MotoGP Qualifying Results From Qatar: 1. Loris CAPIROSSI, Ducati, Bridgestone, 1:56.917 2. Sete GIBERNAU, Honda, Michelin, 1:56.994 3. Valentino ROSSI, Yamaha, Michelin, 1:57.360 4. Colin EDWARDS, Yamaha, Michelin, 1:57.447 5. Marco MELANDRI, Honda, Michelin, 1:57.468 6. Carlos CHECA, Ducati, Bridgestone, 1:57.481 7. Shinya NAKANO, Kawasaki, Bridgestone, 1:57.697 8. Nicky HAYDEN, Honda, Michelin, 1:57.872 9. Toni ELIAS, Yamaha, Michelin, 1:57.902 10. Makoto TAMADA, Honda, Michelin, 1:58.317 11. Kenny ROBERTS, Suzuki, Bridgestone, 1:58.329 12. John HOPKINS, Suzuki, Bridgestone, 1:58.527 13. Max BIAGGI, Honda, Michelin, 1:58.622 14. Alex BARROS, Honda, Michelin, 1:59.084 15. Roberto ROLFO, Ducati, Dunlop, 1:59.392 16. Ruben XAUS, Yamaha, Michelin, 1:59.482 17. Shane BYRNE, Honda, Michelin, 2:00.097 18. James ELLISON, Blata, Dunlop, 2:00.909 19. Franco BATTAINI, Blata, Dunlop, 2:01.678 DNQ. Olivier JACQUE, Kawasaki, Bridgestone, no time, withdrew due to injury More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki Racing Team: NAKANO READY TO RACE IN QATAR HEAT WAVE Kawasaki rider, Shinya Nakano, is poised for a strong assault in tomorrow’s Qatar Grand Prix, following a super-fast performance in today’s qualifying session. Nakano heads the third row of the grid, with the seventh fastest time, just 0.3s off the pole position time set by fellow Bridgestone tyre rider Loris Capirossi. Nakano’s best lap of 1’57.697s was a massive 1.2s under last year’s pole record at the 5.3 km Losail Circuit. He was in the top ten for most of the session and as high as fourth with 20 minutes remaining, Nakano is looking for a good start and racing with the lead group in conditions that are suited to his latest spec Ninja ZX-RR and Bridgestone tyres. Following front suspension changes to his bike overnight, Nakano reported more positive front-end feel and turn-in response in today’s two hours of practice and qualifying. Apart from more rider friendly, bottom-end throttle response the latest power-up version of the ZX-RR motor is producing increased top speed performance on the 1000 metre straight at Losail. The straight provides a once-only burst in sixth gear on the 5.3 km circuit, which features eight, second-gear turns in its 16 turn layout. The baking-hot desert temperatures continued for qualifying, with 50 degree track temperatures that are also forecast for the race. A small heat shield fitted around the right-side footpeg of Nakano’s bike now provides protection to the Japanese rider’s foot from the blast of super-hot air in these conditions. Nakano will be the lone rider for Kawasaki in the race following the withdrawal of Olivier Jacque, who suffered shoulder, neck and back pain following a crash in yesterday’s opening free practice. Jacque has flown out to Europe today for further tests and treatment. Shinya Nakano: #56 – Seventh – 1’57.697 “Today was much better, I had more confidence with the front-end and seventh position is okay – I think we have a competitive package here. Now I just want to race to the chequered flag without anyone bumping me off tomorrow. At this track, and in these conditions, I don’t think it is easy for anyone to have the perfect bike and tyre set-up, but I have done some good race runs on the latest Bridgestone tyres. The latest motor is responsive on acceleration, which is an advantage at this track. Today I was more comfortable in the heat, yesterday I found it difficult to concentrate, it is like a blast furnace at nearly 320 kph in this heat.” Ichiro Yoda: Technical Manager “Shinya has done race times similar to our main rivals, so this gives me confidence for the race, especially with the easier throttle control from the engine specification we have for this race. Our top speed has also noticeably improved, and Bridgestone have continued their excellent tyre work.” Harald Eckl: Team Manager “If Shinya gets away with the front group like he did in Sepang then he will be a real threat for the podium in this race; he’s one of the strongest racers in MotoGP. Shinya’s practice performance has been consistent and, although I thought he had a chance for a second row spot in qualifying, I think seventh is not a big problem. In these conditions I expect a Bridgestone tyre rider will win the race, it would be nice if he is in green!” More, from a press release issued by Dorna Communications: Capirossi seals third straight pole in Qatar Loris Capirossi took his third pole position in as many weeks with a scintillating series of laps at the end of today’s qualifying session for the Marlboro Grand Prix of Qatar. After starting from the front of the grid and going on to win the race at both Motegi and Sepang, the Ducati rider is on course for an incredible hat-trick at the fourteenth round of the season, where he will be joined on the front row by Sete Gibernau and Valentino Rossi. “This is a difficult track for us but we made quite a good job during the practice,” said Capirossi, who’s time of 1’56.917 was more than two seconds quicker than last year’s pole time, set by his current team-mate Carlos Checa. “We tested a lot of rear tyres and found the best solution for the front one, but for the race it will be very difficult. For sure, 21 laps in these conditions will be tough for everybody but we will see in the morning. I am very happy with this pole position, especially because it’s not so easy to overtake at this track.” Gibernau, the winner of last year’s inaugural race at the Losail International Circuit, ended the session just 0.077 seconds adrift of the Italian and was the only serious challenger for pole, with recently-crowned World Champion Rossi a further 0.366 seconds back. Colin Edwards, who finished second to Gibernau last season, had held on for top spot for lengthy spells during the session but eventually dropped back to fourth place in the late push for times on qualifying tyres. Edwards is joined on the second row of the grid by