FIM MotoGP World Championship Estoril, Portugal October 14, 2006 Qualifying Results: 1. Valentino ROSSI (Yam YZR-M1), 1:36.200, Michelin 2. Colin EDWARDS (Yam YZR-M1), 1:36.478, Michelin 3. Nicky HAYDEN (Hon RC211V), 1:36.549, Michelin 4. Dani PEDROSA (Hon RC211V), 1:36.569, Michelin 5. Casey STONER (Hon RC211V), 1:36.702, Michelin 6. John HOPKINS (Suz GSV-R), 1:36.790, Bridgestone 7. Shinya NAKANO (Kaw ZX-RR), 1:36.790, Bridgestone 8. Sete GIBERNAU (Duc GP06), 1:36.940, Bridgestone 9. Carlos CHECA (Yam YZR-M1), 1:37.107, Dunlop 10. Loris CAPIROSSI (Duc GP06), 1:37.182, Bridgestone 11. Toni ELIAS (Hon RC211V), 1:37.245, Michelin 12. Chris VERMEULEN (Suz GSV-R), 1:37.371, Bridgestone 13. Kenny Lee ROBERTS (Hon KR211V), 1:37.433, Michelin 14. Makoto TAMADA (Hon RC211V), 1:37.517, Michelin 15. Marco MELANDRI (Hon RC211V), 1:37.582, Michelin 16. Randy DE PUNIET (Kaw ZX-RR), 1:37.592, Bridgestone 17. James ELLISON (Yam YZR-M1), 1:38.810, Dunlop 18. Alex HOFMANN (Duc GP05), 1:39.647, Dunlop 19. Jose Luis CARDOSO (Duc GP05), 1:40.451, Dunlop 20. Garry McCOY (Ilmor X3), 1:41.260, Michelin More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki Racing: NAKANO SECURES THIRD ROW START IN DIFFICULT CONDITIONS Kawasaki’s Shinya Nakano will start tomorrow’s 28-lap Portuguese Grand Prix from the third row of the grid, after qualifying his Ninja ZX-RR in seventh place during this afternoon’s hour-long timed session. The 29-year-old Kawasaki rider set exactly the same lap time as Suzuki’s John Hopkins, but the American retained his position on the second row of the grid, having set his fastest lap earlier in the qualifying session than Nakano. A lack of rear grip left Randy de Puniet frustrated with his qualifying performance today, and the 25-year-old Frenchman knows that starting from sixteenth position, and the sixth row of the grid, leaves him with a lot of ground to make up in tomorrow’s race. Both Kawasaki riders reported an improvement in both traction and drive grip during this morning’s final free practice session, but a major increase in track temperature ahead of this afternoon’s all-important qualifying session meant that Nakano and de Puniet were forced to re-evaluate their tyre choice, as grip, once again, became difficult to find. Although Nakano was able to identify a combination of tyre and set-up that at least allowed him to keep the leading riders in sight, de Puniet was losing time at every turn as the rear of his Ninja ZX-RR continued to spin up under acceleration. As this afternoon’s session drew to a close, Nakano took advantage of the extra grip offered by Bridgestone’s qualifying tyres to close to within half-a-second of eventual pole sitter, Valentino Rossi. While reasonably happy with his qualifying position, Nakano will try some minor changes to the set-up of his Ninja ZX-RR during morning warm-up tomorrow, in an attempt to improve further his lap time in race trim. Tyre choice for tomorrow’s race will be critical, and both Kawasaki riders will spend time with the Bridgestone tyre technicians this evening, in order to review the tyre options open to them for tomorrow’s 28-lap race. Shinya Nakano: 7th – 1’36.790 “We made some changes to the set-up of the bike this morning, but we didn’t see much of an improvement to be honest. This afternoon we still had some problems with a lack of rear grip, but it was definitely more consistent and I think everyone was suffering with the same problem, as there were not many riders breaking into the 1’37 bracket on race tyres. But, still, we’re looking for a couple of tenths in race trim, which we hope we can find during warm-up tomorrow. Switching to the qualifying tyre this afternoon obviously gave us more grip, and the balance of the bike felt good, so we know we have a workable set-up for the race. This evening we need to sit down with Bridgestone to consider our race tyre options for tomorrow, as tyre choice will be critical.” Randy de Puniet: 16th – 1’37.592 “This afternoon was very frustrating. This morning we suffered a mechanical problem with one of my bikes, but right at the end of the session I found a rear tyre that seemed to work well at this circuit, and I was able to improve my lap time. But the track temperature had increased considerably for this afternoon’s qualifying session and, as a result, the same tyre just didn’t offer the same level of grip as it did this morning. When we switched to the qualifying tyre this afternoon I made a mistake on my final flying lap and, because of this, I’m facing a start from the sixth row of the grid tomorrow. For sure, this is going to make for a difficult race, but I will just have to go out there and push as hard as I can.” More from a press release issued by Ducati Marlboro: DUCATI MARLBORO MEN ON ROWS THREE & FOUR Ducati Marlboro Team riders Sete Gibernau and Loris Capirossi will start tomorrow’s Portuguese Grand Prix from the third and fourth rows of the grid after running eighth and tenth quickest in this afternoon’s qualifying session, staged in warm, sunny conditions. Following a sequence of four races in which the team ran consistently up front, with two victories, one runner-up finish and one pole position, this track has proved a tougher challenge. Estoril was partially resurfaced for this event and the new tarmac doesn’t seem to suit the team’s bike/tyre package as well as was expected. Nevertheless Gibernau and Capirossi still have tomorrow’s morning warm-up in which to improve, although the latest