Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

1. Loris CAPIROSSI, Ducati, 1:38.412
2. Max BIAGGI, Honda, 1:38.718
3. Valentino ROSSI, Honda, 1:38.744
4. Sete GIBERNAU, Honda, 1:38.920
5. Olivier JACQUE, Yamaha, 1:39.042
6. Shinya NAKANO, Yamaha, 1:39.159
7. Carlos CHECA, Yamaha, 1:39.225
8. Troy BAYLISS, Ducati, 1:39.344
9. Makoto TAMADA, Honda, 1:39.368
10. Tohru UKAWA, Honda, 1:39.541
11. Marco MELANDRI, Yamaha, 1:39.557
12. Alex BARROS, Yamaha, 1:39.571
13. Colin EDWARDS, Arilia, 1:39.837
14. Kenny ROBERTS, Suzuki, 1:39.839
15. Nicky HAYDEN, Honda, 1:40.069
16. John HOPKINS, Suzuki, 1:40.766
17. Noriyuki HAGA, Aprilia, 1:40.779
18. Jeremy McWILLIAMS, Proton, 1:40.794
19. Ryuichi KIYONARI, Honda, 1:40.883
20. Andrew PITT, Kawasaki, 1:41.020
21. David DE GEA, Harris WCM, 1:41.105
22. Garry McCOY, Kawasaki, 1:41.485
23. Nobuatsu AOKI, Proton, 1:41.656
24. Chris BURNS, Harris WCM, 1:42.199



Final 250cc Grand Prix Qualifying Results
1. Toni ELIAS, Aprilia, 1:42.255
2. Randy DE PUNIET, Aprilia, 1:42.458
3. S.GUINTOLI, Aprilia, 1:42.554
4. Manuel POGGIALI, Aprilia, 1:42.675
5. Sebastian PORTO, Honda, 1:42.682
6. Franco BATTAINI, Aprilia, 1:42.892
7. Roberto ROLFO, Honda, 1:42.902
8. Fonsi NIETO, Aprilia, 1:43.009
9. N. MATSUDO, Yamaha, 1:43.149
10. Alex DEBON, Honda, 1:43.340
11. Anthony West, Aprilia, 1:44.001
12. E. BATAILLE, Honda, 1:44.272
13. H. MARCHAND, Aprilia, 1:44.401
14. C. DAVIES, Aprilia, 1:44.835
15. C. GEMMEL, Honda, 1:44.890
16. A. BALDOLINI, Aprilia, 1:44.924
17. J. OLIVE, Aprilia, 1:44.939
18. D. HEIDOLF, Aprilia, 1:45.016
19. J. STIGEFELT, Aprilia, 1:45.171
20. E. NIGON, Aprilia, 1:45.227
29. Katja Poensgen, Honda, 1:48.181



Final 125cc Grand Prix Qualifying Results:

1. Alex De Angelis, Aprilia, 1:45.580
2. Daniel Pedrosa, Honda, 1:46.106
3. Jorge Lorenzo, Derbi, 1:46.278
4. Stefano Perugini, Aprilia, 1:46.323
5. Pablo Nieto, Aprilia, 1:46.330
6. Marco Simoncelli, Aprilia, 1:46.414
7. Gino Borsoi, Aprilia, 1:46.449
8. Andrea Dovizioso, Honda, 1:46.479
9. Steve Jenkner, Aprilia, 1:46.739
10. Gabor Talmacsi, Aprilia, 1:46.793
11. Lucio Cecchinello, Aprilia, 1:46.800
12. Youichi Ui, Gilera, 1:46.901
13. Arnaud Vincent, Aprilia, 1:46.913
14. Thomas Luthi, Honda, 1:46.967
15. Masao Azuma, Honda, 1:47.009
16. Mirko Giansanti, 1:47.055
17. Stefano Bianco, Gilera, 1:47.165
18. Simone Corsi, Honda, 1:47.186
19. Mika Kallio, KTM, 1:47.246
20. J. Simon, Malaguti, 1:47.303

22. Hector Barbera, Aprilia, 1:47.392
23. Roberto Locatellli, KTM, 1:47.456

26. Casey Stoner, Aprilia, 1:47.805



More, from a press release issued by Harris WCM:

PORTUGESE GP- ESTORIL
HARRIS – WCM
Final Qualifying – Saturday 6th September

David de Gea – 21st 1:41.105
“A very good day for me, my mechanics and the whole team. I am very happy, the bike is working well and my lap times are very consistent.

“Tomorrow we are aiming for fast, consistent lap times, somewhere in the 43s.

“I am so happy also, to finish in front of the factory Kawasaki of McCoy and up to the final lap, I was in 20th position, in front of Pitt also.”


Chris Burns ­ 24th 1:42.199
“I am disappointed to be where I am at the rear of the grid, but hopefully I will not be finishing the race in that position tomorrow. It’s my first time here, so I am getting to know my way around now, after not having an opportunity yesterday to put in many laps at all. I’ve done 42 laps today,

“I’m struggling a bit with some front chatter and the engine braking is very sensitive, so we have a few things to work on overnight, but basically the bike feels strong.

“I guess my laps times aren’t too bad and I have made a significant improvement on my times from yesterday. Tomorrow I finally get to race the four stroke, I really look forward to that.”


Peter Clifford ­ Team Manager
“I’m absolutely thrilled. Everyone’s done a brilliant job. We only came here with two engines for the two riders and we’ve qualified in front of people with more money, backing and track time.

“We all know that it is race day that counts, but I certainly wasn’t sure that we’d get this far on our first attempt.”


More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

Marlboro Portuguese GP, Estoril
Final Qualifying
Saturday, September 6 2003

DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM TAKES THIRD POLE OF 2003


Ducati Marlboro Team rider Loris Capirossi stormed to pole position at windswept Estoril this afternoon, team-mate Troy Bayliss securing a second-row start for his first race at this challenging circuit. Capirossi’s third pole of the year highlights recent detail improvements to the team’s awesomely fast Desmosedici MotoGP bike. These upgrades include a new Ohlins front fork, a new chassis and new bodywork which improve the bike’s rideability.

“We are always improving our motorcycles,” said Ducati Corse CEO Claudio Domenicali. “These latest upgrades are not huge improvements, but Ducati’s philosophy is always this – that many tiny steps forward give you a big step forward. We already knew that the basic concept of the Desmosedici is good, so now we are building on that concept, using our racing experience to keep moving forward. And we like to stay loyal to what we know – like our desmodromic engine and trellis chassis – which is why we don’t experiment with totally new technology all the time. We prefer steady improvements.

“Tomorrow’s race will be difficult. Maybe we didn’t have the fastest overall pace this afternoon but we made some tiny improvements to our set-up today and maybe we can make some more for the race.”

CAPIROSSI’S POLE TIME 1.38s INSIDE 2002 POLE

Loris Capirossi rode the fastest-ever lap of Estoril in this afternoon’s final qualifying session to secure pole position for tomorrow’s Marlboro Portuguese GP for the Ducati Marlboro Team. This is the third pole of
the year for the Italian rider and his crew; previously Capirossi had qualified fastest for May’s Spanish GP and June’s Dutch TT. He also won Ducati’s first MotoGP victory at Catalunya in June.

“I’m very happy,” grinned Capirossi, whose pole time was a phenomenal 1.38 seconds inside last year’s Estoril pole. “We’ve done a great job here over the past two days, and this pole position is like a present for everyone in the team. The bike was perfect this afternoon. This morning I was joking with (Sete) Gibernau that I’d do a 1:38.5, but I went even faster than that, which is great. The race will be very difficult but after today I’m confident that I can be part of the fight for victory.”


ESTORIL ROOKIE BAYLISS EIGHTH FASTEST

Ducati Marlboro Team rider Troy Bayliss was happy enough with his qualifying performance that puts him on the second row for his first race at Estoril. The Australian continued to make progress with set-up throughout today and completed all of this morning’s session with the same Michelin rear, making him confident that he’s got a good tyre choice for tomorrow’s race.

“I’ve not got a lot of experience here – we only got one dry day of testing here pre-season – so I’m happy with eighth, it’s about normal,” said Bayliss, who rode his best MotoGP race so far at Brno three weeks ago, finishing third, just 0.6 seconds behind the winner.

