2007 FIM MotoGP World Championship Estoril, Portugal September 15, 2007 Final Qualifying Results: 1. Nicky HAYDEN (Honda), Michelin, 1:36.301 2. Casey STONER (Ducati), Bridgestone, 1:36.341 3. Valentino ROSSI (Yamaha), Michelin, 1:36.576 4. Makoto TAMADA (Yamaha), Dunlop, 1:36.736 5. Dani PEDROSA (Honda), Michelin, 1:36.829 6. Colin EDWARDS (Yamaha), Michelin, 1:36.904 7. Marco MELANDRI (Honda), Bridgestone, 1:37.157 8. Sylvain GUINTOLI (Yamaha), Dunlop, 1:37.189 9. Toni ELIAS (Honda), Bridgestone, 1:37.246 10. John HOPKINS (Suzuki), Bridgestone, 1:37.280 11. Carlos CHECA (Honda), Michelin, 1:37.296 12. Chris VERMEULEN (Suzuki), Bridgestone, 1:37.365 13. Shinya NAKANO (Honda), Michelin, 1:37.530, crash 14. Alex BARROS (Ducati), Bridgestone, 1:37.550 15. Loris CAPIROSSI (Ducati), Bridgestone, 1:37.733 16. Anthony WEST (Kawasaki), Bridgestone, 1:37.885 17. Alex HOFMANN (Ducati), Bridgestone, 1:37.959 18. Randy DE PUNIET (Kawasaki), Bridgestone, 1:38.271, crash 19. Kurtis ROBERTS (KR-Honda), Michelin, 1:39.017 More, from a press release issued by Bridgestone: Stoner claims front row in Estoril qualifying Round 14 Portugal – Qualifying Estoril Circuit Saturday 15 September 2007 Ducati Corse’s Casey Stoner will be the highest-placed Bridgestone-shod rider on the grid for tomorrow afternoon’s 28-lap Portuguese Grand Prix after a close run qualifying session in Estoril this afternoon which saw Honda’s Nicky Hayden snatch a last gasp pole position from the championship-leading Australian by just 0.040s. Honda Gresini duo Marco Melandri and Toni Elias both qualified inside the top ten in seventh and ninth positions respectively. Suzuki’s John Hopkins maintains his run of consecutive top ten grid slots with tenth place and he will be joined on the fourth row of the grid by team-mate Chris Vermeulen who took twelfth place. Lap times have again been close with Vermeulen only one second but eleven places adrift of pole man Hayden. Race pace for Bridgestone-shod riders has given cause for optimism after the difficulties from the 2006 event. Casey Stoner was able to complete fourteen laps in this morning’s free practice quicker than the best race lap from last year’s GP (1m37.914s) with a best time of 1m37.173s, a staggering 0.8 second improvement over the 2006 standard. Tyre Talk with Tohru Ubukata Bridgestone Motorsport Manager, Motorcycle Race Tyre Development What is Bridgestone’s assessment of this afternoon’s qualifying session? “It has been a very close weekend so far and this afternoon’s qualifying session perhaps indicated that the competitiveness of the different bike-rider-tyre packages is the most equal it has been all season. All three tyre manufacturers are represented in the top five on the grid and there are three different manufacturers on the front row. Casey has taken his eighth front row start of the year which will well place him for tomorrow’s race, which we expect to be an extremely tough battle.” And how is the race pace? “Our aim for this weekend was the show a significant improvement in our race pace and tyre durability at this track compared to previous seasons. The performance in practice does seem to suggest that we have closed the gap to our rivals, but there is still work to be done. A few riders have been able to lap in the key 1m37s bracket today and this is likely to be the pace required for the podium tomorrow afternoon. Some of our riders did medium runs this morning and were able to set consistent times, which are very encouraging for the race itself.” Riding Perspective Casey Stoner Ducati Corse 2nd position on the grid “We thought we had a chance for pole today and we were close to it. It seems that one of the most important factors will be tyre performance over the full race distance but we have worked well with Bridgestone again, putting race distance on different tyres this morning and this afternoon. We were still able to set good lap times with many laps on the tyre so this is very positive. We have a good set-up and we will make some refinements tomorrow morning.” Bridgestone Qualifying Practice Session Results Pos Rider Team Best Lap Time Gap P2 Casey Stoner Ducati 1m36.341s +0.040s P7 Marco Melandri Honda Gresini 1m37.157s +0.856s P9 Toni Elias Honda Gresini 1m37.246s +0.945s P10 John Hopkins Suzuki 1m37.280s +0.979s P12 Chris Vermeulen Suzuki 1m37.365s +1.064s P14 Alex Barros Pramac d’Antin 1m37.550s +1.249s P15 Loris Capirossi Ducati 1m37.733s +1.432s P16 Anthony West Kawasaki 1m37.885s +1.584s P17 Alex Hofmann Pramac d’Antin 1m37.959s +1.658s P18 Randy de Puniet Kawasaki 1m38.271s +1.970s Weather: Dry track – Air 27° C, Track 36°C, Humidity 41% (taken from official MotoGP timesheet) More, from a press release issued by Konica Minolta Honda: KONICA MINOLTA Honda continues positive progress in Portugal Shinya Nakano and his KONICA MINOLTA Honda Team enjoyed another positive day today at the 2.6mile Estoril circuit in Portugal. Despite a crash on his number one bike with 47 minutes to go in the qualifying session, the 29-year-old Japanese rider’s improved feedback and feeling from his ‘Number 2′ 800cc RC212V machine with Michelin tyres meant that he could still shave more than a second from yesterday’s best lap time. The former 250cc World Championship runner-up managed to stay in the top ten for most of the hour session, despite the second bike not being as well set-up for Estoril’s tight twists and turns. However, the improvements found in the overall KONICA MINOLTA Honda technical package means that both Team and rider are confident for an improved result in tomorrow’s 28-lap race. Gianluca Montiron Team Manager KONICA MINOLTA Honda “Shinya crashed today but we could see that when he did he was pushing hard and well into the top five early in the session. It was a shame that he crashed, but even with the second bike I think we could see that Shinya was getting into a good rhythm. We lost out a little in the last few minutes as we were in the top 10 but Shinya found it difficult to improve on the qualifying tyres and a few riders managed to make the jump ahead of us and we were pushed down. Despite this we can see that our situation on race tyres is better than it’s been before and with a good start I think Shinya will have the consistency to stay with the second group of riders. Shinya Nakano Rider, KONICA MINOLTA Honda (49 laps 1’ 37.530″) “I crashed at start of session and lost my ‘fast bike’ or my Number 1 machine. Despite this I have to say it was a good session. Even with the second machine things were step-by-step feeling better and better. I thought I could make a very special qualifying position with the Number 1 bike, but thanks to the crash I simply had to do what I could. Things are still positive, as although I had a slightly different feeling with my second bike, the Michelin tyres were a big improvement and helped me stay in the top 10 for most of the session. Tomorrow is the important thing the race but we’ve decided on the race tyre and I’m happy with the Number 1 race bike. The start will be important once more as it’s very difficult to overtake in Estoril.” Giulio Bernardelle Technical Director, KONICA MINOLTA Honda “Despite the crash, today has been very positive for us. Shinya crashed at the right-hander before the first hairpin. It was a ‘normal’ crash where he lost the front-end of the bike and he is uninjured. This meant Shinya had to use