weather forecast suggests that rain could fall during the race, which starts at 1pm local time. Sete Gibernau, Ducati Marlboro Team, 8th fastest, 1m 36.940s “We are improving, getting closer every time but right now we’re not too confident for the race. We tried two different ways with my two bikes today and we know which way to go, so hopefully we can improve things a bit more tomorrow morning. We have managed to gain a little more side grip with some changes to the set-up but we still need more. In warm-up we’ll try and make another small improvement and see what Bridgestone can do to get us closer to the front. They are pushing really hard and they’re very committed. There’s a difference between the new and old tarmacs, which you maybe feel more when the bike/tyre package isn’t 100 per cent. We’ve also got to see what happens with the weather though I’m not sure I’d want it to rain, so we’ve got to keep our heads down and see what happens.” Loris Capirossi, Ducati Marlboro Team, 10th fastest, 1m 37.182s “We did a very good job on set-up, to the extent that we were among the fastest this morning. But then we ran into some tyre endurance problems, so we modified the set-up some more to try and help tyre life but that made the bike difficult to ride, so we went back a step with the settings. It is clear that we are not in the best of shape here, but I know Bridgestone and the team are as committed as ever to giving us what we need. The problem is the new tarmac which has been laid at the most crucial parts of the track – it’s like a bad joke for us. Let’s hope that the weather forecasts that predict rain are correct!” Temperatures. Ambient: 25 degrees. Track: 36 degrees More from a press release issued by Bridgestone Motorsport: WEEKEND WOES CONTINUE FOR BRIDGESTONE RIDERS Bridgestone will be represented by four riders in the top half of the grid for tomorrow’s Portuguese Grand Prix, but for only the second time this season no Bridgestone-shod rider will be present on the front row as the Japanese tyre manufacturer continues to struggle for pace at the partially resurfaced Estoril circuit. In spite of the difficulties, Suzuki’s John Hopkins claimed his best qualifying result since July’s US GP by setting the sixth fastest lap of the afternoon, but was prevented from making a final assault after being held up on his last run. His overall best time of 1m36.790s was exactly equal to that of fellow Bridgestone rider Shinya Nakano, but on count-back to the next best time of the session, as per regulation in such an eventuality, Hopkins was awarded sixth place ahead of Nakano. The Ducati duo of Sete Gibernau and Loris Capirossi both secured top ten results in eighth and tenth respectively less than a second from Valentino Rossi’s pole-setting time. Chris Vermeulen missed out on the top ten by less than two-tenths-of-a-second after a valiant late lap vaulted him up to 12th place. Kawasaki’s Randy de Puniet will start the race from 16th position a further two-tenths adrift. Bridgestone’s efforts have been thwarted in each of the four sessions in preparation for tomorrow’s Portuguese Grand Prix as its tyres struggle to find the grip levels required to combat the recently resurfaced Estoril asphalt. With a warm-up session still remaining, Bridgestone will continue its meticulous data analysis work in a bid to make progress with all three of its teams ahead of tomorrow afternoon’s race. HIROSHI YAMADA – BRIDGESTONE MOTORSPORT – MANAGER MOTORCYCLE RACING “There are few positives to take away from this Portuguese Grand Prix weekend so far, but I derive some consolation from seeing each of our three teams represented in the top ten on the grid. We have been struggling to extract sufficient levels of grip from any of our tyre specifications and compounds with the track conditions we have encountered this weekend. We are still trying to ascertain what the specific cause has been and whether it is related to the improvements made to the asphalt since last year’s event. We will continue to look for answers as we have tomorrow morning’s warm-up session in which to work further with our three teams.” JOHN HOPKINS SUZUKI – 6TH POSITION “We’re struggling a bit right now with rear edge grip and we’ll have to come up with something for tomorrow to improve our race performance the boys will be working hard tonight to sort something out. I feel pretty good around here so there is no reason that we won’t be able to drop the lap times in the race. As far as qualifying goes, I am very disappointed in some of the riders that chose to sit in the middle of the track, on the race line, and start arguing with each other. Because of that my lap time got screwed up and I could have got pole, or at least been on the front row. We’re on the second row, so it’s not too bad. We need to get a good start and do the best we can.” Bridgestone Qualifying Results and Grid Formation: Pos/Rider/Bike/Best Lap/Gap P6 John Hopkins Suzuki 1m36.790s +0.590s P7 Shinya Nakano Kawasaki 1m36.790s +0.590s P8 Sete Gibernau Ducati 1m36.940s +0.740s P10 Loris Capirossi Ducati 1m37.182s +0.982s P12 Chris Vermeulen Suzuki 1m37.271s +1.171s P16 Randy de Puniet Kawasaki 1m37.592s +1.392s Weather: Dry Air 25°C, Track 36°C, Humidity 20% More from a press release issued by Camel Yamaha: CAMEL YAMAHA RIDERS SCORE CRUCIAL GRID ONE-TWO AT ESTORIL Camel Yamaha Team riders Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards will start the Grand Prix of Portugal from the front two