From a press release issued by Fuchs Kawasaki:

MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2004
GRAN PREMI DE CATALUNYA
12TH JUNE 2004 – QUALIFYING PRACTICE 2

NAKANO AND HOFMANN SET FOR HOT RACE IN SPAIN

Fuchs Kawasaki riders Shinya Nakano and Alex Hofmann will share the fifth row of the grid, starting from 13th and 14th positions respectively, for tomorrow’s Catalunya Grand Prix.

As track temperatures soared to 45 degrees, both riders spent most of today’s track time concentrating on race set-up, for what will be a tough and hot 25 laps of the 4.7km Catalunya Circuit.

Both Ninja ZX-RR riders struck misfortune in the final minutes of qualifying. Nakano lost out on the opportunity to improve on his eighth fastest time from Friday when delayed by a minor rear brake pad problem.

Hofmann went 0.5s faster today, but moved only one place forward on the grid with a slowing rider again costing him valuable time. This reflects the fierce competitiveness of MotoGP, with the top 15 riders on the grid separated by just 1.5 seconds.

Tyre options are limited for Bridgestone riders this weekend, with minimal supplies of a modified rear construction tyre, designed to counter the problems that surfaced at Mugello last weekend.

Race tyre choice has thus been simplified and there was only one obvious option, which both riders used today to maximise race set-up. Kawasaki engineers have used chassis and suspension adjustments to gain more edge grip and balance with the available tyre choice.

Significant progress was made today and both riders are comfortable with their set-up for tomorrow’s race.

Shinya Nakano: 13th (1’43.948)
“The rear brake problem meant I ran out of time for a final fast lap, so really I only had one chance on qualifying tyres. Even so, everyone is very close on times and my laps were almost the same as yesterday. In the morning we found a good setting for the race and our race tyre appears to be working okay in these conditions, even though we have limited choice. I’m feeling much better now, and I’m ready for the race.”

Alex Hofmann: 14th (1’44.126)
“My focus today was on getting good race performance, and I think we have done that considering what we can do with the tyre options. Again today I wasn’t so lucky with my final flying lap on qualifiers, with a slow rider causing me problems and then missing out on a slipstream. A good tow can mean maybe 0.4s a lap here, but I’m happy overall. The one race tyre choice we have is working for both Shinya and I, and we are just trying to get the best out of it. It will be tough tomorrow but, as always, I’m hoping for points.”

Harald Eckl: Team Manager
“Shinya didn’t have a good run at the end session of the session, so that was unfortunate. I’m expecting both our riders can be in the points and Shinya is capable of a top ten finish here. Both the riders need to make better starts than the past couple of races; this is important. On the tyre front we are satisfied, even though we understand that we are missing a little performance, although in the circumstances this is acceptable.”

QUALIFYING PRACTICE 2 – FINAL TIMES
1. Sete Gibernau (SPA) Telefonica Movistar Honda 1’42.596; 2. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha +0.363; 3. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda +0.528; 4. Max Biaggi (ITA) Camel Honda Team +0.967; 5. Marco Melandri (ITA) Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha +1.005; 6. Alex Barros (BRA) Repsol Honda +1.051; 7. Ruben Xaus (SPA) dAntin Ducati Team +1.084; 8. John Hopkins (USA) Suzuki Grand Prix Team +1.097; 9. Makoto Tamada (JPN) Camel Honda Team +1.112; 10. Troy Bayliss (AUS) Ducati Marlboro Team +1.197; 11. Colin Edwards (USA) Telefonica Movistar Honda +1.236; 12. Carlos Checa (SPA) Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha +1.264; 13. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Kawasaki Racing Team +1.352; 14. Alex Hofmann (GER) Kawasaki Racing Team +1.530


More, from a press release issued by Marlboro Ducati:

Catalan Grand Prix, Catalunya
Final Qualifying
Saturday June 12 2004

TORRID DAY FOR DUCATI MARLBORO MEN
Ducati Marlboro Team riders Troy Bayliss and Loris Capirossi were 10th and 15th quickest in this afternoon’s torrid final qualifying session at Catalunya. As track temperature soared to 45 degrees, Capirossi fell during the early stages, forcing him to use his number-two Desmosedici for the remainder of the session. Bayliss had a better session, running a good pace on race tyres, leaving him confident for tomorrow’s race, round five of the 16-event MotoGP World Championship.

“We are improving our pace on race tyres but we still miss something with qualifiers,” explained Ducati Marlboro Team director Livio Suppo. “It was a difficult afternoon for Loris because he crashed right at the beginning of the session, damaging his number-one bike. He has both his bikes set up the same but riders can always feel a little difference between their machines, so the crash totally affected his final qualifying session. Troy had a pretty good pace on race tyres and he did a good job with his qualifier but the pace is so fast at the moment.”

BAYLISS HAPPY WITH HIS RACE PACE
Ducati Marlboro Team rider Troy Bayliss’ final qualifying run put him within a fraction of the top six for a second-row start, but then he got shuttled backwards by several riders who bettered his time, leaving him tenth on the grid. Nonetheless Bayliss is feeling pretty good about his race pace in these sweltering conditions.

“That’s the fastest I’ve ever been around here, so I’m happy,” said the Aussie. “The bike feels okay on race tyres. We’ve nothing to change for the race, well, maybe we’ll try a few little things because I’m pushing the front in a few places. I want more grip, but then I guess everyone does. If the weather stays like this it’s going to be a long, hard, hot race.”

CRASH FORCES CAPIROSSI TO USE No2 BIKE
Loris Capirossi crashed his number-one Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici at the Campsa right-hander after just five minutes of this afternoon’s session. The bike was substantially damaged in the tumble, forcing him to return to the pits and complete the rest of the outing on his number-two bike.

“I started the session using a used front tyre and a new rear, I think that’s why I lost the front,” explained the Italian. “So I got going on my other bike, which I have hardly used at all this weekend, and tried to regain some confidence in the front. We had some electrical problems. I managed to improve my previous times once I had fitted qualifying tyres but I didn’t have the necessary feeling to go any faster. Anyway, I was happy with my pace in this morning’s session, when I did a lot of laps on race tyres. Now we wait to see what tomorrow brings.”


More, from a press release issued by John Hopkins’ publicist:

HOPKINS EARNS BEST QUALIFYING RESULT IN OVER A YEAR

BARCELONA, Spain – Suzuki’s John Hopkins earned his best starting position in over a year by qualifying eighth for Sunday’s Catalunya Motorcycle Grand Prix. Hopkins rode his factory Suzuki GSV-R around the 4.7-kilometer Catalunya circuit in a time of one minute, 43.693 seconds, which was good enough for eighth on the starting grid for the 25-lap final.

