2007 FIM MotoGP World Championship Phillip Island Melbourne, Australia October 13, 2007 Final Qualifying Results: 1. Dani PEDROSA (Honda), Michelin, 1:29.201 2. Valentino ROSSI (Yamaha), Michelin, 1:29.419 3. Casey STONER (Ducati), Bridgestone, 1:29.816 4. Nicky HAYDEN (Honda), Michelin, 1:29.932 5. Loris CAPIROSSI (Ducati), Bridgestone, 1:30.090 6. Randy DE PUNIET (Kawasaki), Bridgestone, 1:30.110 7. Alex BARROS (Ducati), Bridgestone, 1:30.325 8. Shinya NAKANO (Honda), Michelin, 1:30.612 9. Sylvain GUINTOLI (Yamaha), Dunlop, 1:30.621 10. Anthony WEST (Kawasaki), Bridgestone, 1:30.649 11. Colin EDWARDS (Yamaha), Michelin, 1:30.676 12. Marco MELANDRI (Honda), Bridgestone, 1:31.078 13. Carlos CHECA (Honda), Michelin, 1:31.203 14. John HOPKINS (Suzuki), Bridgestone, 1:31.386 15. Makoto TAMADA (Yamaha), Dunlop, 1:31.595 16. Chris VERMEULEN (Suzuki), Bridgestone, 1:31.810 17. Chaz DAVIES (Ducati), Bridgestone, 1:32.043 18. Toni ELIAS (Honda), Bridgestone, 1:32.442 19. Kurtis ROBERTS (KR-Honda), Michelin, 1:32.948 More, from a press release issued by Bridgestone: Stoner takes front row seat for home GP Round 16 Australia – Qualifying Phillip Island Circuit Saturday 13 October 2007 Ducati Corse’s Casey Stoner has taken third place in qualifying at Phillip Island this afternoon which will see the Australian take a front row seat for his home grand prix which looks set to be a thriller after today’s competitive practice sessions. It is Stoner’s ninth front row start of his championship-winning season and the 60th front row start for a rider on Bridgestone tyres in the tyre manufacturer’s comparatively short five-year MotoGP history. Bridgestone endured a difficult qualifying at last season’s Australian GP as its qualifying tyres struggled to keep pace around the complete 4.448km Phillip Island lap, especially through the arduous final left-hand corner heading onto the start-finish straight. With Stoner on the front row in third, his Ducati team-mate Loris Capirossi taking his equal best qualifying result of the season in fifth, Kawasaki’s Randy de Puniet in sixth and Pramac d’Antin rider Alex Barros scoring his best grid slot of the year in seventh, today’s results demonstrate clear year-on-year progress. This afternoon’s session has been the first completely dry practice of the weekend so far which has seen intermittent rain showers and gusty winds hamper bike set-up work and tyre evaluation. The dry session has enabled Bridgestone to carry out longer runs with its slick tyres and consistently quick lap times in race trim by several of its teams leave plenty of cause of optimism ahead of tomorrow’s race although the unpredictable Phillip Island weather could still play a decisive role. Tyre Talk with Tohru Ubukata Bridgestone Motorsport Manager, Motorcycle Race Tyre Development What is your assessment of today’s qualifying performance? “The performance of our qualifying tyres is certainly much better than last year in terms of competitiveness and durability over the entire lap. It is, however, clear that we still have a slight deficit to our rivals when it comes to qualifying performance in general, something that we have seen throughout this season. Nevertheless, five riders on our tyres have been able to secure all-important top ten results this afternoon which will set them up well for tomorrow’s race and I am more encouraged by the potential of our race tyres.” What tyres did Bridgestone riders evaluate in the practice sessions today? “This morning we had another rain -hit session which did not yield such representative results, but this afternoon we had our first completely dry session of the weekend and some of our riders were able to put a string of consecutive laps together. We could confirm the consistency and performance of the tyres over around half race-distance with promising results. The forecast appears to be reasonably good for tomorrow with warmer ambient temperatures predicted, but we know the weather is very changeable here so we will make our final decisions close to the start of the race, taking into consideration the track conditions and temperature.” Bridgestone Qualifying Practice Session Results Pos Rider Team Best Lap Time Gap P3 Casey Stoner Ducati 1m29.816s +0.615s P5 Loris Capirossi Ducati 1m30.090s +0.889s P6 Randy de Puniet Kawasaki 1m30.110s +0.909s P7 Alex Barros Pramac d’Antin 1m30.325s +1.124s P10 Anthony West Kawasaki 1m30.649s +1.448s P12 Marco Melandri Honda Gresini 1m31.078s +1.877s P14 John Hopkins Suzuki 1m31.386s +2.185s P15 Chris Vermeulen Suzuki 1m31.810s +2.609s P17 Chaz Davies Pramac d’Antin 1m32.043s +2.842s P18 Toni Elias Honda Gresini 1m32.442s +3.241s Weather: Dry track – Air 16° C, Track 24°C, Humidity 46% More, from a press release issued by Rizla Suzuki: Difficult qualifying leaves Rizla Suzuki with it all to do Rizla Suzuki MotoGP face an uphill battle in tomorrow’s Australian Grand Prix after a disappointing qualifying session saw John Hopkins and Chris Vermeulen take 14th and 16th places on the grid respectively. Both riders improved on their race-tyre times throughout the day but they were unable to make further advancements during the last third of the afternoon session when the all-important grid positions were up for grabs. Today’s pole position went to Dani Pedrosa on his factory Honda. This morning’s practice session was again affected by rain and track temperatures throughout the day varied between 17 and 32°C making the job of setting up bike very difficult for both crews. Hopkins and Vermeulen are still both upbeat about their chances of improving dramatically tomorrow and getting the best result possible given the difficult circumstances. Sunday’s race is round 16 of the MotoGP season and the 27-lap main event gets underway at 15.00hrs local time (05.00hrs GMT). John Hopkins: “That was an awful session and probably the worst for the team all season, it was ridiculous! We did make some improvements this afternoon with the dry setting but we are still nowhere near close to what we want. I am very unhappy with the qualifying position, but I do have high hopes for the race as I know we can get a better set-up than we’ve had today! My crew has worked really hard this weekend and I also need to improve my lines in a few places to make things come together. Phillip Island is just one of those tracks where if you mess up on one corner you mess up the whole track. We have struggled a bit with the wind, but right now we still need to find that bit better set-up for a dry race. We’re confident in the Bridgestone tyres we have chosen for tomorrow and I need to make sure I get a good start and get up to that pack at the front!” Chris Vermeulen: “We had the weather against us again today and the first session was a bit wet so we couldn’t really concentrate on what we wanted to get done. We did manage to get the bike set-up for both types of conditions and my guys all did a great job. We have improved the bike a long way today and have also consistently improved lap-times. We still have a long way to go and we especially need to concentrate on improving the corner speed and rear tyre durability. I’m sure we’ll be a bit better for tomorrow and hope we’ll get a dry warm-up to test those things out. I am far from happy with where I qualified and it gives me a lot of work to do right from the start, but I’m up for it and I’ll be giving it everything I’ve got at my home GP!” Paul Denning Team Manager: “A dismal qualifying result today! We had high hopes coming to this event that we would be able to take a good step in our performance here compared to our winter test, but that has just not been the case. Both the guys have made decent advancements today but the competition has moved away at the same rate so we are really back where we started from. “Long term there are a number of factors we need to look at to try to understand our relative lack of performance at this circuit, but short-term the most important thing we can do right now is to maximise what we have in the garage right now, make sure the riders are ready to give 100% and try to salvage a decent result from what has been a difficult weekend.” More, from a press release issued by Konica Minolta Honda: Third row for KONICA MINOLTA Honda at Australian Grand Prix Shinya Nakano and his KONICA MINOLTA Honda Team have put their Honda RC212V into eighth position for tomorrow’s 27-lap Australian Grand Prix. With changeable weather conditions so far dominating proceedings at the