Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Final 125cc Grand Prix Qualifying Results:

1. Daniel Pedrosa, Honda, 1:58.026
2. Manuel Poggiali, Gilera, 1:58.139
3. Steve Jenkner, Aprilia, 1:58.688
4. Arnaud Vincent, Aprilia, 1:58.745
5. Andrea Dovizioso, Honda, 1:58.944
6. Lucio Cecchinello, Aprilia, 1:59.002
7. Pablo Nieto, Aprilia, 1:59.155
8. Hector Barbera, Aprilia, 1:59.407
9. Gino Borsoi, Aprilia, 1:59.650
10. Hideyuki Ogata, Honda, 1:59.867

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Saturday Morning MotoGP Practice Times:

1. Alex Barros, Honda RC211V, 1:49.418
2. Valentino Rossi, Honda RC211V, 1:49.826
3. Carlos Checa, Yamaha YZR-M1, 1:49.889
4. Loris Capirossi, Honda NSR500, 1:49.920
5. Tohru Ukawa, Honda RC211V, 1:50.071
6. Daijiro Kato, Honda RC211V, 1:50.327
7. Max Biaggi, Yamaha YZR-M1, 1:50.882
8. Norick Abe, Yamaha YZR500, 1:50.928
9. Kenny Roberts, Suzuki GSV-R, 1:50.934
10. Sete Gibernau, Suzuki GSV-R, 1:50.952
11. Shinya Nakano, Yamaha YZR500, 1:51.187
12. Regis Laconi, Aprilia RS3, 1:51.250
13. John Hopkins, Yamaha YZR500, 1:51.283
14. Garry McCoy, Yamaha YZR500, 1:51.292
15. Jeremy McWilliams, Proton KR3, 1:51.557
16. Olivier Jacque, Yamaha YZR500, 1:51.560
17. Nobuatsu Aoki, Proton KR3, 1:51.785
18. Wataru Yoshikawa, Yamaha YZR-M1, 1:52.113
19. Tetsuya Harada, Honda NSR500, 1:52.246
20. Akira Yanagawa, Kawasaki ZX-RR, 1:52.841
21. Jurgen vd Goorbergh, Honda NSR500, 1:53.321
22. Pere Riba, Yamaha YZR500, 1:53.712

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Final MotoGP Qualifying Results:

1. Daijiro Kato, Honda RC211V, 1:49.052
2. Max Biaggi, Yamaha YZR-M1, 1:49.162
3. Loris Capirossi, Honda NSR500, 1:49.169
4. Carlos Checa, Yamaha YZR-M1, 1:49.224
5. Alex Barros, Honda RC211V, 1:49.492
6. Valentino Rossi, Honda RC211V, 1:49.530
7. Tohru Ukawa, Honda RC211V, 1:49.755
8. Kenny Roberts, Suzuki GSV-R, 1:49.859
9. Olivier Jacque, Yamaha YZR500, 1:50.160
10. Jeremy McWilliams, Proton KR3, 1:50.171
11. Sete Gibernau, Suzuki GSV-R, 1:50.208
12. Regis Laconi, Aprilia RS3, 1:50.306
13. Nobuatsu Aoki, Proton KR3, 1:50.342
14. Norick Abe, Yamaha YZR500, 1:50.533
15. Garry McCoy, Yamaha YZR500, 1:50.702
16. John Hopkins, Yamaha YZR500, 1:50.849
17. Shinya Nakano, Yamaha YZR500, 1:50.954
18. Akira Yanagawa, Kawasaki ZX-RR, 1:51.234
19. Wataru Yoshikawa, Yamaha YZR-M1, 1:51.278
20. Jurgen vd Goorbergh, Honda NSR500, 1:51.863
21. Tetsuya Harada, Honda NSR500, 1:51.908
22. Pere Riba, Yamaha YZR500, 1:53.131

From a press release issued by Honda:

MotoGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2002
PACIFIC GRAND PRIX, MOTEGI, JAPAN
Final Qualifying, Saturday October 5th, 2002

KATO TAKES HIS FIRST MotoGP POLE POSITION

An excellent first day qualifying performance from MotoGP rookie Daijiro Kato (Fortuna Honda Gresini RC211V) was enough to give him his first MotoGP pole position, on home tarmac at Motegi.

A crash in the second timed session effectively ended Kato’s attempt to set an even faster lap and despite a flurry of intense activity on the track in the final few moments of qualifying, none could best Kato’s new circuit lap record of 1:49.052, set on Friday.

Motegi marks Kato’s fourth race on the four-stroke, already having scored two second fastest laps in qualifying in that short period. Although tantalisingly close to the 1:48 barrier today, Kato was nonetheless content to sit out the final minutes of the session in pit lane, saving his best efforts for the race.

“It was a pity to crash in the second session, so we had to come in to change to the number two bike,” said Kato. “We could not improve on my Friday time but I thought that it may be good enough take pole anyway. I am very happy to have my first MotoGP pole position in my home country and I hope to get a good start tomorrow.”

A series of high-speed laps from Loris Capirossi (West Honda Pons NSR500) made him top two-stroke rider, in third, and the fastest man on the circuit in the second session overall. Despite his quite exceptional ride today Capirossi acknowledges that it may be a different story come the race.

“I rode well over 100% today to set that time but I think it will be impossible to maintain that speed in the race,” admitted Capirossi. “I would like to thank my team for all the hard work this weekend so far but I think it will be too difficult again to compete against the four-strokes over the full race distance.”

For Alex Barros (West Honda Pons NSR500) his first taste of RC211V power was an uplifting experience, despite being outqualified by his team-mate Capirossi. Barros is the fourth rider to be equipped with the all-conquering five-cylinder machine, although he has had no chance to test it before the Motegi race.

“My impressions of the four-stroke are very good, right from the start. Good power, great acceleration coming out of corners, good handling – but it feels heavier. The engine braking is different compared to the NSR but the main thing we have to work on is the braking itself. The bike feels very heavy under braking, so we will try to improve that.”