places on the grid tomorrow, after a sensational qualifying practice that saw the Italian seal his fourth pole of the season with a record time of 1’36.200. Edwards was just 0.278 seconds off the pace of his team-mate to equal his best qualifying position of the campaign ahead of what promises to be a mouth-watering penultimate round. Both riders worked hard on the race setting of their YZR-M1 machines throughout the day, building on positive recent tests at Motegi and an exhaustive first day of practice yesterday. In the morning they were second and fifth fastest but the momentum grew in the afternoon when they both dipped under the 1’38 mark on race rubber before launching their grid attack in an exciting climax to the session, Rossi setting his definitive pole time on the last of three impressive efforts. Tomorrow’s race, which gets underway at 1pm local time (CET 1), will see the reigning World Champion aim to reduce a 12-point deficit to series leader Nicky Hayden, who clinched the final front row spot in third place, before the final round of the season at Valencia in two weeks’ time. VALENTINO ROSSI (1st 1’36.200; 27 laps) “With the championship as it is now I think it was fundamental to be on pole position today and for Colin to qualify second is perfect I am really pleased for him and all his guys. We’ve worked hard this weekend because the right setting was quite difficult to find and all the team had to give 100% so I’m really thankful to them and to Michelin for a great tyre. Of course the important thing is tomorrow and with Hayden on the front row with us it looks like it will be a great battle for the victory. There are a lot of other riders with good pace too but for now I’m really happy with the pole position. My first two qualifying laps were quite good but the last one was unbelievable it is so much fun to ride the M1 when it’s working so well like this. Hopefully the weather will stay like this tomorrow and we can have a good show for everybody.” COLIN EDWARDS (2nd 1’36.478; 27 laps) “It’s a fantastic feeling to be back on the front row and running with consistent times that we know can make us competitive in the race. Hats off to my team and to Michelin as well, because we had a lot of help from them today. After Motegi we stayed and tested and finally figured out the little piece of the puzzle that has been missing all year. Now the bike feels easy to ride I can push it to the limit, even go over the limit, and I don’t know how to thank the guys enough. Personally I feel good and feel that I’m riding great. Tomorrow looks like it’s going to be really interesting so hopefully I can play my part for the team and we’ll see what happens.” DAVIDE BRIVIO CAMEL YAMAHA TEAM DIRECTOR “It was a perfect end to the session for us and a perfect way to start the race tomorrow! To have Valentino and Colin start first and second at such a crucial moment in the season is very important. It’s great for us to see Colin back on the front row and so happy on the bike. It’s also encouraging to see that we’re making progress with the bike, even at this stage of the championship. It’s fantastic that Valentino is on pole and in such good shape for these last two battles. But it is only Saturday and now we have to focus on tomorrow and hope for an equally good day.” More from a press release issued by Pramac D’Antin: THE TEAM PRAMAC D’ANTIN MOTOGP IS GETTING READY FOR THE RACE The single session of qualifying practice reserved to the MotoGP class on the Portuguese circuit of Estoril was held in good weather conditions. The two riders of the TEAM PRAMAC D’ANTIN MOTOGP, the German ALEX HOFMANN and the Spanish JOSE LUIS CARDOSO, despite some difficulties in the definition of the ideal set-up of their DUCATI DESMOSEDICI GP06 “Sat.” with DUNLOP tyres, qualified themselves respectively in 18th and 19th position and are ready to make their maximum during the 28 laps of tomorrow’s competition. The race will start tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. (GMT+1). ALEX HOFMANN #66 (18th – 1’39.647): “Unfortunately, today I cannot say I’m satisfied as we haven’t found a set-up giving me the right feeling to be able to make better laptimes. We already knew that these last two races would have been difficult, as both tracks ain’t particularly adapted to our “package” but, honestly, I was hoping something better. We worked a lot to get ready for the competition but we’re still far from the other riders and this will surely be a hard race. Anyway, I will make my best and I nearly hope some change in the weather conditions, it could help us”. JOSE LUIS CARDOSO #30 (19° – 1’40.451): “Today, things went a bit better from yesterday, I have a good feeling with the bike even though we still have grip difficulties. We tested different solutions but didn’t find anything that really could improve our situation. Consequently, when I enter the corners, the motorcycle is unstable and when I go out of them, it slides a lot. It’s not easy to lower my laptimes in these conditions but anyway we made our maximum today. For the race, we have a new tyre that should allow us to end the race in quite good conditions. I really want to make a good result in front of the public that will come and support me, I ‘m very motivated!”