“We made some progress on a few things today, especially fixing some instability we’d been having on the brakes, and I’ve got a few more ideas for tomorrow. But like every GP it’s during the race that we really learn stuff, which will hopefully pay off next year. The plan is to make some more progress in morning warm-up, then get a good start in the race.”


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

HOPKINS REPORTS PROGRESS AT MOTO GRAND PRIX OF PORTUGAL

ESTORIL, Portugal – Suzuki MotoGP rider John Hopkins improved on his times from Friday to Saturday’s sessions and qualified 17th for Sunday’s Grand Prix of Portugal with a time of 1:40.766 on the 4.2-kilometer Estoril Circuit. Hopkins noted steady improvement in the Suzuki GSV Grand Prix bike during the weekend. He cited lack of time on the Estoril track as the main reason he didn’t qualify higher.

“This track is super tight and pretty bumpy in places,” Hopkins explained. “I’m still trying to come to terms with the last section of the track. Today I think I finally found some lines by following some of the others around. Last year we had a lot of wet sessions, plus I was on a two-stroke and the lines were totally different. Bottom line is I’m still coming up to speed with this track. I’d say it’s one of the more difficult tracks to learn.”

Ducati’s Loris Capirossi took the pole position, the Italian lapping at 1:38.412.

Hopkins said his team found a suspension link that worked well in the morning session, but less so in the warmer temperatures of the qualifying session.

“The Ohlins (suspension) guys helped us with a spring that made a little improvement,” Hopkins said. “It really doesn’t show that much in the lap times, but it makes the bike more predictable and comfortable to ride.”

Hopkins said he hopes to put some finishing touches on getting his lines dialed in during the morning warm-up session tomorrow and hopes to turn in a solid race.

“In the morning I’ll try to perfect that last section of track and find a good rhythm through there. Hopefully in the race I’ll be able to get into a groove and hook up with a group and turn in some good laps.”

Hopkins finished eighth at Estoril last season after qualifying 15th.


More, from a press release issued by Fortuna Yamaha:

Portuguese Grand Prix
Saturday, 6 September 2003
Estoril, Portugal

CHECA AND MELANDRI IMPROVE TIMES IN GUSTY FINAL QUALIFIER

Fortuna Yamaha Team riders Carlos Checa and Marco Melandri and their MotoGP competitors, battled against brutally windy conditions and each other in today’s final qualifying session of the Portuguese Grand Prix. The offshore winds, which gusted up to 28kmh, prevented any significant improvement from yesterday’s first qualifying times until the final ten minutes of today’s session. It was at this stage that the leader board became rather active, and Fortuna Yamaha Team riders Checa and Melandri both improved on their times from yesterday, eventually finishing the session seventh and eleventh fastest respectively.

Checa produced a lap time of 1:39.225 during the qualifier to feature on the front row but unfortunately that result did not stick, and he was relegated back to seventh as the chequered flag brought the session to a close. He entered the session confident that he could improve on his provisional qualifying time and did just that, by 0.680 seconds. Unfortunately it was not enough to hold onto his provisional sixth place on the grid, despite being only 0.813 seconds off pole.

The Spaniard felt that although progress had been made with the base set-up of his Yamaha YZR-M1 machine, he was still losing time in stages of the twisty circuit. “I’ve been trying as hard as I can but I couldn’t get past the same limitations that we had yesterday,” said the thirty-year-old. “We tried new tyres this afternoon, which offered some improvement, but I still need more side grip in some areas, especially on the front. I was feeling quite slow in all parts of the circuit today, but especially the last part. It’s most difficult in the areas where the bike is on its side for a long time. Anyway seventh is not the worse qualifying position – hopefully I can get a good start. I will discuss it again with my crew and see if there are any more changes we can make to solve my difficulties.”

Marco Melandri had a similar story to that of his team-mate Checa in today’s session. After an impressive and consistent run this afternoon where he featured well in the top ten throughout, the young Italian posted the third fastest time with only three minutes remaining. However in the final moments of the session he was pushed back to the third row of the starting grid, ending the session in eleventh position with a time of 1:39.557.

The twenty-one-year-old is still confident that he will be able to put in a competitive performance in tomorrow’s race. “This morning was not so bad,” said the current 250cc World Champion. “Then we had some problems this afternoon with the tyres that we’re considering for the race. It was windier this afternoon than this morning as well, and the tyres felt a bit too hard for me in these conditions. In the end I was quite fast in the first three sections of the track but slow in the last section – I think it was the same for the other Yamahas. On the last corner I couldn’t get on the power well enough and I don’t know why. Anyway I felt better than yesterday and better than in Brno. The qualifying is so fast and tight now, it’s unbelievable. Hopefully I will be able to follow some of the faster riders and then stay with them!”

Setting the benchmark in today’s session was Ducati rider Loris Capirossi, who bettered Checa’s 2002 pole position time by 1.381 seconds. He secured the number one slot with a time of 1:38.412 ahead of Max Biaggi (Honda, 1:38.718), Valentino Rossi (Honda, 1:38.774) and Sete Gibernau (Honda, 1:38.920). Leading the second row was Olivier Jacque (Gauloises Yamaha Team, 1:39.042) – the Frenchman was unable to hold onto his provisional number two grid position after a small mistake on his flying lap.

Fortuna Yamaha Team Director Davide Brivio said, “Despite not finding the perfect set-up I think Carlos can run at a good pace, and his starting position is okay. I hope to see him stay in the top group again. At the end of the session Marco improved a lot but he has difficulty in the last part of the track, so we need to work to see if we can solve that. Normally he is a good starter so he could do well. He went out just for one fast lap and didn’t really have the chance to improve further, so I think he’s got more to give. It was very windy out there, so I hope for everyone’s sake that it calms down a bit by tomorrow.”


More, from a press release issued by Fuchs Kawasaki:

MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2003
ROUND 11 – GRANDE PREMIO MARLBORO DE PORTUGAL
6TH SEPTEMBER 2003 – QUALIFYING PRACTICE 2

SICK PITT FLIES FOR FUCHS KAWASAKI AT ESTORIL

Despite suffering from an energy-sapping heavy cold Fuchs Kawasaki rider Andrew Pitt produced a dramatic improvement in lap times to qualify on the fifth row of the grid for tomorrow’s Portuguese Grand Prix.

Pitt cut 1.3s from his Friday time to hold 20th on grid from the opening qualifying session. A MotoGP rookie, Pitt worked solidly to fine tune his knowledge of the Estoril circuit using the base set-up from the recent Brno race where he finished as the first Kawasaki rider in 16th.

However it was a frustrating day for Pitt’s team-mate Garry McCoy, who went just two tenths faster and dropped four places down the grid to 22nd on the final time sheet.

McCoy is considered a master of the always windy Estoril, but today he struggled to find a comfortable set-up for the long sequence of tight, slow corners.

This section contrasts dramatically with the fast main straight where Pitt’s Ninja ZX-RR today posted an impressive 316 kph in the radar speed trap just before the braking zone into turn one.

Having been restricted to one bike during Friday’s practice and qualifying because of an electrical problem McCoy spent today playing catch-up in a bid to evaluate new front end settings developed from the recent Brno tests. The results were inconclusive and McCoy will revert to a base set-up on both of his race machines for tomorrow’s 28 lap race.

Importantly today’s warmer final qualifying session allowed the riders to confirm that Dunlop have some excellent race tyre options, backing up the data that was collected with yesterday’s slightly cooler track temperatures.

Andrew Pitt – 20th – 1:41.020
“I’m feeling slightly better than yesterday but I still went on a drip at the clinic before the session and I didn’t do a lot of long runs today in order to save some energy for the race. Overall I’m pretty happy to have gone more than a second faster today and I’m sticking with the base set-up from Brno, which allows me to ride the bike to my strengths; brake hard and turn-in hard and not fiddle around changing too much. It was warmer today and we were able to confirm that Dunlop have some good race tyre options here and I found a front tyre that worked well in the heat. Hopefully I can get a good nights sleep to be ready for the race.”

Garry McCoy – 22nd – 1:41.485
“Today I tried the new front end set-up that showed some promise at the Brno test but it didn’t feel as good here; I need more time to get comfortable on it which wasn’t possible today. The main problem is I’m struggling into the slow corners and running wide, the engine feels like it’s running-on with the throttle closed; and there are eight slow corners and only four fast ones so I’m losing time. For the warm-up we are going to set-up both bikes the same and try to get the race package right and just go for it. Starting at the back is not easy here.”