Valentino Rossi (Repsol Honda Team RC211V) had a tough qualifying session by his own near immaculate standards, with the Italian superstar taking the sixth spot on the grid for his first race as the new MotoGP champion.

“For tomorrow we need to pull a rabbit from a hat!” exclaimed Rossi. “The bike does not feel too good at the moment. Basically I have no grip at the rear. When I brake straight away I have no control, and the rear tyre seems to be spinning a lot slower than the front. I followed Biaggi for a while and I saw that he is using the whole track from edge to edge. I cannot ride like this at the moment because it is not possible to change direction quite as well. The answer may lie in the front forks. Tomorrow morning we will be busy!”

Tohru Ukawa (Repsol Honda Team RC211V) joined the second row club on home ground, seventh overall after a somewhat changeable run in qualifying over two days.

Said Ukawa: “Yesterday we were struggling with the whole set-up. The package just didn’t feel right. We looked at the data and went back to many standard settings and this morning the bike was better. Not much better, but now we are going in the right direction. It will be so important to get a good start tomorrow because of the nature of this track.”

Front wheel chatter was the main concern of Jurgen van den Goorbergh (Kanemoto Racing Honda NSR500), as he proved frustrated in his attempts to overcome problems peculiar to the Motegi circuit. His 20th place contrasts sharply with his second row qualifying from the previous race at Rio.

“We have some lack of grip and severe chatter problems,” explained a doleful van den Goorbergh. “I think it is due to the track surface. We have spent all weekend trying to get rid of the problem but nothing works. We have tried a wide variety of suspension settings and so on, but there is no real improvement. I think for the race it’s not going to work either.”

Tetsuya Harada (Pramac Honda NSR500) finished one place behind van den Goorbergh in 21st, only marginally improving his Friday time.

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

SUZUKI RIDERS SLASH TIMES FOR SECOND AND THIRD ROW STARTS

MotoGP, Round 13, Final Qualifying, Motegi, Japan – Saturday, October 5, 2002:

TEAM Telefónica MoviStar Suzuki riders Kenny Roberts and Sete Gibernau both slashed huge chunks of time from their previous best laps to qualify on the second and third rows of the starting grid for tomorrow’s Pacific GP.

Roberts took almost seven tenths of a second off his Friday time to preserve his position on the second row, from where he will be able to exploit his lightning starting technique to best effect.

Gibernau was a full 1.7 seconds faster to move up to 11th position, after a day of technical changes that helped him re-establish a relationship with the machine that had run into trouble yesterday.

Kenny’s improvement came with steady progress, as the 2000 world champion adapts to the latest improved version of Suzuki’s slipper clutch, along with other detail changes for the Japanese machine’s second home GP of the season. The American rider, who last week agreed terms for a further two years with the Suzuki factory team, was happy with the progress, confident of a strong race tomorrow, and even more so about long-term progress as the all-new V4 four-stroke GSV-R nears the end of its first season of on-track race development.

Paradoxically, Gibernau actually went back to earlier settings and an earlier version of the clutch to make his improvement. His race engineer Stuart Shenton explained the conundrum. “The difficulties that each rider is working on solving are the same – but the solutions are very different, because they have different riding styles, and put very different inputs into their machines.”

Tomorrow’s race at the 4.801km Twin Ring Motegi circuit is the 13th of 16 World Championship rounds in the first season of the MotoGP class, which allows 990cc four-strokes like Suzuki’s new GSV-R into the championship to compete against the traditional 500cc two-strokes.

KENNY ROBERTS – Eighth Position, 1:49.859
“We’re close to pole, as far as qualifying goes. The things we need to work on are still the same, but we’re learning a lot, especially over the last nine to 12 practice sessions, from the last three GPs. We’ve tried a lot of things we thought would benefit us. Some have, and some haven’t. For tomorrow’s race, it’s another where we have to do the best we can with what we have right now. But the outlook for the future is bright. Suzuki and myself can work together to build an even better bike, and we’re looking at the long-term. The only other thing I can hope for tomorrow is if it rains!”

SETE GIBERNAU – 11th Position, 1:50.208
“Today we went back to the settings and equipment we had at Brno, to take the whole system back to what we know. It’s more predictable for me, and we made a big lap-time improvement. The team did a good job to put the whole thing together, but we made a technical mistake, and we could have gone a little better still, which gives me hope for tomorrow. All the people from the Suzuki factory are here, it shows they are serious, and I want to thank them for that.”

GARRY TAYLOR – Team Manager
“Kenny did a lot of consistent laps today that I expect to be more representative of race time than single fast laps. Sete made a huge improvement. A large number of factory people are here from the relevant technical departments, and it’s been a great opportunity for both riders to pass on a huge amount of information that will surely pay big dividends for the future.”

More, from a press release issued by Marlboro Yamaha:

PACIFIC GRAND PRIX, MOTEGI
Final Qualifying, Saturday October 5 2002

MARLBORO YAMAHA MEN STAY ON FRONT ROW AT MOTEGI
Marlboro Yamaha Team YZR-M1 riders Max Biaggi and Carlos Checa will both start tomorrow’s Pacific Grand Prix from the front row of the grid after consistently strong performances in this afternoon’s final qualifying session.

Biaggi retained his second place on the grid from yesterday, unable to attack pole sitter Daijiro Kato (Honda) after his number-one bike suffered a minor glitch in the final stages of the session. Meanwhile Checa had to fight hard to hold onto fourth place, with just 0.172 seconds covering the entire front row.

“The pace is very close up front, so I think we have a big chance tomorrow,” said YZR-M1 project leader Ichiro Yoda. “It’s good to have both bikes on the front row. We think that Max’s machine had something like an electrical problem, so he couldn’t attack pole. We’re now checking to see what happened. But other than that it seems like we are ready for the race. Both Max and Carlos are happy with their chassis set-ups and we did good tyre endurance tests with Michelin this morning. We expect Carlos to use the new engine spec but Max still prefers the previous spec because it’s less aggressive, though he will race the new chassis for the first time.”