Marco Melandri, who set the quickest time in the morning free practice session despite still riding with 35 stitches in the foot injury he sustained in a crash with Rossi at Motegi less than two weeks ago. Carlos Checa snatched the final second row spot from Shinya Nakano with a quick final lap that saw the Japanese rider relegated to seventh place. Nakano will be the only Kawasaki rider on the grid tomorrow after Olivier Jacque was flown back to Europe for further checks on a back injury he sustained in a crash yesterday morning. The former 250cc World Champion, riding in place of the injured Alex Hofmann, was released from hospital but requires further diagnostic tests before beginning an intense recovery period ahead of the next round at Phillip Island, Australia, in two weeks’ time. Nicky Hayden was unable to extend his run of top six grid positions beyond eleven races after qualifying eighth fastest and joins Nakano on the third row, as does Toni Elías, the weekend’s surprise package so far. Elías has lapped consistently amongst the top riders and today managed the ninth fastest time despite running into the gravel trap early in the afternoon session. The Spanish youngster starts tomorrow’s race looking to emulate the achievement of his current Yamaha team-mate Rubén Xaus, who took a shock podium finish here last season when riding for Ducati. Jorge Lorenzo boosted Spain’s hopes of glory in the 250cc race with an emphatic pole position ahead of his return to race action following a one-race ban. Lorenzo, who won the 125cc race here last year, posted a time of 2’02.154 to hold off the challenge of Alex de Angelis, with Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa completing the front row. Pedrosa leads Stoner by 38 points in the current standings with tomorrow the first of four races that will decide the destiny of the World Championship. Last year’s 250cc winner Sebastián Porto starts from the second row of the grid in fifth place. In the 125cc class Mika Kallio took his eighth pole position of the season, competently holding off the challenge of Gabor Talmacsi and Mattia Pasini with a final lap of 2’09.455. Julián Simon made the most of a tow from Manuel Poggiali to knock the former World Champion off the front row in fourth place whilst Thomas Lüthi, who leads the series by eight points from Kallio, was caught out by a surprising return to action from Ángel Rodriguez. The Spaniard snatched the final second row spot and relegated the Swiss rider to ninth place after being called up as a late replacement for Vincent Braillard. More, from a press release issued by Gauloises Yamaha: ROSSI AND EDWARDS SEAL TOP FOUR STARTS IN QATAR Gauloises Yamaha Team riders Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards will both start from the right end of the MotoGP grid at the Losail International Circuit on Saturday after setting the third and fourth fastest times respectively in this afternoon’s single qualifying practice for the Grand Prix of Qatar. Rossi secured his first front row start in five races after lapping almost 1.7 seconds inside the previous pole record time here, his best lap falling just short of the pole time of 1’56.917 set by Loris Capirossi (Ducati), who will start from the front of the grid for the third successive race. Edwards ended up just 0.087 seconds behind his team-mate after honing his race pace in the morning before spending several lengthy spells at the top of the time sheets in the afternoon as he concentrated on a fast qualifying time. The American starts from the front of the second row in fourth place, his best grid position since qualifying second fastest at the fourth round of the season at Le Mans, as he looks to improve on second place at this Grand Prix last season by taking his first MotoGP victory in tomorrow’s race. VALENTINO ROSSI (3rd 1’57.360; 22 laps) “We are not at 100% but anyway it is okay and we are on the front row so that is important. The grip is much better than last year and now it seems the track is more normal. In these conditions it is possible to push the bike to the limit, so hopefully it stays like this for tomorrow’s race and for sure it will be a good show for everybody. My bike is also working much better than in recent races, we have found better grip on the front and the rear. We still need to make some small modifications before the race and then we will see how it goes. Now the championship is decided so I am riding without any pressure, but of course I still want to win every race before the end of the season.” COLIN EDWARDS (4th 1’57.447; 20 laps) “This weekend everything just seems to work! Everything has been clear-cut on how to make the bike work better and we’ve done just that. We’ve been struggling a bit for grip lately but here it’s great and everything seems easy! This morning we did all of our work, the race tyre stuff, and this afternoon just went out there and concentrated on putting a fast lap time in. I think I did four or five laps on a race tyre at the beginning and then after that we just put the soft tyres in and went for it. I should have won the race here last year and right now I feel the same we can win it. We are going to go out there with a good attitude, everybody’s been working really good on the team so it would be a nice payback to get the victory.” DAVIDE BRIVIO GAULOISES YAMAHA TEAM DIRECTOR “We are more back to normal this weekend, with Valentino and Colin both at the top. At this track we are not facing as many problems as we did at Motegi and Sepang and I think tomorrow there is every possibility of a good race from both riders. The team have done a good job during the weekend. More or less the setting has been good from the beginning so we have been able to spend a lot of time testing tyres and preparing for the race. Still I think Valentino is not perfect yet but we have good positions on the grid and I think both riders can stick with the top