Phillip Island circuit, today’s qualifying hour was mercifully the only MotoGP session to be completely dry. Shinya took advantage of set-up improvements to his 800cc Honda machine to record a time more than three seconds quicker than his Friday lap-time to secure his third row grid slot. The Team will now keep an eye on the weather situation once more in tomorrow’s morning warm-up before making their final choice on race tyres. Gianluca Montiron Team Manager KONICA MINOLTA Honda “Today was one of the best qualifying sessions of the season for us. When you look at the times, you will see that the gap between pole position and us is quite consistent to what we’ve seen before, but eighth place is an improvement from many of our previous grid positions. I still think that tomorrow will be a difficult race as I think we haven’t yet got a good race rhythm, so while Shinya is able to push for one lap in qualifying we need to improve things further so he can stay with the second group and have a consistent race that’s how you get a good race result. Shinya’s qualifying laps on soft rubber today were good, despite having some other traffic in the way. Let’s hope for a good start and consistent weather for tomorrow’s race!” Shinya Nakano Rider, KONICA MINOLTA Honda (47 laps 1′ 30.612″) “I am happy with that! Once more it’s very close, but it’s also very good to be inside the top ten in qualifying again! With the cold conditions it is difficult to choose the tyres here, because if you go for a harder compound it is very difficult to get them warm. We’ve not decided on the race tyre yet we shall see what the weather has in store for us tomorrow but our suspension settings have improved a lot. With our qualifying tyres things improved each time and we could cut a lot from our Friday lap-time. We suffered a little with traffic with one of the qualifiers, but this is what happens. Tomorrow I would prefer dry or wet conditions not in between or us changing bikes, as that makes the race a gamble. I’m ready for both conditions and will hope for a good start.” Giulio Bernardelle Technical Director, KONICA MINOLTA Honda “We had a good day today particularly with the qualifying tyre. For the first time this weekend we had a full dry practice so we were able to test some different setting and tyres. Shinya had a little trouble with traffic when two riders were in the way, so maybe we had the potential for a second-row start position. The important thing is that our setting has improved but we have to think carefully for our race tyre choice as today conditions were still cold, but warmer than yesterday at a little over 25 degrees. If it gets warmer tomorrow, we may have to look at our tyre choices again. We improved the balance of the machine for Shinya today to help him in the first part of the corner and also on the engine braking control which has helped Shinya improve his time.” More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki Racing Team: POSITIVE SIGNS FOR KAWASAKI IN AUSTRALIA The second day of the GMC Australian Grand Prix finished with qualifying practice this afternoon, which saw Kawasaki’s Randy de Puniet claim a second row start and Anthony West, 10th spot on the grid for tomorrow’s race. De Puniet completed 25 laps in qualifying and succeeded in running a staggering 1’30.713 lap on race tyres: bearing in mind Casey Stoner’s leading lap, on combined times, of all three earlier practices was 1’31.132, this bodes very well for the 26-year-old Frenchman. He put in his best lap on the first of his three Bridgestone qualifying tyres, with a time of 1’30.110, putting him on the second row behind Nicky Hayden and Loris Capirossi and just 0.909 seconds behind pole sitter, Dani Pedrosa. He had hoped for an even better position but, as always, it’s the race that counts and de Puniet’s feeling justifiably confident. At the last round at Motegi, in Japan, he enjoyed the taste of success on the second step of the podium and will be hoping for more of the same in Australia tomorrow. Anthony West has also been busy perfecting his set up and providing his crew with the feedback necessary to eliminate some rear wheel spin he’s been suffering during the weekend so far. By the end of the day, he 26-year-old was happy with improvements and is looking forward to Sunday’s 27-lap battle. The Australian, currently enjoying the support of his fellow countrymen at his home round, put in his strongest time on the second of his three qualifiers. With his 800cc Ninja ZX-RR working better than ever, he clocked 1’30.649, putting him at the front of the fourth row. Unfortunately, his final run suffered as a result of a loss of traction at the front, which threatened to spit him off: his foot slipped off the peg and broke the rear fender in the process, frustrating West’s efforts to move further up the grid. Settling for tenth on the start line doesn’t come easily to West, who is particularly keen to do well in front of his Australian fans. Meanwhile, de Puniet’s second row start will ensure both Kawasaki riders will be as determined as ever to ride a competitive race and gain some more valuable championship points, both for themselves and for the team. Randy De Puniet #14 – 6th – Best Lap 1’30.110 “I’m a little bit disappointed because even just on race tyres, I was very fast. Unfortunately I came across some traffic in T2 on my last run out on qualifiers, and lost some time, so it was impossible to improve my position on the grid. But most importantly we’ve got a good race setting and tyre for tomorrow; that’s why I feel confident. If Anthony and I can fight in the top eight, that would be great for all of us. I like this track, and the bike’s working well, so I really hope I can repeat the success of Japan tomorrow.” Anthony West #13 – 10th – Best Lap 1’30.649 “I thought I was going to be able to put in a faster time on my last qualifying tyre but I nearly lost the front at turn 10. My foot came off the peg as I was trying to save it and nearly went in to the back wheel. It smashed the rear mudguard though, so I was just lucky to stay on the bike. One of those near misses”¦ Anyway, the set up’s looking pretty good now: I did about ten laps on a race tyre, and felt quite strong, so as long as no-one else goes too fast it’ll be alright!” Fiorenzo Fanali West Crew Chief “We’ll make a few slight changes for tomorrow’s warm up to help us with rear grip, which has been a bit of a problem for us so far this weekend. We’ve had some spinning in the rear, especially on the left hand side and on the last corner. This afternoon we’ve tried a few different things in the set up and with some little alterations I think we can perfect it. Certainly, I hope we find better grip and I’m sure we will. Anyway, Anthony’s always particularly strong in the race itself so hopefully we’ll have a good result.” More, from a press release issued by Dorna Communications: In front of an impressive crowd for a chilly Saturday afternoon at Phillip Island, Dani Pedrosa took pole for tomorrow’s GMC Australian Grand Prix with a storming 1’29.201 lap. The Spaniard, with a composure as cold as the temperatures sweeping the scene of the latest MotoGP round, is looking to save some pride by adding to his victory tally in a season that was meant to be his year in the premier class. Outshone by former 250cc rival Casey Stoner in 2007, a further win to add to that taken at Sachsenring would equal the Repsol Honda rider’s record from last year. Today’s pole position is the second in a row for the current third placed rider. Pedrosa’s cause was helped by the absence of rain in the qualifying session, something that looked inevitable after the frequent showers experienced at Phillip Island over the past two days. The riders can expect the unexpected tomorrow, particularly bearing in mind the strange conditions that made last year’s visit to Australia one of the most exciting races of the season. On the hunt for victory number six at Phillip Island, and keen to sew up the runner-up spot in the World Championship, Valentino Rossi will join rival Pedrosa on the front row. Modelling a new aboriginal art design on his helmet this weekend, Rossi clocked what had looked like a sure fire pole time late on in the session, but was eventually edged out by his only contender for the second place spot. Homecoming hero Casey Stoner will complete the first line of attack at his first race since winning the 2007 MotoGP World Championship, chasing a memorable home victory that would see the packed grandstands erupt. The Ducati rider will also have to keep an eye on his qualifying times over the remaining two rounds of the year, having conceded the lead in the BMW M Award for combined performances to Rossi. The man who still holds the pole position record at Phillip Island, 2006 MotoGP World Champion Nicky Hayden, will start from the head of row two. The American will be joined by Motegi race winner Loris Capirossi and Kawasaki man Randy de Puniet, who was in contention for pole throughout the session. One row back, Alex Barros, Shinya Nakano and Sylvain Guintoli make up the third group, with Anthony West completing the top ten as the second highest qualifying home rider. 