the second machine. We were a little unlucky, as with the Number 1 bike perhaps we could have got more time with a qualifying tyre, as despite identical set-up, you never get as good a feeling as with the ‘Number 1′ machine. Overall though, for us these two days of practice have shown we are in a better situation than so far this season and we’ve improved a lot with race tyres. With a good start we are hoping that Shinya can stay with the second group and get a good result.” More, from a press release issued by Fiat Yamaha: ROSSI PROMISES PORTUGUESE BATTLE WITH FRONT ROW START Valentino Rossi sealed a second consecutive front-row start in Estoril today, finishing this afternoon’s sunny qualifying session in third ahead of tomorrow’s Portuguese Grand Prix. His team-mate Colin Edwards also put himself into a promising position for the 28-lap race with a competitive lap that saw him take sixth on the grid. After a good first day’s work yesterday, Rossi was fast again in this morning’s final free practice session and finished second behind Casey Stoner, but Edwards continued to struggle and was down in 13th. Rossi put in more good work throughout the first half hour of this afternoon’s session and was never out of the top three, showing a good race pace which was well in touch with his rivals. Edwards meanwhile was making little progress before a small change to his set-up in the second half gave him the tools he needed to improve his pace. As the session moved into its crunch period, both riders tried a new qualifying tyre from Michelin but it did not work as planned and they were left with a sole soft tyre each with which to make their qualifying bids. Rossi’s lap put him on pole briefly but both Casey Stoner and Nicky Hayden then went faster than him, with Hayden’s eventual pole lap a tenth of a second off Rossi’s 2006 time. Edwards also put in a strong flying lap which was good enough for fifth, before a last ditch effort from Yamaha Tech 3 rider Makoto Tamada pushed the American one place down the order. Valentino Rossi Position: 3rd Time: 1’36.576 Laps: 28 “We’ve been fast for all the practice sessions so far here and we have found a good rhythm so things are looking quite positive. It’s good to be on the front row, of course pole is always the target but the most important thing is to be on the front row in order to give ourselves the best chance. I tried a new kind of qualifying tyre today but it didn’t work so I only had one lap, but luckily I was able to do a good time, even if I might have improved with one more tyre. The new Michelin race tyres are working well here and the other Michelin riders are fast too so we can hopefully all be close to Stoner tomorrow. I hope that we can fight with him, make some good passes and have some fun, especially in the first part of the race. I’m happy with the work we’ve done and with the setting we’ve found; our Yamaha is working well in the tight corners on this track and we’re excited about a good race tomorrow.” Colin Edwards Position: 6th Time: 1’36.904 Laps: 25 “We made some changes to the swing arm, back to what we know works and that helped me a lot in the later stages of this afternoon. It’s only a millimetre or so different to Valentino but to me it makes all the difference. The session went okay and I was feeling quite positive about the qualifying laps but then we tried a new tyre for the first one and it didn’t work at all, so I was way down the order! After that it was now or never with the second one, which is not ideal because usually you like to have one flying lap to get your confidence and then one to really nail it! Anyway I made one mistake in the small chicane but it didn’t hurt me too much and I can’t be too upset with the second row after the way we’ve been going for most of the weekend. It’s going to be a tough race and I’m just going to have to get my head down tomorrow and take no prisoners.” Davide Brivio Fiat Yamaha Team Director “So far so good this weekend and with Valentino we have a good pace and we’re close to our rivals. The first row was our target today and now we just hope to be in the fight until the end tomorrow and to enjoy the race. Colin did a very good qualifying lap and he has a good starting position also tomorrow. Last year he did a great race in the top group and now we just have to finalise a few things overnight to make sure we can give him the package to enable him to do the same again tomorrow. ” More, from a press release issued by Team Roberts: QUALIFYING TYRE SLIP COSTS KURTIS DEAR Estoril, Portugal – September 15, 2007: Kurtis Roberts will have a hard job tomorrow in his first race at the slow and challenging Estoril circuit. A slip-up on his qualifying tyre meant he was unable to improve his time when it mattered, and the 28-year-old second son of a legend will start the race from 19th position, at the back of the grid. It represents a big change in fortune for the independent team. At last year’s Portuguese GP, Kurtis’s elder brother Kenny Roberts finished a close third after battling to the finish for the lead, setting the lap record as he did so. That was on the 990cc Honda-powered KR211V, with the chassis built in England at the team’s state-of-the-art facility. This year the engine size has dropped to 800cc and riders Kenny and Kurtis have been left complaining of a shortage of acceleration and speed. The Honda factory machines and some of the satellite-teams have had engine upgrades, but Team Roberts still has the same motor as at the start of the year. A freak accident after the last race has also cast a shadow over this weekend. Kurtis cut his left foot on Sunday night at Misano, severing the artery and requiring stitches. That meant he was unable to take part in tests at the Italian track the next day, where the team had expected to work with Michelin on improving tyre performance. The Portuguese GP is the last round of the European season. Next weekend the team will join the MotoGP circus in Japan before moving on to Australia and Malaysia. The final round is at Valencia. KURTIS ROBERTS – 19th Position, 1:39.017 It’s my first time here, and it’s a pretty strange track to learn, with the bumps and slow corners. But I’ve been chipping away at it session by session. I should have qualified better, but I made a mistake on my fast lap, and then tried to get another lap out of the qualifying tyre but it didn’t make it. My other problem is my left foot. I cut it at Misano the night after the race. I was wearing flip-flops and I caught it on something sharp. I’ve never seen so much blood – I cut the artery, and needed ten stitches. It’s a bit painful still, but it’s not hampering me too much. KENNY ROBERTS – TEAM PRINCIPAL The chassis performance keeps on improving and Kurtis keeps getting better with more experience. Even though it’s his first time here, when we overlay his data on Kenny Junior’s from last year, he’s at the same corner speed or faster, as the 800 should be compared with the 990. Last year that was enough for the lap record and to fight to win the race.The problem is the same as all season: we’re doing what we can with what we’ve got, but we need more acceleration and speed from the motor. More, from a press release issued by Rizla Suzuki: Tough qualifying for Rizla Suzuki MotoGP at Estoril Rizla Suzuki MotoGP will start tomorrow’s Portuguese Grand Prix from either end of the fourth