It marks the highest qualifying position for Hopkins since qualifying seventh at Jerez, Spain, last season.

“I set the time today in spite of being in a lot of pain,” Hopkins explained. “I re-injured my thumb when the bike got into a tank-slapper yesterday. The new race tires Bridgestone brought are reinforced, but they are so hard that I was sliding the bike about 70 percent of the time yesterday and it caught up with me.”

Hopkins was happy and somewhat surprised with his qualifying results considering how swollen his broken thumb was on Saturday.

“The thumb was so bad that I came in halfway through the session and sat down awhile with it iced,” Hopkins continued. “I went back out and turned a 43.8 on the first qualifier and then a 43.6 on the next one so we have a really competitive set up on the bike right now.”

Even though Hopkins is encouraged by his qualifying, he’s far from confident about Sunday’s race – round five of the 16-race world championship.

“It’s really frustrating because we finally have a bike that’s competitive and now we have issues with our tires,” he said. “We’re probably not going to be all that ready for action in tomorrow’s race because of my thumb and because the new tire we have is simply not going to competitive. The tires that work well won’t last the race.”

Hopkins concluded with typical optimism.

“Bridgestone has a lot or resources and I’m sure they’re going to figure this out and get us a good tire that will be competitive in the upcoming rounds. I’ll go out tomorrow and do the best I can.”


More, from a press release issued by Proton Team KR:

PROTON KR V5 BATTLES THE HEAT IN CATALUNYA

Round 5: Catalunyan GP, Montmelo Final Qualifying: Saturday, June 12, 2004

Kurtis Roberts: 23rd: 1:46.399
Nobuatsu Aoki: 24th, 1:46.970

Proton Team KR riders Kurtis Roberts and Nobuatsu Aoki battled blazing heat and niggling problems today, with Kurtis improving his best time of yesterday, but Aoki failing frustratingly, by less than two hundredths of a second.

Both had been quicker in the morning’s free training session, although most other riders were slower then and faster in the afternoon. Morning times do not count towards grid positions for tomorrow’s race, but were encouraging nonetheless, proving overall progress with the latest version of the machine.

Today’s session was even hotter than yesterday, with ambient temperature at 31 degrees, and the track measured at a searing 45 degrees. But it was other problems that slowed the Proton KR pair; with Kurtis in and out of the pits, unable to build up to the same rhythm he had in the morning, and Aoki suffering power loss problems with both of his machines.

At the same time, the team was gaining valuable experience in extreme conditions with the latest long-stroke version of the England-built V5 motor, still at a very early stage of development after a pre-season redesign. The KR V5 made its racing debut just over one year ago.

Today’s qualifying at the 4.727km circuit outside Barcelona was led by points leader Sete Gibernau (Honda), taking his third pole position in succession.


KURTIS ROBERTS
I was half-a-second quicker this morning, but the heat wasn’t my problem … because pretty well everyone else went faster. I did improve on yesterday, but we don’t really have a race set-up. We haven’t found a tyre yet that will do the times for more than a few laps, so I’m feeling pretty frustrated. We get these qualifying sessions, and weird things pop up that weren’t there in the morning, so I was in and out of the pits without getting a decent run at it. I had to ride round problems, and the engine developed a bit of a misfire. I just couldn’t get it going out there.

NOBUATSU AOKI
Both of my bikes were not running well today, from the end of the morning session. I don’t know why. My team changed the ECU units, but that didn’t seem to help. Now my mechanics will fit a new engine for tomorrow, and that should be better. I did manage to find a race tyre and get the chassis settings good, so I hope it will all be better tomorrow.

KENNY ROBERTS – TEAM PRINCIPAL
We’re solving one problem at a time. We haven’t run the new engine before in this sort of heat. We managed to solve the oil temperature problems we had yesterday, but the engines didn’t run well this afternoon. We’re solving one problem at a time.


More, from a press release issued by Honda Racing:


GIBERNAU IN CONTROL AS HE EASES TO THIRD CONSECUTIVE POLE

A merciless Spanish sun beat down on the MotoGP qualifiers here in Barcelona – but it was Sete Gibernau (Telefonica Movistar Honda RC211V) who beat his rivals to pole in this afternoon’s final session. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) was second fastest with Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC211V) hitting form to line up in third on the front row.

Track temperatures were up at 45 degrees C and grip was at an absolute premium, especially as the conditions seemed to change during every session. Riders who thought they might have found a working set-up in the morning free training sessions, both today and on Friday, found themselves struggling afresh in the afternoon heat.

Jeremy McWilliams (Aprilia) was the first rider to improve his time from Friday 30 minutes into the hour and he jumped from 21st on the grid to 18th. But the others who were striving to find a workable race set-up left it late in the knowledge that the race pace would be much slower than the flying laps put in today – there are no World Championship points on offer for qualifying.

But with ten minutes to go in the session the action started. With a race expected to be more than gruelling, a high grid position remains a valuable commodity and it was Marco Melandri (Yamaha) who first seized the chance to put himself in contention for a front row start when he put a 1m 43.601s lap together to go third.

Gibernau improved his time to 1m 42.832s from his 1m 42.934s from yesterday and the Spaniard topped the qualifying chart on both days – he is plainly in command here. But title rival Rossi is not too far away, a mere 0.363 seconds adrift, and with Hayden only 0.165 seconds behind Rossi, Sete knows his advantage is slim.

Row two comprises Max Biaggi (Camel Honda RC211V) in fourth, Marco Melandri in fifth and Alex Barros (Repsol Honda RC211V) sixth. Only 0.084 seconds covers these three riders although the trio is just under a second shy of Gibernau’s time.

“I’ve got to be happy with pole,” said Gibernau. “But I’m not convinced I’ve got the race set-up exactly how I’d like it yet. We tried a few things this afternoon but with no major improvements. I should be able to run a good pace tomorrow though and I’d love to get another home win after my victory at Jerez earlier this season.”

Hayden is happier than he’s been for a while. “Last year qualifying was something I really needed to work on,” said the American. “I worked hard at it all winter, just learning to get my head together for one really quick lap and it seems to be paying off. I’ve just got to back that up with a good race now. My overall pace isn’t quite what it should be so I’m going to have to get away clean and stick with the front guys.”

Max reckons he’ll be on the pace tomorrow. “I’m a bit disappointed,” he said. “I lost my chance to get on the front row because I chose the wrong front tyre when it was time to put the fast laps in. I can’t change what happened so I’ll just concentrate on racing tomorrow. I have a good race pace and I know I’ll be up front fighting.”