Harald Eckl – Team Manager
“We knew that the Estoril circuit would be a stiff challenge for us, but it is unfortunate that the improvements we saw in the last two races have not translated to this track. Of course, Andrew’s cold and the problems with Garry’s bike yesterday have had an effect, but it is still disappointing that neither managed to qualify higher up the grid. Starting from the fifth row at such a tight circuit is always going to be difficult, but I’m confident that both Andrew and Garry will improve on their qualifying positions in tomorrow’s race.”


More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki News Service:

SUZUKI RIDERS CUT TIME FOR ESTORIL GP

Team Suzuki rider Kenny Roberts Jr. will start tomorrow’s Portuguese GP from the fourth row of the grid, after slashing more than seven tenths of a second off his previous best lap time to qualify in 14th position.

Team-mate John Hopkins also found a significant improvement, in the second and final day of qualifying at the 4.182km circuit outside Lisbon, to retain his 17th position, one row behind Roberts.

The gradually improving overall performance of the Suzuki GSV-R MotoGP racer was an important factor – so also was the nature of the Portuguese circuit, which combines a long and fast straight with some of the slowest corners of the year. It is very technically challenging for all riders, which plays in favour of 2000 World Champion Roberts. Kenny ended up more than a full second faster than his qualifying time last year on the previous-generation Suzuki GSV-R.

Hopkins is less familiar with the track, but showed his mettle with a fast learning curve, improving on his last year’s qualifying time as he cut almost eight tenths of a second from yesterday to today.

The overall time improvement show how the hitherto difficult 2003 machine is picking up speed later in the season, with a shift in race department management bringing a new focus to solving the teething problems of the very radical and technically adventurous 990cc V4 racer. More improvements are expected as the season wears on, while the factory racing department is also concentrating on incorporating all of this season’s lessons into next year’s machine.

Estoril’s notorious high winds were blowing again today, though not as fiercely as yesterday, with the final practice session taking place in warm and sunny conditions.

KENNY ROBERTS Jr. – 14th Position, 1:39.839
This track is a lot like Suzuka, where the rider can make a lot of difference. The lines are real important here, and you have to be aggressive and do the right things to go fast. Essentially today we made a few changes from yesterday to try compensate for some engine characteristics with suspension changes, but it didn’t feel as good as our base setting. It may sound far fetched to a normal person, but it’s to do with controlling the attitude of the bike. It didn’t seem too bad, but when we went back to the base settings from yesterday just to check, they were still better, so from there we worked on getting the bike ready for the full race distance. Like I said yesterday, we’re going to try to get into the points which could be quite difficult, because there are some bikes behind me that should be a little faster over raced distance than us.

JOHN HOPKINS – 17th Position, 1:40.766
We’re just trying to keep improving the bike, and we tried a new suspension link this morning that worked better than yesterday’s settings. Then in the afternoon we ran into difficulties with it. What worked in the morning didn’t work in the afternoon, but it wasn’t something we could change quickly so I had to run with it, get the best possible time and choose what we think will be the right race tyre for tomorrow. As for the final settings, we’re going to have to try to work out why the bike was different in the afternoon, then make a judgement call as to what will work best for tomorrow. It’ll be a long race, but I’m pretty confident of finishing in the points, provided I can get a decent start.

GARRY TAYLOR – Team Manager
We’re still looking for a good base setting for this bike, but Kenny went more than a second faster than last year on the previous-generation GSV-R, so we’re going in the right direction. John ran into a puzzling problem, but he kept his concentration and took eight tenths off his time.


More, from a press release issued by Pramac Honda:

Ninth best time makes Makoto Tamada first on third row

Ninth best time in qualifying and a good starting position on tomorrow’s grid. This was how the first two days at Estoril came to an end, with Makoto Tamada constantly giving the impression of feeling at home on a track he saw for the first time only yesterday. With technicians constantly satisfying his every request, the Japanese rider of the Pramac Honda Team sliced almost three seconds off the best lap time he posted yesterday.

Today’s endurance tests on the tyres also made it possible to make the final choice of tyres for tomorrow’s race: these are new models that were used in the Brno tests in mid-August and with which both the rider and technicians are satisfied. This is evolution material that shows that Bridgestone’s development work is moving in the right direction. The final details will be worked out tomorrow during the warm-up, when Makoto will be trying out the race configuration with a full tank.

Then the hope is that Tamada will be able to take advantage of his good starting position to go up among the leaders and ride with the determination for which he has made a name.

Makoto Tamada (Pramac Honda Team): 9th – 1:39.368
“I’d really need to try out a few more details on the settings, but I must say I’m already very pleased with the work we’ve done so far. We’ll just be doing the last race-configuration test in the warm-up tomorrow morning. I’m feeling assured and I’m confident about the race. I’m starting off from a good place and I’d like to get up towards the front. The first corner at the end of their home straight isn’t easy but I’ll be trying to get off to a good start and I feel I should be able to be competitive for all twenty-eight laps, maintaining a constant pace. There are plenty of places where one can overtake, especially when braking, so I’m really hoping I can ride a good race on a track that’s just right for my style of riding.”


More, from a press release issued by Alice Aprilia Racing Information:

CHATTERING AGAIN

Estoril – More than 15 riders faster than last year record lap for the second qualifying session at Estoril but both riders of Alice Aprilia Racing Team have the same problem since the beginning of the season: chattering. Especially in the last corner before the straight where the bikes remain inclined for a long time creating the chattering.

COLIN EDWARDS: “I did all the best as I got my fastest lap time taking many risk and pushing very hard. The bike is jumping all the time and it’s difficult to ride in these conditions. It will be difficult to maintain that pace during the race but we have all the same problem because of the wind”.

NORIYUKI HAGA: “It’s very difficult to get a better result, especially in the last corner. I loose to much time and I am not able to push as I like in the final part of the track. We are going to make some changes in the rear suspension in the warm up session in order to improve the situation”.

GIGI DALL’IGNA (Project Leader): “The chattering is back but I think it’s normal with these lap times. This is not a new problem for us but now it’s becoming worse. We found a good solution but it’s not definitive”.


More, from a press release issued by Honda Racing Information:

THREE FRONT ROW HONDA MEN READY TO RUMBLE

In typically blustery coastal conditions at Estoril near Lisbon, the four main men in the tightly-fought 2003 World Championship all qualified on the front row of the grid. Loris Capirossi (Ducati) secured the pole with a 1m 38.412s lap of the 4.182km track with four minutes of the hour-long session to go.

Try as they might, and the effort was palpable, neither Max Biaggi (Camel Pramac Pons RC211V), Valentino Rossi (Repsol Honda RC211V), nor Sete Gibernau (Telefonica Movistar Honda RC211V) could topple the Italian rider. Biaggi qualified second, Rossi third and Gibernau fourth.

Wind conditions dropped slightly for today’s final qualifying session, but there were still enough gusts to make the stiff breeze a factor for all riders in the tortuous back section of the track, although it also meant riders’ progress along the start/finish straight was wind-assisted.

With riders opting to spend at least three-quarters of the session working on race set-up and trying various tyres for race endurance, there wasn’t much action until the final ten minutes – with the exception of Sete Gibernau’s antics halfway through the stint.

He pitted after 30 minutes to try his number two bike which had been fitted with super-sticky qualifying tyres. He crashed within minutes of leaving the pitlane, but remounted and returned to the garage to venture out once again on his number one machine fitted with race tyres.

This episode in no way upset the robust Spaniard and he was soon back into his rhythm and posting times in the 1m 38s bracket before running out of road at the end of the rapid start/finish straight and visiting the gravel trap.

An overnight surprise had been Olivier Jacque (Yamaha) who’d put in the second fastest time of yesterday’s provisional session. The Frenchman improved his time today, but it was only enough to secure him fifth place at the front of row two for the race. Shinya Nakano and Carlos Checa (both Yamaha) qualified sixth and seventh while Troy Bayliss put the other Ducati on row two in eighth.

Max Biaggi was on flying form after a trying time at Brno two weeks ago and the Roman is eager to get to the grid tomorrow. “What we planned to do yesterday worked out right,” he said. “We’re still not quite getting 100% from the bike, it has even more potential. That doesn’t mean I’m not happy with the job we’ve done. Over the two days I’ve always been among the fastest riders.”