BIAGGI SECOND AND CONFIDENT
A close second fastest yesterday, Max Biaggi had been planning to go for pole position in the final stages of today’s second qualifying session. But while the Marlboro Yamaha Team man was denied that chance, he is still very confident of battling up front in tomorrow’s race.

“I’m a bit sad that I couldn’t improve on my Friday best, but we’ve done a good job so far and I know tomorrow can be a good day for us,” said Biaggi, winner of August’s Czech GP. “I thought I could go faster than yesterday, then with 15 minutes to go my number-one bike started to misfire. I rode back to the pits and jumped on my second bike but that machine uses a different chassis, so it didn’t feel the same, so I couldn’t push. On the positive side, at least it happened today and not tomorrow. Anyway, we’re on the front row and if we have a good warm-up session we have a good chance in the race.”

CHECA CLOSES IN ON POLE
Carlos Checa stayed fourth quickest today despite improving on his Friday best by 0.661 seconds. That lap brought the Marlboro Yamaha Team rider to within 0.172 seconds of pole, putting him in confident mood for tomorrow’s race.

“I’m pretty satisfied because we’ve worked well here and the bike has improved, so I ended up quite close to pole,” said Checa who was the star performer at Rio two weeks ago, getting away last after failing to engage first gear at the start, then coming through to lead the race before falling. “This time I plan to get a good start by using first gear! I don’t think I could go from last to first again! Today we focused on chassis and suspension set-up, trying to further improve front-end feeling. We’re on the front row, we’ve done a good tyre-endurance run with Michelin and if the pace is low 50s and high 49s, I know I can run up front.”

KATO SCORES FIRST MotoGP POLE
Daijiro Kato scored his first MotoGP pole position today, despite tumbling during this afternoon’s final qualifier. “The crash was unfortunate,” said the Japanese star, whose Friday best was good enough to keep him on top. “I went out on my second bike but couldn’t improve. Anyway, I’m happy to be on pole at home and I’m looking forward to the race.” Impressive 500 rider Loris Capirossi (Honda) was third quickest while World Champion Valentino Rossi (Honda) could only manage sixth quickest.

More, from a press release issued by Red Bull Yamaha WCM:

RED BULL Yamaha duo Garry McCoy and John Hopkins will start alongside each other on the fourth row of the grid for tomorrow’s Pacific GP at the Twin Ring Motegi. McCoy and Hopkins finished 15th and 16th fastest respectively after both encountered late drama in this afternoon¹s final qualifying session.

Australian McCoy was once again caught up in some heavy traffic that disrupted his efforts to bump himself further up the grid. His best lap time of 1.50.702 was a massive 2.1 seconds under his previous best ever lap time at the Twin Ring Motegi, and saw him slice 1.4 seconds off his best time from yesterday. Unfortunately it only improved on his provisional grid position by three places.

It was an equally eventful finale for American Hopkins, who pulled off a miraculous recovery having almost crashed his YZR500 in the closing moments. Trying to utilise the extra traction of Dunlop’s qualifying tyre, Hopkins had all but tumbled off his bike when he somehow managed to save himself from hitting the gravel trap. The evidence of the “Hopper’s” brilliant save was clear afterwards as his leathers were badly scuffed on the right side.

GARRY McCOY, 15th, 1:50.702
“On my second last run I was behind Tohru Ukawa when he drifted wide in the hairpin out on the back section of the track. It was on my hot lap and I had to chuck it under him but because I had to take a tighter line, I messed up my exit. On my final run I came across a lot of traffic. There were bikes everywhere and at one stage it seemed like a wall in front of me. I’m feeling pretty good with the race package we’ve got, but there’s a race between the two-strokes and the four-strokes even more than ever now. I’m 2.1 seconds faster than I’ve ever been at this track and I’m only 15th. It just looks so easy on a four-stroke. Earlier today I was talking to Loris Capirossi, and he said Alex Barros had told him the four-stroke is now a real 500 and the two-strokes that the rest of us are on is just like a 250.”

JOHN HOPKINS, 16th, 1:50.849
“I’m a little disappointed to be starting from where I am on the grid. I wanted to start a lot further up. But on my last flying lap I¹d crashed but somehow managed to save it. I was in T2 going into a right-hander and I was pushing really hard when I lost the front end. I just dug everything in and it was a case of defying the laws of gravity. I really wanted to keep the bike upright because I thought I’d have time for another flying lap. But by the time I¹d managed to stop the front sliding, only my heel was hanging on the tail section. I feel really confident for the race tomorrow. I was only 0.2s slower on race tyres than I was on qualifiers which is a big surprise, but that shows we’ve worked on finding a really good race set-up.”

PETER CLIFFFORD ­ TEAM DIRECTOR
“Obviously the grid positions are not what we wanted. Unfortunately both final runs didn¹t work for John or Garry. John did a brilliant job to keep it on the wheels and I¹m sure both guys will be able improve their positions in tomorrow’s race. Both guys seem very confident with their race set-ups.”

More, from a press release issued by MS Aprilia:

Régis Laconi twelfth in final qualifying

After yesterday’s tenth quickest time, Régis Laconi again improved his lap time and twice simulated race conditions, reducing the gap separating him from pole: in today’s sessions, Régis took the Cube to within 1.2 seconds of the fastest time set by Kato. Half an hour into the qualifying session, Régis had equalled the time he posted yesterday, but on race tyres, and then gradually worked his way up until he got up to 1’50.306 which, until just three minutes from the end, would have put him in tenth place on the grid. Then in the final rush, others went even faster and Régis dropped two places. Régis is feeling confident about tomorrow’s race, with the new settings at the front end giving the bike better efficiency on the corners.

# 55 Regis Laconi – (MS APRILIA RACING) – 12th – 1’50.306

“A special setting for the fork lets me take the corners much more efficiently and the bike’s now that much easier to handle when changing direction. We also got some good references during the two race simulations and tried out a couple of solutions for the back tyre. Yesterday, grip at the rear was already improving and I certainly performed better in the last sorties. On race tyres today, I equalled the time I got yesterday on qualifying tyres and, unfortunately, I could have gone even faster as the session was coming to a close. We’re just over a second away from the pole, a smaller gap than yesterday, which means we’ve worked well and now aren’t all that far away. I’m confident about tomorrow and I want to put up a good fight.”