pace so let’s see what happens.” More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki: Challenging day for Team SUZUKI MotoGP Team SUZUKI MotoGP racers Kenny Roberts Jr and John Hopkins will start side-by-side on the fourth row of the grid in tomorrow’s Marlboro Grand Prix of Qatar. Roberts Jr (P11, 1’58.329) and Hopkins (P12, 1’58.527) equally found the going tough at the hot and dusty Losail International Circuit. They were both still searching for the best set-up for their respective Suzuki GSV-R’s right until the end of this afternoon’s qualifying session. As track surface temperatures reached 48 degrees the characteristics of the circuit demanded a totally different riding style and compromised the GSV-R’s impressive cornering speed and control. The lack of grip on the track meant that straight-line horsepower played an even more important role and both riders had to work hard to keep on the pace. Tomorrow’s race only the second Saturday race of the year – will be round 14 of the MotoGP World Championship and for the third race in succession the Bridgestone-shod Ducati of Loris Capirossi will be on pole. The race begins at 15.00 (local time), 14.00hrs CET. Kenny Roberts Jr: “Extremely difficult is probably the right term at the moment to describe our situation. The character of the circuit is to use a lot of the front grip going into a corner and then stop the bike and accelerate as hard as you can out and it’s the biggest of our problems at the moment, because that’s one of our weakest areas with the machine. The latest Bridgestone tyres have helped from a riding standpoint, to enable us to get the bike into a corner a bit harder and accelerate harder. But the nature of the track has basically concentrated our problem in as far as there is not a lot we can do to get around it. We are kind of struggling with all areas of the circuit and everyone in front of me is going quick. But hopefully I’ll get a good start and then the top 10 will run each other off the track and we’ll be ok!!” John Hopkins: “I would say our position pretty much explains our disappointment. We are just trying everything we can to try and get a better feeling from the bike. A lack of horsepower is also making us struggle a bit because from corner to corner everyone is shooting off the corner quicker than us. The Suzuki makes up a lot of its lap time in the corner-speed but right now with the lack of grip this track gives puts everyone on a level playing field. Unfortunately with us not being able to use our strongpoint we’re struggling a bit. We’re doing everything we can and I still need to work on some more set-up plans this evening with the mechanics, but time’s almost up and we have to go racing. Hopefully we can find a solution and be ready tomorrow.” Paul Denning Team Manager: “It’s been a tough weekend and the conditions and circuit layout have made it difficult to get the best out of the GSV-R. Both guys have been pushing hard and have made massive improvements in their own potential today, but in comparison to our competitors the position is similar. I think tomorrow is going to be a damage limitation exercise, we will try to get a good start, stay out of trouble and bring the bikes home in as decent a position as we can achieve. It could have been worse today as both the guys survived some big slides, but they both brought the bikes home in one piece, let’s hope that continues tomorrow. I agree with Kenny the best chance for a good result here is to take advantage of any potential mistakes made by our competitors.” More, from a press release issued by Camel Honda: TOUGH GOING FOR CAMEL HONDA IN QATAR The qualifying session for the Qatar Grand Prix were particularly tough for Alex Barros, who was unable to pick a suitable front tyre to improve his feeling under braking. For the Brazilian rider it promises to be a particularly challenging race from fourteenth position on the grid. Conversely, his team-mate Shane Byrne was satisfied with the progress he made on his Camel Honda in its race configuration, but missed out on using his last qualifying tyre by just a few seconds, which meant he stayed in seventeenth position despite the massive progress he has made so far. Sito Pons Camel Honda “Alex began to have problems with the front tyre at the Malaysian GP. Since then we worked intensively with Michelin to find a combination of set-up and tyre which works well for him, but we cannot find any answers at the moment. He is unable to enter the corner as he would like, and as he does so well; as such he isn’t quick. Shane is progressing in every session, and even though he is in the same grid spot as in Malaysia, his times are much better, especially with race tyres on, so I think that he can be a lot more competitive tomorrow than he was in Sepang.” Alex Barros Camel Honda 1’59.084 14th position “I don’t have too much to say about these sessions because the situation hasn’t changed much since yesterday. The bike is going well, we’ve found a good base set-up, and we have the rear tyre set-up well, but we can’t get a front tyre to complete the package so I can ride fast. It’s a real shame because there’s not much we can do in this situation. Even by changing my style of entering the corner as much as I can, I still can’t brake as hard as I would like, because I would risk losing the front and crashing. Tomorrow will be a very difficult race.” Shane Byrne Camel Honda 2’00.097 17th position “In this last practice session things went decidedly better. My lap times with the race tyres are very close indeed to those I did with the qualifier in, and they’re consistent too. Obviously I couldn’t make the most of the soft tyres. I had three, and with the first I was slow. With the second I began to understand how to get the best out of it, but then when I put the last one in, I realised that there was no time left. Anyway, if I can get a good start tomorrow and ride at today’s pace