row of the grid following a difficult qualifying session at Estoril today. Hopkins (P10, 1’37.280, 27 laps) will start from the front of the fourth row after a mistake on his final qualifying tyre cost him valuable tenths of a second that could have seen him much higher up the grid. Suzuki’s Anglo-American star topped the time-sheets early on in the session when all riders were using race tyres and is confident that he can perform at a high pace during tomorrow’s 28-lap race. Vermeulen (P12, 1’37.365, 24 laps) struggled to overcome some vibration issues on his GSV-R during the day, but is convinced his crew have the necessary information from today’s testing to overcome the situation in readiness for tomorrow afternoon. Today’s qualifying was held in warm and sunny conditions with track temperatures reaching 49°C. Reigning World Champion Nicky Hayden will start from pole position on his factory Honda, when the lights change to go for the start of round 14 of the MotoGP World Championship at 15.00hrs local time (14.00hrs GMT) tomorrow. John Hopkins: “The practice today went alright as far as getting a race set-up. We’ve done the best times we’ve done all weekend and the bike is feeling really good. We made a couple of changes and I altered my lines around here and everything seemed to come together on the race tyres. I still need to improve through section four on the track. It’s nothing to do with the set-up of the bike it is totally down to me to make some line changes and get an extra three or four tenths through there. I’ll be thinking about that overnight and try and figure out what’s going on and how to improve it. If tomorrow is a dry race we are really confident that we have a good tyre for the 28 laps so it will be down to me getting a good start and making my way up to the front group. As far as qualifying this afternoon it just didn’t happen today. On my last tyre I just ran a bit too hard on my out lap and messed up the edge grip, but that’s just the way it goes. I’ll be looking to make up as many positions as I can from the start and I can assure you I’ll be running a good pace tomorrow!” Chris Vermeulen: “Being on the fourth row is certainly not the position we wanted to be in. It’s going to be tough tomorrow, but I’ll be up for it. We are having a few handling issues this weekend and we’re suffering from a bit of chatter. There were some parts of the track where I didn’t know if the bike would vibrate or just hold its line and it made things a bit difficult. We haven’t had anything like this all year, but Tom and the guys know what they are doing and I’m sure with all today’s data we will be able to fix it before tomorrow. It’s going to be hard work for both John and I starting back there. We’ll have to be a bit aggressive over the first few laps and try and make our way through.” Paul Denning Team Manager: “Having two bikes on the fourth row is not the result we were looking for today, but I don’t believe it tells the true story of either the bike’s or the riders’ potential. It’s never easy starting from further down the grid to achieve a top result. Both the guys have shown all season that they have got superb fitness and a very aggressive race strategy so I am sure you will see both of them forcing their way towards the front group as quickly as possible. “We basically didn’t take the step forward this afternoon that our competitors did on qualifying tyres, but 28 laps will be a long way around the Estoril track tomorrow and we are optimistic that Rizla Suzuki’s qualifying positions will be drastically improved on in the race tomorrow.” More, from a press release issued by Marlboro Ducati: DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM RIDER STONER JUST 0.040 SECONDS OFF POLE AT ESTORIL, CAPIROSSI 15TH Ducati Marlboro Team rider Casey Stoner will start tomorrow’s Portuguese Grand Prix from the front row of the grid after qualifying a close second fastest this afternoon. Team-mate Loris Capirossi had a more difficult day and will start the 14th round of the 2007 MotoGP series from the fifth row. Stoner was in superb form, running an impressive pace on both race tyres and qualifiers. The World Championship leader was astonishing to watch as he danced over Estoril’s bumps with his Desmosedici GP7 to end qualifying just 0.040 seconds off pole position. This is the Australian’s sixth consecutive front-row performance, following four successive poles. Capirossi meanwhile has struggled to get the best out of his GP7 and could only manage 15th fastest this afternoon. CASEY STONER, 2nd fastest, 1m 36.341s “We are very happy with the way things have gone today and over the weekend in general, so we’re very confident. The team has done a great job, we found a very good setting immediately and we have a very good feeling with the bike, so I think everything is looking good for the race. During today’s two sessions we put race distance on two race tyres and we were still running some pretty good lap times and feeling quite comfortable on old tyres, so it’s been a very positive day in that way. This track is pretty hard work for the tyres, so tyre degradation is going to be a very important factor at the end of the race. I’m quite happy with the set-up we’ve got, we just need to refine it a bit tomorrow morning to improve the traction to understand how the tyre will be at the end of the race, then we’ll see what happens. We thought we had a chance at pole this afternoon and we were close – things seem to be going quite well for us this year.” LORIS CAPIROSSI, 15th fastest, 1m 37.733s “This is like a bad dream, I would really like things to be totally different. We are trying a lot of changes to the bike set-up but without finding a solution to our problems. We’ve struggled a lot this weekend because I cannot ride the bike the way I want to ride it – I have problems with the set-up in general and with the power delivery in particular. I don’t think we can expect a miracle tomorrow but we need to stay focused and try to get a good start. I’ll fight as always, but I’m obviously not happy with the situation.” More, from a press release issued by Dorna Communications: Whilst all talk in the run-up to the bwin.com Grande Premio de Portugal focused on current World Championship leader Casey Stoner, it was the reigning MotoGP World Champion who showed his quality as Nicky Hayden took pole for tomorrow’s race. Coming back from the disappointment of several unfortunate first lap incidents, the American put himself in the best position to avoid other riders’ manoeuvres with a last gasp hot lap. A 1’36.301 dash in the final minute of the session placed ‘The Kentucky Kid’ at the head of the field for his first race in Estoril since the infamous collision with Dani Pedrosa in 2006. Hayden was last on pole at Phillip Island in his title-winning year. The final 15 minutes of the hour long qualifying session were as exciting as they come, with the reigning World Champion, the current top dog and the five time title holder all staking their claim for pole position. Casey Stoner put on his game face with 12 minutes left on the clock, but had to answer back immediately when Valentino Rossi undertook his fastest lap of the day. What had looked like a straight battle between the two title contenders was eventually gatecrashed by Hayden, who denied Stoner his fifth consecutive pole position. The second row in Estoril will be headed by something of a surprise package, as Makoto Tamada put in an astonishing display as one of only two non-Michelin riders in the top six. Dunlop Yamaha Tech 3’s Japanese rider had benefited from his having tested a qualifier yesterday afternoon, and took his best qualifying performance of the season at a track where both he and his current team took their best results last year. After leading the session before the qualifiers came on, Dani Pedrosa eventually had to settle for fifth on the grid, alongside Yamaha man Colin Edwards. Marco Melandri, Sylvain Guintoli and last year’s winner Toni Elias start from the third row, with John Hopkins completing the top ten. There were light crashes in the session for both Shinya Nakano and Randy de Puniet, from which both were able to return to the action immediately. 