Rossi’s bid for a pole attempt was hampered by the clock running down when he was ready to put in his best efforts. “We made a little mistake at the end,” he said. “I should have stopped and come in for a softer tyre but we didn’t have enough time. But it’s no big problem, I’m happy with third on the front row.”

Like the rest of the front row residents Gibernau is race ready. “I’ve found a good tyre,” he said. “I have a consistent rhythm and I feel good despite my crash. Most importantly I’ll start form the front row and I feel calm. Even after my crash I was still able to lap at 1m 38s, which is not a bad time at all.”

Makoto Tamada (Pramac Honda RC211V) qualified ninth and was happier with himself today after what the Japanese rookie regards as a two disappointing finishes at the last two races. “I’m pleased with the work we’ve done so far,” he said. “The first corner at the end of the straight isn’t easy but I feel I can be competitive for all 28 laps tomorrow at a good pace. There are plenty of places to overtake and that’s just right for my style of riding.”

After a subdued first half of the season Tohru Ukawa (Camel Pramac Pons RC211V) is coming back to form and although he could only manage to qualify tenth, he is race ready. “The grid position isn’t so good,” he said. “But I’m really comfortable on the bike. I just couldn’t get my fast laps in at the right time because of traffic. I need to get a start and then I’ll be all-out for a podium finish, which I feel I can do here.”

Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC211V) is less happy in 15th, but the American remains optimistic the race will be when he will shine. “I’m struggling a bit here,” he admitted. “I don’t have the feel I want and I don’t have any consistency. The bike’s working well and the team’s working hard. Hopefully we’ll save the best for the race.”

Things are tough for Ryuichi Kiyonari (Telefonica Movistar Honda RC211V) too in 19th, but the rookie Japanese is upbeat. “I’m happy because today’s objective was to lower my times,” he said. “I’ve achieved that and I’m really looking forward to the race and hoping for something that I’m not used to – a good start.”

Aprilia dominated 250 qualifying with four riders on the front row. Tony Elias is on pole, despite not riding in this afternoon’s session after crashing heavily in the free practice this morning. His time from yesterday’s provisional session, a 1m 42.255s lap proving sufficient to keep him at the head of the grid.

Randy de Puniet starts second, Sylvain Guintoli third and Manuel Poggiali fourth. Sebastian Porto (Telefonica Movistar Junior Team RS250RW) heads the second row in fifth place and the Argentine is confident he has the equipment to get the better of the Aprilias. “That wasn’t too bad today,” he said. “I’m happy enough with qualifying. The main thing is the bike has got good acceleration out of the turns and that’s exactly what you need here.”

Roberto Rolfo (Fortuna Honda RS250RW) who qualified seventh on the second row of the grid, couldn’t find a clear track when he wanted it, but the Championship contender is sure he will be in with a chance of a win tomorrow. “Circumstance prevented me from improving my grid position,” he said. “But we’ve really improved the machine and I can feel this in my riding. And I don’t think starting from the second row of the grid will be that much of an inconvenience.”

Alex de Angelis (Aprilia) qualified on pole in the 125cc class with a 1m 45.580s lap, but Daniel Pedrosa (Telefonica Movistar Junior Team RS125R) is right next to him in second spot on the front row. Jorge Lorenzo (Derbi) is third and Pedrosa’s sparring partner Stefano Perugini (Aprilia) took fourth completing the front row.

“Things are more or less okay,” said Ped

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By Dennis Noyes

He’s been the fastest man on the World Superbike trail over the last eight starts and showed the Spanish flag proudly at Laguna Seca, but he has no contract for 2004. Rubén Xaus is not as tall as many say…he’s just a centimeter over 6 feet tall, but he looks 6’2″ on the little Ducati 999 F03. Appearances deceive, but lap times don’t and Xaus was blindingly fast in today’s qualifying session in the Assen rain. His wet time of 2:13.222 won’t improve his fifth place in qualifying carried over from yesterday’s dry practice, but it did make it clear that the Spaniard who resides in Andorra is on form at his second-favorite track.

His favorite is Laguna Seca where he should have won them both, but crashed out of the lead in the first race. (He explained that by saying, “I was running a rock-hard tire up front that only works when it is pushing and when my lead got big I made the mistake of slowing too much and the tire cooled too much.”)

Ruben has no contract for next year and was considered “fired” at mid-season before his big double at Misano. Now Ducati officials are preparing an offer but don’t know what to do with Rubén.

He has cost them a lot in bent metal and broken fiber over the last years, but they also know that he was perfectly capable of beating Troy Bayliss a couple of times toward the end of last season (especially here at Assen where he turned the same lap times as Valentino Rossi on the RC211V) but was restrained by logical team orders. Bayliss was battling Colin Edwards for the crown but Ruben was well back in points. If they lose him he might come back to haunt them.

Many people mistakenly think that Spanish riders have an inside line for MotoGP rides, but that is only partly true. With three Spanish riders already slotted into MotoGP teams (Gibernau, Checa and De Gea), the Championship rights holders are using their not insignificant influence to attract British and German riders as first priority.

Neil Hodgson seems headed for the D’Antin MotoGP team which will become the second Ducati team next year. Luis D’Antin says he does want a Spanish rider, but one bringing significant sponsorship, and that means he is looking first to Fonsi Gonzalez Nieto and his Repsol millions.

If Fonsi stays in 250cc or goes to the Gresini team as Gibernau’s team mate (a remote possibility), Xaus might get the call, but on the other hand Ducati may want the Spaniard to defend their colors in World Superbike again next year…or they might send him with a works 999 and full Michelin support, to the AMA Championship.

“I am having fun now that I have the bike working well, so I really don’t want to think too much about next year,” said Xaus just two hours before Superpole, “but sure I have to think. I have now nothing for next year. I want to race in the World Championship, either Superbike or MotoGP, but if Ducati want to make a big effort in the USA then maybe that is what I do. For sure I like America, the people, the big trucks (Xaus drives a big Dodge Ram V8 at great speeds around Spain), but it is always hard to adjust to living aboard…I know it was sometimes hard for Ben Bostrom to adjust to Europe last year. Right now I just try and do a good job in Superpole…never in my life have I been fastest in Superpole. I hate Superpole. Maybe I go to America just to get away from Superpole.”

If it stays wet Rubén might, just might, take the first Superpole of his career. At present the Supersport 600s have just finished their final qualifying on a wet track, led by Karl Muggeride in 2:09.956 (compared to yesterday’s pole of 2:05.738 by Chris Vermuelen with Muggeridge second.

So as the Superbikes rattle the glass in the Media Center as they warm up now for their one hour free practice prior to the Superpole, yesterday’s grids are virtually unchanged except for some minor shifting of positions on the final rows of Supersport.

The Metrosat images show drying conditions and scattered showers. Race Direction will later decide whether to run a dry (normal) or wet Superpole. If the conditions are determined to be wet, the 16 fastest riders will be allowed 50 minutes to record 12 laps to determine final grid positions.

From a press release:

FIVE-STAR WEBSTER STORMS TO ASSEN WIN

Steve Webster and passenger Paul Woodhead clinched their fifth victory of the 2003 campaign to extend their lead in the Superside World championship in the seventh round at Assen in Holland.

Jörg Steinhausen and Trevor Hopkinson took the holeshot yet again and the on-form German-British pairing held on to the lead for five laps before being overtaken by Webster.

“I got my usual bad start and it was a lot of hard work. There are still three races to go and we must keep pushing very hard,” said Webster, who now extends his championship lead to 15 points.

Steinhausen continued his consistent series with a fourth consecutive podium finish. “I tried to push as hard as possible but unfortunately was not fast enough. I struggled with some of the backmarkers,” said the 32-year-old German.

Third place went to Klaus Klaffenböck and Christian Parzer who were involved in a terrific scrap with reigning world champions, Steve Abbott and Jamie Biggs. The Austrian pairing prevailed with a stunning pass on the very last lap to deny the British duo a podium.

Klaffenböck said: “It was not a good race and we had a gear lever problem. It was a hard last lap and we had a bit of luck. But we have another chance tomorrow.”