Alex Barros is finding better form. “There’s some light at the end of the tunnel now,” said the Brazilian. “The front end has much more feel but the rear is still spinning a lot. We’re one step further than we were this morning and tomorrow morning will be important for final adjustments. I’m glad to be on the second row.”

Makoto Tamada (Camel Honda RC211V) riding on Bridgestone tyres starts from row three in ninth. “When it was time to push I couldn’t quite get enough speed and I had to ride through quite a bit of chatter. Because of the high temperatures it was hard for everyone and the race tomorrow will be vital for capturing more data to help development.”

Colin Edwards (Telefonica Movistar Honda RC211V) is still trying to find his way to the front of the grid. “This morning felt good,” said the Texan. “And then this afternoon everything changed, but tomorrow I think we’ll go back to today’s free training settings. I’m confident of getting a good result tomorrow.”

As temperatures soared the 250 riders set about their task of final qualifying with largely improved set-ups – but reduced grip. Not all managed to improve their Friday times, but the top nine riders did and it’s Randy de Puniet (Aprilia) on pole with Danny Pedrosa (Telefonica Movistar Junior Team RS250RW) second, Sebastian Porto (Aprilia) third and Alex de Angelis (Aprilia) completes the front row.

“It’s hot out there,” said Pedrosa. “It’s going to be a hard race in the heat and the tyres will be a big factor. It’s going to be a case of who can control their bikes best in the closing stages of the race and I’m happy to be on the front row so I don’t need to work my tyres too hard early on as long as I get away cleanly. We’ll see tomorrow.”

Tony Elias (Fortuna Honda RS250RW) qualified fifth and starts from the second row. “My best time today was faster than yesterday,” he said. “We’ve got some positive ideas for the morning but we’ll have to wait and see how good they are. Tyre and suspension set-up are vital – and so is a good start.”

Things were tough for Roberto Rolfo (Fortuna Honda RS250RW) but he managed a second row start too from eighth. “Today we found a better chassis set-up,” he said. “But not enough to stay in front. My pace is much more constant which gives me confidence. Tomorrow we’ll try some suspension settings to get more drive which is vital here.”

Jorge Lorenzo (Aprilia) is on pole in the 125cc class after the field failed to better the time the Spanish man set yesterday. His lap of 1m 50.497s remains a full 0.7 seconds better than anyone else’s efforts. Hector Barbera (Aprilia) qualified second fastest, Casey Stoner (KTM) third and Pablo Nieto (Aprilia) completes the front row as fourth fastest rider.

World Championship points leader Andrea Dovizioso (Team Scot Honda RS125R) squeezed onto the second row of the grid in eighth place with a 1m 51.465s time after lying second overnight. He did not better that time today and will start tomorrow’s race with Mirko Giansanti, Roberto Locatelli and the on-form Lukas Pesek (Ajo Motorsports Honda RS125R) ahead of him.

This is Pesek’s best qualifying performance so far and the Czech rider knows he’s in for a hard fought contest tomorrow. The top eight riders are covered by a mere 0.9 seconds but they will be hard pressed to catch Lorenzo if he can match the speed he showed today over 22 laps tomorrow.

“I’m not that happy,” said Pesek. “I was so close to a front row start. The bike is good, the engine is fast with really good acceleration, and that will be vital for slipstreaming. The tyres will probably start to slide after about eight laps and we’ll have to wait and see what happens.”

“Not bad,” said Dovizioso. “Considering Lorenzo and me touched on my fast lap and I lost momentum – not bad at all. Eighth on the grid is not a problem. The engine is good and we’ve taken a little weight off the front end in the set-up. Tyres are the only real concern.”

Julian Simon (Angaia Racing Honda RS125R) qualified 11th and will start from the third row of the grid. “Everything’s good,” he said. “The bike, the suspension, tyres, no problems. But I just don’t seem to be doing so well myself. I’m normally really good here but we’ll see what happens tomorrow.”

HONDA TEAM QUOTES:

MotoGP:
Sete Gibernau,Telefonica MoviStar Honda: 1st: “We did a good job again this morning and even though we did another great time on qualifying tyres this afternoon, I am not as happy as I would like. We tried a few things that I didn’t like but hopefully with the data we gathered this morning we can get the feeling back and be completely prepared for the race, which will be very tough. After winning at Jerez I’m sure I don’t have to say how much I would like to do it again, so close to my home”.

Nicky Haydon, Repsol Honda Team, 3rd: “I’ve got to be happy with the front row. Last year, qualification was something I really needed to work on. I worked on it a lot over winter – just getting my head down for a lap and I guess it seems to be paying off. I’ve just got to back it up tomorrow in the race. My overall pace is not what it should be. I’m just going to have to make a good start and stick with the guys up front. Last weekend it was unfortunate to crash out from a front row start but I least I crashed out going for it and fighting. Just looking forward to a good race tomorrow and learning from the experience.”

Sito Pons – Camel Honda (Team Principal): “Max has shown a consistency that could help him to fight for victory in this race. Today’s lap time analysis from the official practice session shows that Max is both fast and constant. We didn’t even have the opportunity to use the second qualifying tyre, so Max will be on the second row, but that shouldn’t pose a problem. I’m calm, and confident about the race.”

Max Biaggi, Camel Honda (Michelin Tyres) – 4th: “I’m a bit disappointed to have lost yesterday’s front row slot, just because of an unexpected issue. A new front tyre we tried had an unexpected chattering problem. Nevertheless I’m ready for tomorrow’s race and above all I think I’ve got a good race pace. It’s bound to be a tough race, because with this heat and the long corners here the tyres will be put to a hard test, and their grip capabilities could decrease considerably, and very quickly.”

Alex Barros, Repsol Honda Team, 5th “What a session! We seemed to change everything on the machine. We had to do something to see some light at the end of the tunnel. At the end the bike felt much better. The front end has much more feel but the rear is still spinning a lot. We’re one step better than we were this morning but we didn’t have a good time to test the set-up over a distance. Tomorrow morning will be important for the final adjustments. I’m happy in the end for the final results and that we managed to get one good lap and secure a second row start because at one stage very near the end we were not in a good position!”

Gianluca Montiron, Camel Honda: (Makoto Tamada Team Manager) : “Obviously we’re not in shape to do an attacking style race tomorrow, but it will be very important to pick up data and information to help with the development. Whatever happens we’ll do our level best, and even though Makoto couldn’t follow up his marvellous performance in yesterday’s sessions, I’m sure that he will put in a big effort tomorrow to help development move forward.”