. ANDRE LAUGIER Track Engineer of Jose Luis Cardoso: “During the qualifying practice session, unfortunately, we didn’t have the time to put on the third qualifying tyre. A real pity as we could have improved a bit more our best laptime but, anyway, races ain’t done with qualifying tyres. About the race tyres, we tested two new ones, the softer seems to be more constant and should last for the 28 laps of the competition. The other one, harder, raised the laptimes about 1 second. Now we will see what will happen during the race”. More from a press release issued by Dorna Communications: ROSSI EDGES POLE IN PORTUGAL, HAYDEN THIRD The MotoGP title chase undertook its latest twist this afternoon in qualifying for the bwin.com Grande Premio de Portugal, with both Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden lining up on the front row for tomorrow’s race. There is also added intrigue provided by the presence of both riders’ team-mates in the immediate vicinity, perhaps acting as spoilers as they aim to help their colleagues. Rossi took pole with a storming time of 1’36.200, taking his first ever front spot in Portugal but his fourth of the 2006 season. He lines up alongside Colin Edwards, who has stated that he will be looking to assist his Camel Yamaha colleague in Estoril. Nicky Hayden joins the two Yamaha M1s on the front row, and knows that a good start will be essential if he is to prevent title rival Rossi from getting away. Carrying his good form over from his free practice performance this morning, the American wasn’t quite able to catch Rossi and Edwards but is still in a good position at a track where he has yet to finish higher than fourth. Hayden was also accompanied by his team-mate on the timesheets, although Dani Pedrosa will line up on the second row instead of joining him on the frontline in the battle between the two Japanese factories. On his final flying lap, Casey Stoner had unintentionally impeded his fellow Honda rookie’s progress, and later went into his garage to apologise. Stoner himself was just behind the Spaniard in fifth but ended up with a $1000 fine for his mistake. John Hopkins completed the top six, ahead of Shinya Nakano and Sete Gibernau. Carlos Checa and Loris Capirossi completed the top ten. With a rearranged schedule, the bwin.com Grande Premio de Portugal takes place tomorrow at 1pm local time, with the 250cc race at 11:15am and 125cc at 2:30pm (GMT+1). 250cc Roberto Locatelli took his first ever pole position in the 250cc class this afternoon after a stunning final lap of the Estoril Circuit. Going round in 1’41.511, the Team Toth rider and recently crowned best privateer of 2006 snatched the top spot from Hiroshi Aoyama in the dying moments of the quarter-litre qualifying session. Marco Simoncelli and championship leader Jorge Lorenzo, who this morning crashed after colliding with another rider, complete the front row, with Lorenzo knowing that he only has to finish ahead of Andrea Dovizioso tomorrow to win the 2007 World Championship. Hector Barbera heads the second row, accompanied by Alex de Angelis, Dovizioso and the surprise of the session, Aleix Espargaro, whilst Shuhei Aoyama and Sylvain Guintoli complete the top ten. 125cc Alvaro Bautista consolidated yesterday’s provisional pole by taking his seventh top spot of the 2006 season in Portugal. The Spaniard was also the only rider to go round in under 1’46, clocking a time of 1’45.322. Team-mate Hector Faubel, Derbi rider Lukas Pesek and KTM’s Julian Simon join the recently crowned World Champion on the front row. Mattia Pasini, still in with a chance of second spot in the championship, starts the second row, with rival Mika Kallio only able to qualify eleventh. Fabrizio Lai, Tomoyoshi Koyama and Gabor Talmacsi accompany him, ahead of Mike di Meglio and Karel Abraham. More from a press release issued by Fortuna Honda: DIFFICULTIES CONTINUE FOR FORTUNA HONDA RIDERS Toni and Marco will start from the fourth and fifth rows respectively Marco Melandri’s fall on Friday affected his performance on the second day of qualifying for the Portuguese Grand Prix, with the FORTUNA HONDA RIDER having to settle for 15th place on the grid. The Italian opted to focus his attention on set up solutions and tyre selection on Saturday and was 12th fastest in the morning session. He went 0.8 seconds fastest in the afternoon, but still finished down in 15th. Forecasts are predicting rain on Sunday and that could help the Italian recover some places in the race itself. Melandri’s team-mate Toni Elias put in a solid showing and claimed 11th spot on the grid. The Spaniard will now hope to make a fast start tomorrow and latch on to the lead group. TONI ELIAS (11th, 1’37″245): “I am not satisfied with my position on the grid, although we did a good job. We are improving every day and now we must get the result to confirm it. I am feeling good on the bike and hope to make a good start tomorrow and make up positions as quickly as possible. I like this circuit and am confident of having a good race tomorrow.” MARCO MELANDRI (15th, 1’37″582): “Physically I am improving, I feel better than I thought. The knee is still hurting me and is causing pain in the left-hand corners, but this is not the main problem which is preventing me from lapping faster. The bike is working well and the team is doing a good job. We have tried various different tyres and set up solutions but we still don’t have enough grip to ride smoothly. I hope to try some more tyres tomorrow morning and to improve my feeling. According to the weather forecast, it should rain. I hope to race on the wet to recover important positions. I’m motivated.” More, from a press release issued by Honda