Superside World championship race result (13 laps-78.35km/48.97miles):
1 Steve Webster, GB (Suzuki) 28:19.356
2 Jörg Steinhausen, Germany (Suzuki) -6.865 seconds
3 Klaus Klaffenböck, Austria (Yamaha) -19.506
4 Steve Abbott, GB (Suzuki) -19.612
5 Tom Hanks, GB (Yamaha) -57.694
6 Bill Philp, GB (Yamaha) -62.167
7 Jock Skene, GB (Suzuki) -67.477
8 Richard Gatt, GB (Yamaha) -77.087
9. Martien van Gils, Holland (Suzuki) -79.654
10 Tim Reeves, GB (Yamaha) -104.747

Championship points after seven of 10 rounds:
1 Webster 141
2 Klaffenböck 126
3 Steinhausen 101
4 Abbott 75
5 Hanks 68
6 Van Gils 64
7 Roscher 62
8 Philp 52
9 Hauzenberger 37
10 Gatt 36

Next round: Assen, Holland – September 7

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

1. Gregorio Lavilla, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 2:02.603
2. Chris Walker, Ducati 998F02, 2:02.736
3. Neil Hodgson, Ducati 999F03, 2’02.834
4. Pierfrancesco Chili, Ducati 998RS, 2:03.112
5. Ruben Xaus, Ducati 999F03, 2:03.137
6. Ivan Clementi, Kawasaki ZX-7RR, 2:03.370
7. Regis Laconi, Ducati 998RS, 2:03.539
8. James Toseland, Ducati 998F02, 2:03.553
9. Leon Haslam, Ducati 998RS, 2:04.077
10. James Reynolds, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 2:04.547
11. Juan Borja, Ducati 998RS, 2:04.608
12. Lucio Pedercini, Ducati 998RS, 2:04.611
13. Troy Corser, Foggy Petronas FP1, 2:04.865
14. Steve Martin, Ducati 998RS, 2:04.930
15. Marco Borciani, Ducati 998RS, 2:05.220
16. Mauro Sanchini, Kawasaki ZX-7RR, 2:05.362
17. Alex Gramigni, Yamaha YZF-R1, 2:05.634
18. David Garcia, Ducati 998RS, 2:06.299
19. Vittorio Iannuzzo, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 2:06.677
20. Stefan Nebel, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 2:07.406

22. James Haydon, Foggy Petronas FP1, 2:08.030

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Provisional Qualifying
Estorial, Portugal

1. Valentino Rossi, Honda, 1:39.391
2. Olivier Jacque, Yamaha, 1:39.680
3. Max Biaggi, Honda, 1:39.691
4. Tohru Ukawa, Honda, 1:39.730
5. Sete Gibernau, Honda, 1:39.736
6. Carlso Checa, Yamaha, 1:39.905
7. Loris Capirossi, Ducati, 1:40.144
8. Jeremy McWilliams, Proton, 1:40.325
9. Nicky Hayden, Honda, 1:40.509
10. Kenny Roberts, Suzuki, 1:40.547
11. Colin Edwards, Aprilia, 1:40.614
12. Troy Bayliss, Ducati, 1:40.654
13. Makoto Tamada, Honda, 1:40.778
14. Shinya Nakano, Yamaha, 1:40.780
15. Marco Melandri, Yamaha, 1:40.836
16. Alex Barros, Yamaha, 1:41.234
17. John Hopkins, Suzuki, 1:41.554
18. Garry McCoy, Kawasaki, 1:41.625
19. Noriyuki Haga, Aprilia, 1:41.991
20. Andrew Pitt, Kawasaki, 1:42.399
21. Nobuatsu Aoki, Proton, 1:42.443
22. Ryuichi Kiyonari, Honda, 1:42.697
23. David DeGea, Harris WCM, 1:42.919
24. Chris Burns, Harris WCM, 1:45.066



Provisional Qualifying
250cc Grand Prix
1. Toni Elias, Aprilia, 1:42.255
2. Randy de Puniet, Aprilia, 1:42.736
3. Manuel Poggiali, Aprilia, 1:42.782
4. Roberto Rolfo, Aprilia, 1:42.927
5. Fonsi Nieto, Aprilia, 1:43.009
6. Sebastian Porto, Honda, 1:43.539
7. Franco Battaini, Aprilia, 1:43.630
8. Sylvain Guintoli, Aprilia, 1:43.816
9. Naoki Matsudo, Yamha, 1:43.995
10. Anthony West, Aprilia, 1:44.096
11. Eric Bataille, Honda, 1:44.625
12. Hugo Marchand, Aprilia, 1:44.729
13. Alex Baldolini, Aprilia, 1:44.924
14. Dirk Heidolf, Aprilia, 1:45.066
15. Johan Stigefelt, Aprilia, 1:45.171


Provisional Qualifying
125cc Grand Prix
1. Alex de Angelis, Aprilia, 1:47.081
2. Daniel Pedrosa, Honda, 1:47.136
3. Stefano Perugini, Aprilia, 1:47.177
4. Simone Corsi, Honda, 1:47.273
5. Gino Borsoi, Aprilia, 1:47.303
6. Steve Jenkner, Aprilia, 1:47.556
7. Gabor Talmacsi, Aprilia, 1:47.565
8. Jorge Lorenzo, Derbi, 1:47.582
9. Andrea Dovizioso, Honda, 1:47.644
10. Lucio Cecchinello, Aprilia, 1:47.648
11. Marco Simoncelli, Aprilia, 1:47.682
12. Arnaud Vincent, Aprilia, 1:47.775
13. Casey Stoner, Aprilia, 1:47.805
14. Roberto Locatelli, KTM, 1:48.052
15. Mirko Giansanti, Aprilia, 1:48.067


More, from a press release issued by Fortuna Yamaha:

FORTUNA YAMAHA TEAM MEN COMPLETE CLOSE ESTORIL SESSION

Fortuna Yamaha Team rider Carlos Checa put in a determined and consistently solid effort at the Estoril circuit during today’s opening qualifying session of the Portuguese Grand Prix. Checa kicked off proceedings with quick lap times in this morning’s free practice, setting the third fastest time overall. The Spaniard then challenged for provisional pole in this afternoon’s opening qualifying session, despite typically gusty conditions, finally completing the session sixth fastest.

Last year Checa qualified in pole position at the Estoril venue, and finished the rain-swamped race in second place. The confidence he displayed here with his Yamaha YZR-M1 machine last year is still apparent, as with only minutes of this afternoon’s qualifying session remaining he put in a performance that placed him second fastest on the time sheets. The Fortuna Yamaha man then backed up that result with a string of fastest lap stages, which put him on course for provisional pole, before a small mistake in the final stage relegated him back to sixth place.

The last run to the session-ending flag became a six way battle between Checa, eventual provisional pole man Valentino Rossi (Honda, 1:39.391), second placed Olivier Jacque (Gauloises Yamaha Team, 1:39.680), Max Biaggi (Honda, 1:39.691), Tohru Ukawa (Honda, 1:39.730) and Sete Gibernau (Honda, 139.736). Checa’s final lap time of 1:39.905 was just 0.514 seconds off pole, and despite missing out on the provisional front row, Checa remains confident that he and the team can improve for tomorrow’s crucial final qualifying session.

“I’m quite close here to the top group, so I’m feeling pretty positive,” said a fairly upbeat Checa. “I am still having some front traction problems but I hope we can sort that out with some small set-up adjustments. We made a bit of a breakthrough, in Brno in the race and during the Michelin tyre test the day after, in terms of lap time consistency, and we’ve obviously carried that progress here with us. For sure getting pole position here along with a good race result last year gives me more confidence as well, as it’s become a circuit that I like a lot. At the end of the session I put in a good lap time with fresh tyres; then I was going for an even better when I made a small mistake. I ran a little bit wide. It was very close anyway between the top riders, just a matter of tenths of a second between us, so I’m sure we can secure a decent grid position tomorrow.”

Fellow Fortuna Yamaha Team rider Marco Melandri had a ‘first up and then down’ day in Estoril. After a strong morning practice session, during which the young Italian set the seventh fastest time aboard his YZR-M1, the 21-year-old’s afternoon didn’t proceed as planed. In order to improve the overall balance of his bike, the team opted for a new direction in geometry set-up for this afternoon’s session. This proved to be unsuccessful, as it left Melandri lacking confidence in the front-end of his machine, and as a result he was left languishing back in 15th place with a lap time of 1:40.836.