Makoto Tamada, Camel Honda (Bridgestone Tyres) – 9th: “When the time came to make our attack and get the most out of a lap and reconfirm my provisional front row position, I just wasn’t able to push the bike to the limit because there were some big vibrations and it was difficult to ride. I think this was something to do with the higher track temperatures too, which were at around 58º. So I didn’t improve, and I’ve ended up with the 9th fastest time. I don’t have a great rhythm for this race but I have a clearer idea about the tyres’ performance levels. It won’t be easy, but I’m going to give my all.”

Colin Edwards, Telefonica MoviSatr Honda: 11th “We found a good compromise with the set-up this morning which allowed me to set the fourth fastest time, solving some of the chattering problems. In the official session we tried a few other solutions and we didn’t make progress, so we will go back to this morning’s setting for the race. I am still hopeful because I showed this morning that I can be up there”.

Fausto Gresini: (team manager): “Another fantastic day for our team. Sete was at the front the whole way through and, as well as working on his set-up for the race, at the end he was able to improve his time from yesterday. I think we are ready for another very tough race. Colin, meanwhile, managed to improve his time by eight tenths but it still wasn’t enough. Hopefully we can find something in the morning warm-up than can help him go faster in the race”.

250cc:

Dani Pedrosa: 2nd: “The truth is that I am very happy with how everything is going we are improving the set-up with each session and I think we have everything ready for tomorrow. It will be a tough race and I’m sure it won’t be a head to head between De Puniet and myself. I am still gathering experience, especially in terms of tyre choice. I rely on my team for that because they have been in this situation on countless occasions”.

Toni Elias, Fortuna Honda, 5th: “Much better today I was faster but we didn’t improve the settings of the machine and I have to find 8/10ths. We have worked a lot in the last races but it’s slow progress but we are getting there, we have to keep this line. Tomorrow it will be difficult, we have to get the tyre suspension combination right for the high temperatures.”

Roberto Rolfo, Fortuna Honda, 8th: “Today’s settings was a lot better than yesterday but not enough to stay I front but my pace was much more constant and this gives me confidence. Tomorrow I have to make some changes to the settings on the rear end because I cannot give full gas off the fast corners and that’s very important here. Tomorrow’s high temperatures will make tyre choice very important.”

Hirosi Aoyama, Telefonica MoviStar Honda Jrn: 13th: “I am disappointed that I couldn’t improve my time from yesterday. We have been trying to improve my feeling with the bike and when we put on a tyre to set a good time it was too late and I only got one lap in. I was hoping to start further up the grid so I will just have to concentrate on making a good start tomorrow”.

Alberto Puig: (team manager):”The sessions went really well, Dani has a good rhythm for the race and we will see what sort of shape he’s in tomorrow. Hiro has improved a little and I hope that he can get away in the race and follow the lead group. Tyre choice will be very important for tomorrow’s race.”

Alex Debon, Wurth Honda BQR, 16th: “I’m quite happy now after we fixed the electrical problem we had yesterday and our difficulties with the suspension and a slow engine this morning. When I went for a fast time in the qualifying session with fresh tyres I had a big front wheel slide I had to save with my knee, so I had to back it off. Still I’m confident for the race. The start will be very important tomorrow, this is not the place to get away from the grid slowly.”

Jakub Smrz, Molenaar Honda, 18th: “The whole day was not so good for us. Each time I went out of the pit I failed o find someone to run with. It wasn’t until three laps from the finish that I hooked up with Anthony West that I ran my best time. The fifth row isn’t so bad when you look at the times of the riders ahead of me. My bike is almost perfect, just a small problem with the rear shock to sort out and we will be OK. I just need to make sure I get a good start and I will have a good race. We don’t have a lot of tyres to choose from so I know what to run in the race.”


125cc:

Lukas Pesek, Ajo Motorsport Honda, 5th: “Not so happy I was so close to my first front row start. The bike is really good, my engine is really fast, I have good acceleration too so I could use slipstream easily. The problem for me will be the performance of the tyres. If I use the combination I had on today I might be sliding after about eight laps. We will have to wait and see what the weather is for the race before deciding what to use.

Simone Corsi, Kopron Scot Honda, 6th: “I’m quite pleased with 16th because the times are very close. I have to change the gearbox ratios to find a little more acceleration off the corners. The rear end is sliding more than I like but we have some solutions. Tomorrow’s temperature will decide which tyres we run. Whatever happened I will need a good start if I want to have a good result, everyone is so close.”

Andrea Dovizioso, Kopron Scot Honda, 8th: “Not so bad considering that on my fast lap Lorenzo and I touched and I lost momentum. Starting from 8th will not be a problem for the race. The engine is good, together with Showa we found solutions to the front-end problem we had and also changed the balance of the bike a little, moving the weight off the front end a little. Tyres are my only concern. I prefer the wide rear tyre but I don’t think the compound we tried will run the distance. But we will wait for the warm up before a decision, temperature will decide the issue.”

Julian Simon, Angaia Honda, 11th: “Everything is good with the bike, engine, chassis, suspension. We just have to wait to see what the weather does before we choose our tyres for he race. My problem is that I cannot find a good feeling for the circuit, even if I’m running good times.”

Dario Giuseppetti, Elit Honda, 23rd: “In today’s session we changed many things from yesterday. In the first qualifying session I had a lot of problems holding my line in the corners but we have found a good way today, we are almost ready. The team know exactly what we need to do so I am confident we will be ready to race after the warm up.”


More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki:

HOPKINS SLIDES IN AT EIGHTH PLACE!
Team Suzuki Press Office – Montmelo, Catalunya, June 12, 2004.

Team Suzuki MotoGP rider John Hopkins will start tomorrow’s Catalunyan GP from the third row of the grid after scorching to eighth position in a torrid final qualifying session, run in brilliant sunshine at the 4.727km Montmelo circuit outside Barcelona.

But team-mate Kenny Roberts was out of luck and qualified 16th in spite of being the first rider to cut his lap time compared with yesterday. In the crucial final laps, with the Suzuki GSV-R fitted with grippy qualifying tyres, the 2000 World Champion was twice slowed by other riders, missing his chance of improving his position.

Third Suzuki rider, wild card entry Gregorio Lavilla, set 21st fastest time, testing new chassis ideas and hardware, rather than going for a qualifying position – in line with his role as official factory test and development rider.

Hopkins took seventh today, but was eighth on combined times. The American, making his return to racing after missing the last round recuperating from a broken left thumb, was troubled yesterday and today by the injury, but was confident he will be able to race tomorrow in spite of the pain.

Tomorrow’s Italian GP is the fifth of 16 rounds this year and the second in a punishing series of six races in eight weeks as the European season gets into full swing.

