Press releases are listed in the order they were received.

From a press release issued by John Hopkins’ publicist:

HOPKINS FASTEST IN DRY, QUALIFIES 21ST IN RAIN IN CZECH REPUBLIC

BRNO, Czech Republic (August 21, 2004) – John Hopkins’ weekend in the Czech Republic went from elation to disappointment in a matter of hours as the young Suzuki rider went from being atop the charts in practice to 21st in a wet qualifying session at Brno.

In the rain Hopkins could only muster a time of 2:14.727 on the twisty Brno circuit despite riding at the limit and beyond.

“I pushed pretty hard and was sliding everywhere and still dropped positions,” Hopkins said. “It was tough to take after we’d been so fast on the dry track. Qualifying this far back is really going to make it difficult to meet my goal here, which was a podium finish.”

Hopkins was a revelation during the dry practice sessions both Friday and Saturday. He rode his factory Suzuki GSV-R to the fastest time on both days and was the only rider to get into the 1:58 bracket all weekend. He was just 3-100ths of a second from Valentino Rossi’s track record of 2003.

“I think John’s performance in both practices proves that he can be one of the elite riders if given the proper equipment,” said Hopkins’ manager Doug Gonda. “He not only topped the practice charts on Friday, but came back and did it again on Saturday. We’re very encouraged by those results.”

Hopkins was happy, but not surprised by his speed in the practice sessions.

“Brno is one of my favorite circuits and I expected to do well here,” he said. “Suzuki has given me a great bike and Bridgestone is proving how good its tires are in the dry. Now they just need to come up with a better rain tire and we’ll have everything we need to find the consistency we’re after.

“Like I said, my goal was a podium here and I still am going to do everything I can to make that happen on Sunday. It’s going to be tough, but I going to give it my best shot.”

The weather forecasters are calling for warm and dry conditions on Sunday.


More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki Racing Team:

FUCHS KAWASAKI PAIR PRAY FOR SUN AT BRNO

A continuation of the wet and cold conditions at Brno proved to be something of a major setback for the Fuchs Kawasaki Racing Team, with both Shinya Nakano and Alex Hofmann qualifying on the back row of the grid for tomorrow’s 22-lap Czech Republic Grand Prix.

Nakano will start from 25th position on the grid, one place in front of his team-mate, Hofmann. Just four tenths of a second separates the Fuchs Kawasaki pair, both of whom were left feeling frustrated by their performances in today’s final qualifying session.

A lack of rear tyre grip in the wet is the primary concern, and it’s no surprise that both Nakano and Hofmann are praying for a sunny and dry day for tomorrow’s feature race.

Despite slicing 2.4s from his Friday qualifying time, Hofmann could not move forward from the last qualifying position, which only added to his disappointment. With almost constant drizzle throughout final qualifying, Nakano failed to improve on his Friday time.

Apart from grip levels the engine power delivery of the 990cc Ninja ZX-RR motor, still in a phase of constant development, is proving to be rider unfriendly in the wet conditions at Brno. In the dry it is a different story. In the morning free practice session Hofmann and Nakano were less than one second outside the lap record.

The free practice times placed Hofmann 13th and Nakano 14th and demonstrated the step forward in both engine response and handling, as a result of the lighter crankshaft specification motor introduced for this race.

German young gun Hofmann had a solution for their plight at this race – a reverse grid start on a dry track! A request that will, unsurprisingly, find no favour with the rest of the MotoGP grid!

Shinya Nakano: 25th (2’16.723)
“I pushed hard all through today’s final qualifying session, but I just couldn’t get any grip from the rear. In the dry in the morning session the new crankshaft was much better for throttle response, but we still have some work to do on the motor characteristics and, for the moment, this is working against us in the wet conditions. There’s not much else to say really, other than I’m obviously hoping for a dry race tomorrow.”

Alex Hofmann: 26th (2’17.157)
“To say that this afternoon was difficult would definitely be something of an understatement. I found it impossible to get any feeling for what the rear of the bike was doing, and that doesn’t help build the confidence that’s so important in these conditions. I was pushing as hard as I dared, but it was so frustrating when other riders seemed to be able to ride around the outside of me in the turns without any of the problems I was having. In the wet our engine power delivery is not particularly rider friendly, although in the dry the new specification motor for this race feels like a definite step forward. We certainty need a set-up for better tyre performance in wet conditions. Obviously, I’m praying for sun tomorrow.”