“After this morning’s practice I was hoping to improve my time quite a lot for this afternoon,” explained Melandri. “We’ve modified the front a little bit since this morning and the bike has changed quite a lot. It was not so easy to get into the corners because I felt like I was losing grip. Perhaps we have actually changed a bit too much, so this is something we will discuss before tomorrow’s practice, and hopefully rectify the problem to give me a bit more confidence. Anyway in a way I am still learning as I have not had many laps at this circuit on this bike, so I’m sure tomorrow will be easier.”

Team Director Davide Brivio said, “This is one of Carlos’ strongest tracks and it is showing in his performance so far. He is, generally, on an upwards trend at the moment in terms of confidence with the bike. We will work as hard as we can this weekend, as always, to ensure that he has a chance for a podium finish on Sunday.

“Marco has not been very sure of the bike in terms of cornering today but we must remember that because of his fall at the IRTA test here earlier this year, when he injured his shoulder, this is almost a completely new circuit for him with the M1. I’m sure that after tomorrow’s morning practice he will be more used to the bike’s handling here and ready to put in some fast laps in qualifying.”


PROVISIONAL FRONT ROW

1. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Repsol HONDA 1:39.391

2. Olivier Jacque (FRA) Gauloises YAMAHA Team 1:39.680

3. Max Biaggi (ITA) Camel Pramac Pons HONDA 1:39.691

4. Tohru Ukawa (JPN) Camel Pramac Pons HONDA 1:39.730

6. CARLOS CHECA (SPA) Fortuna YAMAHA Team 1:39.905

15. MARCO MELANDRI (ITA) Fortuna YAMAHA Team 1:40.836



More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki News Service:

ROBERTS IN TOP TEN ON IMPROVED SUZUKI

Team Suzuki Press Office Friday 5th September 2003.

Team Suzuki rider Kenny Roberts Jr. was tenth in today’s first qualifying session for Sunday’s Portuguese GP, picking up places and confidence at the very technical Estoril circuit on a machine with small but helpful improvements, and enjoying a complex circuit where riding skill can make more difference than at simpler tracks.

Team-mate John Hopkins was a second slower round the 4.182km track, and placed 17th, on the provisional fifth row. But the 20-year-old Anglo-American racer was also enjoying good progress with his machine, and confident of a significant improvement in tomorrow’s final qualifying session, as he gains knowledge of the twisty circuit.

Both riders were trying a new semi-silenced exhaust system on one of their pair of machines. The Yoshimura silencers are used in Japan by the factory test riders to comply with noise regulations at the factory test track. They were not suffering the same caburation difficulties as the GP riders on the unsilenced bikes. Today’s tests were promising, offering more consistent engine responses, without significantly affecting overall performance.

High winds – a feature of the Estoril circuit close to the Atlantic Coast – prevailed all day, in dry and sunny conditions. There is one more day of qualifying before Sunday’s race.

KENNY ROBERTS Jr. – Tenth Position, 1:40.547
This track is quite technical, and the rider can make quite a bit of difference by using the right lines and approaching the track correctly. Otherwise, it’s business as usual down here. We’re not trying anything radically different than Czecho. I did a 40.9 last year, and a 40.5 today, so it’s nice to be a little bit quicker. And I got fourth here last year in the rain, so it definitely shows how much competition is out there. We’re going to work tomorrow to get the bike better and better, and see what the outcome is. I’m definitely aiming for the points.

JOHN HOPKINS – 17th Position, 1:41.554
It didn’t go too bad today. Basically, this track is not my favourite or my worst, but it is definitely challenging. There are so many things to look out for on the first day, especially after coming from Brno, which is so wide. You find yourself getting caught out on such a tight, narrow track. Basically I’m still learning the place. I’ve been here a few times, but I seem to keep learning more. It’s a big challenge. For the bike, we’ve been chipping away at set-ups, and we found a pretty big improvement this afternoon from the morning, and now we’re trying to get better again off that. We know there’s room to improve both for myself and the bike, so we’ll go better tomorrow. The silenced bike is basically a little smoother off the bottom, which is a help at a track like this.

GARRY TAYLOR – Team Manager
We’ve already seen a small improvement for Kenny compared with last year, so we’re going in the right direction. It’s only John’s second race at this track, and as Kenny said it is very technical. Every lap John does is an appreciable learning experience. Both riders are in a positive frame of mind, and we have to keep moving forward.

FRIDAY OFFICIAL QUALIFYING TIMES ESTORIL, PORTUGAL

1. Valentino Rossi (Honda) 1:39.391

2. Oliver Jacque (Yamaha) -0.289

3. Max Biaggi (Honda) -0.300

4. Tohru Ukawa (Honda) -0.339

5. Sete Gibernau (Honda) -0.345

6. Carlos Checa (Yamaha) -0.514

7. Loris Capirossi (Ducati) -0.753

8. Jeremy McWilliams (Proton KR) -0.934

9. Nicky Hayden (Honda) -1.118

10. Kenny Roberts (Suzuki Grand Prix Team) -1.156

17. John Hopkins (Suzuki Grand Prix Team) -2.163





McWILLIAMS ON ROW TWO AFTER TWO-STROKE SWITCH

Round 11: Portuguese GP, Estoril
First Qualifying: Friday, September 5, 2003

Jeremy McWilliams: Eighth, 1:40.325
Nobuatsu Aoki: 21st, 1:42.443

Team Proton KR rider Jeremy McWilliams switched back to last year’s two-stroke machine for this afternoon’s first timed practice session, and proved the strength of the 500c two-stroke by putting it eighth, on the provisional second row of the grid, among the fastest of the 990cc MotoGP four-strokes.

McWilliams was using the same drilled fairing he used to claim pole position at Phillip Island last year – the holes a measure to alleviate the effect of crosswinds, which were a feature of today’s practice. But the Ulsterman’s two-stroke switch was only temporary, and both riders will be on the four-stroke tomorrow.

The move came after teething troubles with the latest version of the Proton KR V5 machine – all part of the development programme of the infant GP racer, which will line up for only its fifth race on Sunday. Inevitably, each step forward from first prototype to mature racer brings new problems to be solved.

The latest machine incorporates a range of improvements, including a significantly better new-generation engine braking control system as well as more horsepower. McWilliams tried these at the last round at Brno and the team tested them further in Ireland during the break, before preparing four machines to that specification for this race.

This morning, one of McWilliams’s pair of engines gave trouble in the morning free session, and the team decided to withdraw the other bike for the afternoon, to make internal modifications to prevent the problem recurring. Tomorrow the team plans to return to the four-stroke in spite of the stronger qualifying performance of the two-stroke, to concentrate on developing for the future.

Team-mate Nobuatsu Aoki stuck to the four-stroke, and the team overcame a few teething troubles during the session, with throttle problems spoiling planned progress with chassis settings. Like McWilliams, Aoki has one version of the latest chassis, and the niggling problems were a minor set-back against an overall improvement in machine feel and rider confidcnce.

Today’s first practice took place in sunny but windy conditions, the notorious coastal breezes of the Estoril circuit prevailing all day. There is one more day of qualifying remaining, to determine final grid positions for Sunday’s race.

JEREMY McWILLIAMS
This is what keeps me coming back – days when we have a bit of a downer, then pull the old two-stroke out and manage the second row. It’s difficult to know what to do tomorrow, but I will go with whatever the team wants, which will be to get some more laps on the four-stroke. That’s okay by me. The four-stroke is going better than it has ever gone, and it’s a lot easier to ride into the turns.. It’s starting to feel like a racing bike. And at least we have that old relic two-stroke to pull out if things go wrong.

NOBUATSU AOKI
I have a new chassis here that has brought me more confidence, because the balance is much nicer. I like it very much. The problem is there is only one, and I had some trouble with the engine, with a throttle butterfly sticking. That cost us time we wanted to use for chassis setting, and we are a little behind schedule. The engine power was also a little down this afternoon. I need my engine to run properly, and then I know I can get a much better time.

CHUCK AKSLAND – Team Manager
Tomorrow we will have four four-strokes again, and the plan is for Jeremy to go back to the four-stroke. The bike is better than before, and he was going quite well on it in the morning free practice before he had engine trouble. If possible, we will race the four-stroke. We’re still testing the new machine, and full race distance is an important part of that process.