JOHN HOPKINS: Eighth Position, 1:43.693:

“My thumb is giving me a lot of pain. We have a lot of tyres that break loose, then grip, so you get a tank-slapper. It’s caused tons and tons of stress on the thumb. When we do have grip and the bike’s excellent. We have a really good package right now. But Bridgestone brought reinforced tyres at very short notice and the grip isn’t there, so basically we’re not as competitive as we would like to be. For qualifying, we’re excellent – the qualifying tyres are great here and the bike’s working great. All in all it was a painful but good day, but I just don’t know what to expect for tomorrow.”

KENNY ROBERTS Jr: 16th Position, 1:44.175:

“This morning we ran through some tyres looking for a race tyre. From the choice we have here, I think we succeeded. The difference between my modified motor and the one John’s using is that it doesn’t have the same acceleration and top speed at the moment, so it’s going to be quite hard for me in the race. But we knew that this wasn’t going to be a motor for one lap time. Hopefully over race distance it’ll prove itself to be more effective. We’ll be able to see that tomorro

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Vesrah Suzuki won the fourth race in the 2004 WERA National Endurance Series–a 6-hour at California Speedway–and took the points lead from Army of Darkness, which finished second.

Vesrah has won three of the four races this season, while AOD has won one race and finished second in the other three.

With five minutes to go, FDK crashed out of third place overall due to a gas leak reaching the rear tire; moments later, HST passed CherokeeChallenge to take the position.

FDK had two laps over fourth at the time of the crash.

Several SV650s expired in the fifth hour, including then-class-leading Dixie Mafia and Yeager Racing.

HST is a local team consisting of Jay Tanner. Larry Pointer, Darren Fulce and Corey Eaton, on a Yamaha YZF-R1.

Hour Six Overall Results

1. Vesrah Suzuki, GSX-R1000, 204 laps

2. Army of Darkness, GSX-R600, 199 laps

3. HST Racing, YZF-R1, 195 laps

4. CherokeeChallenge.net, YZF-R6, 195 laps, -10.046 seconds

5. FDK, GSX-R600, 194 laps

6. Neighbor of the Beast, YZF-R6, 193 laps

7. B&S Roadracing, GSX-R600, 191 laps

8. Team Xtreme/Maxxis, Suz GSX-R1000, 189 laps

9. Bells Suzuki II, SV650, 188 laps

10. Team Cycle World, ZX-10R, 187 laps

11. Blue Ridge Perf., SV650, 184 laps

12. Deals Gap Racing, SV650, 179 laps

13. Team Chicago, YZF-R6, 178 laps

14. Team So Cal Elite Racing, CBR600RR, 178 laps, -51.723 seconds

15. Roadracingworld.com, SV650, 172 laps

16. Yeager Racing, SV650, 145 laps

17. Team HMR, CBR600RR, 144 laps

18. Dixie Mafia, SV650, 141 laps

19. Team Velocity Racing, YZF-R1, 61 laps

20. Canton Racing #1, GSX-R1000, 23 laps

21. Light Brigade, GSX-R600, 6 laps

From a press release issued by Proforma:

OPIE AND LEE TO MISS AMA BRAINERD ROUND

Teammates Opie Caylor and Lee Acree will not be able to compete at round seven of the AMA Chevrolet Superbike Series at Brainerd International Raceway, June 25-27, due to a lack of available resources. Engine failures at the last two rounds of the series have depleted the team’s inventory of resources, forcing the team to make the tough decision to miss the Brainerd round and focus on the upcoming AMA/WSB event at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. After Laguna Seca, the series moves back East for the final three rounds of the series, which the team will attend.

Opie and Lee regret having to miss a round of the AMA series, but have determined that they will regroup and be stronger for the remainder of the season.

Lee and Opie would like to thank the following sponsors for their continued support, encouragement and understanding: American Suzuki, Pirelli Tires, Leo Vince SBK Exhausts, Hotbodies Racing Bodywork, 1-888-FASTLAP, EBC Brakes, Silkolene Lubricants, Thermosman Suspension/Ohlins USA, Teknic Leathers, Pitbull Stands, Vortex Racing, Dynojet Tuning and the Kevin Schwantz Suzuki School.

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing Inc.


1. Jorge Lorenzo, Derbi, 1:50.497
2. Andrea Dovizioso, Honda, 1:51.465
3. Pablo Nieto, Aprilia, 1:51.540
4. Roberto Locatelli, Aprilia, 1:51.674
5. Mirko Giansanti, Aprilia, 1:51.682
6. Hector Barbera, Aprilia, 1:52.038
7. Alvaro Bautista, Aprilia, 1:52.087
8. Lukas Pesek, Honda, 1:52.147
9. Steve Jenkner, Aprilia, 1:52.148
10. Mika Kallio, KTM, 1:52.320
11. Simone Corsi, Honda, 1:52.399
12. Marco Simoncelli, Aprilia, 1:52.495
13. Mike Di Meglio, Aprilia, 1:52.577
14. Casey Stoner, KTM, 1:52.591
15. Mattia Pasini, Aprilia, 1:52.765
16. Imre Toth, Aprilia, 1:52.923
17. Fabrizio Lai, Gilera, 1:53.080
18. Julian Simon, Honda, 1:53.091
19. Gabor Talmasci, Malguti, 1:53.121
20. Stefano Perugini, Gilera, 1:53.147

From a press release issued by SBK International:

STUDENTS BURNING 2 LEARN AT SILVERSTONE

The Superbike World Championship round at Silverstone will be a most unusual classroom for 28 teenage students this weekend. The boys and girls from Buckingham, Croydon and Kent are coming to the Northamptonshire circuit to hone their numeracy, literacy and ICT skills. They are doing this with the help of two-wheeled motorsport, thanks to the initiative of Alan Dean and his organisation, Burning 2 Learn.

The students, including some special needs children, are from six different schools; local to Silverstone, 15 boys and girls from Year 10 of the Royal Latin Grammer School in Buckingham. From Kent and South London a further 13 pupils from the Beckmead School in Croydon, Bradbourne School, Sevenoaks, Dartford Grammer School, Kent Furness School, Hextable and Swanley Comprehensive will travel up for the weekend.

Thanks to the generous help of utility company ICW Power, Burning 2 Learn has the biggest trailer in the paddock, fully equipped with the latest computer equipment. The B2L Media Centre, as it is called this weekend, will be the hub for the students who have a comprehensive programme of interviews and visits. They will be writing reports and news stories having met the top riders, including championship leader James Toseland and Italian legend Pier Francesco Chili, who incidentally will be interviewed in Italian by one of the girls. Some of the students are being loaned cameras for the weekend and the best pictures will be entered in the FIM Photo Competition. This competition is organised by the governing body of international motorcycle racing, the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme, in celebration of its centenary this year.