Racing Information: HAYDEN ON FRONT ROW FOR A CRUCIAL CONTEST Qualifying for the penultimate MotoGP round of 2006 was a frantic affair resulting in series points leader Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC211V) starting from the front row as third fastest qualifier behind Yamaha duo Colin Edwards second fastest and Valentino Rossi on pole. In bright, warm conditions with a track at 36-degrees and with a 25-degree ambient temperature it was Casey Stoner (LCR Honda RC211V) who was at instant ease with this 4.182km track. The only change made since 2005 has been resurfacing of the final ‘Parabolica’ turn onto the main straight. Stoner topped the timesheet with a 1m 37.531s lap with Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC211V) second quickest and Edwards third after 15 minutes had elapsed. Nicky was working hard on race set-up and a series of broadslides out of the Parabolica showed just how hard the Kentucky Kid was working his RC211V. Casey then upped the pace with a 1m 37.403s lap as Rossi climbed to third with 40 minutes of the hour session remaining. At the half-way point the order was Stoner, Pedrosa, Rossi, Makoto Tamada (Konica Minolta Honda RC211V), and then Nicky. As the first of the field fitted qualifying rubber with 20 minutes of the hour to go it was Carlos Checa (Yamaha) who sped to the second fastest time, but he could not dislodge Stoner who then bested his own provisional pole time with a 1m 37.066s lap. Nicky lay ninth with 15 minutes left until he turned a 1m 37.065s lap to steal the pole. But his dominance was short-lived as Rossi put in a 1m 36.627s time to hold number one slot. Then Dani pushed Rossi off the pole with a 1m 36.569s time. Hayden was into the gravel at turn six in his bid to get back onto the head of the grid and with five minutes to go John Hopkins (Suzuki) hoisted himself to third while Rossi reduced his lap time to 1m 36.200s to retake pole from Dani. In the dying minutes Nicky got back onto the front row as second fastest man again while Stoner elevated himself to fourth before Edwards snatched second relegating Casey to fifth. Said Nicky, only 0.349s off the pole time, “On my second qualifier I had a good lap going that Michelin was a little bit softer and it felt pretty good, but I got into turn six a little deep and went straight on. So on my last qualifying lap I felt a bit of heat because I knew I couldn’t afford to just completely let it hang out I had to get in a good solid lap to try to get on the front row. This is definitely the best my bike has felt for a few races and I’m enjoying riding more this weekend than I have in a while. Tomorrow’s race is going to be a shoot-out and I think all the fans at home should get ready for it and take the phones off the hook because it’s going to be a good one.” Dani, heading row two as fourth quickest, said, “We did another good practice today and we were able to put in some quick lap times on race tyres. After qualifying we are at the front of the second row and this is a pretty good position to be in. I had some traffic in qualifying which meant I couldn’t set my fastest lap, but this is normal sometimes. I think the last time I had traffic in qualifying was at Barcelona so I can’t complain about it. The race is very long so we’ll have to take care with the tyre choice we still have to make the final decision.” Stoner said, “I made an honest mistake and I went to Dani and apologised but I still got fined USD$1,000 and I think it is very unfair. I know what I did wrong — I just didn’t think Dani and the other riders would catch me so fast on my slow down lap. I’ve never been charged for any bad riding in the past and now, after just one mistake, I get a fine. Apart from this, everything else has been going very well, we’ve just made small changes to the bike and I’m very comfortable at this track. I’ve come here with a relaxed attitude and feeling no pressure.” Toni Elias (Fortuna Honda RC211V) qualified 11th and said, “I’m not happy with 11th but it has been a positive day. My feeling with the bike has improved, the team has done a good job. I need a good start tomorrow to recover some positions as quickly as possible. I’m confident I can do that because I like this track a lot.” Kenny Roberts (Roberts KR211V), 13th fastest, said, “There’s not a lot to say. I tried three qualifying tyres and none of them really worked. I also made a mistake when I was caught in traffic so nothing was going for me today. I’m happy with my race pace and if I wasn’t 13th on the grid I’d feel much better. I just need a really good start.” The 14th fastest qualifier, Makoto Tamada, said, “I didn’t do very well on the qualifying tyres I used today. On race rubber I’m not so bad. I changed the front and rear suspension and it was an improvement and I could run 1m 38s on race set-up but I should have been faster on the qualifying tyres. I need a good start tomorrow.” Marco Melandri (Fortuna Honda RC211V), who crashed yesterday injuring his knee, could only manage 15th spot on the grid. He said, “After my crash yesterday I feel a lot better than I thought I would. My knee hurts but only in the left-hand corners. The team is trying different set-up ideas and tyres trying to make up for the hour of practice I missed yesterday because of the crash. Basically I don’t have enough grip to ride smoothly.” The 250cc qualifying session belonged to Roberto Locatelli (Aprilia) who netted his first pole of the season ahead of Hiro Aoyama (KTM) who put in his best qualifying performance of 2006 so far with second on the grid. Marco Simoncelli was third fastest with series points leader Jorge Lorenzo completing the front row in fourth. Honda men have a hold on the second row with Andrea Dovizioso (Humangest Racing Honda RS250RW) in seventh, just over half a second shy of the pole time of 1m 41.511s. Next to him is Aleix Espargaro (Würth Honda BQR RS250RW) in eighth, then Shuhei Aoyama (Repsol Honda RS250RW) heading row three as ninth quickest. Yuki Takahashi (Humangest Racing Honda RS250RW) managed the 12th fastest time while David de Gea, standing in for the injured Martin Cardenas, (Repsol Honda RS250RW), will start from row four as 13th best qualifier. Dovi said, “I knew we all would have been very close today and so it was very easy to lose important positions. Anyway, I reckon it will be a close race especially in the first part, but we have a good pace and we are almost OK for tomorrow. Unfortunately, we struggle on acceleration; I had the chance to lap behind a KTM machine and exiting the curves they fly away as soon as they open the throttle.” Shuhei Aoyama said, “Today has been bad. There was so much traffic on the track. First I touched a slower rider and then I made a mistake in my fastest lap. Everything went wrong; I just wasn’t able to make one good lap. My feeling with the bike is OK. I know that I can go much faster but there was just no way. We even managed to improve the set-up compared to yesterday and I’m feeling good on the track as well, so let’s hope that things will work out better tomorrow during the race.” His team-mate De Gea said, “The truth is that things have worked out much better today. I have been able to improve my lap times every time I got on the bike. I’m happy, but I know that I can do better. I was hindered by another rider in the last section of my fast lap and I think that I had a good pace that would have boosted me up in the time sheets.” The 2006 World Champion Alvaro Bautista (Aprilia) secured his seventh 125cc pole position in a season where he has reigned supreme. His team-mate Hector Faubel (Aprilia) qualified second fastest with Lukas Pesek (Derbi) third fastest and Julian Simon (KTM) completing the front row. Bautista was always in command here and as a rider who has finished on the podium at every race bar one this season, this was no surprise. His best lap of 1m 45.322 seconds is a huge 0.7 seconds quicker than second fastest Faubel’s time. Fabrizio Lai (Seedorf Racing Honda RS125R) was the best-placed Honda qualifier and the Italian will line up on the second row as sixth quickest. Gabor Talmacsi (Humangest Honda RS125R) qualified eighth for a second row start. Mike di Meglio (FFM Honda RS125R) managed to make the ninth fastest time while 2005 World Champion Thomas Luthi (Elit Grand Prix Honda RS125R) struggled to 16th on the grid. Rookie Bradley Smith (Repsol Honda RS125R) qualified 20th. Talmacsi said, “Despite losing some positions on the starting grid, I consider this second day of practice quite positive. We struggled a bit in turning the bike and I cannot open the gas early as I lose the right line. But generally I’m ready for tomorrow and the engine is competitive. I think tomorrow will be a tough race with many riders fighting together.” Luhti said, “Not so good! I have big problems with the suspension, particularly in the last corner. Everything else on the bike is good but we need to fix the suspension problem. The big problem is that you need to be fast in the last corner to get the drive down the straight if we don’t find a solution to the suspension problem in the morning warm-up I will have a difficult time tomorrow.” “The crash this morning unsettled me a little bit,” said Smith. “But then I went out again and set a good lap time, improving on yesterday. We were trying to improve the bike a little bit more but we made some mistakes.” MotoGP: Nicky Hayden, Repsol Honda,3rd: “On my second qualifier I had a good lap going that Michelin was a little bit softer and it felt pretty good, but I got into turn six a little deep and went straight on. So on my last qualifying lap I felt a bit of heat because I knew I couldn’t afford to just completely let it hang out I had to get in a good solid lap to try to get on the front row. For that lap I went back to the tyre I knew, which was a medium qualifier, and it felt good I got in a decent lap. I’d hoped to have gone a little bit faster but this is definitely the best my bike has felt for a few races and I’m enjoying riding more this weekend than I have in a while. Tomorrow’s race is going to be a shoot-out and I think all the fans at home should get ready for it and take the phones off the hook because it’s gonna be a good one.” Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda, 4th: “We did another good practice today and we were able to put in some quick lap times on race tyres. After qualifying we are at the front of the second row and this is a pretty good position to be in. I had some traffic in qualifying which meant I couldn’t set my fastest lap, but this is normal sometimes. I think the last time I had traffic in qualifying was at Barcelona so I can’t complain about it. I appreciate that Casey came to the garage to say that he made a mistake and to apologise to me, so everything is fine. The race is very long so we’ll have to take care with the tyre choice we still have to make the final decision. I’ll be looking for a good start tomorrow and to fight at the front.” Casey Stoner, LCR Honda:5th “I made an honest mistake and I went to Dani and apologised but I still got fined USD$1,000 and I think it is very unfair. I know what I did wrong — I just didn’t think Dani and the other riders would catch me so fast on my slow down lap. I’ve never been charged for any bad riding in the past and now, after just one mistake, I get a fine. Apart from this, everything else has been going very well, we’ve just made small changes to the bike and I’m very comfortable at this track. I’ve come here with a relaxed attitude and feeling no pressure.” Toni Elias, Fortuna Honda: 11th. “I’m not happy with 11th but it has been a positive day. My feeling with the bike has improved, the team has done a good job. I need a good start tomorrow and recover some positions as quickly as possible. I’m confident that I can do that because I like this track a lot.” Kenny Roberts Jnr, KR Honda: 13th: There’s nothing to say, really. I tried three qualifying tyres, and none of them worked for me. I made some mistakes, or I’d run in to traffic or something. I’d be happy about my pace on race tyres, if I wasn’t 13th. I’ve got to get a good start. Makoto Tamada, Konica Minolta Honda: 14th. “I didn’t do very well on the qualifying tyres I used today. On race tyres I’m not so bad I changed the front and rear suspension and it was an improvement and I could run 1m 38s on race set up but I should have been faster on the qualifying tyres. I need a good start tomorrow.” Marco Melandri, Fortuna Honda: 15th. “After my crash of yesterday I feel a lot better than I thought I would. My knee hurts but only in the left handed corners. But that is not the problem the team are trying different set up ideas and tyres trying to make up for the hour of practice I missed because of the crash. Basically I don’t have enough grip to ride smoothly. Tomorrow I hope to improve the bike and my feeling while riding. In the race I will not lack motivation and determination to do well.” 250cc: Andrea Dovizioso, Humangest Honda: 7th: “I knew we all would have been very close today and so it was very easy to loose important positions. Anyway, I reckon it will be a close race especially in the first part, but we have a good pace and we are almost okay for tomorrow. Unfortunately, we struggle on acceleration; I had the chance to lap behind a KTM machine and exiting the curves they fly away as soon as they open the throttle. We need to have a perfect set-up of the bike in order to be really competitive and as it has been happening since the beginning of the season I have to recover in the braking points what I loose on the straight”. Aleix Espargaro, Wurth Honda BQR: 8th. “I feel good. In the last two races I had big roblems with my broken hand – I’m not Superman I needed to regain my confidence to go fast again without pain. The bike is incredible – the chassis is very, very good and the engine is fast. I have to thank the team for what they have done I am just behind Dovizioso on the factory Honda. In the last two races I couldn’t push so hard but today I can be really good on the brakes and that has helped me a lot here. The most important thing is for me to have fun and be happy with the bike and I really am having fun today. The race will be difficult for sure, there are 12-13 riders within one second so I will need a good start to have a good Race. Shuhei Aoyama, Repsol Honda: 9th: “Today has been bad. There was so much traffic on the track. First I touched a slower rider and then I made a mistake in my fastest lap. Everything went wrong; I just wasn’t able to make one good lap. My feeling with the bike is OK. I know that I can go much faster but there was just no way. We even managed to improve the set-up from compared to yesterday and I’m feeling good on the track as well, so let’s hope that things will work out better tomorrow during the race.” Yuki Takahashi, Humangest Honda: 12th: “During this morning free practice we worked hard on the set-up of the bike and eventually we found a good solution. So, in the afternoon we made just small changes but I wasn’t able to take full advantage of the qualifying practice. I made a little bit of confusion this afternoon and in the last lap I lost time. But, generally, I have a good feeling with the bike and this is the most important thing”. David De Gea replacement rider for Martin Cardenas, Repsol Honda: 13th: “The truth is that things have worked out much better today. I have been able to improve my la times every time I got on the bike. I’m happy, but I know that I can do better. I was hindered by another rider in the last section of my fast lap and I think that I had a good pace that would have boosted me up in the time sheets. But, well, I’ve only been eight hours on the bike, this is the just my second time after having been racing on a four-stroke machine so I can really be happy. Every time I get on the bike I get more and more used to it. I want to thank the whole team, the mechanics, my chief of mechanics and the people from Repsol for putting their trust in me. I hope to be able to give them a reason to be happy tomorrow and even more in Valencia.” Fabrizio Perren, Stop and Go Racing: 20th. “This is my first time at Estoril and it’s a difficult circuit to learn, particularly the last part from the chicane onwards. Yesterday I was running at 1m 45.3s and today I’m much better 1m 44s flat. I’m very confident, if I had been here testing in the winter it was possible to get a top 10 start position today, I was improving all the time. The bike is very good engine, chassis and suspension. I used a set of tyres with a different construction than I usually try. Sam compound but a two-ply construction instead of three-ply. I’m happy with my practice and qualifying.” Arturo Tizon, Wurth Honda BQR: 23rd. “I never felt comfortable on the bike in qualifying I just could not find my rhythm. The bike is pretty good just a small adjustment to the suspension for the warm up. In the qualifying session I was alone and didn’t find another rider to use as a reference.” 