250cc At the circuit where he upped the pressure on Jorge Lorenzo with victory last season, Andrea Dovizioso took pole position from the grasp of his consistent 250cc rival by just over a tenth of a second. The Italian, so desperately disappointed at his home race in Misano when his bike broke down, was a focused man coming out for the second quarter litre qualifying session. A 1’40.355 lap gave him the new pole record at the Estoril circuit, and was over a second quicker than Roberto Locatelli’s previous fastest time from 2006. The man who took the biggest chunk out of the pole record yesterday was reigning World Champion and current leader in the standings Jorge Lorenzo, the only rider in the top 18 unable improve on his times today. The Spaniard was half a second slower this afternoon, but his fine ride yesterday assured another front row for the Aprilia man. The session was incident-filled, as tempers heated up to accompany the Portuguese weather. Dovizioso gesticulated at 250cc rookie Karel Abraham when he adjudged the Czech rider to have come too close to him, whilst Lorenzo lashed out with a kick at Marco Simoncelli when trying to put in a fast lap. The 250cc World Champion also gave an important psychological boost to Dovizioso when undertaking his final hot lap, nearly losing the back of his bike right in front of the Italian. Mika Kallio completes the front row as the highest placing KTM, ahead of Hiroshi Aoayma, Alvaro Bautista, Julian Simon and title contender Alex de Angelis. 125cc Mattia Pasini will start from pole in 125cc for the seventh time this season, having snatched the top spot from Lukas Pesek in the final stages of this afternoon’s qualifying session. The Italian has a perfect record so far this weekend in the lower cylinder category, following up on his home victory at Misano by topping the timesheets at every single session. Pasini’s 1’44.675 hot lap came in the final minute of the qualifying session. Before this, Lukas Pesek had looked on course for his second consecutive pole position, having put in a lap just 0.258 slower than his Italian rival’s eventual top spot time. Pesek also suffered a lowside crash in the last five minutes of the session, although he was uninjured in the light fall. One of the protagonists of the thrilling last lap collision at Misano, Simone Corsi once again had hearts racing when he cut across a group of riders before the termination of the session. The Italian was third quickest in the afternoon to assure his place on the front row, which is completed by World Championship leader Gabor Talmacsi. Sandro Cortese heads row two, ahead of the Spanish trio of Sergio Gadea, Pol Espargaro and Hector Faubel. More, from a press release issued by Gresini Racing Honda: MELANDRI AND ELIAS READY TO BATTLE After a great day’s work between the Team Honda Gresini engineers and riders, Marco Melandri and Toni Elias were able to recover grid positions and a competitive edge today as they sealed third-row starts for tomorrow’s Grand Prix of Portugal. Marco Melandri worked hard on the geometry of his bike and found a good solution that allowed him to make a positive step forward. His team-mate Toni Elias also made improvements today as he continues his recovery from a broken femur. The Spaniard improved his race pace and is confident that a good start tomorrow will allow him to fight for a top result at the circuit where he took his maiden MotoGP win last season. MARCO MELANDRI (7th, 1’37″157): “The team have worked really well. We’ve tried a few different solutions on the bike, working on the weight distribution and in the afternoon we made a good step forward. We still have a couple of small issues with engine braking but in general the bike has improved a lot and my race pace is good. In high temperatures the tyres are working really well but unforunately the qualifier was a little too soft and I wasn’t able to make the most of it. We’ll continue to work towards the race but I’m happy to be on the third row and to be the second Bridgestone rider.” TONI ELIAS (9th, 1’38″843): “Physically I feel like yesterday but we’ve been able to work on the bike and improve the traction problems. In the afternoon we were able to make the most of that and my feeling with the bike is better even though there are some areas we need to work on. Compared to Brno and Misano my grid position is much better. Obviously we are in a very different position to last year but I like this track a lot and I’m confident of getting a good start tomorrow, giving it my best shot and having a nice race on a circuit where I scored my first victory one year ago.” More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki Racing Team: TOUGH BATTLE AHEAD FOR WEST AND DE PUNIET Anthony West and Randy de Puniet were left disappointed with their final grid positions for tomorrow’s Portuguese Grand Prix, after both Kawasaki riders struggled to find their form during this afternoon’s qualifying session at Estoril. The chatter problems that had plagued West throughout free practice yesterday were all but eliminated with a change of set-up on his Ninja ZX-RR ahead of this morning’s hour-long practice period. But with only two hours remaining in which to refine the rest of the set-up, the 26-year-old Australian knew he was facing a tough task. West was then forced to switch to his number two machine early on in this afternoon’s qualifying session, after a minor mechanical problem sidelined his preferred bike. Despite this setback, the Kawasaki pilot attacked as hard as he dared on his qualifying tyres, eventually qualifying 16th fastest and securing a sixth row start for tomorrow’s 28-lap race. West’s team leader, de Puniet, also suffered problems during qualifying today. After finding a good set-up on his Ninja ZX-RR during free practice yesterday, the 26-year-old Frenchman looked all set to secure a top ten start during qualifying this afternoon, until a crash with just five minutes of the session remaining brought his second flying lap to a premature conclusion. Racing back to the pit box and jumping on his number two bike, de Puniet headed out on his final qualifying tyre, but was unable to improve on his previous best lap time after struggling to regain his rhythm. As a result, the Frenchman will start tomorrow’s race from 18th position, and the sixth row of the grid. Having arrived in Estoril with high expectations, West and de Puniet were both disappointed with today’s performance. However, both riders are confident that the outright speed shown by Kawasaki’s Ninja