths of a second away from the pole time.
Hayden made his move with 10 minutes of the session remaining and powered his RC211V to second. But there was more to come from the rest of the field and the young American managed another storming lap at 1m 48.580s to secure his third front row start of the season.
Makoto Tamada (Camel Honda RC211V) riding on Bridgestone tyres qualified seventh on row three while Colin Edwards (Telefonica Movistar Honda RC211V) has to make the best of a fourth row slot in 11th.
Max is back on form and knows the start will be key. “The rear can really spin-up at the start and you have to be careful, but I’m happy with the second fastest time. Our qualifying tyres are really fantastic and you can open the throttle so much earlier than usual. We’re also strong in race trim and I’m so happy for my team because they just never give up. I was disappointed with provisional seventh yesterday and today we worked hard and solved the problems.”
“I’m happy to be on the front row,” said Hayden. “I’ve had a few front rows this season that didn’t amount to much in the races, but I’m hoping to make this one count. Hopefully the inside of the track won’t be too dirty. On the last lap of qualifying I was really just holding on and I didn’t expect it to be a front row time. We’ve still got some front-end problems to sort out if we’re to have a real chance tomorrow.”
Gibernau is sure he has the race set-up to shine tomorrow. “The work we did on set-up was good,” he said. “I lost the chance to do a final quick lap but the race tyre we have is good. I’m not worried about the second row start because I’m on the left side of the track where it’s clean. If I had to choose between a pole and a good race set-up – I’d choose race set-up.”
Barros was delighted with a strong home race showing in qualifying. “We’re in much better shape than yesterday,” he said. “I made a lot of laps on the race tyre and it felt good enough to maintain a really fast race rhythm. We now have a lot more feel and I’m ready to race tomorrow.”
Tamada is typically optimistic about tomorrow despite his third row start. “I’m ready for the race,” said the Japanese. “I was really pushing hard all session because the temperature could well be the same in the race at 11:30am tomorrow. I’ve got good settings and a good race tyre. All I need is a super start.”
Edwards is less happy. “The track is bad, but it’s bad for everyone,” said the Texan. “We’re really struggling with set-up, the bike just doesn’t want to turn. We’ve ended up making changes and losing direction. I’m a bit confused to be honest.”
The 45 minutes of 250cc qualifying saw pole go to Sebastian Porto (Aprilia) as he worked up to a 1m 52.503s lap with one minute of the session to go. It looked like an all-Aprilia front row until Tony Elias (Fortuna Honda RS250RW) worked his way to second as the clock ran down.
Randy de Puniet and Manuel Poggiali (both Aprilia) complete the front row while Danny Pedrosa (Telefonica Movistar Junior Team RS250RW) secured a second row start as sixth fastest qualifier. Roberto Rolfo (Fortuna Honda RS250RW) qualified ninth.
Tony Elias said, “I did most of the session on race tyres and was just trying to find a good balance. I think I’ve got that and I’m happy. It will be a hard race tomorrow – hard on riders, hard on the bikes and particularly hard on tyres. I’m making no predictions at all.”
Danny Pedrosa is happy with his lot. “Today the pace has been much faster than last year,” he said. “The race will be difficult and although I start from sixth my pace is the same as my rivals. I just hope I don’t have a poor start like I got at Assen.”
Robby Rolfo is optimistic. “Everything is feeling not so bad,” he said. “And the engine is really improved. Once I feel happy with the engine I can concentrate on the chassis. Although I’m not happy with the position I feel comfortable on the bike, although tyres are a worry here.”
The 125cc qualifying fight went to Hector Barbera (Aprilia) who set a pole time of 1m 57.323s in the final ten minutes of the half-hour session. The Spanish rider has been in fine form here this weekend and he also dominated yesterday’s provisional timed session. This is his first career pole.
Andrea Dovizioso (Team Scot Honda RS125R) put himself on the front row in second place and Jorge Lorenzo (Derbi) joins him in third with Mattia Pasini (Aprilia) pulling a last ditch quick lap out of the bag to qualify fourth.
Casey Stoner (KTM) just missed out on a front row start and the Australian will begin tomorrow’s 21-lap race from fifth place at the head of the second row. Championship contender Roberto Locatelli (Aprilia) joins him on the second row in sixth.
Julian Simon (Angaia Racing Honda RS125R) managed a start from row four in 13th and Simone Corsi (Team Scot Honda RS125R) joins him on the same row in 15th position.
Dovizioso said, “I’m facing big front end problems. We made progress from yesterday but the suspension is not perfect. I have to improve in the warm-up tomorrow. Engine temperature is too high but I expect that’s the same for everybody here.”
HONDA TEAM QUOTES:
MOTOGP:
Max Biaggi, Camel Honda (Michelin Tyres) : 2nd: “I’m very satisfied. At the end of the session I tried twice to do the fast lap, giving everything I had. At the end I came out with what is a valuable front row. I have to say that the qualifying tyres are extraordinary, they let you open the throttle much earlier than usual. I’m not looking too bad either when it comes to race pace, and I’m happy, both for the team and for myself, because they never stop working and never give up. Yesterday I was a little annoyed, and unhappy with seventh place, but since then I have put my head down, and worked hard with my mechanics and Honda and together we’ve managed to resolve the situation.”