consistently I should have a good race.” More, from a press release issued by Telefonica Movistar Honda: SETE RECOVERS HIS CONFIDENCE The Movistar knocks two seconds off last year’s pole time and sets potential podium pace in practice GP DE QATAR – ENTRENAMIENTOS OFICIALES MOTOGP After running through a variety of tests that didn’t produce the results the team had hoped for yesterday, Sete Gibernau returned to his best form at the scene of his last victory today, setting the second fastest time of official qualifying practice behind Loris Capirossi at the Grand Prix of Qatar. The Movistar rider dipped two seconds inside the pole time set by Carlos Checa last season as he stopped the clocked at 1’56″994 on his 21st lap of 24. Sete fought for pole until the chequered flag, eventually missing out by just 0.077 seconds to the Ducati rider, who actually held him up on the final lap. Despite that, Gibernau’s hopes of finishing on the podium in Qatar have been given a major boost as he starts from the front row of the grid and reflects on the good race pace he set in the morning free practice. Gibernau’s team-mate Marco Melandri will start from the second row after setti! ng the fifth best time of the session with a lap of 1’57″468. The Italian, who set the pace in morning free practice, worked well for the race and, with the way his injury has healed, hopes to suffer less than he did in the race last week. SETE GIBERNAU (2nd, 1’56″994): “Yesterday we went in the wrong direction in the afternoon session but today we got back on the right track. We did a great job to prepare for the race in the final session and even though we start an hour later tomorrow, the tyres and the setting are already decided. I was able to set a good rhythm, with quality laps, and even though I just missed out on pole at the end we are on the front row, which is important. Tomorrow the objective is to fight for the podium and get out of this hole at last. I’m convinced that when we do so we’ll be stronger than ever.” MARCO MELANDRI (5th, 1’57″468): “In the morning we set a good pace and this ! gave us room to try some different geometry settings with the bike in the afternoon, although they didn’t help us improve. It was also a shame that I wasn’t able to make the most of the qualifying tyres at the end of the session because when I went out there was a lot of traffic on the track. From a physical point of view I am better. I’ve started to put more force on the footpeg and it hurts a little more but the doctors at the Clinica Mobile are looking after me and I know I’ll be in good shape for the race.” More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse: DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM SCORES POLE HAT TRICK Loris Capirossi made more history for the Ducati Marlboro Team at red-hot Qatar today, completing the Italian squad’s first pole position hat trick. Meanwhile team-mate Carlos Checa was just five tenths slower to secure a second-row start in sixth spot, thus rounding off the team’s best overall qualifying performance of the season. Today’s conditions at MotoGP’s only Middle Eastern event were slightly cooler than yesterday’s, with ambient temperatures in the mid-30s and track temperature nudging 50 degrees, but tyre wear over full-race distance is still the main concern of most teams. “For sure this is better than we had expected before coming here,” said Ducati Marlboro Team technical director Corrado Cecchinelli. “It was a great performance from Loris, with two really big laps at the end of the session. Pole is always good, and it helps for the race, but we’re aren’t as confident going into the race as we were at the last two tracks. But then I don’t think anyone is feeling really confident going into this race. It’s difficult to predict what’s going to happen. It looks like front tyre life is no longer our main worry, it’s rear tyre consistency that is more of a concern.” CAPIROSSI CONTINUES AMAZING FORM Top qualifier at the previous two GPs in Japan and Malaysia, Loris Capirossi won this afternoon’s battle for pole after a thrilling contest with Sete Gibernau, last year’s winner at Losail. The Ducati Marlboro Team man, currently enjoying his richest vein of premier-class form, smashed last year’s pole record by two seconds, riding his Desmosedici like a man possessed. “Three in a row – it’s incredible, I’m so happy!” grinned the Italian. “Once again we’ve worked well since we got here. The bike and tyre package is really good now, which helps us to prepare for the race. The team’s done a great job and Bridgestone too, especially on the front tyre. It’s important to be on pole here because it’s so difficult to pass. Race distance is no problem for me in this heat, but for everyone it will be difficult on tyre life. I will try my best and we will see what happens…” CHECA JUST A TENTH OFF FRONT ROW Carlos Checa will start tomorrow’s Marlboro Qatar from the second row of the grid after going sixth fastest this afternoon. And the Ducati Marlboro Team man was just 0.121 off a front-row start. “We are now working in the right way and moving forward all the time,” said the Spaniard. “We’ve had some problems with front-end push here, that was our limit, but we’ve fixed that now. The tyres seem okay on endurance but it won’t be easy in this heat. Looking at last weekend and at this weekend, it’s so good to be competitive again, we’ve reached a good level with the bike and the tyres. It makes me feel a lot better now that I’m just a few tenths off the front guys and able to fight with them.” More, from a press release issued by Fortuna Yamaha: ELIAS AND XAUS READY FOR MOST IMPORTANT RACE OF THE YEAR Toni Elias and Ruben Xaus will try to make the Grand Prix of Qatar their best race of the season. Elias again confirmed the good qualifying form he showed in Malaysia last week, but will this time want a better finish. After finishing yesterday as the second quickest rider, he