ZX-RR during the two days of practice so far will allow then to fight their way through the field with minimum risk, by using this speed advantage to overtake on Estoril’s 900 metre long main straight. Anthony West #13 – 16th – Best Lap 1’37.885 “It’s been tricky today to do consistent lap times but I’m pretty pleased with the speed of the bike, it’s really fast on the straights and I think if I’m battling with someone in the race I should be able to pass them just on the power. The bike’s been getting better all weekend and much of the chatter I encountered yesterday has gone: it’s smoother and easier to ride so I’m getting faster with each outing, but we just ran out of time today. Normally the bike is really easy to flick through the turns, but for some reason it feels a bit twitchy at this track during fast changes of direction, but I’m sure we can deal with that. Tomorrow, I’m just going to try and do my best and be as consistent as possible in the race.” Randy De Puniet #14 – 18th – Best Lap 1’38.271 “We’ve done some good lap times today on race tyres while evaluating lots of different settings as well as some alternative tyre compounds. Unfortunately, with the first set of qualifiers there were a couple of riders on the racing line and I got held up. With the second set, I crashed when I lost the front at turn four: a very tight left-hander. After that, I restarted with my spare bike but the feeling wasn’t so good so I didn’t improve my lap time. I’m not happy about my qualifying position but all the experimenting we’ve done has been very helpful and we can work with the information we’ve collected to ensure we can make up time tomorrow.” Naoya Kaneko Kawasaki Technical Manager “The positions we have on the grid are not what we were expecting ahead of this weekend, but we’ve had some issues with the circuit, which is one of the most technical on the calendar. We’ve really managed to improve over the last couple of days but have, unfortunately, run out of track time to find that last few, all-important, per cent. However, if you look at the lap times on race tyres overall, we’re not so far off, and although it’s going to be difficult for Anthony and Randy to make up ground from where they are on the grid, and it’s not an easy track on which to pass, they’re both racers and I’m confident they’ll finish higher than they’ve qualified in the race tomorrow.” More, from a press release issued by Repsol: NICKY HAYDEN, FASTEST AT ESTORIL AFTER A VIBRANT TIMED SESSION Dani Pedrosa completes the good work in Portugal by the Repsol Honda Team with fifth place in the timed practice sessions Under a sunny and clear sky, the Estoril Circuit was witness today to one of the most vibrant timed sessions of the 2007 season. In the morning, the Repsol Honda Team riders hade made their way to the leading positions in the classification Nicky Hayden 4th and Dani Pedrosa 6th -, with the general classificationleader, Australian Casey Stoner, in the lead of the third practice session. In the afternoon, the two Repsol riders got off to a different start, with Pedrosa among the first five riders and Hayden a bit behind, around ninth place. Fifteen minutes away from the end, the MotoGP riders began to attack in search of a pole position. The changes have been constant at the head of the classification; a few minutes away from the end Stoner overtook Rossi, who was first, registering an amazing time which seemed fit to put an end to the session. Pedrosa, who did not make the most of his tyres but kept up an excellent pace, stayed in thhird position and looked as if here were a sure candidate for the front row on the grid. But noone had taken Repsol Honda Team rider Nicky Hayden into account. The current World Champion completed an extraordinary lap in which he overtook Stoner, in first place, securing his first pole position this 2007 season. His teammate Pedrosa finally came in 5th after being overtaken by Japanese Tamada in the last minute. So, the best time for Nicky Hayden and second row on the starting grid for Pedrosa. As for the 250cc race tomorrow, Repsol riders Julián Simón and Shuheu Aoyama will start from the second and third row, respectively. The rider from Toledo finished today in 7th position, improving yesterday’s time by half a second, though the feelings and the setup on the Portugese track allow him to hope for improving his results with respect to previous races. Shuhei Aoyama registered an overall 12th best time; due to problems with his tyres he was unable to implement the desired adjustments. In the smallest of the three categories, a poor result for the two Repsol riders. In spite of a slight improvement this morning, in which Esteve Rabat was 12th and teammate Bradley Smith 13th, in the afternoon, during the second and definitive timed session, nothing went as the young Repsol Honda Team 125cc riders expected. Both were unable to cut down their times in the morning by any more than a couple of tenths of a second, smith finishing 15th fourth row on the starting grid and Rabat 17th fifth row -. Quotes MotoGP Nicky Hayden >> 1’36.301 secs, 57 laps, 238 Km. “Obviously this year’s been tough so it’s really nice to be on pole position again and just have something to be happy about. The Michelin qualifying tyres worked really well this afternoon I’ve never had so much grip and it’s a big thanks to all the boys in my team because they’ve worked really hard all weekend. We’ve improved by half a second in each session and as much as I’d like to say it was all down to me, really the team has made some good adjustments to the machine. The harder this year’s got the harder they’ve worked for me so I’m really happy to give them something to smile about. We’ve still got to improve a lot on race tyres but we’re in a good position. The qualifying laps were pretty good and I improved by half a second from the first to the second which is what you’ve got to do if you want to get up front so I’m happy with how today has gone. Let’s hope we can keep it rolling tomorrow.” Dani Pedrosa >> 1’36.829 secs, 58 laps, 242 Km. “As a practice session this afternoon went pretty well and we were able to find quite a good set up and maintain a fast pace on race tyres. The lap times were reasonably consistent and the endurance of the tyres looks okay at this stage too. Unfortunately on qualifiers I was not so strong today and I had some vibration as I went for my quick laps so I’m not totally happy with the qualifying part of the session. To start fifth is by no means a disaster but I was hoping for more. However, with a good start tomorrow we have a chance to fight at the front. It’s 28 laps and there are other riders with good pace too so I will be taking nothing for granted. It should be very interesting tomorrow and I hope to have a good race for myself and the team.” 250cc Julián Simón >> 1’41.093 secs, 49 laps, 204 Km. “It obviously isn’t the position I was hoping for, but I think that we worked very well so I have to thank the team. They are helping me to understand my motorcycle better and trying to change things I don’t quite seem to be improving on. Nevertheless, I’m happy mainly with the times we have achieved, as I think it’s fast and in this category everyone is rolling very fast, especially on this track. As for tomorrow my aim is to get to a good start, which is why I’m trying out a new clutch, because in previous