250cc Jorge Lorenzo took his ninth pole of the year on what could be the eve of his second 250cc title triumph, with a time of 1’32.884. The Spaniard has not gone more than two races without a pole position since the start of the 2006 season, and maintained this form en route to equalling Loris Capirossi’s tally of 23 qualifying top spots in the quarter litre class. The factory Aprilia rider now lies behind only Max Biaggi in the all-time list. In an otherwise excellent day for Team Toth’s Hector Barbera, the second placing Spaniard suffered a crash in the final minute of the session during which he was sent flying into the gravel. Barbera was able to walk away of his own accord, albeit nursing his wrist. At the scene of his 2006 125cc title triumph, Alvaro Bautista took a front row spot for the 250cc race. The Aspar rider is joined by one of only two riders who can throw a spanner in the works for Lorenzo; Alex de Angelis. Marco Simoncelli was knocked off the front row after some late hot laps, starting alongside Hiroshi Aoyama, Andrea Dovizioso and Thomas Luthi. All eyes will be on Dovizioso at the start of tomorrow’s race, as he has to make up positions in order to have any hope of overturning Lorenzo’s title advantage. The session was red flagged at the midway point due to a huge crash from Roberto Locatelli. In pleasing news, any injuries to the Italian have been ruled out, and Locatelli is set to start the GMC Australian Grand Prix from thirteenth. 125cc As he has done for over half of this season’s 125cc races, Mattia Pasini put himself on pole at Phillip Island onboard the Polaris World Aprilia. The Italian will head the grid for the third time in as many races tomorrow afternoon, off the back of race win number four of a troubled 2007 season. A 1’38.078 lap of the Australian circuit was enough to ensure that, although Pasini will not be taking the 125cc title trophy back to Rimini at the end of the year, he could certainly run a sideline in Tissot watch sales as a sideline during the close season. Raffaele de Rosa will line up on the front row for the first time in his career after racking up a time just under three hundredths of a second slower than pace setter Pasini, and will be joined by Lukas Pesek and Tomoyoshi Koyama for his maiden start from the front line. Pesek had some late drama when his Derbi machine broke down in the final moments of the session, and had to make a dash through the car park to get to the garage and onto his second bike. Fifth place qualifier Simone Corsi also experienced some excitement at the end of the session with a low side in the final five minutes. He heads title challenger Hector Faubel, Sergio Gadea and Joan Olive on a Spanish-flavoured second row, with current 125cc World Championship leader Gabor Talmacsi kicking off row three after a nightmare session in which he failed to better his Friday time. More, from a press release issued by Fiat Yamaha: ELEVENTH FRONT-ROW START OF THE SEASON FOR ROSSI AT PHILLIP ISLAND Valentino Rossi qualified second for the second consecutive race at Phillip Island today, sealing his eleventh front-row start of the season at a track that has seen him top the podium seven times in his career. The Fiat Yamaha Team rider will share the front row with Dani Pedrosa and Casey Stoner, promising an exciting battle between the top three riders in the championship for tomorrow’s Australian Grand Prix. Rossi’s team-mate Colin Edwards meanwhile had a less successful qualifying session, setting the eleventh fastest lap, which will put him in the middle of the fourth row on tomorrow’s grid. Following a day of changeable weather yesterday, this morning saw Rossi and Edwards sixth and tenth respectively in similar conditions, with the track starting out fully wet but drying quickly throughout the session to produce some faster times in the latter stages. Thankfully however the bad weather looked to have run its course by the afternoon and the riders were rewarded their first fully-dry hour on. Rossi was lapping comfortably in the top third of the field through most of the session, as he made the most of the time available to refine his race set-up and tyre choice. With ten minutes to go his first lap on a qualifying tyre put him just ahead of Casey Stoner, the Australian having put in an early qualifying lap to provisionally head the board. Rossi however was soon knocked off the top by Stoner on his second tyre and then pushed down to third when Dani Pedrosa put in the eventual pole time of 1’29.201. With four minutes to go Rossi came close to edging the Spaniard off but eventually had to settle for second with a lap of 1’29.419. Edwards moved into the top six at one point during the session but was unable to find the right setting with which to properly exploit his Michelin qualifying tyre and his best lap was 1.475 off Pedrosa’s, leaving him with an uphill battle for tomorrow’s Australian Grand Prix. Valentino Rossi Position: 2nd Time: 1’29.419 Laps: 28 “Today has been a good day and this afternoon especially we were able to have a very positive practice. This afternoon was the first full hour we’ve had in the dry and we were able to do some very good work on the setting. Now we have a clear idea about what we need to do for tomorrow, because we still have a few things to improve. We also need to make our final tyre choice and this is going to be very important for tomorrow. I’m really happy because today it was great fun to ride my M1 around this track, which I love. I was quite confident with the qualifying tyre and when I saw 29.4 I thought maybe it was enough for the pole, but Pedrosa was even faster. Anyway second is a good result and the important thing is that we’re on the front row. We now need to improve our race pace a little bit more if possible and then I hope for a great race tomorrow.” Colin Edwards Position: 11th Time: 1’30.676 Laps: 24 “Honestly speaking, I just don’t know exactly what the problem is this weekend, but we can’t seem to get the bike to work how we want it to. We’ve tried all sorts to find a way forward but it’s still feeling nervous and twitchy and just not like the bike I know. I couldn’t get in or out of corners how I wanted today and I was lacking corner speed, so it was really a hard slog. With the qualifier I was a lot better but it still wasn’t enough to push for the top spots. We’ve got some issues and we need to put our heads together to try to pull something out of the bag for tomorrow. We’ll make the most of warm-up and see what we can do.” Davide Brivio Fiat Yamaha Team Director “The first row is very good for Valentino and with Pedrosa and Stoner either side of him I think it’s going to be very interesting to see how the race will develop. We have a few things to fine-tune on his race setting and then we will just hope that our package will enable him to stay in the fight to the end. With Colin we have some issues and now we need to work hard with his engineers to look at the information from today and see if we can find a way to improve his pace for tomorrow.” More, from a press release issued by Gresini Racing Honda: MELANDRI AND ELIAS READY FOR BATTLE CHARGE AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX – Qualifying The Australian Grand Prix promises to be another tough one for Gresini Honda riders Marco Melandri and Toni Elias, who are faced with another charge through the pack after a difficult qualifying session. Melandri, who set the second fastest time in free practice behind newly crowned World Champion Casey Stoner, was unable to make the most of the dry session to take a final step forward with the set-up of his bike and he will start tomorrow’s race from the fourth row. It has been a difficult weekend all round for his team-mate