fell to ninth today which means he will start from the third row of the grid. For his part, Ruben Xaus will struggle to match his result on this circuit from last year, but spent qualifying today fine-tuning his set-up for tomorrow’s race. The Spaniard will start from the sixth row of the grid. Toni Elias Free sessions: 1’58.494, 9th, + 0.486 Qualifying: 1’57.902, 9th + 0.985 off pole “The best thing would have been to maintain my second place from yesterday, even though we knew that would be very hard, so I am not as happy as yesterday. It’s obvious we have improved in relation to the other Gps and I think I have a good rhythm for the race. I always struggle a bit on qualifying tyres, but I am going well and think I can have a good race. For this race, the only tactic is to make a good start and try to lap with the eight riders who will be at the front. I want to finish a good weekend with a good result to make up foe the disappointment of Malysia.” Rubén Xaus Free sessions: 2’00.292, 16th, + 2.284 Qualifying: 1’59.482, 16th, + 2.565 off pole “Last year I was lapping very fast here but it has been a lot harder this time around. We are improving little by little and, although we wanted to make a big leap this afternoon, we are heading in the right direction. In the afternoon I found it difficult to match my time in the third free session. Tomorrow in the warm-up we will try to make sure we have everything as good as we can for the race.” Antonio Jiménez, Toni Elias’ head mechanic “The most important thing is always your race rhythm and in that result we are prepared. In the official qualifying session things did not go quite as we planned, but that is how it goes in bike racing and we are satisfied with our position on the grid. We will try to fine-tune one or two things in the warm-up tomorrow.” More, from a press release issued by Honda Racing Information: GIBERNAU ON FRONT ROW FOR 11th TIME THIS SEASON Spanish star Sete Gibernau (Team Movistar Honda RC211V) scorched onto the front row here at this desert circuit as second fastest qualifier. Loris Capirossi (Ducati) starts from pole and Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) was third fastest qualifier completing the front row. Gibernau won here last year and despite suffering from the front-end grip problems that plagued most riders here, he coped well with the conditions where track temperatures were nudging 50 degrees. Sete showed his form early in the session when he slotted himself into provisional pole and then set about working on a race distance set-up. But his early time of 1m 58.136s was soon bettered by Colin Edwards (Yamaha). As the hour-long session wore on the track got grippier as more rubber was laid down on the relatively fresh asphalt and the first rider to make an assault on pole with super-grippy qualifying tyres was Loris Capirossi. The Italian immediately snatched the top slot and held it for seven minutes before Gibernau clocked a time of 1m 57.274s to grab it back. The order with ten minutes remaining was; Gibernau, Capirossi, Edwards, Rossi, Tony Elias (Yamaha), Shinya Nakano (Kawasaki), Marco Melandri (Team Movistar Honda RC211V) and Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC211V). Capirossi then raised his game even further with a 1m 56.934s lap and became the first rider to dip below the 1m 57 second barrier. Marco Melandri meanwhile had elevated himself to third on the grid. Then in the final five minutes 12 of the 19 riders pitted almost simultaneously to fit qualifying tyres and make their final bids to improve their grid positions. Capirossi went even faster to record a time of 1m 56.917s a record qualifying lap almost two seconds faster than last year’s time. Rossi moved up to third fastest while Nicky Hayden stayed in eighth on row three. Marco slipped back onto row two as fifth fastest man with a time of 1m 57.468s. The race pace is expected to be somewhere in the region of 1m 58.5s lap times tomorrow. Makoto Tamada (Konica Minolta Honda RC211V) managed to qualify tenth on row four, but Max Biaggi (Repsol Honda RC211V) and Alex Barros (Camel Honda RC211V) struggled here and could no better than 13th and 14th respectively on row five. Shane Byrne, standing in for the injured Troy Bayliss (Camel Honda RC211V), qualified 17th. Sete said, “Yesterday we went in the wrong direction in the afternoon session but today we got back on the right track. We did a great job preparing for the race in the final session, the tyres and the settings are already decided. I was able to set a good rhythm, with quality laps, and even though I just missed out on pole at the end we are on the front row, which is important.” His team-mate Marco said, “It was a shame I wasn’t able to make the most of the qualifying tyres at the end of the session because when I went out there was a lot of traffic on the track. From a physical point of view I am better. I’ve started to put more force on the footpeg and it hurts a little more, but the doctors at the Clinica Mobile are looking after me and I know I’ll be in good shape for the race.” Nicky, in eighth, said, “Not really where we want to be. We had a pretty good run of qualifying this season and I haven’t been on the third row since way back in Portugal. The main problem we have is with the front-end of the bike. It’s vague into corners and I was hoping that we would carry on with the real solid start we had yesterday but we haven’t been able to continue with that momentum. We’ve got a lot of work to do before the race to get a good set-up. Tamada said, “We are improving, but still not enough. At the beginning of the afternoon practice I had three fast riders in front of me and I used this to work out where I lost most time. On acceleration I couldn’t keep up with them, worst of all in the fourth sector of the track. The feeling with the front part of the bike has improved, but the bike still slides a bit too much in the turns.” Max was despondent. “The strange thing about today was that we seemed to get a better speed with the race tyres on than with the qualifiers,” he said. “I really can’t explain what’s going on at the moment. I had really hoped that these disastrous grid positions that we had at the start of the season were in the past. Here we are again starting from the fifth row. My lap time is 1.7s off pole position.” “The bike is going well,” said Barros. “We’ve found a good base set-up, and we have a good rear tyre, but we can’t get a front tyre to complete the package so I can ride fast. It’s a real shame because there’s not much we can do in this situation. Even by changing my style of entering the corner as much as I can, I still can’t brake as hard as I would like, because I would risk losing the front and crashing. Tomorrow will be a very difficult race.” Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne said, “In this last practice session things went decidedly better. My lap times with the race tyres are very close indeed to those I did with the qualifier in, and they’re consistent too. Obviously I couldn’t make the most of the soft tyres. I had three, and with the first I was slow. With the second I began to understand how to get the best out of it, but then when I put the last one in, I realised that there was no time left. Anyway, if I can get a good start tomorrow and ride at today’s pace consistently I should have a good race.” Jorge Lorenzo (Fortuna Honda RS250RW), who had to sit out the Malaysian Grand Prix after a disqualification, stormed back with a vengeance to record his fourth pole of the season so far. Alex de Angelis and Casey Stoner qualified third and fourth while series points leader Dani Pedrosa (Team Movistar Honda RS250RW) will start from the front row in fourth. Lorenzo had been quickest yesterday too and although Stoner had a grip on pole in the early stages of this final session, Jorge relieved the Australian of it in the final 20 minutes before Dani staked a claim with a 2m 02.692s lap with ten minutes to go. Lorenzo immediately responded with a time of 2m 02.469s before de Angelis then sped to a 2m 02.303s lap. Jorge’s enforced holiday obviously did him some good. The hungry Spaniard then shaved a further three tenths of a second off his previous best to snatch pole back again and keep it. Andrea Dovizioso (Scot Racing Team Honda RS250RW) will start tomorrow’s 20-lap race from row two as sixth fastest qualifier. The Italian is just over half a second off the pole time. Hiroshi Aoyama (Team Movistar Honda RS250RW) lines up alongside him in seventh. Lorenzo’s team-mate Hector Barbera (Fortuna Honda RS250RW) will start from ninth, while Yuki Takahashi (Scot Racing Team Honda RS250RW) made it into the top ten qualifiers for the fifth time this season in his rookie year. “I’m very happy with this,” said Lorenzo. “This morning we had a lot of front-end grip problems, but this afternoon we took a whole second off our lap time and now we can do some more fine-tuning in the warm-up tomorrow to be ready for the race.” Dani said, “The team did a great job for me this afternoon. The bike could do with being a bit faster and we’ve got work to do on the engine for tomorrow. But I’ve got to forget about last weekend and get on with the job tomorrow in what will be a tough race.” World Championship points leader Thomas Luthi (Elit Grand Prix Honda RS125R) did not get the grid position he wanted here, being baulked by other riders as he tried to put in his fastest laps. His title rival Mika Kallio qualified on pole with his team-mate Gabor Talmacsi second fastest (both KTM). Mattia Pasini (Aprilia) starts from third with Julian Simon (KTM) fourth. Fabrizio Lai (Kopron Racing World Honda RS125RW) heads row two as fifth fastest qualifier, while Luthi has to make do with row three in ninth. Mike Di Meglio (Kopron Racing World Honda RS125R) lines up alongside him in tenth. Luthi said, “I’m feeling good. Conditions improved today in qualifying and the bike was fast and the chassis very good. We’ve still got a bit of work to do on the suspension in warm-up tomorrow. But the problem today was traffic and people looking for a tow that made things difficult for me.” “We’ve worked well over the three days,” said Lai. “I though I had a chance of pole but there was too much traffic on my flaying lap and it didn’t happen. This is a long track and if you get held up it’s hard to keep your speed up. It will be a tough race tomorrow.” HONDA TEAM QUOTES: MotoGP: Sete Gibernau, Movistar Honda MotoGP: 2nd: “Yesterday we went in the wrong direction in the afternoon session but today we got back on the right track. We did a great job to prepare for the race in the final session and even though we start an hour later tomorrow, the tyres and the setting are already decided. I was able to set a good rhythm, with quality laps, and even though I just missed out on pole at the end we are on the front row, which is important. Tomorrow the objective is to fight for the podium and get out of this hole at last. I’m convinced that when we do so we’ll be stronger than ever.” Marco Melandri, Movistar Honda MotoGP: 5th: “In the morning we set a good pace and this gave us room to try some different geometry settings with the bike in the afternoon, although they didn’t help us improve. It was also a shame that I wasn’t able to make the most of the qualifying tyres at the end of the session because when I went out there was a lot of traffic on the track. From a physical point of view I am better. I’ve started to put more force on the footpeg and it hurts a little more but the doctors at the Clinica Mobile are looking after me and I know I’ll be in good shape for the race.” Nicky Hayden, Repsol Honda Team: 8th: “Not really where we want to be. We had a pretty good run of qualifying this season and I haven’t been on the third row since way back in Portugal. The main problem we have is