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

Proton Team KR riders Jeremy McWilliams and Nobuatsu Aoki will start tomorrow’s Pacific GP from the third and fourth rows of the grid, after both cut their previous best times at the 4.801km Motegi circuit in today’s final qualifying session.

In both cases, they exceeded expectations, at a stop-and-go circuit that punishes the lightweight Proton KR3. The 500cc two-stroke, up against much more powerful 990cc four-strokes, sacrifices acceleration and ultimate horsepower for agile handling. This pays dividends at more technical circuits, but is a drawback at tracks like Motegi. McWilliams’s time was just three tenths off last year’s pole time, when the class was open only to 500cc two-strokes.

McWilliams’s performance was particularly impressive, since the rider from Northern Ireland is still recovering from a collar-bone fracture sustained two weekends ago at the Rio GP. Aoki found a massive improvement of more than 1.5 seconds, mainly through improved front-fork settings that allowed him to make best use of the lightweight machine’s good braking performance.

One factor that might work in favour of the Proton is the heavy fuel consumption at the Motegi circuit, which will take the machines to the limits of their tank capacity. The three-cylinder machine is slightly more economical than its rivals, and that might make a bid difference in the closing stages.

Pole position was taken for the first time in the class by 250 champion Daijiro Kato on a four-stroke Honda. He crashed today, but the time he set yesterday was not bettered in another hot, dry day in the hills some 100km from Tokyo.

The Pacific GP is the 13th of 16 rounds of the 2002 World Championship.

Jeremy McWilliams
My shoulder was a wee bit of a problem, but not so bad in the afternoon. It’s more awkward and uncomfortable than painful, and after three of four laps the adrenalin takes over. Today’s time would have been good for a front-row start last year, but that’s the nature of this season, with the new four-strokes. We haven’t had any problems today, and I got my spare bike at least as good as the other, and took eight tenths off my best time of yesterday. The main thing think we have a good race set-up, but I can’t ride around the fact that we’re going to get swallowed up on the straight parts.

Nobuatsu Aoki
All weekend we’ve been working on the front end, to make the bike better under braking. Today we fitted stiffer front springs again, and that helped. My only other problem is choosing the right rear tyre. The harder tyre has good endurance, but not enough grip. The next softer one grips well, but in this temperature it won’t last the distance. We’ll see what the weather is like tomorrow, and make the decision after morning warm-up.

Kenny Roberts – Team Owner
We’re doing okay … it’s like Le Mans, which is a similar stop-and-go track. We expected it to be a lot worse, and it’s a lot better, and we’re only just over a second from pole. It’s going to be a very difficult race for our guys, but you never know what will happen, and if we carry on the same way we could get some good results.

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Saturday Morning 250cc GP Practice Times:

1. Marco Melandri, Aprilia, 1:53.744
2. Yuki Takahashi, Honda, 1:54.202
3. Toni Elias, Aprilia, 1:54.213
4. Naoki Matsudo, Yamaha, 1:54.223
5. Randy De Puniet, Aprilia, 1:54.381
6. Franco Battaini, Aprilia, 1:54.599
7. Fonsi Nieto, Aprilia, 1:54.623
8. Alex Debon, Aprilia, 1:54.647
9. Tekkyu Kayoh, Yamaha, 1:54.686
10. Emilio Alzamora, Honda, 1:54.848
11. Katsuyuki Nakasuga, Yamaha, 1:54.898
12. Sebastian Porto, Yamaha, 1:54.985
13. Hiroshi Aoyama, Honda, 1:55.079
14. Roberto Rolfo, Honda, 1:55.085
15. Noboyuki Ohsaki, Yamaha, 1:55.425

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

By David Swarts

The racing debut of the Ducati 999 saw Ducati France’s Frederic Protat and David Muscat qualify on pole position for the 200 Miglia di Vallelunga, the final round of the 2002 Endurance World Championship, with a time of 1:20.256.

According to a press release from Octagon Motorsports, the organizers of the Endurance World Championship, it is the first time a Superbike class machine has qualified on pole this season.

Fifty-six teams have entered the 200-mile endurance race at Vallelunga.

Vallelunga World Endurance Qualifying Results:

1. Ducati France (Frederic Protat/David Muscat), Ducati 999, 1:20.256

2. GMT94 (Sebastien Scarnato/William Costes/Christophe Guyot), Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:20.507

3. Zongshen 9 (Stephane Mertens/Warwick Nowland), Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:20.636

4. QB Phase One (Mike Edwards/D. Cudlin), Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:20.744

5. Zongshen 2 (Bruno Bonhuil/Igor Jerman/Pierrott Lerat), Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:20.821

6. Herman Verboven 6 (Didier Vankeymeulen/Jehan D’Orgeix), Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:20.876

7. Trackdaze 54 (Chris Burns/C. Jones), Suzuki GSX-R1000, 1:21.322

8. Piazza Corse (Dario Marchetti/Marc Garcia/Bernard Garcia), Duc 998, 1:21.550

9. Axo Delmo Racing (Davide Messori/Ilario Dionisi), Aprilia RSV1000, 1:21.629

10. Team Pedercini (Paolo Blora/Marco Gerbaudo/Serafino Foti), Ducati 998, 1:22.000

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Final 250cc Grand Prix Qualifying Results:

1. Fonsi Nieto, Aprilia, 1:52.389
2. Marco Melandri, Aprilia, 1:52.490
3. Randy De Puniet, Aprilia, 1:53.043
4. Yuki Takahashi, Honda, 1:53.666
5. Toni Elias, Aprilia, 1:53.667
6. Sebastian Porto, Yamaha, 1:53.701
7. Emilio Alzamora, Honda, 1:54.066
8. Roberto Rolfo, Honda, 1:54.067
9. Franco Battaini, Aprilia, 1:54.080
10. Alex Debon, Aprilia, 1:54.125
11. Shahrol Yuzy, Yamaha, 1:54.135
12. Naoki Matsudo, Yamaha, 1:54.457
13. Hiroshi Aoyama, Honda, 1:54.468
14. Tekkyu Kayoh, Yamaha, 1:54.562
15. Ryuji Yokoe, Yamaha 1:54.566


From a press release issued by MS Aprilia:

Macio on front row at Motegi

The undisputed leader during the first three test sessions at Motegi, Marco went out on the track today for the last qualifying session and launched his attack in the last few minutes – responding to a great performance by his fellow Aprilia rider Randy De Puniet. Two perfect laps in which Macio managed to take his Aprilia RSW 250 to 1’52.490, a time that was just beaten by a hair’s breadth by Fonsi Nieto (Aprilia) who came away with pole position: 1’52,389. So Marco Melandri is second, Randy De Puniet third. Three Aprilia 250s in the first three places. Marco, who had already worked hard on his bike yesterday in view of tomorrow’s race, and had also managed to make the provisional pole, showed today that he is capable of keeping up a very fast pace. One that might make the difference tomorrow.

# 3 Marco Melandri – (MS APRILIA RACING) – 2nd 1’52.490

“I’ve been paying extremely careful attention to the fine details of the bike and I’ll be able to keep up today’s pace in the race tomorrow. I got the impression that Nieto’s time was more of a fast lap to secure the pole. But that’s OK by me: the cabala, the statistics say that when Fonsi gets the pole, I normally win the following day. I just hope the air temperature’s like it was this afternoon. The bike’s going really well, and we’ve really gone into the details. I’m very pleased with the job we’ve done. It’s now time to get back to winning again. As I’ve already said, after two “tactical” races in the wet, I’m getting an appetite for victory.”

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Saturday Morning 125cc GP Practice Times:

1. Daniel Pedrosa, Honda, 1:58.294
2. Arnaud Vincent, Aprilia, 1:59.321
3. Manuel Poggiali, Gilera, 1:59.410
4. Pablo Nieto, Aprilia, 1:59.556
5. Steve Jenkner, Aprilia, 1:59.629
6. Andrea Dovizioso, Honda, 1:59.897
7. Jorge Lorenzo, Derbi, 2:00.089
8. Lucio Cecchinello, Aprilia, 2:00.095
9. Mika Kallio, Honda, 2:00.160
10. Alex De Angelis, Aprilia, 2:00.259

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

250cc Grand Prix Race Results:

1. Toni Elias, Aprilia, 23 laps, 43:52.991
2. Marco Melandri, Aprilia, -0.175 seconds
3. Yuki Takahashi, Honda, -4.431 seconds
4. Fonsi Nieto, Aprilia, -8.200 seconds
5. Emilio Alzamora, Honda, -8.812 seconds
6. Roberto Rolfo, Honda, -9.826 seconds
7. Franco Battaini, Aprilia, -11.828 seconds
8. Sebastian Porto, Yamaha, -12.726 seconds
9. Roberto Locatelli, Aprilia, -26.167 seconds
10. Alex Debon, Aprilia, -32.236 seconds
11. Hiroshi Aoyama, Honda, -32.378 seconds
12. Katsuyuki Nakasuga, Yamaha, -39.383 seconds
13. Haruchika Aoki, Honda, -39.647 seconds
14. Ryuji Yokoe, Yamaha, -41.386 seconds
15. Jaroslav Hules, Yamaha, -46.952 seconds


From a press release issued by MS Aprilia:

Macio second by hair’s breadth in Motegi but firmly number one in World Championship ratings.


A thrilling 250 race with a last lap only for those free from any heart complaints. Marco Melandri defended his lead during the race, keeping his rivals at bay and only abdicating in the last lap to Aprilia-mounted Elias, though not without responding rapidly and with experience to two previous attacks. Marco’s double response did not however put off the young Spaniard, who managed to get the better of his opponent on the last attempt. Macio’s second place today boosts his advantage over Fonsi Nieto to 52 points in the riders’ championship. If he beats Fonsi in Malaysia, Macio will be the 2002 World Champion. The 600th race in the history of the 250 class, which first started in 1949, was won today by the Spaniard Toni Elias on Aprilia.

# 3 Marco Melandri – (MS APRILIA RACING) – 2nd – 43’53.166

“After the warm-up this morning, I was sure I’d be able to maintain a really fast pace during the race. Then during the initial stages of the race, I realised that, with the tank full, I’d worn down the tyres a lot. I was nervous and made a few mistakes but I wasn’t going to give in: I just tried to stay out in front and I gave it all I’d got right the way through to the end. I saw Elias coming up really determined and I closed all the holes he could have slipped through. In the last two laps, I also thought about the championship standings and I wasn’t going to ruin everything for a few seconds’ racing. I managed to get my own back after two attacks by Elias, but in the last corner, where you brake with the bike down, I was cautious. I was expecting Elias on the left but it turned out he was on the right. Pity I didn’t get victory – I must say I’m a bit sorry about that but I’m pleased for Toni. He’s a very fast and correct rider. I lost – but I still had lots of fun. Now I’ve just got to finish before Nieto does in Malaysia and I’ll have the world championship wrapped up. I’ve got some unfinished business with Malaysia: that’s where I lost the world championship in ‘99, so that’s where I’d like to get my own back. But if it’s not in Sepang, I’ll still have another two chances left.”