races I’ve had problems when starting. Then I’ll try to reach the front, stay with the leading group and keep up the struggle there,” Shuhei Aoyama >> 1’41.531 secs, 44 laps, 184 Km. “My time today was very slow, because I couldn’t use all the tyres I would have liked to and that prevented me from doing any better. Actually, the composition of tyre which suited me best was quite scarce and I had to use them sparingly over the training sessions. Tomorrow I’ll have to make a big effort during the first few laps in order to get as far ahead as I can.” 125cc Bradley Smith >> 1’46.048 secs, 36 laps, 150 Km. “You need a fast motorcycle for this track and we know that with us it’s not the case, so we’re constantly trying to catch up with the rest in other parts of the circuit. We had a few problems with the chassis, so in the end it was hard to keep up with the rest, both on straights and in curves. It’s tough, but bit by bit we’re getting closer, and after four training sessions and tomorrow’s warm-up, where we hope to improve a little, we’ll try to climb places. As for the race, all that is left now is to give it 100% during the first few laps, because if we don’t, I will be left far behind. I’ll do my best, I hope my team can fix things to get more speed, and all that’s left is to take care.” Esteve Rabat >> 1’46.164 secs, 37 laps, 154 Km “The truth is that this morning things didn’t go all that bad, though I found it hard to get a good time, and we still don’t know why. I finished 12th and the track wasn’t in very good shape, but the feelings were good concerning the afternoon timed session. But in the afternoon we had some problems with the motorbike and with myself also. In the end I’ll start 17th, because in the last moment I managed to climb a few places and have been lucky. I hope tomorrow works out better.” More, from a press release issued by Honda: HAYDEN’S PERSEVERANCE PAYS OFF WITH POLE Honda man and reigning World Champion Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC212V) scored his first pole of a title defence season that has gathered increasing momentum over the last few races. Casey Stoner (Ducati) qualified second fastest with Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) completing the front row. Under sunny skies with an ambient temperature of 27-degrees and the track at 36-degrees, the hour of timed qualifying was underway with Rossi setting an early marker for pole at 1m 37.911s. But these were merely exploratory laps on a surface notorious for inconsistent levels of grip. Rossi, Hayden and Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC212V) were the early pace-setters and Rossi further established his claim for pole with a lap of 1m 37.738s just before the halfway point of the session. At the half-hour mark the provisional front row comprised Rossi, John Hopkins (Suzuki) and Dani Pedrosa. But with 26 minutes left to run, Dani upped the pace to go pole. Hayden ran off track in his bid to get among the front men, and surprise packet Sylvain Guintoli (Yamaha) sped to fourth. His team-mate Makoto Tamada (Yamaha) also showed a useful turn of speed laying claim to second on the grid as Dani Pedrosa reeled off a 1m 37.552s lap to grab pole. Stoner was lurking in catching distance of the top times as Dani maintained his grip on pole with 20 minutes left to run. By this stage the majority of riders had completed race distance runs on potential rubber options for tomorrow’s race and extra-sticky qualifying rubber was readied for the onset for ‘all-or-nothing’ flying laps as riders gave everything to take the top slot. Toni Elias (Gresini Honda RC212V) showed his mettle when he grabbed second with just under 15 minutes remaining. Then Stoner made his speed count with a 1m 36.594s lap to take pole. Rossi lay second at this stage and the former World Champion was on the pace as the clock ticked. As the session entered the final five minutes, the order was Stoner, Hayden and Rossi on the provisional front row with Pedrosa, Elias and Shinya Nakano (Konica Minolta Honda RC212V) making up the second row. But the irrepressible Carlos Checa (LCR Honda RC212V) was determined to figure at the sharp-end of the grid and the venerable Spaniard shot onto the front row with six minutes remaining. Kawasaki man Randy de Puniet crashed trying to lever himself further up the grid as Rossi put in a 1m 36.576s lap to claim pole with four minutes left. Then with one minute remaining Stoner reeled off a 1m 36.341s lap to put his hands on pole. The top slot looked to cut and dried for the Aussie, but few reckoned on Hayden. The American grabbed a well-deserved pole with a lap time of 1m 36.301s and with it firmly re-established himself as one of the front runners in MotoGP after what can only be described as a nightmarish title defence season. Nicky said: “Obviously this year’s been tough so it’s really nice to be on pole position again and just have something to be happy about. The Michelin qualifying tyres worked really well this afternoon I’ve never had so much grip and it’s a big thanks to all the boys in my team because they’ve worked really hard all weekend. We’ve improved by half a second in each session and as much as I’d like to say it was all down to me, really the team has made some good adjustments to the machine.” His team-mate Dani Pedrosa, who qualified fifth fastest said: “As a practice session this afternoon went pretty well and we were able to find quite a good set-up and maintain a fast pace on race tyres. The lap times were reasonably consistent and the endurance of the tyres looks OK at this stage too. Unfortunately on qualifiers I was not so strong today and I had some vibration as I went for my quick laps so I’m not totally happy with the qualifying part of the session. To start fifth is by no means a disaster, but I was hoping for more.” Marco Melandri (Gresini Honda RC212V) qualified seventh and said: “The team have worked really well. We’ve tried a few different solutions on the bike, working on the weight distribution and in the afternoon we made a good step forward. We still have a couple of small issues with engine braking but in general the bike has improved a lot and my race pace is good. In high temperatures the tyres are working really well but unfortunately the qualifier was a little too soft and I wasn’t able to make the most of it. We’ll continue to work towards the race but I’m happy to be on the third row and to be the second Bridgestone rider.” His team-mate Toni Elias managed ninth for a third row start and said: “Physically I feel like yesterday but we’ve been able to work on the bike and improve the traction problems. In the afternoon we were able to make the most of that and my feeling with the bike is better even though there are some areas we need to work on. Compared to Brno and Misano my grid position is much better. Obviously we are in a very different position to last year but I like this track a lot and I’m confident of getting a good start tomorrow, giving it my best shot and having a nice race on a circuit where I scored my first MotoGP victory one year ago.” Checa secured 11th and said: “Qualifying is always a gamble and that’s the way it was today. I was aiming to improve my time my final run and start up front. But I came across a lot of traffic and also suffered from a lot of chatter at the rear, which is a problem we have on the soft