Harald Eckl: Team Manager
“As our qualifying positions show all too clearly, we currently have some problems when the conditions are wet, as they were yesterday and today. Rear traction has been a real issue for both riders today and, while we know we need to work together with Bridgestone to improve the performance of their wet weather tyres, we also need to look very closely at modifying the power characteristics of our engine. At the moment the power comes in too aggressively, and this obviously has a negative effect on rear grip in the wet. Hopefully tomorrow’s race will be dry, but whatever the weather, it’s going to be hard for Alex and Shinya to fight their way into the points from the back of the grid.”


More, from a press release issued by Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha:

ROSSI ON FRONT ROW AFTER SECOND WET QUALIFYING

Unfortunate weather conditions at Brno today meant final qualifying took place in the wet, despite a dry practice session in the morning. Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha rider Valentino Rossi secured a front row start whilst his team-mate Carlos Checa, the overnight pole position holder, took the final spot on the second row, ending his second day of qualifying in sixth position. Checa suffered a fall late in the session and, although unhurt, he could not get back on track in time to make another assault on pole.

A weather-affected final hour started on a damp track, continued with a deluge of rain at the half way point and then slowly dried from then on to the end. Rossi, who made incremental improvements of time and position from the outset, took third place with a time of 2:10.470. Checa, unable to improve on his Friday best of 2:11.188, will nonetheless make a valuable second row start tomorrow. Sete Gibernau (Honda) secured pole with a time of 2:09.782 from Alex Barros, (Honda) with a time of 2:10.090.

VALENTINO ROSSI (3rd, 2:10.470)

“This qualifying result is very important for us. I did not expect it because we had a lot of problems with our Yamaha in wet conditions yesterday. But between then and today we have been able to work on the bike for two hours in completely wet conditions, and we did a great job with the team, so a big thank you to them. The bike is now very much better in these conditions. We are third, in the first row, so this was a surprise for us. I hope tomorrow will be dry because it’s better for everybody, but we could have a good result even in wet conditions. We are maybe not yet at the level of Honda and Gibernau, but we are not far away.”

CARLOS CHECA (6th, 2:11.188)

“I was pushing to improve my lap time from yesterday. At the beginning I couldn’t get the same traction, but the track was wetter. The traction was getting better and better but unfortunately I crashed and could not finish that lap, which could have been good. I lost the rear on the entrance when I was off the gas and it was impossible to control. I still managed to keep second row. I think if it’s wet, we’ll do well, I’m not as positive if it’s dry. We’ve got five tyres so far and we’ve only tested two, so if it’s dry in morning warm up we’ll have to test two of them.”

DAVIDE BRIVIO – TEAM DIRECTOR

“There was no time to fix Carlos’ bike and try again, and because it happened towards the end of the session everyone else was going to improve. He missed the chance but he remains on the second row and we are pleased about Valentino as well. Both riders have shown that we have improved a lot in the wet conditions. To have even one rider on the front row in these conditions shows that the team and the engineers have done a very good job to improve our situation in the wet, which was not so good before. Hopefully we have found a good direction.”


More, from a press release issued by Dorna Sports:

Gibernau snatches pole despite autumn snap at Brno

Sete Gibernau grabbed pole position with a brave ride at Brno today as autumn arrived early to the Czech Republic. Whilst hopes are high of a summer reprise for tomorrow, the MotoGP riders have only had one dry session to prepare their machines for the race after a bright morning free practice was eclipsed by thick clouds and heavy rain in the afternoon.

The conditions made it unlikely that any of the riders would improve on Carlos Checa’s provisional pole time, which was set during a brief dry spell at the end of the first qualifying session yesterday, but Gibernau led a quintet of riders to usurp the Spaniard, who himself crashed out of a potential pole lap with eleven minutes remaining.

“The weekend has improved a little but the uncertainty over the weather means we’ll have to be ready for anything,” explained Gibernau. “It looks as though the race is going to be dry so I hope that the work we have done in the wet can translate into a good dry set-up. God willing, the warm-up will be dry and we’ll have to work up to the very last second of it to get the bike perfect for those conditions.”

Alex Barros also splashed boldly through the puddles with a late charge which moved him up to second place alongside Gibernau, with the Honda pair joined on the front row by Valentino Rossi on the Yamaha. Rossi recovered from a problematic wet session yesterday to prove his competitiveness whatever Sunday’s weather brings, lapping 0.688 seconds off the pole man and dislodging Ducati rider Troy Bayliss from the front row at the chequered flag.