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Friday Morning 125cc GP Practice Times:

1. Daniel Pedrosa, Honda, 1:59.090
2. Manuel Poggiali, Gilera, 1:59.918
3. Armaud Vincent, Aprilia, 2:00.344
4. Masao Azuma, Honda, 2:00.828
5. Gabor Talmacsi, Honda, 2:00.920
6. Pablo Nieto, Aprilia, 2:00.983
7. Simone Sanna, Aprilia, 2:01.116
8. Steve Jenkner, Aprilia, 2:01.131
9. Shuhei Aoyama, Honda, 2:01.176
10. Lucio Cecchinello, Aprilia, 2:01.261

Copyright 2002, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Friday’s MotoGP Qualifying Results:

1. Daijiro Kato, Honda RC211V, 1:49.052*
2. Max Biaggi, Yamaha YZR-M1, 1:49.162
3. Valentino Rossi, Honda RC211V, 1:49.720
4. Carlos Checa, Yamaha YZR-M1, 1:49.885
5. Loris Capirossi, Honda NSR500, 1:49.975
6. Alex Barros, Honda RC211V, 1:50.260
7. Kenny Roberts, Suzuki GSV-R, 1:50.560
8. Tohru Ukawa, Honda RC211V, 1:50.697
9. Jeremy McWilliams, Proton KR3, 1:50.912
10. Regis Laconi, Aprilia RS3, 1:51.161
11. Olivier Jacque, Yamaha YZR500, 1:51.215
12. John Hopkins, Yamaha YZR500, 1:51.356
13. Norick Abe, Yamaha YZR500, 1:51.554
14. Akira Yanagawa, Kawasaki ZX-RR, 1:51.657
15. Nobuatsu Aoki, Proton KR3, 1:51.883
16. Sete Gibernau, Suzuki GSV-R, 1:51.946
17. Tetsuya Harada, Honda NSR500, 1:52.097
18. Garry McCoy, Yamaha YZR500, 1:52.125
19. Shinya Nakano, Yamaha YZR500, 1:52.467
20. Wataru Yoshikawa, Yamaha YZR-M1, 1:52.497
21. Jurgen v.d. Goorbergh, Honda NSR500, 1:52.598
22. Pere Riba, Yamaha YZR500, 1:53.131

*new “Circuit Best” lap record


More, from a press release issued by Red Bull Yamaha WCM:

RED BULL Yamaha rookie John Hopkins ended his first day at the Twin Ring Motegi circuit full of optimism having finished 12th-fastest in today’s opening qualifying session.

The American teenager once again proved his effectiveness at learning new tracks quickly as he found the heavy braking nature of the 2.983-mile circuit perfectly suited to his aggressive riding style.

Hopkins set his fastest time on his last lap having opted to break with his normal weekend routine by running a Dunlop qualifier in the closing stages.

His best time of 1.51.356 saw “Hopper” shave a massive 1.8 seconds off his best time from this morning’s free practice session, and was just reward for his efforts in surprisingly hot and humid conditions for the Twin Ring Motegi.

Teammate Garry McCoy ended the session down in 18th place, although he is confident of significant improvements tomorrow after his final run was thwarted by slower riders. That was still 2.5 seconds quicker than this morning’s session when set-up and brake problems had hindered the 30-year-old.

The Pacific GP, round 13 of the 2002 MotoGP season, is the start of three back-to-back flyaway races that will include Malaysia and McCoy’s home race at the Phillip Island circuit in Australia over the next two weeks.

JOHN HOPKINS,­ 12th, 1.51.356

“Today went really well considering this is another track that I’ve never been to before. I spent most of the session trying out race tyres, but we never really found anything I particularly liked. We put in a qualifying tyre near the end, which we wouldn’t normally do on a Friday unless rain is forecast for the next day. I just got my head down and extended my braking markers and found I could go much quicker. I learned that I was braking too early and that made me too slow at the apex of the corner. Now I pretty much know where the limits are but I still think I can brake even deeper tomorrow. I really like the track. There’s a lot of hard braking which I like. It allows you to be really aggressive on the brakes and that’s good for my style.”

GARRY McCOY, 18th, 1.52.125

“I had some problems this morning. One bike felt it was vibrating a lot while the other one had front and rear brake problems. I was thinking more about fixing the problems than riding fast. I’m pretty happy with this afternoon and I’m close to picking a race tyre already. I had a qualifier at the end of the session and on my flying lap I came across Kenny Roberts and Sete Gibernau. They just seemed to be cruising and by the time I’d found a hole through them, it was a bit too late. I thought it was a good lap.”

PETER CLIFFFORD, DIRECTOR OF RACING

“That was another excellent performance from John. He was excellent all day and showed his ability at learning tracks quickly. At the start of the year he had to learn the bike as well as the tracks, but now he only has to learn the tracks his improvement is even faster. Garry has more to give tomorrow but his final run was spoilt today.”


More, from a press release issued by Yamaha:

Marlboro Yamaha Team riders Max Biaggi and Carlos Checa concluded the opening qualifier for the Motegi MotoGP, held October 4-6, with a pair of provisional front row performances – a second and fourth place, respectively. Biaggi’s 1:49.162 laptime, well over a second below Valentino Rossi’s (Honda) 2001 lap record (1:50.591), was enough to place the Italian on pole position – at least up until Daijiro Kato’s (Honda) final flying lap. The 2001 GP250 champion undercut Biaggi by a mere 0.110 seconds to set the fastest-ever Motegi lap at his home round.

After his gutsy Brazilian performance Checa overcame some chassis set-up difficulties to place the factory Yamaha four-stroke on the front row with a 1:49.885. The Spaniard produced his best time on the final lap to be 0.833 seconds off pole, and only 0.165 behind third fastest qualifier – recently crowned 2002 MotoGP World Champion Rossi (1:49.720).

Olivier Jacque (Gauloises Yamaha Tech 3, 1:51.215) was the first of the YZR500 brigade in 11th, closely followed by John Hopkins (Red Bull Yamaha WCM, 1:51.356) and Norick Abe (Antena 3 Yamaha d’Antin, 1:51.554). Meanwhile factory Yamaha wild card entry Wataru Yoshikawa placed the third YZR-M1 contesting the Motegi round in 20th, with a 1:52.497.

Marlboro Yamaha Team
Max Biaggi 2nd, 1:49.162: “I’m quite happy, the sun seems to help. We’ve worked well today, and I’m very focused and highly motivated. This is our first time here with the M1, so we’re still looking for the best set-up, though we already have a clear idea of which direction to take and we have more things to try tomorrow. We are also evaluating some new engine parts and we have more work to do on that. Everyone up front is riding well, and I hope the weather stays nice so I can attack Kato tomorrow.”