Elias, who has worked tirelessly with his team but has been unable to get a good feeling for the technical demands of the Phillip Island circuit. The Spaniard starts from the sixth row and hopes in good weather as he looks to get a good start and make up as many positions as possible in the race. MARCO MELANDRI (12th, 1’31″078): “Things didn’t go as well in qualifying as they did in free practice. We struggled despite all our hard work and we couldn’t fix a vibration problem that is preventing me from pushing as hard as I would like. We’ve got two solutions to try out in the warm-up tomorrow. The race will depend very much on the weather because it is always so uncertain here.” TONI ELIAS (18th, 1’32″442): “It’s been a tough weekend. We have a major general problem with the set-up. We’ve worked really hard with the team to fix it but I’ve just not been able to get enough feeling to ride with the confidence you need on such a technical circuit. Phillip Island is really fast, probably the fastest circuit on the calendar, so it is imperative to have the right setting. Hopefully we can have a dry race tomorrow and I can get a good start and make up plenty of positions.” More, from a press release issued by Team Roberts: SEARCH FOR GRIP KEEPS KURTIS GUESSING Phillip Island, Australia – October 13, 2007: Kurtis Roberts will start tomorrow’s Australian GP from the seventh row of the grid, after placing 19th in qualifying, run in the only fully dry hour at the weather-hit event at this scenic seaside circuit. Cold conditions, strong winds and frequent rain showers have made two days of practice fraught, conditions changing sometimes from one lap to the next. The final qualifying hour was dry, but run in a brisk 16 degrees with track temperature at only 24 degrees. For Kurtis Roberts, riding the England-made Honda-powered hybrid for his father Kenny’s race team, the rain made a hard job even harder. The second son of a legend is returning to the fast and challenging circuit after an absence of ten years, and had plenty of relearning to do. This is the 16th of 18 rounds in a season that has been difficult for the only independent constructor in MotoGP -awaiting upgrades to the engine at the same time as developing their own unique chassis, with just one rider. More rain in the race may help Kurtis’s chance of adding to his points score, but he generously turned his back on the chance, preferring safer dry conditions for all. Spanish factory Honda rider Dani Pedrosa qualified on pole, from Yamaha’s Valentino Rossi and new World Champion Casey Stoner (Ducati). KURTIS ROBERTS – 19th Position, 1:32.948 I haven’t been here in ten years so I don’t know if it’s the lines I’m choosing, but getting the thing to hook up and move forward is not going well, that’s plain. The thing is moving around all over the place. The big slides look cool on TV, but looking cool and going fast are different things unfortunately, right now. Things are slowly moving forward, but it hasn’t been the easiest weekend to come to grips with the thing, with the changing weather. If it rains for the race, it’ll help us, but I just want it to be a safe weekend for everybody. It was almost like it was hailing here yesterday. I’ve said all year, it’s not a good thing to have to want it to rain. I have to work harder, and we all have to work to get the thing to go round the race-track better in normal conditions. CHUCK AKSLAND – Team Manager We’re struggling for grip, definitely. Yesterday was an up-and-down day with the weather conditions – same for everybody, but we struggled with the rain tyre, and with dry tyres we’re struggling for grip. Even the qualifier didn’t have grip for the full lap. We need to find where the problem is in that area, whether it is the tyre or the bike. When we do add grip with qualifiers, the bike starts behaving normally, for as long as the qualifiers hold out. We have to find an improvement somewhere, see what tomorrow brings, and I’m sure Kurtis will give us his best. More, from a press release issued by Marlboro Ducati: DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM’S STONER & CAPIROSSI ON FIRST AND SECOND ROWS Ducati Marlboro Team riders Casey Stoner and Loris Capirossi will start tomorrow’s Australian GP from the first and second rows of the grid following a thrilling qualifying session at Phillip Island this afternoon. Both men took their turn at the top during qualifying, Stoner ending up third, six tenths off pole, and Capirossi fifth quickest, a further 0.274 seconds back. This will be Stoner’s tenth front-row start of the season so far. The recently crowned World Champion – who today received a letter of congratulations and good wishes from Australian Prime Minister John Howard – isn’t concerned that he’s not on pole because his pace on race tyres has been devastatingly quick here and Phillip Island is a fast, open circuit where overtaking isn’t an issue for fast, brave riders. The Aussie was relentlessly quickest in all three previous sessions, using race tyres, and is confident of a good home GP tomorrow despite a crash during this morning’s damp practice session. Japanese GP winner Capirossi made the best of the only fully dry session of a cold and damp weekend to put himself in with a chance of another great race. CASEY STONER, 3rd fastest, 1m 29.816s “Qualifying was probably our worse session so far this weekend and the front row or the second row is okay here. We went out quite early with a qualifying tyre because every other session had been interrupted by rain so we thought we’d get in a decent qualifying lap in case the rain started, but the rain never came, so it probably wasn’t the best idea as we only had one qualifying tyre left for the end of the session. We felt like we could’ve gone at least a second quicker than that, unfortunately I got held up by other riders on both of my laps. That last lap Tamada got in my road big time and pretty much blew the lap to pieces, then I made a small mistake that added a few more tenths. Looking at the race tomorrow we’re pretty happy, we think we’ve got a very good setting at the moment and we’re happy with our race tyres. We’re running pretty hard tyres, like everybody else, and everything’s looking really good for us.” LORIS CAPIROSSI, 5th fastest, 1m 30.090s “I’m happy with fifth fastest because we have worked very well as a team. We used the settings we used during our winter tests here and they are working well. We made good use of the qualifying session to do all the tests that we hadn’t been able to do yesterday or this morning due to the rain. I rode a lot of laps this afternoon, 14 or 15 in a row, which helped me to understand what we need to do tomorrow. I have quite a good feeling with the bike, even if conditions aren’t the best because it’s very cold. I think we can do well tomorrow. Starting from the second row is good enough and if we get a good start we will see what happens.” More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda: PEDROSA CLAIMS POLE AT PHILLIP ISLAND, HAYDEN FOURTH Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa will start Sunday’s Australian Grand Prix from pole position after riding a breathtaking lap in the final moments of qualifying at Phillip Island today. This is the 22-year-old Spaniard’s second pole in a row and his third of the 2007 season. His team-mate Nicky Hayden looked destined for his fifth front-row start on the trot, but just lost out in the final sector of the lap and will start tomorrow’s race from fourth on the grid, directly behind Pedrosa. The afternoon’s one-hour MotoGP qualifying session remained dry throughout in a welcome contrast to the three practice sessions so far this weekend, all of which had been affected by rain. The Repsol Honda team took advantage of the first part of the session to advance the RC212V’s race trim and tyre choice, before the serious business of qualifying began with 20 minutes of the hour remaining. Pedrosa’s first hot lap put him in third position but with his second flyer he knocked a full second off that time to set an unbeatable mark of 1m 29.201s, 0.218s ahead of Valentino Rossi in second. Pedrosa’s pace and consistency on race tyres was also promising and he’ll be hoping for good weather and a rapid start in tomorrow’s race. Hayden’s ever-quick qualifying pace looked destined to claim him a front row start at one of his favourite venues. The American has taken pole position in the previous two years at Phillip Island