However, fourth place represents an equal best grid position so far this season for Bayliss, who has gone from strength to strength in recent rounds and will be optimistic of a repeat of his podium performance at this circuit one year ago. The Australian is joined on the second row by Honda’s Colin Edwards and Yamaha rider Checa, who was unable to stage a late improvement on his provisional pole time and dropped to sixth place.

Max Biaggi hauled himself to within sight of the front riders thanks to a late lap which propelled him from provisional 16th place up to the third row in eighth. Biaggi lines up behind Honda colleague Nicky Hayden in seventh place whilst Ducati’s Loris Capirossi makes up the third row in ninth.

Aprilia rider Shane Byrne will not be taking part in Sunday’s race after suffering a dislocated wrist and mild concussion in a spectacular crash during the morning practice. However, there was better fortune for fellow rookies Kurtis Roberts and Michel Fabrizio, who recorded best ever grid positions in 14th and 18th place on the Proton and WCM machines respectively. British Superbike regular James Ellison, who is making his MotoGP debut alongside Fabrizio at WCM, qualified 24th fastest and will start ahead of Kawasaki pair Shinya Nakano and Alex Hofmann.

Continued rain in the afternoon prevented many of the 250cc riders from improving their times from yesterday, meaning Sebastian Porto starts from pole position for the sixth time this season. Porto was also quickest in the dry session this morning and is boosted by poor grid positions for Dani Pedrosa and Randy de Puniet, the two men ahead of him in the championship. Pedrosa starts from the fourth row of the grid in thirteenth place, two places behind de Puniet, who he leads by 34 points at the top of the standings.

Back on the front row, Porto is joined by fellow Aprilia riders Fonsi Nieto, Alex de Angelis and Sylvain Guintoli, whilst Roby Rolfo represents the top Honda at the front of the second row in fifth.

Marco Simoncelli hung on to his provisional pole position with an improved effort in the final qualifying session for the 125cc class, holding off the challenge of Andrea Dovizioso in a late gamble for times as a dry line began to form. Julian Simon also took advantage to make the front row of the grid for the first time, where he was joined by fellow Spanish teenager Jorge Lorenzo, whilst Roberto Locatelli and Hector Barberá, who trail Dovizioso by 22 and 24 points respectively at the top of the championship, start alongside each other down in 24th and 25th.


More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

BAYLISS DENIED FRONT-ROW START IN FINAL SECONDS

Ducati Marlboro Team rider Troy Bayliss was demoted from a front-row start in the dying moments of this afternoon’s rain-soaked final qualifying session at Brno and will therefore start tomorrow’s race from row two, one row ahead of team-mate Loris Capirossi.

All but one of the four Brno practice and qualifying sessions have been affected by rain, leaving riders and teams with this morning’s only dry session in which to prepare for tomorrow’s race, which is forecast to be run in dry conditions.

“It was a pity to lose Troy’s front row start in the last minute of the final session,” said Ducati Marlboro Team director Livio Suppo. “But Troy’s overall rhythm in the wet has been really good and Loris has been going well too. Both guys were quite good in the dry session this morning, but the problem is that we’ve only had that one hour to set up the bikes, which isn’t really enough. Then again, it’s the same for everyone. Tomorrow morning’s warm-up session will be very important in helping us to finalise our settings and choose tyres.”

BAYLISS FOURTH QUICKEST AGAIN

Ducati Marlboro Team rider Troy Bayliss qualified fourth quickest for the second race in succession, after battling for a front-row start throughout today’s final session. The Aussie swapped back and forth between the first and second rows no less than six times during the hour-long outing, finally missing out on his first front-row start of the year by just 0.453 seconds.

“I’m reasonably happy but I expected a little better,” said Bayliss. “We needed one more suspension change this afternoon and we didn’t quite have the time for it. But I did my best and a second-row start isn’t so bad. In the dry this morning I was struggling a little on grip and feel. We left the bikes same as they were at Donington – which usually means they should work good enough everywhere – but with only one dry session we didn’t have enough time to really get into it. We’ll probably run both bikes a little different from each other in warm-up and see what we can do with a few more little changes. Rain or dry I’ll give it everything, though maybe a freak storm would be better for us!”

CAPIROSSI ON THIRD ROW OF THE GRID

Loris Capirossi dealt well with this afternoon’s treacherous conditions to post the ninth fastest time, good enough to put him on the third row of the grid. Like all of his rivals the Italian knows that tomorrow morning’s warm-up session will be crucial for preparing for the expected dry race, so long as it doesn’t rain again in the morning.