Alan came up with the idea of Burning 2 Learn (burning as in rubber) in 2000 after six years working in education. He realised that there were a lot of young students who lacked self esteem and motivation in their learning, who then gave up on education. Having worked in the construction industry, Alan realised that literacy and mathematics were ‘hidden’ in all areas of commercial life and could be interesting if presented in the right way. Also living close to Brands Hatch, Alan had an interest in motorsport and approached FGSPORT, the organiser of the SBK Superbike World Championship.”I was surprised at how approachable everyone was in SBK, not only the organisers but the teams and riders as well,” said Alan. “Getting students to interview riders, write press releases and take photographs is fun for them and they don’t consciously realise that they are improving their literacy and other skills. When we analyse statistics related to the sport, they are in effect practicising maths. We have had some fantastic results doing this and it is very satisfying to see the students learn in this way.”

From a press release issued by Camel Honda:

Max and Makoto on provisional front row in Montmelo

Camel Honda’s pair of yellow RC211V conquered the front row of the grid after the first day of tests at the Catalunya circuit. In order to get up there, Max and Makoto rode in particularly determined fashion; Max setting the second fastest time seemingly unaffected by a slight crash at the beginning of the session, improving his times with his ‘second’ bike and finishing with the positive result. The other Camel Honda flagbearer, Makoto Tamada, once again showed in the last few minutes of the session the grit and talent that stood him apart from the rest in the unfortunate Mugello race. He took the third best time, a provisional front row start, and completed a brilliant result for the team as a whole.

Sito Pons – Camel Honda (Team Principal)
“To have both our bikes on the front row in Catalunya is a great result for the team. We’ve got some good rhythm up for the race, and our Honda machines are very quick here. We also know that we can improve and we are working to refine all the little details so that we’re ready for Sunday. It’s an important race; we’re at home and there’s an exceptional crowd waiting for us, and infront of our fans, we want to be the stars of the show.”

Max Biaggi – Camel Honda (Michelin tyres) – 2nd – 1’43.563
“The second fastest time is quite good given that it came with the second bike. In the first minutes of the timed session, I made a slight error and I crashed out. So I had to return to the pits on foot and I lost about fifteen minutes, as well as the chance to use the bike I feel more comfortable with. I used the other and apart from doing some good times with it on soft tyres, I also did some on race tyres. So I think we still have some margins to work within. Having seen the pace that we had this morning I honestly thought that in the afternoon we would have al gone quicker, but obviously the temperature changed the grip and the conditions of the track somewhat. I think that the tyre wear in the race will become an important factor.”

Gianluca Montiron – Camel Honda – (Makoto Tamada Team Manager)
“We’re working to overcome the difficulties we find ourselves in at the moment. Bridgestone has put in so much effort in just three days that here in Spain they’ve even brought some new material. I think that soon they’ll find the solution, and as they are doing it the group has been united, working its hardest and we’ve helped our rider in the great race against the clock. Makoto has put his RC211V on the front row, with the second highest top speed, a sign that we should continue with the same amount of concentration as we have shown already.”

Makoto Tamada – Camel Honda (Bridgestone Tyres) – 3rd – 1’43.708
“Third fastest with the soft tyres and desperate to be always as quick. I wanted this result desperately, it’s very important, now we can put all our attention into the race settings, trying to find the right solution and by fine-tuning the general set-up of the bike so we can be competitive on Sunday. With the race material having barely arrived from Japan. I don’t really know what level of performance we’ll see, but if one thing is for sure, I’ll give my all as ever.”




From press release issued by Team Gresini:

GP OF CATALUNYA – 1ST QUALIFYING PRACTICES

SETE UNSTOPPABLE FROM THE START

The Catalunya Grand Prix started in spectacular fashion for the Telefónica MoviStar Honda MotoGP team as Sete Gibernau once again set the standard, taking pole position as he did at Mugello one week ago. Sete’s effort of 1’42″934 is almost a second quicker than Valentino Rossi’s pole time from last season of 1’43″927. Gibernau recovered from a crash in the morning free practice to take a provisional pole position in the afternoon session. Colin Edwards, fourteenth today, is still struggling to get comfortable on the Honda RC211V due to chattering problems but hopes to rediscover the form that saw him set some of the fastest times at the IRTA tests here in March.

SETE GIBERNAU (1st, 1’42″934) : “I wasn’t expecting to get into the 1’42s here, but once again the times are coming easily to me because everything is in the right place. We had a slight setback this morning because we didn’t quite have the front set-u! p right but the team did a great job and on my final two outings I found a really good feeling. I did a good time on the race tyre and on the qualifier it was sensational. The time gives me the chance to get some work done tomorrow and that’s how I like it – checking the feeling I’ve got and getting a good rhythm together for the race.”

COLIN EDWARDS (14th, 1’44″609): “I am really disappointed. In the morning practice we had chattering problems all round the circuit apart from in the first two turns. We tried a few different solutions to sort it out but in the afternoon it was exactly the same. The only place I am quick – perhaps the quickest rider out there, is in T1 and T2, but the bike is unrideable for the rest of the lap”.

FAUSTO GRESINI (Team Manager): “This is an important Grand Prix for Sete, the team and Telefónica because this is our home track and this pole is very important. We set a good! time this morning but the lap time in the afternoon was extremely good and particularly important after the crash, which luckily had no serious consequences. Sete continues to show his great form and in front of his home crowd he has maximum motivation. Colin is having the same problems as at Mugello – we are concerned about the situation because we believe firmly in his potential, but we will help him get out of this tunnel”.


More, from a press release issued by Proton Team KR:

PROTON KR V5 BATTLES THE HEAT IN CATALUNYA

Round 5: Catalunyan GP, Montmello
First Qualifying: Friday, June 11, 2004

Kurtis Roberts: 23rd, 1:46.945
Nobuatsu Aoki: 24th, 1:46.957

Proton Team KR riders Kurtis Roberts and Nobuatsu Aoki set almost identical qualifying times in bright sunshine in today’s first timed session for Sunday’s Catalunyan GP, with both promising improvements to come.

The team-mates placed 20th and 21st on the provisional starting grid, with one more timed session to follow tomorrow.

The Proton KR V5 made its race debut just over a year ago, and achieved its first finish at last year’s Catalunyan race, its second outing. This year’s machine is significantly changed, with major engine revisions and an all-new carved-from-solid chassis.

A revised firing order and a new longer-stroke motor are now gaining track miles, with the team able to concentrate more on fine-tuning the settings as the new parts achieve reliability. At the same time, continual development from tyre partners Dunlop is helping to move the project forward in a year when the overall standard in the premier MotoGP class has taken a significant step ahead.