Sito Pons, Camel Honda (Team Principal): “The only thing we were missing was a good fast lap so we could be at the front of the grid for tomorrow’s race. Max made the most of his qualifying tyres today and the result just came with that. He has a good rhythm for the race and I’m happy for Max because today’s result will give him more confidence for tomorrow. Makoto Tamada also has a good race pace and will be up there alos tomorrow, so I think that tomorrow the two Camel Honda RC211Vs will be amongst the main stars of the show in the race.
Nicky Hayden, Repsol Honda Team, 3rd: “I’m real happy to be on the front row. I’ve had a few front rows this season that in the race didn’t amount to much but I’m hoping to make this one count. As always it’ll be really important to get a good start; hopefully the inside of the track won’t be too dirty. We’ve had big front-end problems all weekend and we’re going to have to get these sorted out if we want to have a chance of going with the leaders tomorrow. The last lap of qualifying I was just holding on. I didn’t expect it to be that fast, certainly not to be on the front row. I’m really ready to have a good race tomorrow and give the team and the sponsors something to smile about!”
Sete Gibernau, Telefonica MoviStar Honda: 4th: “If you look at the race times we have done they are really good and at the end, when we were putting the qualifying tyre on, the rear clip came off and I wasn’t able to put a fast lap in. If it wasn’t for that I’m sure I could have improved my time but ! I’m not worried by it. If I have to choose between pole and race rhtyhm, I’ll definitely take the rhythm. I am really happy with the work we have done ahead of this race.”
Alex Barros, Repsol Honda Team, 5th : “I’m very happy with the results of today; we’re in a much better shape than yesterday. I make many laps on the race tyre today and it feels really good at the end and we still can make a good fast rhythm. There is really not that much difference in the top times so I am pleased to be in the same group. Our programme for the weekend is working well and the machine improves a little bit with every session. We now have more feel and I think we are ready for tomorrow. The pain in my hand and shoulder is better as well and it is now more possible to concentrate on riding the bike.”
Makoto Tamada, Camel Honda (Bridgestone Tyres), 7th: “Well, I’m ready for the race and I worked a lot today, especially in the morning free because as we race at 11:30 tomorrow the track temperatures will be lower than they were this afternoon. I got a good idea about how things are today and I have found suitable tyre and bike settings, even when testing endurance. I can’t be anything but confident, although with the 7th fastest time, I’ll have to do a lightning start.”
Gianluca Montiron , Camel Honda , (Makoto Tamada Team Manager) : ” Today we mainly tested the race set-up to try and obtain that rhythm and pace necessary to be up at the front in the race. The tyre/bike combination we tried today is looking good, and I’m convinced that Makoto can repeat his great race here from last year. We didn’t get the most out of the qualifying tyres, and as such we weren’t in a position to confirm the provisional front row position, but what matters is getting the right balance of the bike. Perhaps the best we’ve had yet.”
Colin Edwards, Telefonica MoviStar Honda: 11th: “The circuit is poor, but it’s the same for everybody. I’ve got problems turning the bike, as usual. We have worked to improve the setting but were unable to find a good compromise. My rhythm was better yesterday but we have made some changes to try and improve the bike which didn’t have the results we hoped for. I’m a bit confused really.”
Fausto Gresini (Team manager): “We have prepared for this race really well. Sete has a good rhythm and it was a shame that he couldn’t put together a lap to go for pole. But I am not worried about that at all because he has a very high rhythm and there are very few riders who have that. Colin is still having a few problems and he isn’t able to make the most of the qualification tyre. His race rhythm isn’t great but hopefully we can improve things in the warm-up tomorrow
250cc:
Toni Elias, Fortuna Honda, 2nd: “Not too bad. We have been working on the balance of the bike and I feel we have made more progress. I did a lot of laps on race tyres to check them for endurance. The engine is good and in general I’m happy but I’m not going to make predictions for the race, when I do that something goes wrong. Just say I’m looking forward to the race. It will be very hard work for the machine, the rider and particularly the tyres.”
Dani Pedrosa, Telefonica MoviStar Honda Jrn: 6th: “Today the pace was a lot quicker than last year and the front two rows are very close together. But I think it will be a different story in the race because even though I am sixth fastest my rhythm is no worse than any of my rivals. Also, sixth place isn’t bad for me anyway we’ve just got used to higher grid positions. Hopefully at the start I don’t have the same problems I had at Assen because I am ready to push it all the way again”.
Roberto Rolfo, Fortuna Honda, 9th: “I think I’m in not so bad shape we made a big improvement on the engine settings and this has helped me to begin to get the chassis and suspension where I need them to be. Now I’m much more relaxed on the bike than previously. Sure I’m not happy with my grid position but ”
Alex Debon, Wurth Honda BQR, 12th: “That was difficult but the result was not so bad. I have been in the top ten every session up to the last one so I’m happy for that. My engine is not so bad and I have been running constant lap times. Chassis and suspens