and at the final split of his second flying lap, with only the final long left-hander to go, he was down by only 0.122s on Pedrosa’s benchmark and looked in with a chance of making it three poles in a row here. But his sticky rear qualifying tyre couldn’t quite hold on in the super-demanding corner and he missed out on stealing the final place on the front row from Casey Stoner by just 0.116s. However, Hayden was happy with his improved pace on race rubber and, with further adjustments to his RC212V, the 26-year-old will be looking to duel at the front when the lights go out at 3pm local time (7am CET) tomorrow. Dani Pedrosa Pole Position 1m 29.201s “Well I’m happy to get pole position again and it was a good lap for sure my best ever lap time at this track so I’m happy. Considering how complicated the sessions have been prior to this afternoon, it’s a relief that this one went smoothly. We really needed some consistent dry track time and that’s what we got at last. I was able to improve my speed quite a lot from the first qualifying lap to the second one and I think I got just about the maximum from Michelin’s qualifying tyres, so I’m very pleased. For the race I really hope the weather stays stable. We were on pole position at the last race in Japan but the race-day weather didn’t help us, so I hope tomorrow it’s clear and we can concentrate simply on riding. We’ll be looking at the conditions and temperature tomorrow to make the final choice of race tyre. My pace today on race tyres was quite consistent so hopefully we’re looking okay. The top three riders in the championship are on the front row so it’s set up to be a good battle. I’m looking forward to it.” Nicky Hayden 4th 1m 29.932s “That’s by far the best session we’ve had this weekend. Fourth on the grid is not a disaster and if I get a good start I should be okay, though I’d have liked to be on the front row of course. My second qualifying lap was feeling pretty good but the left side of the tyre went off a little bit through the last section and the back of the bike was moving a lot through those last couple of corners but I held on and was able to get on the second row which is okay. It’s been a big challenge with so little dry track time this weekend for all the teams, tyre technicians, riders everybody. On race tyres we definitely looked pretty competitive this afternoon so I really hope tomorrow we can have a good result but I know hoping won’t do it on its own. We’ve got to get back into the garage, work on the machine and keep improving. Hopefully the weather will stay clear and we can put on a good show tomorrow for these die-hard fans who’ve been braving the cold. I’m ready to put up a fight.” Makoto Tanaka – Team Manager “Congratulations and thanks to Dani. That’s two pole positions in a row which is a very good performance. At last there was no rain in this afternoon’s session and we were very happy about this because it gave us time to really work on the settings and tyre choice. Nicky’s performance was also good this afternoon and he missed out on a front row start by a very small margin. Still, he is in a good position in fourth. Some of our rivals look strong on race tyres so we must continue to work to improve the machine set-up. We’re hoping for better weather tomorrow and it looks like that might be the case. With a good start both riders can be competitive here.” More, from a press release issued by Honda: DANI TAKES POLE FOR SECOND SUCCESSIVE RACE This was a MotoGP qualifying session to savour and it was a triumph for Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC212V) as he squeezed both former Champ Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) and newly crowned World number one Casey Stoner (Ducati) into second and third slots with a masterful lap of this challenging circuit. Stoner had set the early pace with a swift 1m 29.998s lap and the order behind him was Randy de Puniet (Kawasaki), Loris Capirossi (Ducati), then Rossi and local hotshot Anthony West (Kawasaki). Dani lay ninth and his team-mate Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC212V) was seventh. Marco Melandri (Gresini Honda RC212V) was holding eighth spot when with 15 minutes to go the action got hotter in sunny, but chilly and windy, conditions with an ambient temperature of 16 degrees and with the track surface at just 24 degrees. With sticky qualifying rubber fitted for the final ten minutes of flat out flying lap mayhem, Sylvain Guintoli (Yamaha) hoisted himself to seventh while Dani put a claim on the front row with a lap good enough for third. Rossi lay fifth. But with nine minutes of this hour-long session left to run, Rossi put in a 1m 29.816s time of this 4.448km coastal track to grab pole. It looked as if these qualifying laps from the front runners might hover around the high 1m 29s region as Stoner then replied to Rossi’s marker with a 1m 29.816s time with six minutes left on the clock. But Pedrosa was on a mission and Dani’s amazing talent yielded a 1m 29.201s lap to put pole way beyond the reach of his rivals. Rossi came closest when he dislodged Stoner from second on the grid with three minutes remaining. Capirossi too was back in the mix and the veteran Italian elevated himself to fourth before slipping down the order to fifth when Nicky posted a 1m 29.932s time to head the second row of the grid for tomorrow’s 27-lap encounter at this imposing venue. Shinya Nakano (Konica Minolta Honda RC212V) left his best lap until right at the end and within the final minute, the Japanese man took eighth place on the grid with a 1m 30.612s lap. But the Gresini pairing of Melandri and Toni Elias (Gresini Honda RC212V) couldn’t get on terms with the fast men here today. Melandri will start from 12th place while his Spanish team-mate is way down in 18th. Carlos Checa (LCR Honda RC212V), who retires from MotoGP at the end of the season, qualified 13th for a fifth row start. While Kurtis Roberts (Roberts KR212V) will launch his Honda-powered machine into the fray just behind Elias in 19th place. Dani’s lap rapid lap was 0.218 seconds better than Rossi’s effort and 0.615 seconds faster than Stoner’s. And after the disappointment of not finishing the last race at Motegi, the dominant Pedrosa will be determined to work this advantage in the race. Dani said: “My best ever lap time at this track so I’m happy. Considering how complicated the sessions have been prior to this afternoon, it’s a relief that this one went smoothly. We really needed some consistent dry track time and that’s what we got at last. I was able to improve my speed quite a lot from the first qualifying lap to the second one and I think I got just about the maximum from Michelin’s qualifying tyres, so I’m very pleased. For the race I really hope the weather stays stable. We were on pole position at the last race in Japan but the race-day weather didn’t help us, so I hope tomorrow it’s clear and we can concentrate simply on riding. My pace today on race tyres was quite consistent so hopefully we’re looking OK.” Nicky said: “That’s by far the best session we’ve had this weekend. Fourth on the grid is not a disaster and if I get a good start I should be OK, though I’d have liked to be on the front row of course. My second qualifying lap was feeling pretty good but the left side of the tyre went off a little bit through the last section and the back of the bike was moving a lot through those last couple of corners but I held on and was able to get on the second row. Hopefully the weather will stay clear and we can put on a good show tomorrow for these die-hard fans who’ve been braving the cold. I’m ready to put up a fight.” Nakano, in eighth, said: “I am happy with that! Once more it’s very close, but it’s also very good to be inside the top ten in qualifying again! With the cold conditions it is difficult to choose the tyres here, because if you go for a harder compound it is very difficult to get them warm. We’ve not decided on the race tyre yet we shall see what the weather has in store for us tomorrow but our suspension settings have improved a lot. Tomorrow I would prefer dry or wet conditions not in between, or us changing bikes, as that makes the race a gamble. I’m ready for both conditions and will hope for a good start.” Melandri in 12th spot said: “Things didn’t go as well in qualifying as they did in free practice. We struggled despite all our hard work and we couldn’t fix a vibration problem that’s preventing me from pushing as