The biggest problem today was blazing heat, with track temperatures soaring beyond 44 degrees under the Spanish sun. This not only punishes the tyres, but also affects the five-cylinder engine, with cooling becoming a more important issue than usual.

Today’s qualifying at the 4.727km circuit outside Barcelona is followed by one more day of qualifying before Sunday’s race, the fifth round of the season. Today’s provisional pole time was again set by points leader Sete Gibernau (Honda).


KURTIS ROBERTS
I haven’t been to this track for seven years, so I’m still remembering my way round and getting reacquainted with the place. We have a few little things to work on with the bike, mainly suspension set-up so I can get comfortable at race pace, and try to find some more grip. I had a couple of clutch problems today and I didn’t really get enough laps at one time to really get going. But it’s all getting better slowly, and physically I’m okay, after getting my insides rearranged crashing in practice in Italy.

NOBUATSU AOKI
I had trouble with my better bike in the middle of the session, with an electrical problem, so I had to switch to the spare, which wasn’t running quite so well. My real problem was when I put on a soft-compound qualifying tyre, and had really bad chatter. Then I tried another, and had the same problem. But the race tyre is working well, and I was able to run at close to my qualifying time without problems. I hope we can get a better qualifying tyre tomorrow, so I can improve my grid position.

KENNY ROBERTS – TEAM PRINCIPAL
Today wasn’t too good … the oil is running too hot, and we need to solve that problem tonight if the temperature is going to stay this high. We have a couple of ways of doing that, but we need to look at all the data first. Everything is still getting better, bit by bit, but we still have a ways to go.

Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.


1. Sete Gibernau, Honda, 1:42.934
2. Max Biaggi, Honda, 1:43.563
3. Makoto Tamada, Honda, 1:43.708
4. Valentino Rossi, Yamaha, 1:43.710
5. Nickey Hayden, Honda, 1:43.840
6. Carlos Checa, Yamaha, 1:43.860
7. Alex Barros, Honda, 1:43.911
8. Shinya Nakano, Kawasaki, 1:43.948
9. Marco Melandri, Yamaha, 1:44.071
10. Troy Bayliss, Ducati, 1:44.277
11. Loris Capirossi, Ducati, 1:44.290
12. Kenny Roberts, Suzuki, 1:44.302
13. John Hopkins, Suzuki, 1:44.407
14. Colin Edwards, Honda, 1:44.609
15. Alex Hofmann, Kawasaki, 1:44.623
16. Norick Abe, Yamaha, 1:44.988
17. Ruben Xaus, Ducati, 1:45.088
18. Shane Byrne, Aprilia, 1:45.200
19. Neil Hodgson, Ducati, 1:45.586
20. Gregorio Lavilla, Suzuki, 1:46.382
21. Jeremy McWilliams, Aprilia, 1:46.466
22. Andrew Pitt, Moriwaki Honda, 1:46.700
23. Kurtis Roberts, Proton KR, 1:46.945
24. Nobuatsu Aoki, Proton KR, 1:46.957
25. Michel Fabrizio, Harris WCM, 1:47.503
26. Chris Burns, Harris WCM, 1:49.739


From a press release issued by Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha:


YAMAHA MEN START STRONGLY IN SPANISH SCORCHER

Taking turns to dominate most of today’s first MotoGP qualifying session in Catalunya, Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha team-mates Valentino Rossi and Carlos Checa eventually finished the session in provisional fourth and sixth places respectively. The crowd were treated to a fantastic display of speed, as no less than seven riders lapped inside Rossi’s 2003 pole time.

Local-favourite Checa topped the time sheets for most of the first 45 minutes, before last week’s race winner Rossi moved in front of him with just 15 minutes to go. This sparked an entertaining battle for the top places as the leading riders all pushed their hardest in an effort to secure good qualifying positions ahead of tomorrow’s forecast rain. Checa took the lead again once more, before both riders headed back into the garage to change to qualifying tyres with five minutes to go. Rossi quickly set a new best lap of 1:43.710 but was pushed down to fourth as a Honda trio of Sete Gibernau, (1:42.934) Max Biaggi (1:43.563) and Makoto Tamada (1:43.708) all bettered his time. In the closing seconds Nicky Hayden (Honda) shot up the leader board into fifth with a time of 1:43.840, leaving Checa to finish sixth fastest with a final best time of 1:43.860.

VALENTINO ROSSI (4th, 1″43.710)

“I’ve had quite a good day but I have not pushed as hard as I could because I still have some set-up issues and the last laps with qualifying tyres did not go so well. Sete has obviously found his limit and I haven’t yet. Obviously I’d like to be at the front! Even though we still have a way to go I think we’re in quite a good position; maybe even to fight for victory.”

CARLOS CHECA (6th, 1:43.860)

“So far we’ve done some good work, through all the practice this morning and this afternoon. We’ve cleared some things up so I’m quite satisfied. Tomorrow we need to test one more tyre for the race as usual. This afternoon is was difficult to keep consistent times for more than a few laps. I was on a good lap at one point but got held up by another rider so I lost three tenths of a second on turn seven. Because now we only have one lap with qualifying tyres, it’s really important that everyone pays attention to people trying to put in a hot lap.”

DAVIDE BRIVIO, GAULOISES FORTUNA YAMAHA TEAM DIRECTOR

“Both riders went at quite a good pace for the whole session and they’re still at the top level. It was only the last ten minutes, when Valentino had a few problems, as he’s still adjusting his set-up and Carlos unfortunately got held up, that they moved down the time sheets. If the weather is okay tomorrow both riders can try to improve their positions and I think we’re in a good place to try to do that.”



More, from a press release issued by Marlboro Ducati:

MARLBORO DUCATI MEN IN POSITIVE MOOD

Ducati Marlboro Team riders Troy Bayliss and Loris Capirossi finished today’s baking-hot first Catalan GP qualifying session in 10th and 11th positions, confident that they are making good forward progress with their Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedicis. Following last weekend’s Italian GP, where Bayliss and Capirossi had one 2003 bike and one 2004 bike apiece, they’re both back to focusing on this year’s machine here, the team adopting a ‘less is more’ attitude to set-up, making as few changes as possible, so the riders can get fully comfortable with their machinery. “Now that we have a base set-up for this year’s bike we are trying to change as little as possible,” said Ducati Marlboro Team technical director Corrado Cecchinelli. “We are also making a lot of comparisons between the riders’ different set-ups, trying to improve our overall set-up.”