Carlos Checa 4th, 1:49.885: “It’s great to have both bikes fitted with the same chassis. It’s a much better way to work, I can make proper comparisons when we try different settings, so we can find the correct settings sooner. At the moment we’re focusing on chassis set-up, the bike is working pretty well but we need to do some more work on the rear, I was getting some chatter this afternoon. As for the engine, we’ll check the data to compare the two different specs.”

Gauloises Yamaha Tech 3
Olivier Jacque 11th, 1:51.215: “This afternoon ended up being a good session. This morning we tried some different Kayaba suspension, which meant we had to sort it out first. We eventually ended up with something similar to last year’s base set-up, but with the front fork improvement. Of course once we had the base I was able to push harder, and the time was eventually similar to last year, but I think we still have room to develop this package further.

“I almost had one big crash in the final few minutes, it was quite scary! I’d just come out of the pits with a new tyre, just before the last run when I lost the back-end and nearly highsided. I recovered only to run off the track, which meant that I had to come back into the pits to put on a new rear tyre. When I went back out, though, I was somewhat cautious.”

Shinya Nakano 19th, 1:52.467: “It was a very difficult session for me. One bike seemed to have a problem with the front-end, a very strange feeling that we couldn’t place. I think there may be something wrong with the chassis, it’s the one I crashed in Rio last week, so tonight we may have to change that over. We did try swapping the front suspension, but that didn’t help much at all.”

Red Bull Yamaha WCM
John Hopkins 12th, 1:51.356: “It started to come together near the end. We were going through a bunch of different tyres to help with making the best choice with the race set-up, and everything seemed to be going well. The fact that it is my first time here, learning the track again, it all seemed to go in the right direction. At the end we thought we’d just go for it. We threw in a softer tyre, sure I’m still making a few mistakes here and there, and the improvement wasn’t that big, but pushing hard meant I found a few places where I can improve my riding for tomorrow.”

Garry McCoy 18th, 1:52.125: “For some strange reason my two bikes felt completely different; one was better on the brakes and the other in the corners, which took time to get sorted. In the morning I messed myself up by focusing too much on the problems rather than just sorting myself out, but I fixed that for the qualifier. It’s only Friday, but I think we’re looking good with the base set-up and a tyre choice. My time doesn’t show it, though, because when I went out for my fast lap I came up on Kenny and Gibernau, who clearly weren’t on a flying lap, and by the time I made my way past it was too late to improve.”

Antena 3 Yamaha d’Antin
Norick Abe 13th, 1:51.554: “This is one track I really don’t like, so usually it’s very difficult for me to make a good laptime. But for some strange reason I seemed to be ok this time round. And I’m sure I could have even done better, but we made a silly mistake. We had a very good tyre for the last part of the session, but I came into the pits with too little time and the chequered was already out before I could compete one whole lap on the new tyre.”

Pere Riba 22nd, 1:53.131: “The injury I have with my leg is much better, and the stop-and-go nature of this track doesn’t put anywhere near as much pressure on it as in a place like Brno, but I haven’t been able to keep up my physical fitness with all these injuries. This is my problem, and it really has been all year. I’m working towards improving this but time is running out, so I’m just focusing on staying upright and keeping smooth.”


More, from a press release issued by Telefonica Movistar Suzuki:

TEAM Telefónica MoviStar Suzuki rider Kenny Roberts Jr. was a close seventh-fastest in today’s first qualifying session for Sunday’s Pacific GP, exploiting the latest round of improvements to the GSV-R four-stroke prototype MotoGP machine.

Team-mate Sete Gibernau was 16th and struggling, having problems finding the right set-up for the stop-and-go Motegi circuit, but confident of finding the key for tomorrow’s second day of practice.

The GSV-R is nearing the end of its first season of competition – a year of race-development for the youngest of the full-time four-strokes racing in the new-this-year MotoGP series, open to 990cc four-strokes as well as 500cc two-strokes. The machine has come a long way since its debut in the first Japanese race this year, the opening round at Suzuka.

The latest improvements continue work on the all-important slipper clutch, which reduces engine braking, rear-wheel hop and lock-up when the throttle is closed. An all-new Suzuki-designed clutch was introduced for the Portuguese GP two races ago. For Motegi, the first round of changes to the design have refined the performance still further.

Other changes are also aimed at solving problems that came to light when the machine achieved a new and higher level of performance – primarily to try to improve weight transfer to the front of the machine.

KENNY ROBERTS – Seventh Position, 1:50.560

“We’ve raised the level a bit with the new clutch, but it’s also doing some bad things that weren’t a problem before. We were never able to get enough slip with the old clutch. Now we can do that, but we need to find the right level. This morning, with one adjustment we gained a full half-second in time. Apart from that, we’re going through the process. We also have some new stuff here to do with riding position and settings, to get some weight on the front, and we made some more changes with that during the session. Basically I’m happy with the progress we’ve made. Now we’ll make a translation of my feelings and what the data shows, and tomorrow we’ll see if we’ve made it better again.”

SETE GIBERNAU – 16th Position, 1:51.946

“I really don’t have much to say. We had a bad session, basically because we screwed up. I’m sure we can get it better tomorrow, and that’s all I’m thinking about right now.”

GARRY TAYLOR – Team Manager

“As ever, we’re in a balancing act between trying to do the best we can at this race, and at the same time getting as much technical information as possible for next year’s new and improved machine. So far, it’s going well for Kenny, but Sete is having problems. I’m sure we can help his situation for tomorrow and more importantly for the race on Sunday.”


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

Jeremy McWilliams was the second-fastest two-stroke in today’s first qualifying session for Sunday’s Pacific GP, placing ninth for a provisional third-row grid position. The British rider’s strong performance came in spite of suffering from a fractured collar-bone, sustained two weeks ago at the Rio GP.