“Today was another strange day – dry this morning, wet this afternoon,” said the Ducati Marlboro Team man. “I’m pretty happy with my pace in the dry but we still need to work on tyre choice. I only got to try two rears this morning, so I just hope that warm-up is dry so that I can try another two. My pace in the wet this afternoon was not so bad. Everyone was pushing really hard for grid positions, so in the circumstances I’m not too unhappy with ninth place. I’m hoping for a dry race, because, as I said yesterday, it’s better for us the riders and for all the fans.”


More, from a press release issued by d’Antin Ducati:

XAUS AND HODGSON SUCCESSFULLY OVERCOME CRASH-STREWN DA…
[21.08.2004]



The second day of practice in Brno was once again affected by the weather and there were numerous crashes, although the d´Antin MotoGP riders both completed a good day of work and will both start from the fourth row of the grid.

In the morning free, Neil Hodgson was involved in a crash, instigated by another rider, which brought back the pain of previous injuries in France. Later, in the official practice, his teammate Rubén Xaus was to fall, as he looked to get amongst the top six riders on the grid.

RUBÉN XAUS: “there were just a few minutes left before the end of the session, and I was seventh. The rear tyre was already at the limit and it was sliding too much. I should have pushed it any more, but having passed by the pit wall and seen all the team willing me on, I couldn’t resist the urge to try to take a place on the second row. I tried it, and I suffered a small crash on the sequence of lefts that are especially delicate in the wet here, especially with the Ducati which likes to slide. Anyway, I tried it because the team is working full tilt and I wanted to give them something back.The final result isn’t too bad and we have a good set-up in the wet, although we’ve not worked much in the dry and if it doesn’t rain we’ll have our work cut out in the warm-up. Whatever happens the objectives remains getting into the points.”

NEIL HODGSON: “There were a few crashes today. In the morning we had to make the most of the dry to get a set-up, knowing that the rain was likely to come later on in the timed session. The crash broke up my rhythm and I was annoyed because it came from a sudden change of line by Max Biaggi and he put himself right in my path. In the heat of the moment I went straight to his garage to have a go, but later we talked when we had calmed down and now it’s forgotten. The worst bit is that it akoek the injury in my ribs and it’s a bit painful, so I would prefer a wet race tomorrow because in the dry you have to make that extra bit of physical effort. As regards the bike, I think I have a set-up whatever the weather.”


More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki:

RAIN FOILS FRONT-ROW HOPES
Team Suzuki Press Office, Brno, Czech Republic – Saturday August 21, 2004.

Team Suzuki MotoGP riders Kenny Roberts Jr and John Hopkins will start tomorrow’s Czech Republic GP from the sixth and seventh rows of the grid after cruel weather foiled their hopes of converting blindingly fast free training lap times into qualifying positions.

The Suzuki pair was first and third in dry conditions in the morning free training session. With dry weather forecast for tomorrow’s race, they suggest that the Suzuki riders would be able to continue the trend of improving results established in the first half of the season. But the job will be much harder, because they were denied the chance of claiming front-row grid positions in the timed afternoon sessions.

Hopkins was fastest in both morning sessions yesterday and today, with Roberts placing a close third this morning after heading the list for most of the hour. But that was in free practice, and times do not count towards grid positions. Today, as yesterday, rain set in before the timed qualifying session and the Suzuki riders were condemned by a lack of wet-weather grip to starting positions much lower than they deserved.

The problems meant that Roberts was one of only a handful of riders not to improve on his time from yesterday. Hopkins took almost seven tenths of a second off his previous best wet time but still lost positions on the grid as Suzuki test rider Gregorio Lavilla was 23rd fastest.

The poor grid positions mean the Suzuki riders will have their work cut out to get through the traffic to the leading positions their lap times suggest they should be occupying. Luckily, Brno is a wide race-track with a relatively large number of passing places … but even so, the inevitable thick traffic will damage their chances.

Hopkins’s morning lap time of 1:58.801 was a full second inside the 5.403km circuit’s lap record; while Roberts had earlier set the target at 1:59.286, confident that there would be more to come if the more important afternoon session had been dry. The Suzuki pair sandwiched defending champion Valentino Rossi, in what would have been a pair of front-row starting positions.

Dry weather is forecast for tomorrow’s race, the tenth of 16 GPs.