compound qualifying tyres. This is our weak area in qualifying. It’s a shame to start from the fourth row because I feel we have a good race pace with the new tyres and set-up. But I’m optimistic I can get a much better result in the race.” Nakano ended up 13th overall and said: “I crashed at the start of session and lost my ‘fast bike’ or my Number One machine. Despite this I have to say it was a good session. Even with the second machine things were step-by-step feeling better and better. I thought I could make a very special qualifying position with the Number One bike, but owing to the crash I simply had to do what I could. Things are still positive.” Kurtis Roberts (Roberts KR212V) in 19th said: “The chassis performance keeps on improving and I keep getting better with more experience. Even though it’s my first time here. When we overlay my data on Kenny Junior’s from last year, I’m at the same corner speed or faster, as the 800 should be compared with the 990.” The resilient Andrea Dovizioso (Scot Honda RS250RW) secured pole in the 250cc class 0.344 seconds faster then second-placed Aprilia rider Hector Barbera, with KTM riders Mika Kallio and Hiro Aoyama completing the front row in third and fourth slots. After the crushing disappointment of a DNF at his ‘home’ race at Misano two weeks ago, Dovizioso responded in the best way possible with a lap of 1m 40.355s to notch his second pole of the season so far. The last time he qualified on pole, he won. Dovi said: “I’m very happy because it was very difficult to improve my lap times due to the very hot track conditions in qualifying. The bike was very good but I still had to push really hard. We did not have to make many changes to the set up for qualifying because we were very close yesterday. The engine is good and the bike performs really well at this track.” The in-form Mattia Pasini (Aprilia) secured pole in the 125cc class from second quickest man Lukas Pesek (Derbi), with Simone Corsi third fastest and series points leader Gabor Talmacsi (both Aprilia) completing the front row. Mike di Meglio (Scot Honda RS125R) was the best Honda qualifier in 14th, one place ahead of Bradley Smith (Repsol Honda RS125R) Di Meglio said: “This morning I had a crash, I just lost the back-end and spun it out but I damaged the exhaust pipe. We changed the pipe for qualifying but the engine did not react quite the same. The bike works well particularly the suspension. We just lack speed out of the corners and the bike does not accelerate like some of the rival bikes. Still top speed is OK and I am 14th on the grid.” Honda rider quotes: GP Portugal Qualifying. MotoGP: Nicky Hayden, Repsol Honda: 1st.”Obviously this year’s been tough so it’s really nice to be on pole position again and just have something to be happy about. The Michelin qualifying tyres worked really well this afternoon – I’ve never had so much grip – and it’s a big thanks to all the boys in my team because they’ve worked really hard all weekend. We’ve improved by half a second in each session and as much as I’d like to say it was all down to me, really the team has made some good adjustments to the machine. The harder this year’s got the harder they’ve worked for me so I’m really happy to give them something to smile about. We’ve still got to improve a lot on race tyres but we’re in a good position. The qualifying laps were pretty good and I improved by half a second from the first to the second which is what you’ve got to do if you want to get up front so I’m happy with how today has gone. Let’s hope we can keep it rolling tomorrow.” Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 5th. “As a practice session this afternoon went pretty well and we were able to find quite a good set up and maintain a fast pace on race tyres. The lap times were reasonably consistent and the endurance of the tyres looks okay at this stage too. Unfortunately on qualifiers I was not so strong today and I had some vibration as I went for my quick laps so I’m not totally happy with the qualifying part of the session. To start fifth is by no means a disaster but I was hoping for more. However, with a good start tomorrow we have a chance to fight at the front. It’s 28 laps and there are other riders with good pace too so I will be taking nothing for granted. It should be very interesting tomorrow and I hope to have a good race for myself and the team.” Marco Melandri, Gresini Honda: 7th. “The team have worked really well. We’ve tried a few different solutions on the bike, working on the weight distribution and in the afternoon we made a good step forward. We still have a couple of small issues with engine braking but in general the bike has improved a lot and my race pace is good. In high temperatures the tyres are working really well but unforunately the qualifier was a little too soft and I wasn’t able to make the most of it. We’ll continue to work towards the race but I’m happy to be on the third row and to be the second Bridgestone rider.” Toni Elias, Gresini Honda: 9th. “Physically I feel like yesterday but we’ve been able to work on the bike and improve the traction problems. In the afternoon we were able to make the most of that and my feeling with the bike is better even though there are some areas we need to work on. Compared to Brno and Misano my grid position is much better. Obviously we are in a very different position to last year but I like this track a lot and I’m confident of getting a good start tomorrow, giving it my best shot and having a nice race on a circuit where I scored my first victory one year ago.” Carlos Checa, LCR Honda: 11th. “Qualifying is always a gamble and that’s the way it was today. I was aiming to improve my time my final run and start up front. But I came across a lot of traffic and also suffered from a lot of chatter at the rear, which is a problem we have on the soft compound qualifying tyres. This is our weak area in qualifying. It’s a shame to start from the fourth row because I feel we have a good race pace with the new tyres and set-up. But I’m optimistic I can get a much better result in the race.” Shinya Nakano, Konica Minolta Honda: 13th. “I crashed at start of session and lost my ‘fast bike’ or my Number 1 machine. Despite this I have to say it was a good session. Even with the second machine things were step-by-step feeling better and better. I thought I could make a very special qualifying position with the Number 1 bike, but thanks to the crash I simply had to do what I could. Things are still positive, as although I had a slightly different feeling with my second bike, the Michelin tyres were a big improvement and helped me stay in the top 10 for most of the session. Tomorrow is the important thing the race but we’ve decided on the race tyre and I’m happy with the Number 1 race bike. The start will be important once more as it’s very difficult to overtake in Estoril.” Kurtis Roberts, KR212V: 19th. “It’s my first time here, and it’s a pretty strange track to learn, with the bumps and slow corners. But I’ve been chipping away at it session by session. I should have qualified better, but I made a mistake on my fast lap, and then tried to get another lap out of the qualifying tyre but it didn’t make it. My other problem is my left foot. I cut it at Misano the night after the race. I was wearing flip-flops and I caught it on something sharp. I’ve never seen so much blood – I cut the artery, and needed ten stitches. It’s a bit painful still, but it’s not hampering me too much.” Kenny Roberts – Team Principle. Team Roberts. “The chassis performance keeps on improving and Kurtis keeps getting better with more experience. Even though it’s his first time here, when we overlay his data on Kenny Junior’s from last year, he’s at the same corner speed or faster, as the 800 should be compared with the 990. Last year that was enough for the lap record and to fight to win the race. The problem is the same as all season: we’re doing what we can with what We’ve got, but we need more acceleration and speed from the motor.” 