His good position has allayed the team’s fears that the stop-and-go nature of the Motegi circuit would count heavily against the KR3 lightweight triple, which trades power and acceleration for cornering performance.

Top speed figures from the first session confirm the situation … McWilliams recorded 266.8 km/h against the 285.2km/h of provisional pole qualifier Daijiro Kato’s Honda. But the Proton takes it back with its good braking performance compared with the heavier and clumsier four-strokes, said McWilliams.

Team-mate Nobuatsu Aoki was searching for the right settings to give him the confidence he needs to exploit the machine’s strengths, but 15th place was worse than he deserved, after he ran out of time to put in a single fast lap on qualifying tyres.

The Motegi circuit, in the hills 100km outside Tokyo, comprises mainly short straights linking simple single-radius corners. This gives a big advantage to the more powerful machines, in spite of their extra weight, because it puts a big emphasis on acceleration. A more technical circuit repays cornering performance more generously.

Today was the first time on provisional pole for Japanese rider Kato, who won the 250 title last year. There is one more day of qualifying tomorrow before Sunday’s race.

Jeremy McWilliams
I feel pretty second-hand now, but on the bike, though my shoulder feels awkward, it’s not slowing me down. I didn’t take anything for the pain today, but I’ll have to do that tomorrow. As to the bike, Ohlins did something to the front forks at Rio, which is why we went so well there. It’s helped here. The brakes are perfect, and what I lose on the straight I’m taking back under braking. I can brake so late I feel every time I’m not going to make the corner … then you get there, flick it in, and it’s okay. I think we have an even better setting on my spare bike, which I haven’t ridden today, so maybe there’s more to come. Braking is the only place to make up time. This track is so nondescript, with single corners then short straights, though there’s a short section out the back where we can enjoy ourselves. It’s looking good for the race, and I’m not expecting any problems with our tyres. I feel I can do 1:51s in the race. I hope the others run out of grip.

Nobuatsu Aoki
I’m lacking confidence in the front fork set-up. We’ve made some changes, like heavier springs and different settings, and they helped a bit. But it’s still not good enough to give me the feeling I want, and the front-end feeling is very important here. We’ll try to figure out how to solve this problem. At the end of the session I fitted a fairly hard-compound qualifying tyre, but it didn’t work well. I came back to the box to change for a softer compound, but I was too late to make another flying lap.

Kenny Roberts- Team Owner
We need more power, as usual. Other than that, the bikes are working pretty good, which is a little better than what I’d expected. The race set-up already looks good, at least for Jeremy. We’ll keep going.


More, from a press release issued by MS Aprilia:

Tenth quickest, Régis Laconi makes third provisional row at Motegi

The official Aprilia RS Cube rider had some very positive qualifying session today. Just a quarter of an hour into the session, Régis had already taken a second off his speed in the morning free practice. Then ten minutes before the end, he made his final attempt and got the tenth best time today with 1:51.161. The new Dunlop rear tyre he tried out gave better grip than the one he had used in the morning and Régis made the most of it, achieving a provisional position on the grid which augurs well for tomorrow and Sunday.

# 55 Regis Laconi – (MS APRILIA RACING) – 10th- 1:51.161

“This is a new Japanese tyre that has a very particular grip. Feeling more confident at the back meant I could open up more, right from the beginning of the session. Then we concentrated on the settings of the rear shock absorber and of the gears. The gears are really important as there are four corners which need to be taken in first and we can improve the Cube’s performance on the straight too. We’ve gathered some good references to work on tomorrow. The attempt to improve the lap time at the end of the session went well too. It’s a pity I came up against some traffic on the second fast lap, as I felt I could have done even better. But we’ve still got tomorrow and we’ll be able to do a good job.”


More, from a press release issued by West Honda Pons:

Alex Barros makes a promising start on the Honda RC211V at Motegi
10/4/2002 – Pacific Grand Prix of Motegi

Alex Barros and his brand new Honda RC211V grabbed the limelight today during the first day of Practice for the Pacific Grand Prix, the thirteenth race of the season taking place this weekend in Motegi. The Brazilian West Honda Pons rider made first contact with the new bike in the morning session and proved to be very competitive right from the off before a problem with the radiator forced him to sit out the last twenty minutes of the Official Practice session. Loris Capirossi, meanwhile, missed out on the pole position he set last year by just one tenth of a second.

Loris Capirossi (5th):
“I am happy with my performance which I feel was good. I set nearly the same lap time as last year and on that occasion it was good enough for pole position. I still have some room for improvement, but it is impossible to get close to the four-strokes. During Practice with the two-strokes we can still be competitive, but in the race it is very difficult to stay with the leaders. Anyway I will try my best as always”.

Alex Barros (6th):
“My first experience with the Honda RC211V has been fantastic. It is an incredible gift for me and I am really excited about the race and the rest of the season. I spent today’s sessions learning how the bike responds and I had a few problems with the front suspension under braking. I still need to find out more about the bike and gain more control. With 20 minutes left I had to abandon the session because when I was following Biaggi he rode on the grass and threw up some stones which unluckily smashed into the radiator on my bike. We did not have time to repair it and I could not go back out on the track. This is the problem having only one bike”.

Antonio Cobas (Technical Director):
“Today we could work with two different bikes and compare the potential of the Honda RC211V. With the four-stroke we still have a lot of work to do, like setting up the front suspension to make braking easier for Alex who is a very meticulous rider with the front wheel. However, the RC211V is an easy bike to adjust to the style of the rider and you can go quickly with relatively little effort. The difficult thing is getting the maximum out of it. However, with the other bike we are practically on the limit, as was demonstrated by the fact that Loris was already on the first day only one tenth off last year’s pole. We will try to refine the settings still further to try and squeeze out a little more performance”.

Sito Pons:
“Alex’s debut on the four stroke has been excellent and it now looks like both riders have tremendous potential and that results will be great from now until the end of the season. I strongly believe that Alex will be very competitive and Loris, who is a rider that never gives in, will be competitive too”.