hard as I would like. We’ve got two solutions to try out in the warm-up tomorrow. The race will depend very much on the weather because it is always so uncertain here.” Checa, 13th on the grid, said: “Unfortunately we have not made a lot of progress from yesterday and the main problem is still a lack of front grip, I have little confidence in the fast corners. I have had some long, front-end slides and nearly crashed a couple times. We have some set-up ideas to try in the warm-up and hopefully this will improve things for the race. I like this track and know that in the right conditions I can be much faster, but it is not easy when you do not have a comfortable feeling with the bike.” Elias in 18th said: “It’s been a tough weekend. We have a major general problem with the set-up. We’ve worked really hard with the team to fix it but I’ve just not been able to get enough feeling to ride with the confidence you need on such a technical circuit. Phillip Island is really fast, probably the fastest circuit on the calendar, so it is imperative to have the right setting. Hopefully we can have a dry race tomorrow and I can get a good start and make up plenty of positions.” Kurtis Roberts, one place behind Elias, said: “I haven’t been here in ten years so I don’t know if it’s the lines I’m choosing, but getting the thing to hook up and move forward is not going well, that’s plain. The thing is moving around all over the place. The big slides look cool on TV, but looking cool and going fast are different things unfortunately, right now. Things are slowly moving forward, but it hasn’t been the easiest weekend to come to grips with the thing, with the changing weather. If it rains for the race, it’ll help us, but I just want it to be a safe weekend for everybody.” Jorge Lorenzo took control of 250cc qualifying setting a pole time that was a staggering 0.886 seconds quicker than the second fastest man Hector Barbera could achieve. Alvaro Bautista and Alex de Angelis (all Aprilia) complete the front row. Andrea Dovizioso (Scot Honda RS250RW) starts tomorrow’s race from the second row of the grid, 1.269 seconds off his title rival Lorenzo’s lap time of 1m 32.884s. Dovi will not relish being that far adrift of the pole time, but he will give his all to get on terms in the race. Julian Simon (Repsol Honda RS250RW) made the ninth fastest time and his team-mate Shuhei Aoyama (Repsol Honda RS250RW) got himself into the top ten and will line up alongside Simon for the 25-lap race. Dovi said: “I’m not happy about this race, we have a lot of setting problems that we are not able to solve completely. The gap from Lorenzo is too big but then we are very close with many other riders and only a good start tomorrow can make the difference. Today, even if we were not OK, we have improved by one second compared to yesterday, but it has not been enough. Anyway, we don’t lose hope and tomorrow we’ll give our best as always.” Simon said: “This morning I was second fastest in the free practice and felt very confident going into the qualifying session. The chassis and suspension settings were very good and the engine and gearbox ratios also. I went out in the qualifying session and hoped to improve but my number on machine had a fuel starvation problem and I had to switch to my second bike and could not improve my time. But still I am confident for the race. If I get a good start and get with the top group I will have a good day.” Aoyama said: “My feeling with the bike is not so bad, better than yesterday. My target for qualifying was 1m 33.8 or 38.9s but I didn’t make it. My best time was 33.3s and I’m in tenth place on the grid. The only little problem I have is at the slow corners the bike is sliding on the exit, a few times the back end stepped out. But in general the balance is good everywhere else. In the warm up we will change the front and rear suspension springs for something softer. The tyre choice will depend on the weather tomorrow.” 125cc qualifying was the domain of current ‘form’ rider Mattia Pasini, who knocked fellow Aprilia rider Rafaelle de Rosa off pole with a 1m 38.078s lap with four minutes to go. Derbi man Lukas Pesek qualified third fastest and KTM man Tommy Koyama completes the front row. Honda riders did not enjoy the best of times during this half-hour of feverish activity. Esteve Rabat (Repsol Honda RS125R) made eleventh on the grid, albeit 1.276 seconds shy of the pole time, while Mike di Meglio (Scot Honda RS125R) managed 12th, and Bradley Smith (Repsol Honda RS125R) 13th. Rabat said: “My qualifying session was not good, I am not so happy. In the second part of the session I waited too long to find a fast rider when I got with a fast group I couldn’t find a good rhythm. The engine is not too bad, just down a little on acceleration. But we have some work to do on the suspension because at the last long corners the rear end is sliding too much and I have to be faster there.” Di Meglio said: “This afternoon there was a lot of wind like yesterday, but there was more grip and this has improved the situation. We are good with the settings, today we have tested two different kind of tyres finding the right one for the race. If it’s dry we have to improve again, but we are quite OK if it rains. We have great possibilities to have a good race and finish well.” Smith said: “Qualifying was almost a complete disaster for me trying to find the best set up and machine balance. I started with the same set-up as this morning. It was better when we raised the rear-end to try and get the front to turn better into the wind I only weight 50 kg and it can be difficult.” Honda rider quotes GP Australia qualifying October 13th, 2007. MotoGP. Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 1st “Well I’m happy to get pole position again and it was a good lap for sure my best ever lap time at this track so I’m happy. Considering how complicated the sessions have been prior to this afternoon, it’s a relief, that this one went smoothly. We really needed some consistent dry track time and that’s what we got at last. I was able to improve my speed quite a lot from the first qualifying lap to the second one and I think I got just about, the maximum from Michelin’s qualifying tyres, so I’m very pleased. For the race I really hope the weather stays stable. We were on pole position at the last race in Japan but the race-day weather didn’t help us, so I hope tomorrow it’s clear and we can concentrate simply on riding. We’ll be looking at the conditions and temperature tomorrow to make the final choice of race tyre. My pace today on race tyres was quite consistent so hopefully we’re looking okay. The top three riders in the championship are on the front row so it’s set up to be a good battle. I’m looking forward to it.” Nicky Hayden, Repsol Honda: 4th “That’s by far the best session we’ve had this weekend. Fourth on the grid is not a disaster and if I get a good start I should be okay, though I’d have liked to be on the front row of course. My second qualifying lap was feeling pretty good but the left side of the tyre went off a little bit through the last section and the back of the bike was moving a lot through those last couple of corners but I held on and was able to get on the second row which is okay. It’s been a big challenge with so little dry track time this weekend for all the teams, tyre technicians, riders everybody. On race tyres we definitely looked pretty competitive this afternoon so I really hope tomorrow we can have a good result but I know hoping won’t do it on its own. We’ve got to get back into the garage, work on the machine and keep improving. Hopefully the weather will stay clear and we can put on a good show tomorrow for these die-hard fans who’ve been braving the cold. I’m ready to put up a fight.” Shinya Nakano, Konica Minolta Honda: 8th “I am happy with that! Once more it’s very close, but it’s also very good to be inside the top ten in qualifying again! With the cold conditions it is difficult to choose the tyres here, because if you go for a harder compound it is very difficult to get them warm. We’ve not decided on the race tyre yet we shall see what the weather has in store for us tomorrow but our suspension settings have improved a lot. With our qualifying tyres things improved each time and we could cut a lot from our Friday lap-time. We suffered a little with traffic with one of the qualifiers, but this is what happens. Tomorrow I would prefer dry or wet conditions not