with the front end of the bike. It’s vague into corners and I was hoping that we would carry on with the real solid start we had yesterday but we haven’t been able to continue with that momentum. We’ve got a lot of work to do before the race to get a good set-up. As always, if you start back on the third row you’ve gotta’ make a good start and stay out of trouble and get with the front guys early. It’s a big ask but I don’t want to be making excuses after the race and I know how important points are at the moment.” Makoto Tamada, Konica Minolta Honda: 10th: “We are improving, but still not enough. At the beginning of the afternoon practice I had three fast riders in front of me and I used this situation to understand where I lost most of the time. I noticed that during acceleration I couldn’t make it to keep up with them, most of all in the fourth sector of the track. The feeling with the front part of the bike has improved, but the bike still slips a bit too much during the turns. This problem has slowed me down during the last fast lap not allowing me to improve even more my fastest lap time. Tomorrow morning during the warm up we’ll have only the time to try two different tyres solution to understand which one to use in the race.” Max Biaggi, Repsol Honda Team: 13th: “The strange thing about today was that we seemed to get a better speed with the race tyres on than with the qualifiers. I really can’t explain what’s going on at the moment. I had really hoped that these disastrous grid positions that we had at the start of the season were in the past. Here we are again starting from the fifth row. My lap time is 1.7s off pole position. I know that last year in the race here I started from the back because of the penalty I can nearly accept that situation but the one we have now I just don’t understand.” Alex Barros, Camel Honda, 14th: “I don’t have too much to say about these sessions because the situation hasn’t changed much since yesterday. The bike is going well, we’ve found a good base set-up, and we have the rear tyre set-up well, but we can’t get a front tyre to complete the package so I can ride fast. It’s a real shame because there’s not much we can do in this situation. Even by changing my style of entering the corner as much as I can, I still can’t brake as hard as I would like, because I would risk losing the front and crashing. Tomorrow will be a very difficult race.” Shane Byrne, Camel Honda, 17th: “In this last practice session things went decidedly better. My lap times with the race tyres are very close indeed to those I did with the qualifier in, and they’re consistent too. Obviously I couldn’t make the most of the soft tyres. I had three, and with the first I was slow. With the second I began to understand how to get the best out of it, but then when I put the last one in, I realised that there was no time left. Anyway, if I can get a good start tomorrow and ride at today’s pace consistently I should have a good race.” 250cc: Jorge Lorenzo, Fortuna Honda: 1st: “In the morning I’m not sure why I was uncomfortable but I was going slow, but in the afternoon I improved lap by lap. If we had be given a bit more time I could have gone even faster than my pole mark, but I have to be satisfied. If the bike works this well in the race, and my ridings is as good, I think we can have a good chance tomorrow. But I am not obsessed about it: I want to finish first, then think about getting on the podium, then think about winning.” Dani Pedrosa, MoviStar Honda: 4th. “We’ve got a few engine problems. We’ve got no top end and it’s not too great on the bottom end either. It is not carburetting too well and it’s not as fast as it should be. We’ve improved over the two sessions but we still haven’t completely solved the problem. I suppose it’s because of the heat, but it’s difficult. The other riders are going quick but, more than that, the problem for us at the moment is the bike. It’s just not working well and I can’t ride at 100%. I’m losing quite a lot of time down the straights and also in some corners. There is a particular section where I’m really struggling and others where it’s a little better. It’s a very demanding circuit, especially on the front end, but if we can improve the engine situation I’m confident of our chances in the race.” Andrea Dovizioso, Scot Honda: 6th. “I’m satisfied because today we improved our performance. A lack of three or four tenths of a second to the leaders in qualifying is not a big problem for me. We have had the same problem at other times. Like other riders I have problems with feel from the front-end: the tyres are used up too quickly. Finding the right set up to save the tyres will be fundamental for the end of the race.” Hiroshi Aoyama, MoviStar Honda: 7th. “We’ve got a few engine problems here, I suppose because of the heat, but my confidence has improved from yesterday. We’ve made a few changes and I feel more confident with the front end, which is really important at this circuit. It will be extremely hot during the race and it will be hard to stick it out in the front group. But I’m confident of getting a good start and pushing hard over the first few laps to stay in touch with the leaders.” Hector Barbera, Fortuna Honda: 9th: “Things did not go well. I was fastest this morning but I had a few problems when I put in on the qualifying tyres and also got stuck in traffic. The most important thing is to be enjoying yourself and with hard work and effort we’ll get there. Tomorrow will be better.” Yuki Takahashi, Scot Honda: 10th. “Tomorrow a good start and follow a fast rider will be very important for me: this strategy helped me in Malaysia. I think we can do it because we have solved the suspension problems we have found the right set up for the race “ Jakub Smrz, Molenaar Honda:14th. “I’m satisfied with qualifying, especially after not riding yesterday due to my crash. I’m one second faster than last year. We have