BAYLISS FEELING “PRETTY CHUFFED”
Troy Bayliss was in the hunt for a place on the provisional front row for half of this afternoon’s opening qualifier, run in 30 degree C heat with track temperatures nudging 45 degrees C. And although the Aussie ended up 10th, he reckoned he could have been further up the order if he hadn’t got out of shape during his best qualifying lap. “I feel more comfortable on the bike here,” said the Ducati Marlboro Team man. “We’re doing the same kind of work on set-up, but maybe a bit less than at recent races. I think the fact that I’m so used to riding the bike – I’ve hardly been off the thing in the last week – is also helping. I feel good here and the bike is working good. For a Friday I’m feeling pretty chuffed, especially since I got a bit of the hippy, hippy shakes just before the last fast rights that maybe cost me half a second on my best lap.”

CAPIROSSI IN BETTER SHAPE THAN LAST WEEK
Loris Capirossi was up to sixth during the closing stages of the session, slipping to 11th at the chequered flag. However, the Ducati Marlboro Team rider is in confident mood, making good progress on his bike settings/tyre combination for Sunday’s race. “Overall, I feel that we are in better shape than we were at Mugello, though I feel I have to improve something in myself here,” admitted the Italian. “As far as the bike goes, I’m quite happy with my pace. The conditions are really hot here, which will make life difficult for the tyres on Sunday, which is why I’m concentrating on trying to make the bike more rideable over race distance. My best qualifying lap today was okay, even if not perfect.”

From a press release issued by CCS:

CCS at Shenandoah Cancelled July 17-18

The Mid-Atlantic regional Championship Cup Series event originally scheduled at Summit Point’s Shenandoah Circuit has been cancelled due to construction delays with the new facility.

All CCS motorcycle events at Summit Point Raceway have been moved by Bill Scott Racing from the original 2.1 mile Summit Point Circuit to the Shenandoah Circuit in 2004 including the events scheduled for September 4-5 and October 9-10.

Bill Scott Racing and Summit Point Raceway management expects that Championship Cup Series will be the first group to race at the new facility when CCS motorcycle racing returns to the track on September 4-5, then again on October 9-10.

The cancellation puts even more emphasis on the CCS Roebling Road event scheduled for July 24-25 and Barber Motorsports August 14-15 which also includes the Formula USA series, both are double point paying rounds for the Mid-Atlantic region of CCS.

Don’t forget about the Lockhart Phillips USA Sport Rider Days scheduled at race tracks around the country. Street riders can find “Track Days” in all regions including 4 new affiliates; Fastrax in the Great Lakes Region, Church of Speed in the Southern Region, as well as Keigwin at the Track and SoCal Track Days in California and Nevada.

These LP USA track days focus on street riders but also offer licensing clinics for those that want to take the next step. Regardless of where you live, you can find a Lockhart Phillips USA sponsored Track Day near you! Just visit FormulaUSA.com or CCSracing.com for dates and location!

Lockhart Phillips USA Sport Rider Days are also open to Dealerships and provide great customer service incentives. Contact Formula USA / CCS with inquiries regarding “Dealer Days”.

From a press release issued by Fuchs Kawasaki:

MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2004 GRAN PREMI DE CATALUNYA 11TH JUNE 2004 – QUALIFYING PRACTICE 1

NAKANO MAKES FAST RETURN TO FORM

Fuchs Kawasaki rider Shinya Nakano made a confidence boosting return to riding today, claiming eighth on the provisional grid for Sunday’s Catalunya Grand Prix.

It was a courageous performance coming just five days after the affable Japanese rider cheated serious injury in a horrifying 300 kph crash in the Italian Grand Prix at Mugello.

In heatwave conditions at Barcelona Nakano put aside the mental demons and continuing back pain to post a superb qualifying effort just one second off pole position.

When Nakano completed his first laps aboard his Ninja ZX-RR in this morning’s free practice he admitted it was “difficult to forget” his Mugello crash.

Also in fine form was Ninja ZX-RR teammate Alex Hofmann, whose 15th fastest time did not reflect his effort and performance potential at one of his favourite tracks.

Hofmann was disappointed not to maximise his late session, soft tyre, qualifying run when baulked by traffic. His best time was just 0.3s off a top ten grid position.

In morning practice Hofmann was unhappy with grip levels and braking stability, but suspension and chassis changes for the qualifying session delivered a big improvement.

Both Nakano and Hofmann acknowledged the efforts of Bridgestone in supplying a modified rear tyre specification in response to the problems that triggered Nakano’s Mugello crash.

With a tight three day production schedule, Bridgestone say they have delivered 100 tyres across three construction types for their riders at Barcelona. This is a smaller choice than usual, but an impressive response from the Japanese tyre company given the circumstances of the back-to-back GP time frame.

Shinya Nakano: 8th (1’43.948) “This morning it was difficult to forget what happened at Mugello when I first went out on the track. But Bridgestone have new tyres here and have promised they have solved the problems, and I trust them. I still have some pain in my back, but I have put all this out of my mind to concentrate on my job. In the afternoon I was confident again, riding as I normally do. So far I have found the tyre performance in terms of grip the same as before, although we still have to confirm the race endurance of the new tyres. I’m hoping to stay in the top eight tomorrow.”

Alex Hofmann: 15th (1’44.623)
“I wasn’t happy with my final fast laps with the traffic and then pushing too hard in the chicane, I lost some time out on the track. In the morning session I couldn’t find a good balance, but in qualifying I had a much better set-up, with improved grip and more stability on the brakes. Even so, I’ve got a positive outlook for the weekend, especially with the impressive work Bridgestone have done, although we still have to check the race distance performance.”

Harald Eckl: Team Manager “That was an amazing effort from Shinya to get his confidence back so quickly after Mugello. Alex is also looking strong, and this is a good start to the weekend. Bridgestone have made a huge effort to bring new tyres for the weekend and, hopefully, we will have a good tyre option for the race to back up our qualifying performance.”

QUALIFYING PRACTICE 1 – FINAL TIMES
1. Sete Gibernau (SPA) Telefonica Movistar Honda 1:42.934; 2. Max Biaggi (ITA) Camel Honda Team +0.629; 3. Makoto Tamada (JPN) Camel Honda Team +0.774; 4. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha +0.776; 5. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda +0.906; 6. Carlos Checa (SPA) Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha +0.926; 7. Alex Barros (BRA) Repsol Honda +0.977; 8. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Kawasaki Racing Team +1.014; 9. Marco Melandri (ITA) Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha +1.137; 10. Troy Bayliss (AUS) Ducati Marlboro Team +1.343; 11. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati Marlboro Team +1.356; 12. Kenny Roberts (USA) Suzuki Grand Prix Team +1.368; 15. Alex Hofmann (GER) Kawasaki Racing Team +1.689