in between or us changing bikes, as that makes the race a gamble. I’m ready for both conditions and will hope for a good start.” Marco Melandri, Gresini Honda: 12th.”Things didn’t go as well in qualifying as they did in free practice. We struggled despite all our hard work and we couldn’t fix a vibration problem that is preventing me from pushing as hard as I would like. We’ve got two solutions to try out in the warm-up tomorrow. The race will depend very much on the weather because it is always so uncertain here.” Carlos Checa, LCR Honda: 13th “Unfortunately we have not made a lot of progress from yesterday and the main problem is still a lack of front grip, I have little confidence in the fast corners. I have had some long, front-end slides and nearly crashed a couple times. We have some set-up ideas to try in the warm-up and hopefully this will improve things for the race. I like this track and know that in the right conditions I can be much faster, but it is not easy when you do not have a comfortable feeling with the bike.” Toni Elias, Gresini Honda: 18th. “It’s been a tough weekend. We have a major general problem with the set-up. We’ve worked really hard with the team to fix it but I’ve just not been able to get enough feeling to ride with the confidence you need on such a technical circuit. Phillip Island is really fast, probably the fastest circuit on the calendar, so it is imperative to have the right setting. Hopefully we can have a dry race tomorrow and I can get a good start and make up plenty of positions.” Kurtis Roberts, KR212V: 19th. “I haven’t been here in ten years so I don’t know if it’s the lines I’m choosing, but getting the thing to hook up and move forward is not going well, that’s plain. The thing is moving around all over the place. The big slides look cool on TV, but looking cool and going fast are different things unfortunately, right now. Things are slowly moving forward, but it hasn’t been the easiest weekend to come to grips with the thing, with the changing weather. If it rains for the race, it’ll help us, but I just want it to be a safe weekend for everybody. It was almost like it was hailing here yesterday. I’ve said all year, it’s not a good thing to have to want it to rain. I have to work harder, and we all have to work to get the thing to go round the race-track better in normal conditions.” Chuck Aksland Team Manager Team Roberts. “We’re struggling for grip, definitely. Yesterday was an up-and-down day with the weather conditions same for everybody, but we struggled with the rain tyre, and with dry tyres we’re struggling for grip. Even the qualifier didn’t have grip for the full lap. We need to find where the problem is in that area, whether it is the tyre or the bike. When we do add grip with qualifiers, the bike starts behaving normally, for as long as the qualifiers hold out. We have to find an improvement somewhere, see what tomorrow brings, and I’m sure Kurtis will give us his best.” 250cc: Andrea Dovizioso, Scot Honda: 7th “I’m not happy about this weekends race, we have a lot of setting problems that we are not able to solve completely. The gap from Lorenzo is too big but then we are very close with many other riders and only a good start tomorrow can make the difference. Today, even if we were not ok, we have improved by one second compared to yesterday, but it has not been enough. Anyway, we don’t lose hope and tomorrow we’ll give our best as always.” Julian Simon, Repsol Honda: 9th “This morning I was second fastest in the free practice and felt very confident going into the qualifying session. The chassis and suspension settings were very good and the engine and gearbox ratios also. I went out in the qualifying session and hoped to improve but my number on machine had a fuel starvation problem and I had to switch to my second bike and could not improve my time. But still I am confident for the race. If I get a good start and get with the top group I will have a good day.” Shuhei Aoyama, Repsol Honda: 10th “My feeling with the bike is not so bad, better than yesterday. My target for qualifying was 1m 33.8 or 38.9s but I didn’t make it. My best time was 33.3s and I’m in tenth place on the grid. The only little problem I have is at the slow corners the bike is sliding on the exit, a few times the back end stepped out. But in general the balance is good everywhere else. In the warm up we will change the front and rear suspension springs for something softer. The tyre choice will depend on the weather tomorrow.” Yukio Takahashi, Scot Honda: 12th “Yesterday was not good, w went the wrong way on the set up and balance of the bike. We changed front and rear balance and made the suspension settings with softer springs on both. Now the bike feels so much smoother to ride. The settings will allow me to use the middle compound from Dunlop, not too hard or soft. The engine feels the same as yesterday just a little down on top speed and acceleration. I made a mistake in qualifying I was waiting and waiting for a fast rider to run with but had to try for a time alone at the end of the session. I was pushing hard and the front end turned in and I lost time.” Ratthapark Wilairot, Thai Honda PTT-SAG: 23rd “I’m not sure about what happened because I suddenly lost the front. I was on the same line as in the previous laps and riding at the same speed. The track must have been dirty there. My right hand is sore but the doctors told me it wasn’t injured. I just have to make sure it doesn’t get more painful so I can ride tomorrow.” Eugene Laverty, LCR Honda: 24th “Today was much better, the engine was running perfectly and I made a lot of progress, improving my times by seconds over practice this morning. It’s pity we lost time on Friday but that’s racing. if we can find a little more rear traction I know I can have a good race, I really like the circuit.” 125cc. Tito Rabat, Repsol Honda: 11th.”My qualifying session was not good, I am not so happy. In the second part of the session I waited too long to find a fast rider when I got with a fast group I couldn’t find a good rhythm. The engine is not to bad just down a little on acceleration. But we have some work to do on the suspension because at the last long corners the rear end is sliding too much and have to be faster there.” Mike Di Meglio, Scot Honda: 12th “We tried two different types of tyre and I have chosen to use the 125 because it has better endurance. W changed the suspension to raise the rear end a little but it makes the front end feel as if it wants to turn in on me. I almost lost the front end once But the bike is better this way. The engine is a little faster than yesterday and I can stay in the slipstream of the fastst bikes. If I get a fast start I can stay with the fast group if not then it will be hard work for me tomorrow.” Bradley Smith, Repsol Honda: 13th “Qualifying was almost a complete disaster for me trying to find the best set up and machine balance. I started with the same set up as this morning trying with the H tyres but that was wrong and changed to thee F. The bike was better but not rally what I needed. So we ran with the D. That was better when we raised the rear end to try and get the front end to turn better into the wind I only weight 50 kg and it can be difficult” The bike is better in the wet. If its dry we have to change the suspension and the gearbox ratios. But ere it can be wet one minute and dry the next. Alexis Masbou, FFM Honda: 21st “In the first free practice session yesterday on a slightly damp track, I wasn’t very confident. On the other hand I felt comfortable on the bike this morning in the pouring rain and 15th spot was rather encouraging. But for the last qualifying session this afternoon the track had dried up with a rather strong head wind. I did some good lap times at first hand and regularly improved to stand in 16th position halfway through the session. After that, while I thought I could benefit from slipstreaming with the riders ahead of me on the track, some of them got in my way and I was unable to improve my lap times. For the race tomorrow I need to have a good start to move up the leader board and catch a good group of riders.” Joey Litjens, Molenaar Honda: 23rd “Good, very good. We have worked too find a better balance for the conditions here and like Danny (Webb) have put more weight on the front end down in this high wind. In the wet I have a really good set up and we are close in the dry we just had to make some small suspension