some small problems with the front-end setting but that is part suspension part tyre and we know what to do in the warm up. The engine is not bad it has good acceleration but I need more top speed. Overall I’m really happy because when I woke up this morning I felt as if I had been beaten up with a baseball bat, the crash was really heavy.” Alex Debon, Wurth Honda BQR: 19th. “I am 18th on the grid and that’s bad for me and I’m not so happy with it. The engine is not so bad but I have a big problem with the front tyre and whichever ones I use they are not so good after 5-laps. It will be a hard race tomorrow but if I get a good start I will be OK.” Dirk Heidolf, Kiefer Castrol Honda: 23rd. “No good at al today in qualifying. The engine is good but we have some problems with the front forks the bike is has a kind hopping effect, very difficult under heavy braking into the corners I am loosing a lot of time because of that. We have the warm up to get things right for the race. But I just don’t feel good on the bike I am fighting it all the way in the fast corners. I know I have to be fast in he first five laps if I am to take anything out of the race tomorrow. We had the same experience last year and got it right for the warm up so we hope for the same tomorrow.” Radomil Rous, Wurth Honda BQR: 27th. “It was difficult for me today the engine had was running at 74 degrees and had no acceleration or top speed The chassis is good but you need power at this circuit. We will work on the engine tonight and I’m sure the tam will improve the engine for the warm up but that will not help my grid position.” 125cc: Fabrizio Lai, Kopron Racing World Honda: 5th. “Over the two days of practice we have worked very well and I am content with the bike settings. On my flying lap trying to overtake Pirro I lost the front end. I missed the pole by just a little bit because of heavy traffic on my next fast lap. Tomorrow will be a difficult race overtaking will probably be on the straight because the track is dirty and will not allow us to risk too much.” Thomas Luthi, Elit Honda: 9th. “I feel good my condition has improved. In qualifying the bike was fast and my chassis settings very good we have a little work to do on suspension before the warm up but nothing else. The only problem I had setting a better time in qualifying was with De Rosa he was looking over his shoulder waiting for a fast rider when he saw me coming he moved across onto the racing line and ruined my lap. He made things very difficult for me. I waited awhile and tried again but I found him again and he crossed onto my line a second time. After that my rhythm had gone and it was impossible to set a faster qualifying time. But I know I could have gone faster so I’m not worried with my ninth place on the grid.” Mike Di Meglio, Kopron Racing World Honda: 10th. “I have a good feeling with my Honda on this track, which is completely new for me. The bike was good on the last lap of qualifying but there was so much traffic and that was an obstacle for everybody including me.. I have to make an attacking race but in this temperature and on a dirty track that is certainly not going to be easy.” Alvaro Bautista, Seedorf RC3 Tiempo Holidays Honda: 12th. “Qualifying was very nice today. We found good chassis and suspension settings and the front and rear tyres are perfect. We will race with the H compound tomorrow. I tried the D tyre but using that tyre made the front end move around too much going into the corners. Tomorrow it will be very hot and hard race but if I get a good start and get with the leaders I will have a good race. I have a good feeling about tomorrow it will be important to save the tyres for the final laps.” Alexis Masbou, Ajo Motorsport Honda: 15th. “This is my first time at Doha and I like the track very much. I’m only in 15th place on the grid but that’s because I kept getting caught in traffic. It will be a close race tomorrow but I hope to get away with the first group.” Tomoyoshi Koyama, Ajo Motorsport Honda: 16th. “I had a front brake problem late in the qualifying session and could not go faster, I pulled into the pit with a lap to go so could not improve my time. Apart from that the bike is very good. The engine is fast even if the engine is running at 62′. We have a good chassis setting and I am happy with the H tyre we will use. I know I can run faster than in qualifying so if I get a good start everything will be OK. It will be a slipstreaming battle and I like that kind of racing very much” Aleix Espargaro, Seedorf RC3 Tiempo Holidays Honda: 17th. “Not so bad in qualifying this afternoon. This morning I was a long way down the grid because we had a front end problem, using the softer compound tyre the front wanted to turn in. We changed the front suspension a little and put on an H compound and it was much better. I did 15-laps on the tyre so it will be good for the race. My bike is very fast and it was running at 220 km/h consistently. I set my time with Simoncelli so if I get a good start I am confident that I will have a good race.” Sandro Cortese, Kiefer-Bos-Castrol Honda: 21st. “Qualifying was almost good but in the last couple of laps I was behind Pesek and when I went for my fast lap he blocked me in the final section and I lost 3/10ths of a second. The front end ‘bumping’ effect under braking has been fixed and I’m happy with the bike. The engine is fast and I did 18 laps on the H tyres we will use in the race. I have made good starts in the last five races so if I get another fast start tomorrow I will have a good race. Sascha Hommel, replacement rider for Raymond Schouten on the Molenaar Honda: 36th. “The bike is good and the team very helpful, I have improved with every session so I am happy with that even though it’s the first time I rode the bike or raced at this track. The track is not so bad. We didn’t decide the front tyre yet because the H compound did not work too good for me.”