More, from a press release issued by Fuchs Kawasaki:

TOUGH DAY FOR KAWASAKI RIDERS AT WARM AND WINDY ESTORIL

Fuchs Kawasaki riders Garry McCoy and Andrew Pitt endured a day of technical hiccups and sickness to qualify 18th and 20th respectively on the provisional grid for Sunday’s Portugal Grand Prix.

At a warm and sunny Estoril the trademark strong and gusty winds were out in force, but these were the least of the problems for the Ninja ZX-RR pair, who battled bravely through a tough day at the track.

For most of the today’s two track sessions McCoy was restricted to one bike while an electrical problem was cured on his other race machine. The minor glitch meant that the Australian was unable to fully evaluate the revised front geometry set-up developed by Kawasaki technicians following the recent Brno tests.

Even so, Estoril expert McCoy sliced 1.2s from his morning free practice time in afternoon qualifying, overcoming the problem of a ‘fast idle’ throttle setting to finish 18th, and only bumped from 17th place by a fraction of a second after the chequered flag had come out.

McCoy is hoping to make up for lost time with test runs on the new front end set-up in tomorrow’s one hour free practice.

Meanwhile Pitt completed qualifying in an exhausted state because of the debilitating effects of a heavy cold he has been suffering for the past three days. The Australian was put on a drip in the Clinica Mobile prior to the afternoon qualifying session to help maintain energy levels in the warm and blustery conditions.

Pitt cut a massive 1.6s off his morning free practice time as he prepares for his first race start at Estoril on Sunday.

Garry McCoy – 18th – 1:41.625
“We just ran of time today. It was difficult to get through our technical and tyre program with just one bike but the guys worked hard to get it fixed. The second bike was ready to run late in the qualifying session but it did not have the set-up changes we had already made to my first bike. I was expecting to be a little faster today but it felt like the throttle idle was set too fast and this was forcing me to run wide, especially while trying to stop and turn for the slow, tight corners here. It’s a simple thing to fix and hopefully tomorrow we can get a clear run with two bikes. The wind is not easy but I’ve seen it a lot worse here; back in 2000 when I won the race it was blowing a lot harder than this.”

Andrew Pitt – 20th – 1:42.399
“That’s hard work, especially with the cold I’ve got; it’s gradually getting better but getting hot and sweaty and then cooling down doesn’t help. I’m okay for about ten laps but then I start to feel a bit weak and an hour before that session I was on a drip in the Clinica Mobile. But otherwise I’m pretty happy with the way things are going. I’m basically running a Brno set-up, with a shorter wheelbase to get through the tight stuff, and just trying to work on getting the best out of the bike and the track without changing too much. The wind is going flat out; it’s a tail wind down the straight which makes it pretty interesting to pull the bike up for turn one.”




More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

DUCATI MARLBORO MEN ON ROWS TWO & THREE AT WINDY ESTORIL

Ducati Marlboro Team riders Loris Capirossi and Troy Bayliss eased into this weekend’s Marlboro Portuguese GP at Estoril today, taking provisional second- and third-row starts in treacherous windy conditions. Both men came here testing in February but the data gathered during that session isn’t of much use this weekend since the bike has come on a long way in the past seven months and the weather conditions are completely different.

“The wind makes things quite difficult for everyone,” said Ducati Marlboro Team technical director Corrado Cecchinelli. “You can choose the correct gearing, then the wind stops, so the gearing is no longer correct. And the wind also blows sand onto the track which makes things slippery for the riders. As far as the bike goes, we’re continuing with the new parts we used successfully at Brno last month. Loris is also using some new larger diameter Ohlins forks that make the bike more stable on the brakes and better in direction changes. Troy isn’t using them because he didn’t get much of a chance to try them during our Brno tests after the Czech GP, so he prefers to stick with what he knows.”

CAPIROSSI SEVENTH AFTER ABORTING ‘POLE’ LAP
Loris Capirossi ended day one at Estoril with seventh-best time, putting the Ducati Marlboro Team man on the provisional second row. Remarkably the Italian pulled in at the end of a lap that could have put him on pole – Capirossi had clocked the fastest intermediate times in the first three sections of the track but didn’t feel like he was going that fast, so he came into the pits! But overall the former 125 and 250 champ is delighted with progress at this complex circuit.

“We used today to verify the modifications we used at Brno, and we’re very happy with our progress,” said Capirossi who was just 0.753 seconds off provisional pole position. “We’re very close to the fastest guys and we know exactly what to do to improve for tomorrow. It’s a pity about the fast lap that I ended early – I never realised I was going that quick so I came into the pits. But we’re confident we can be fast when we need to be tomorrow and Sunday.”

BAYLISS WINS & LOSES WITH THE WIND
Ducati Marlboro Team rider Troy Bayliss was 12th quickest this afternoon, just over a second off provisional pole position. The Australian, who has never raced here, expects to move closer to the front tomorrow as he hones his Desmosedici’s chassis set-up.

“It’s super bumpy here and we’re struggling with a couple of settings things, just little stuff,” commented Bayliss who had one of his bikes stop mid-session. “Things would be better if it wasn’t so windy, but the wind does seem reasonably consistent and you know where it’s really blowing hard. It hurts you on some corners but it can actually help you in other turns, like the kink onto the back straight. You’re flat out in fourth through there and the wind definitely helps you get the bike turned.”



More, from a press release issued by Harris WCM:

PORTUGESE GP- ESTORIL
HARRIS – WCM

David de Gea – 23rd ­ 1:42.919
“I am happy with the new 4 stroke and I like very much this track. The team and I are happy with today’s qualifying and I improved on my time from practice this morning. The power with the 4 stroke is good; we just have to work on a few issues with the front braking, but other then that everything seems to be working nicely with the bike.

Chris Burns ­ 24th ­ 1:45.066
“I’ve not had a great start to the weekend. This morning I missed 20 minutes of practice due to some electronic problems and in the afternoon qualifying session, there were problems with the throttle and I had no option but to run it through the gravel and jump off. I only did 9 laps in this afternoon’s session. It’s such a shame, I have not been to this track before and I need as much time as I can to learn the track, this has really set us back a bit.”

Peter Clifford ­ Team Manager

“A classic day of ups and downs. Very sorry that a technical problem caused Chris’s fall this afternoon, marring an otherwise fantastic day for our new engine’s debut.

“I certainly didn’t believe that everything could go so well on what should really should be a test outing. The fact that bike ran and ran so well is a real tribute to the whole host of people who have been involved in making this happen.

“Chris’s accident was nothing to do with the new engine and I am sure both riders will have a chance to put in decent qualifying times tomorrow afternoon.”


More, from a press release issued by Pramac Honda:

THIRTEENTH, MAKOTO TAMADA DEBUTS AT ESTORIL ON FOURTH PROVISIONAL ROW.

Makoto Tamada sees yet another circuit for the first time. Twelfth in the free practice in the morning, and 13th quickest in the first round of qualifying sessions. This was the first time Tamada had tackled the Portuguese track, and he did so with the basic set-up he used in the previous race (Brno, Czech Republic), gradually asking for the first modifications to the settings on his RC211V so that he could improve his lap times. By using a set-up he already knows, he was able to concentrate immediately on the best tyres in order to get a good grip on the 4,182-metre track.

This is a circuit that should not be too difficult to interpret from the point of view of choice of tyres since there are no particularly long curves where the bike leans down for long. Everything will be done to give Makoto a bike that brakes efficiently and thus gives the Japanese rider the feeling he needs in order to be aggressive during the race.

MAKOTO TAMADA (PRAMAC HONDA TEAM): 13TH – 1:40.778
“Not a bad track, and one where I think I should be able to do well, even though once again I’m starting from scratch: I’d never seen it before. There are some pretty strong gusts of wind here at Estoril, but it’s not too much of a problem. We’ve really got to work to get the most endurance out of the tyres: today I felt I was losing grip when the tyres started wearing down. As a result, we’ve been working to find settings that’ll give us consistent performance, and we’ve already made some good progress. We’ll see what happens tomorrow: we’ll be working on further developments.”