125cc: Fabrizio Lai, Seedorf Racing World: 6th: “Only few tenths separate me from the best Aprilia”¦ apart from Bautista who, with the new Aprilia engine is really fast. The bike is ok and I could have reached the first row. During the race I’ll be in the leading group but I hope it will be not to hot tomorrow because Honda prefer cold temperatures. My back and hand ache and it could be a problem during the race but I would like to finish my last 125cc season in the best way and there only two races left”. Gabor Talmacsi, Humangest Honda: 8th: “Despite I lost some positions in the starting grid, I consider this second day of practice quite positive. We struggled a bit in turning the bike and for this I can not open the gas early as I loose the right lines. But generally I’m ready for tomorrow and the engine is competitive; I think tomorrow will be a tough race with many riders fighting together”. Mike Di Meglio, FFM Honda: 9th: “This morning, I didn’t feel so comfortable at the beginning of the free practice because of the crash occurred yesterday. Nevertheless, I quickly became confident and I easily did again my best lap time. I had a good feeling with the bike and we just modified the setting of the gearbox. As soon as the qualifying session started, I was in a good rhythm; I improved my lap time on my own and then I tried to catch a good wheel to follow. I improved during the entire session but the bike moved a bit so I entered the pit box to adjust the setting and to change tyres. When I returned on the track I was with Fabrizio Lai, my former team-mate in 2005 and I rode in 1’46”469.If I could have benefited of his aspiration in the straight line my lap time could have been better. However, today we improved a lot and on the track, I was at 200%. For tomorrow, the weather forecast announces downpours, which can let predict a promising race for our team”¦” Sandro Cortese, Elit Honda: 15th. “That was much better than yesterday – the gearbox ratios were not good for the track. Too short first gar and a couple of others too long. The suspension also needed work because the back end was moving around too much. We stiffened it up and I was much more comfortable and could get off the corners faster today. I have a good feeling with the front end and good engine power so I’m happy with my qualifying. I followed Pesek but we caught up to Ranseder and he slowed me but with Pesek 200 meters ahead of me I had a target to aim for.” Thomas Luthi, Elit Honda: 16th. “Not so good! I have big problems with the suspension, particularly in the last corner. Everything else on the bike is good but we need to fix the suspension problem. I set my time following Olive. I could stay in his slipstream and that was the only good slipstream I got. The big problem is that you need to be fast in the last corner to get the drive down the straight – if we don’t find a solution to the suspension problem in the morning warm up I will have a difficult time tomorrow.” Tito Rabat, Wurth Honda BQR: 19th. “The first time out in the qualifying session I followed Olive and I got a good lap time. The bike felt good, the chassis really good and I have a good engine. I came into the pit to put in new tyres and went out looking for a fast time and found Talmacsi.. On the second last lap I was too fast in turn three and ran off the track when I got back on track I followed Luthi on the last lap and set my fastest time. I hope to be in the top 15 tomorrow, I will be if I get a god start.” Bradley Smith, Repsol Honda: 20th: “The crash this morning unsettled me a little bit but then I went out again and set a good lap time, improving on yesterday. We were trying to improve the bike a little bit more but we made some mistake. It was not a big problem but a problem, and that’s why I couldn’t go so much faster in the next session. This is actually why I finished twentieth but I think we have sorted the problem now, looking at telemetry and other things. We will try to improve again during the warm-up. The race is later, and that’s nice because I can watch the races before, and learn where I can pass, because I need to pass many riders tomorrow and go from there.” Michele Conti, Seedorf Racing World: 32nd: “I like this track but I make some mistakes and I’m too slow in curves. Probably the set up doesn’t help me. We will see tomorrow what will happens during the race!”. Kazuma Watanabe, Humangest Honda: 35th: “This morning I made a big progress and I was able to lap with a good pace and I could understand better the character of this machine. In the afternoon, though, there were traffic and only in the last lap I found the track clear. I tried to push hard, but before the chicane the front of the bike start moving too much and entering the curve I lost the control of the front-end and crashed out. I’m okay, though, and tomorrow I’ll do my best to get a good result”.