250cc: Andrea Dovizioso, Scot Honda: 1st. “I’m very happy with because it was very difficult to improve my lap times due to the very hot track conditions in qualifying. The bike was very good but I still had to push really hard. We did not have to make many changes to the set up for qualifying because we were very close yesterday. The engine is good and the bike performs really well at this track. Our race pace is very high and I can run consistently fast lap times. The only potential problem will be tyres I think the performance will drop off very quickly in the race.” Julian Simon, Repsol Honda: 7th. “It obviously isn’t the position I was hoping for, but I think that we worked very well so I have to thank the team. They are helping me to understand my motorcycle better and trying to change things I don’t quite seem to be improving on. Nevertheless, I’m happy mainly with the times we have achieved, as I think it’s fast and in this category everyone is rolling very fast, especially on this track. As for tomorrow my aim is to get to a good start, which is why I’m trying out a new clutch, because in previous races I’ve had problems when starting. Then I’ll try to reach the front, stay with the leading group and keep up the struggle there,” Yuki Takahashi, Scot Honda: 9th. “I have a very good feeling with the bike but when I tried my time attack there as too much traffic. I have a good race pace. We found a good tyre for the race and did the whole session on that today so I am confident. Yesterday I had a problem at T4, the long right corner, so I changed my line and have improved. In fact at Misano I changed my riding style a little on entering the corners and I m faster and feel good on the bike.” Shuhei Aoyama, Repsol Honda: 12th. “My time today was very slow, because I couldn’t use all the tyres I would have liked to and that prevented me from doing any better. Actually, the composition of tyre which suited me best was quite scarce and I had to use them sparingly over the training sessions. Tomorrow I’ll have to make a big effort during the first few laps in order to get as far ahead as I can.” Eugene Laverty, LCR Honda: 17th. “I’m happy with my qualifying position and we have made progress this weekend. But there is still a big problem under brakes with the rear set up, the bike is very unstable, and I had a stupid crash at the end of the session over the bumps on entry to the final corner, the front just got away from me.” Ratthapark Wilairot, Thai Honda PTT-SAG: 18th “With this morning’s time I could have been on the fourth row of the grid but we had to try and improve the set-up of bike – unfortunately it wasn’t as fruitful as we expected. Anyway we’re in a decent position. I guess the race pace will be around 1’42 and I’ll be fighting for the points. I like this track and I’m sure I can put on a good performance here.” 125cc: Mike di Meglio, Scot Honda: 14th.”This morning I had a crash, I just lost the back end and spun it out but I damaged the exhaust pipe. We changed the pipe for qualifying but the engine did not react quite the same. The bike works well particularly the suspension. We just lack sped of the corners the bike does not accelerate like some of the rival bikes. Still top speed is OK and I am 14th on the grid.” Bradley Smith, Repsol Honda: 15th “Yesterday we were having trouble to get the bike to turn because if you ride the ideal line here the others will just run up the inside of you. We fixed that overnight but now we have to work on the acceleration. Top speed is OK but its getting there that’s causing m problems. We changed the gearbox ratios so I can short shift it off the corners and it helps a little. Here 0.4s gives you six seven places on the grid. I got a good slipstream and went 0.7s faster, half of that was riding really hard.” Tito Rabat, Repsol Honda: 17th. “The afternoon was very easy, very fast. We have some small engine problems by they are just small settings. The only real problem is no acceleration but we do have good speed. The suspension is not bad and the bike handles well. I hope that tomorrow I will get a good start and be able to fight in the top group.” Alexis Masbou, FFM Honda: 20th.”It’s a difficult week-end. In the first practice session we went in the wrong direction with our set-up. Luckily we were able to solve our problems in the second session and improved a lot. This morning we broke an inlet valve at the beginning of the session but I was able to do six flying laps, which put me in 17th position. For the second qualifying session this afternoon we had some head wind in the straight line and my bike was set-up for back wind, which is what we had this morning. I was nevertheless able to improve my lap time and although I feel comfortable on the major part of the racetrack, I keep losing one second in the final section which comprises the two fastest corners on the racetrack.” Joey Litjens, Molenaar Honda: 26th. “Yesterday I was really sick, I have an infection that has left me very weak and in qualifying I just did not feel myself. My engine was better in qualifying than practice, the chassis is working and the bike is steering OK. I t my best time I mid-session but began to get very tired and could not better it. My lack of stamina is all I have to worry about and, of course, getting one of my best good start” Danny Webb, Molenaar Honda: 29th. “We changed a few things for this race and the whole weekend has been so much better than in recent races. We changed the front forks in a bid to try and find more confidence in the front end. We had to sacrifice a little mid corner speed but I am learning to over ride that and I fell good on the bike I am going so much better. Today I was only 2.8s off pole position. I know I have to improve my performance in qualifying but I’m confident I will.” Dino Lombardi, Scot Honda: 30th. “In comparison with the race at Misano this is much, much better. I still have a problem exiting the final corner and I am losing a few important tenths of a second there and braking my braking is not perfect but we will work to find solutions.” Louis Rossi, FFM Honda: 34th. “Everything is new for me, the bike, the track, the team, and my aim is to learn as quickly and as precisely as possible in order to be competitive very soon. The team support is simply great they keep giving me very useful advice and I¹m concentrating on putting them into practice. In the first few laps I was very impressed with the other riders, but after a few laps I decided to observe them and to tray and repeat their performances. I am very concentrated on my apprenticeship and making good progress, and I also wish to give back to the French Motorcycle Federation after offering me this exceptional opportunity.”