More, from a press release issued by Alice Aprilia Racing Information:

OPTIMISTIC THINKING

Estoril – At the end of the first qualifying session of the Portuguese GP, the RS Cube of Alice Aprilia Racing Team are involved in a big work of technical development planned by the racing department. The principal enemy is the chattering which created a big crisis during the last races. So the worked made by the technicians concerns the fork and the new chassis. The main objective is still the same: getting good results to improve the performance of the Italian four cylinders.

COLIN EDWARDS: “Compared with the first laps of this morning the situation improved a lot: in the afternoon the chattering problem was smaller so I rode as I like. The good result came from the tyres and the good work made by the Michelin technicians including the new chassis. I feel we found the right way to become more competitive in the final part of the season. I am confident but we still have to work hard”.

NORIYUKI HAGA: “Since this morning I tested several settings but I did not find the right one in order to solve my problems: the chattering is to irritating and I have no feeling with the bike. Moreover the wind is terrible so I do not feel satisfied today”.

GIGI DALL’IGNA (Project Leader): “We are working hard on the forks because in our opinion that’s the main element of the chassis setting to solve the chattering. We improved the situation this morning and tomorrow we have the right way to work it out. The new chassis we are using is a good solution”.

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Friday Morning World Superbike Practice Times:

1. Neil Hodgson, Ducati 999F03, 2:03.393
2. Pierfrancesco Chili, Ducati 998RS, 2:04.448
3. Gregorio Lavilla, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 2:04.881
4. James Toseland, Ducati 998F02, 2:04.971
5. Chris Walker, Ducati 998F02, 2:04.983
6. Régis Laconi, Ducati 998RS, 2:05.140
7. Ruben Xaus, Ducati 999F03, 2:05.169
8. Leon Haslam, Ducati 998RS, 2:05.383
9. Ivan Clementi, Kawasaki ZX-7RR, 2:05.479
10. Lucio Pedercini, Ducati 998RS, 2:05.621
11. Juan Borja, Ducati 998RS, 2:06.077
12. John Reynolds, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 2:06.346
13. Troy Corser, Foggy Petronas FP1, 2:06.493
14. Vittorio Iannuzzo, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 2:06.764
15. Steve Martin, Ducati 998RS, 2:07.016
16. Mauro Sanchini, Kawasaki ZX-7RR, 2:07.171
17. Marco Borciani, Ducati 998RS, 2:08.162
18. David Garcia, Ducati 998RS, 2:08.189
19. Alex Gramigni, Yamaha YZF-R1, 2:08.339
20. Stefan Nebel, Suzuki GSX-R1000, 2:09.545

22. James Haydon, Foggy Petronas FP1, 2:11.010

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Friday Morning World Supersport Practice Times:

1. Chris Vermeulen, Honda CBR600RR, 2:05.736
2. Karl Muggeridge, Honda CBR600RR, 2:05.921
3. Sebastien Charpentier, Honda CBR600RR, 2:06.630
4. Jurgen Vd Goorbergh, Yamaha YZF-R6, 2:06.669
5. Katsuaki Fujiwara, Suzuki GSX-R600, 2:06.932
6. Stephane Chambon, Suzuki GSX-R600, 2:07.131
7. Barry Veneman, Honda CBR600RR, 2:07.313
8. Iain MacPherson, Honda CBR600RR, 2:07.485
9. Alessio Corradi, Yamaha YZF-R6, 2:07.508
10. Simone Sanna, Yamaha YZF-R6, 2:07.639
11. Gianluca Nannelli, Yamaha YZF-R6, 2:07.712
12. Christian Kellner, Yamaha YZF-R6, 2:07.923
13. Robert Ulm, Honda CBR600RR, 2:07.994
14. Pere Riba, Kawasaki ZX-6RR, 2:08.192
15. Werner Daemen, Honda CBR600RR, 2:08.229
16. Fabien Foret, Kawasaki ZX-6RR, 2:08.315
17. Jan Hanson, Honda CBR600RR, 2:08.340
18. Thierry Vd Bosch, Yamaha YZF-R6, 2:08.494
19. Matthieu Lagrive, Yamaha YZF-R6, 2:08.601
20. Dean Thomas, Honda CBR600RR, 2:08.828

Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

FIRST PERSON/OPINION

via e-mail:

I have been told by reliable sources that there will be a round of the AMA Red Bull SuperMoto Championship held in Columbus, Ohio on October 5 at Promowest Pavilion, in the downtown Columbus Arena district.

Without doubt this is one of the afformentioned rounds still in negotiation. But I’m sure you probably already knew this!

Dave Clemente
Columbus, Ohio

From a press release issued by Kawasaki:

Kawasaki to Provide Suzuki with Two Additional Units as Alliance Grows

IRVINE, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Sept. 5, 2003–

Suzuki Will Soon Be Announcing Their Versions of the 1600 Mean Streak(R) and Prairie(R) 700 4×4 to Their Dealers

Following the recent debut of Kawasaki’s and Suzuki’s co-developed 250cc four-stroke motocross model, the two-year-old Alliance between the brands will again be evident as Suzuki introduces two Kawasaki-produced models.

Suzuki retailers will be given the opportunity to have their branded versions of both the Kawasaki Vulcan(R) 1600 Mean Streak(R) motorcycle and Kawasaki’s Prairie(R) 700 4×4 all-terrain vehicle (ATV).

“This further exemplifies the intent of the two companies when they entered into the Alliance,” said Kawasaki’s Tom Orbe, vice president, marketing.

“It is another step in the maturation of the agreement that has proven to be so successful for both brands’ dealers, as well as for the consumer,” continued Orbe.

Suzuki will receive the Kawasaki products that are each second-generation efforts of highly successful models — both in terms of sales floor performance and meeting customer expectations.

Kawasaki helped to create the “muscle cruiser” segment of the motorcycle market with the original 1500 Mean Streak, winning accolades from journalists for its street fighter image, powerful engine and sportbike handling.

In the important ATV market, Kawasaki’s Prairie 700 4×4 ATV is an enhanced version of the industry-leading Prairie 650 4×4, which was the first ATV to be powered by a V-twin engine and set new standards of power, handling and performance for the four-wheel drive utility segment. The new Prairie 700 4×4 features even more engine displacement and refinements, and editors are proclaiming it to have further raised the bar.

The Suzuki branded model of the Kawasaki 1600 Mean Streak will be produced at the Kawasaki plant in Akashi, Japan. The Suzuki model of the Prairie 700 4×4 will be built by Kawasaki Motors Manufacturing (KMM) in Lincoln, Neb., making it the first alliance product manufactured in the United States.

Kawasaki Motors Corp., U.S.A., (KMC) markets and sells at wholesale Kawasaki motorcycles, ATVs, JET SKI(R) watercraft, MULE(TM) utility vehicles, power products and small engines. Kawasaki’s tagline, Let the good times roll(TM), is recognized worldwide for the spirit of fun, adventure and high performance that characterizes the Kawasaki recreational vehicle lines. Kawasaki product lines are sold through a network of more than 1,500 independent retailers. The company and its affiliates employ nearly 2,400 people in the United States, with approximately 400 of them located at the Irvine, California headquarters.

From a press release issued by AMA Pro Racing:

SEASON-ENDING AMA CHEVY TRUCKS U.S. MOTOCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP EVENT TO BE TELECAST THIS WEEKEND

ESPN2 to Broadcast Final 250 Round Sunday at 1 p.m. EST

PICKERINGTON, Ohio (Sept. 5, 2003) — Round 11 of the AMA Chevy Trucks U.S. Motocross Championship (250 class) will air on ESPN2 Sunday, Sept. 7. The 125 race will air one week later Sunday, Sept. 14. Additionally, each race will be re-aired.

The event from Steel City Raceway in Delmont, Pa., was supposed to be the penultimate round in the series. Unfortunately, the final round was cancelled due to excessive rains and flooding at the facility set to host the last event, Kenworthy’s Motocross Park in Troy, Ohio. As the Troy event had already been postponed once for the same reasons, extending the season even longer was impossible.

Both the 125 and 250 championships were decided at Steel City.

Original and repeat airtimes are as follows (All times EST. Check local listings):

9/7/03, Sunday, 1 p.m.: 250 class original broadcast

9/14/03, Sunday, 1 p.m.: 125 class original broadcast

9/18/03, Thursday, 5 p.m.: 250 class re-air

9/19/03, Friday, 5 p.m.: 125 class re-air