changes front and rear. On my fast lap Lombardi passed me into turn one and then braked hard, that cost me a little time. I need one of my lightning fast starts tomorrow. If I make one then I can have a good result here – its my favourite circuit.” Danny Webb, Molenaar Honda: 25th “That was good, actually it was quite good. On set up we have been trying to find a good balance with a little more weight on the front end. Its still a bit loose on the back but I can live with that. The engine is pretty good. I got in behind Nieto on my fast lap and could run with him in the fast corners but he was faster than me on acceleration on the exit to the slower corners. But I’m happy with the bike and qualifying.” More, from a press release issued by Repsol Media Service: SECOND CONSECUTIVE POLE FOR THE REPSOL HONDA TEAM RIDER DANI PEDROSA Nicky Hayden, fourth, will start from the second row of the grid The Repsol Honda Team rider Dani Pedrosa got his second consecutive pole of the season at the Australian track of Phillip Island, after a great fastest lap 4 minutes before the end of the timed MotoGP session. Strong winds and low temperatures were the main factors on the second day of practice. Fortunately the rain only fell in the morning during the 125cc free practice. In the afternoon the three grids were decided in the dry, with strong winds, making it difficult for the riders. Pedrosa set the third best time in the third free practice session, but in the afternnon was among the leaders for the first 45 minutes. Fifteen minutes before the end, the Repsol rider went out with a classification tyre and was third fastest behind the local rider Stoner, the leader in this session. After putting his second classification tyre on, Pedrosa went back on the track to do a perfect lap, he was 6 tenths faster than Stoner. Only Rossi was in a position to start attacking the leader at that moment, but in the end the Italian ended 2 tenths behind the Spaniard. So then, a very hard fought first row of the grid with Pedrosa first, Rossi second and Stoner third. The other Repsol Honda Team rider Nicky Hayden also launched his attack towards the end of the session trying to get on the first row too, but finally he was just one tenth away from his objective, finishing fourth in the timed session. Tomorrow he starts on the second row of the grid. In 250cc the Repsol rider Julián Simón set the second best time in the morning behind Jorge Lorenzo, and was hoping to repeat the feat in the second and definitive timed practice. But technical problems on his bike number 1 and difficulties at some points of the circuit, where he lost time against his rivals, put him back in 9th position, he will strat on the third row of the grid. His teammate Shuhei Aoyama finished 10th and starts on the third row alongside Simón. In 125cc Esteve Rabat had a fall this morning in the second free practice session. Rain made riding difficult for the riders in the morning, and Rabat was one of the riders who ended up on the ground. The Repsol rider lost control of his bike when his rear wheel slid and he was thrown off, but fortunately he was unhurt. In the morning Bradley Smith set the 6th best time in the wet, and Esteve Rabat the 20th. In the afternoon, with the track completely dry but with strong winds during the whole of the second timed session, Rabat quickly started to try and improve his times, something he did on his second lap. He moved up to 9th place and the Repsol rider stayed among the fifteen best during the session, he finished in 10th position and so tomorrow will start on the third row of the grid. His teammate Bradley Smith, with quite a few problems on his set up, was 13th and starts on the fourth row. Quotes MotoGP Nicky Hayden >> 1’29.932 secs, 52 laps, 231km. “That’s by far the best session we’ve had this weekend. Fourth on the grid is not a disaster and if I get a good start I should be okay, though I’d have liked to be on the front row of course. My second qualifying lap was feeling pretty good but the left side of the tyre went off a little bit through the last section and the back of the bike was moving a lot through those last couple of corners but I held on and was able to get on the second row which is okay. It’s been a big challenge with so little dry track time this weekend for all the teams, tyre technicians, riders everybody. On race tyres we definitely looked pretty competitive this afternoon so I really hope tomorrow we can have a good result but I know hoping won’t do it on its own. We’ve got to get back into the garage, work on the machine and keep improving. Hopefully the weather will stay clear and we can put on a good show tomorrow for these die-hard fans who’ve been braving the cold. I’m ready to put up a fight.” Dani Pedrosa >> 1’29.201 secs, 56 laps, 249km. “Well I’m happy to get pole position again and it was a good lap for sure my best ever lap time at this track so I’m happy. Considering how complicated the sessions have been prior to this afternoon, it’s a relief that this one went smoothly. We really needed some consistent dry track time and that’s what we got at last. I was able to improve my speed quite a lot from the first qualifying lap to the second one and I think I got just about the maximum from Michelin’s qualifying tyres, so I’m very pleased. For the race I really hope the weather stays stable. We were on pole position at the last race in Japan but the race-day weather didn’t help us, so I hope tomorrow it’s clear and we can concentrate simply on riding. We’ll be looking at the conditions and temperature tomorrow to make the final choice of race tyre. My pace today on race tyres was quite consistent so hopefully we’re looking okay. The top three riders in the championship are on the front row so it’s set up to be a good battle. I’m looking forward to it.” 250cc Julián Simón >> 1’34.299 secs, 53 laps, 236km. “Today the weather at Phillip Island, was quite bad, it was cold and windy. This morning we rode well, we had made a good plans for the practice and for the afternoon timed session too. After being second in the morning I was very motivated and hoping to get a really good place on the grid, but it was not to be, although I am convinced that tomorrow I will have a good race. I hope to get off to a good start and give it my best shot. We found a great set up, we just have to improve on the section T3 and the T1, but I have got a good pace and I am going to fight all the way to be at the front in the race.” Shuhei Aoyama >> 1’34.412 secs, 57 laps, 254km. “This morning was not so good and in the afternoon we made some changes to improve the handling on the curves. I tried to follow another rider and I also improved my times but I did not have enough time. Anyway, Lorenzo was the fastest and set the best time. At the beginning of the race I will have to concentrate a lot on how I ride. 125cc Bradley Smith >> 1’39.697 secs, 36 laps, 160km “I am not very pleased. I do not know what happened this morning because I was really comfortable in the wet and was one of the fastest on each of the sectors of the track. It was quite difficult though, the biggest problem was the feel on the front wheel, here we need a lot of confidence just there, especially on the fast curves. But we have to find a solution because we do not know whether it will rain or not tomorrow. If the track is wet we have a good set up and that is good for us, but if it does not rain it will be more diffícult. My time means that I start on the fourth row and we will have a lot of work to do at the start and on the first lap. I will give 100% in the race as I always do. Esteve Rabat >> 1’39.354 secs, 32 laps, 156km. “The truth is that it is not being a very good weekend, I did not get off to a good start because yesterday was a disaster and today was too. In the afternoon we were able to find a couple of solutions, but I do not want to fight to be 11th. I want to do things better. The team is doing everything it can and I want to do the same. The second part of the practice did not go well, because I was waiting for a lot of people and I should not have to wait, I wanted to ride alone. In the end I was alone and now the important thing is to finish the work and so get a good set up, because today in the wet we did not have a lot of time. I will have to try the bike out in the warm-up and try to have a good race, above all try to get a good start, because if I start well I can be up with the leading group.”