KENNY ROBERTS Jr. – 16th position, 2:13.817:

“From yesterday’s rain conditions we made a modification to the wet tyre that ended up making it worse and we didn’t have another one to go back to so that is one of the major reasons we didn’t improve the time. Even so, it wouldn’t have made too much difference; we’re still quite a way off where we should be, lap-time wise. As far as the dry goes, I had a pretty decent session this morning. Right from the start it felt okay and the lap times were right there. I feel I had a 57 somewhere in the bike, and if the afternoon had been dry that would have been good enough for pole, or the front row. Hopefully we can convert that into a good race set-up for tomorrow … but who knows what the weather is going to do.”

JOHN HOPKINS – 21st position, 2:14.727:

“I was the fastest guy in both morning sessions so it’s obvious the Suzuki is running well and the Bridgestone dry tyres are good. Unfortunately all the Bridgestone runners are at the back of the pack in the wet. They’ve done a great job improving their dry tyres, but they need to step it up with the wets. Having to start 21st is disappointing, of course. The riders ahead of me should know I’ll be coming through fast!”

GARRY TAYLOR – Team Manager:

“It’s amazing what a difference a few hours can make. We seem to have got some really good dry settings, and the probability is that it will be dry for the race tomorrow. So it’s really frustrating that we’ve been chasing grip in the wet. In spite of having both John and Kenny in the top three in the dry, they’re starting from way d own the grid. It’s going to make it hard for them and it is really disappointing after this morning.”


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

Proton KR Riders suffer at slippery Brno

Kurrtis Roberts: 14th: 2:13.345
Nobuatsu Aoki: 22nd: 2:15.801

Proton Team KR riders Kurtis Roberts and Nobu Aoki lost positions in a second soaking timed practice session at Brno this afternoon, both falling victim to slippery conditions and crashing out.

Aoki escaped with painful bruising, but Roberts suffered left elbow and wrist fractures after his heavy crash, and will not start tomorrow’s race. He is expected to be fit for the Portuguese GP in two weeks.

It was cruel fate, after Kurtis’s exceptional performance in yesterday’s first timed session. The MotoGP rookie set sixth-fastest time, good enough for a provisional second-row start. He failed to improve today, and dropped to 14th. It was still his best qualifying position of the year, but he will not be on the grid to take advantage of it.

Aoki likewise failed to improve, after his misfortunate tumble.

It was a disappointment for the team, after a day when all the machines ran strongly without trouble, proof of progress with the Mk2 version of the England-made V5 engine. A further boost is expected for the next GP in Portugal, when power-up parts developed during the summer break should come on stream.

Today’s weather was the same as yesterday, dry for the morning free training but wet in the afternoon. A dry race is forecast for tomorrow.

Kurtis Roberts
It was wetter than yesterday and I was trying to take it easy, but I had no grip. I kept losing the rear, both into and out of the turns. Then on one lap, on the way into a turn, it went all the way to the steering lock stops, and flicked me off the high side. And I got beat up. We need some improvement in grip – there was no explanation of why it happened. The telemetry showed I was actually a little slower there than on the previous two laps.

Nobuatsu Aoki
It was raining pretty hard when I fell, but at that time the chassis and the tyres felt okay. I thought I could push pretty hard, but it was not the right time. I lost rear grip on a low-speed corner and went over the high side. I’ve bruised my left thumb and my right knee, but though it’s sore I should be able to carry on tomorrow.

Chuck Aksland – Team Manager
It was a bad day for us. We couldn’t get near the same traction combination that we found for Kurtis yesterday, so we’re struggling a bit. Kurtis looked pretty sore, and we had him checked out. He has a couple of small fractures, so he won’t be fit to race tomorrow. The bikes were running consistently, though, and the engines seem okay. We’ll try and maximise our handling for the race tomorrow.


More, from a press release issued by MS Aprilia:


Byrne injured at Brno, Jeremy on fifth row

SHANE Byrne will miss tomorrow’s Czech Republic GP in Brno after suffering a dislocated left wrist in a crash during this morning’s second free practice session.

The MS Aprilia Racing rider also suffered a small fracture in his left wrist, concussion and multiple cuts and bruises, the result of a heavy impact following a vicious high-side at turn eight of the 5.403km circuit. After undergoing preliminary checks at the circuit’s medical centre, Shakey was taken by air ambulance to a local hospital in Brno where further scans showed the wrist was his most serious injury after he’d also suffered a heavy blow to his chest.

After being the given all-clear to leave hospital, the 27-year-old is expected to return to the track later this evening for further checks with GP doctor Claudio Costa, where a decision will be taken on whether an operation on the wrist is required. The dislocated and fractured left wrist will certainly mean the reigning Briitsh superbike champion will not be fit to ride his Cube three-cylinder at the Estoril GP in Portugal in two weeks time. Because of the nature of the wrist injury and the time required to recuperate, Shakey is also a doubt for the Twin Ring Motegi race in Japan on September 19. MS Aprilia Racing management expect to make an announcement in the next few days about whether Shakey will be replaced in Portugal.

Shakey’s team-mate Jeremy McWilliams will start tomorrow’s 22-lap race in 15th position as he managed to jump up five places on his provisional grid standing from yesterday. He ended a rain-hit session with a best time of 2.13.781s to knock over a second off his time from yesterday in almost identical conditions. Jeremy said: “I’m a little disappointed because I nearly crashed on my last lap and lost a lot of time. I’m kicking myself for not getting a better lap time towards the end of the session because the bike was better today. Compared to yesterday we’ve made some steps forward working on the setting, playing with swingarm angles and pivot heights to try and get a good feeling with the tyres. We just need to find a tyre to match the set-up I’m happy with if it rains again tomorrow. Hopefully Shakey is going to fine because that was a big crash.”

In contrast to the two days of wet qualifying so far, tomorrow’s race is expected to be run in fine and sunny conditions.


More, from a press release issued by Camel Honda:

Max and Makoto improve with better weather forecast

Two more sessions with mixed track conditions: dry in the free, and wet and raining in the qualifiers. Max Biaggi, seventh in the morning free, finished the afternoon timed session with the eighth fastest lap. Meanwhile, Makoto Tamada showed that he could go very fast in the dry this morning, and even improved his grid position in the wet afternoon hour. The race is all about the start for him, starting back in 17th place, but if it doesn’t rain, he could really go well.

Sito Pons – Camel Honda (Team Principal)
“It was a very important session to improve Max’s grid position, which after sixteenth yesterday was number one priority. From there he’s gone to eighth place on the grid. It’s not an ideal starting spot, but with a good start it means he can get up with the leaders. The morning free session was also important in the dry, because it looks as if it won’t rain, and we will use the warm-up to make the definitive tyre choice.”

Max Biaggi – Camel Honda (Michelin Tyres) – 8th – 2’11.737
“These two days have thrown some positive things up in the testing area, and little else: we hope that the first things become more important tomorrow. The good things are that the new parts on the bike suit me. On the bad side is that we have a slight problem that we can’t resolve, and also the weather has basically been bad for nearly all of the four practice sessions. We need to improve the bike in the braking areas, where the front isn’t giving me the necessary confidence to go as quickly as I would like. I know that if we solve this, even just making it slightly better, my laptime will improve considerably. So we have 20 minutes left to practice tomorrow, which hopefully will go ahead without any rain.”

Gianluca Montiron – Camel Honda – (Makoto Tamada Team Manager)
“This morning we were able to try the evolution tyre that Bridgestone brought, and we got some great results. So if it doesn’t rain tomorrow I think we can aim to be amongst the top spots. It’s a shame we didn’t have too long to practice, we couldn’t test the entire range of tyres they brought with them, but I’m sure that in the warm-up we will be able to find an even better solution. Makoto will have it all to do in the start tomorrow, and if he can get up with the front guys early on he can get into a rhythm and try to get a good result.”

Makoto Tamada – Camel Honda (Bridgestone Tyres) – 17th -2’14.031
“After a good dry session in the morning, with the sixth fastest time, it was a lot more difficult in the wet with no feeling like yesterday. I did move up the grid a little though. In the warm-up I will try a few more set-up things tomorrow and if we race in the dry I think I can go well. It will mean getting a good start, trying to get as far up as quickly as possible, then I’ll give my all as ever.”


More, from a press release issued by Telefonica Movistar Honda/Gresini Racing:


Sete Gibernau takes promising pole

Colin Edwards hoping for another podium

Sete Gibernau will start from pole for the fourth time this season at the Czech Republic GP tomorrow on what will be a crucial day for the team with just seven races remaining. The Spanish rider was unstoppable in the rain and will start ahead of Alex Barros and Valentino Rossi on the front row. As well as the top position on the grid, Gibernau also hopes to achieve a good dry setting for his bike in the warm-up session tomorrow, weather permitting.
Colin Edwards is back in action and reporting similar feelings to