Copyright 2003, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Australian Grand Prix
Phillip Island, Australia
Final Qualifying Results:

MotoGP:

1. Valentino ROSSI, Honda, 1:30.068
2. Loris CAPIROSSI, Ducati, 1:30.496
3. Sete GIBERNAU, Honda, 1:30.676
4. Troy BAYLISS, Ducati, 1:30.683
5. Nicky HAYDEN, Honda, 1:30.863
6. Max BIAGGI, Honda, 1:30.993
7. Marco MELANDRI, Yamaha, 1:31.227
8. Tohru UKAWA, Honda, 1:31.280
9. Carlos CHECA, Yamaha, 1:31.302
10. Jeremy McWILLIAMS, Proton, 1:31.367
11. Shinya NAKANO, Yamaha, 1:31.444
12. Garry McCOY, Kawasaki, 1:31.572
13. John HOPKINS, Suuzki, 1:31.705
14. Kenny ROBERTS, Suzuki, 1:31.742
15. Olivier JACQUE, Yamaha, 1:31.759
16. Alex BARROS, Yamaha, 1:31.802
17. Makoto TAMADA, Honda, 1:31.806
18. Colin EDWARDS, Aprilia, 1:31.938
19. Noriyuki HAGA, Aprilia, 1:32.145
20. Nobuatsu AOKI, Proton, 1:32.460
21. Andrew PITT, Kawasaki, 1:32.555
22. Ryuichi KIYONARI, Honda, 1:33.900
23. David DE GEA, Harris WCM, 1:34.246
24. Chris BURNS, Harris WCM, 1:34.858


250cc:

1. Toni ELIAS, Aprilia, 1:33.771
2. Sebastian PORTO, Honda, 1:33.851
3. Franco BATTAINI, Aprilia, 1:33.999
4. Randy DE PUNIET, Aprilia, 1:34.085
5. Fonsi NIETO, Aprilia, 1:34.188
6. Sylvain GUINTOLI, Aprilia, 1:34.446
7. Manuel POGGIALI, Aprilia, 1:34.672
8. Roberto ROLFO, Honda, 1:34.703
9. Naoki MATSUDO, Yamaha, 1:35.206
10. Jaroslav HULES, Honda, 1:35.280
11. Anthony WEST, Aprilia, 1:35.325
12. Erwan NIGON, Aprilia, 1:35.508
13. Alex DEBON, Honda, 1:35.738
14. Eric BATAILLE, Honda, 1:35.750
15. Chaz DAVIES, Aprilia, 1:35.927
16. Hector FAUBEL, Aprilia, 1:36.031
17. Dirk HEIDOLF, Aprilia, 1:36.086
18. Lukas PESEK, Yamaha, 1:36.118
19. Hugo MARCHAND, Aprilia, 1:36.188
20. Joan OLIVE, Aprilia, 1:36.220

24. Katja POENSGEN, Honda, 1:39.122


125cc:

1. Stefano PERUGINI, Aprilia, 1:37.342
2. Alex DE ANGELIS, Aprilia, 1:37.455
3. Mika KALLIO, KTM, 1:37.644
4. Casey STONER, Aprilia, 1:37.787
5. Jorge LORENZO, Derbi, 1:37.802
6. Hector BARBERA, Aprilia, 1:37.824
7. MirkoGIANSANTI, Aprilia, 1:37.828
8. Andrea DOVIZIOSO, Honda, 1:37.958
9. Steve JENKNER, Aprilia, 1:37.967
10. Lucio CECCHINELLO, Aprilia, 1:38.038
11. Marco SIMONCELLI, Aprilia, 1:38.088
12. Thomas LUTHI, Honda, 1:38.125
13. Pablo NIETO, Aprilia, 1:38.190
14. Gabor TALMACSI, Aprilia, 1:38.268
15. Robbin HARMS, Aprilia, 1:38.291
16. Alvaro BAUTISTA, Aprilia, 1:38.409
17. Masao AZUMA, Honda, 1:38.641
18. Fabrizio LAI, Malaguti, 1:38.835
19. Roberto LOCATELLI, KTM, 1:38.919
20. Youichi UI, Gilera, 1:39.039


More, from a press release issued by Team KR:

V5 Grids in Top 10

Best grid position for McWill and V5 Yet

Jeremy McWilliams: 10th, 1:31.367
Nobuatsu Aoki: 20th, 1:32.460

Proton Team KR rider Jeremy McWilliams will start tomorrow’s Australian GP from the third row of the grid – by far the Proton KR V5’s best qualifying position yet, at the circuit where he was last year on pole position on the 500cc two-stroke Proton KR3.

More significant still than the excellent starting position was the fact that the lap time was faster than his fastest-ever two-stroke lap of the 4.448km circuit. This is another first for the rapidly improving machine, lining up for only its ninth race tomorrow. Until now, the all-too-public development of the radical England-built machine has seen lap times lagging behind the now obsolete two-stroke.

McWilliams has been strong all weekend, at a favourite track where engine performance is less important than handling and high corner speed. McWilliams’s top speed today was 305.9km/h, 24km/h slower than the fastest, recorded by Loris Capirossi’s Ducati. His lap time was less than a second slower.

Team-mate Nobuatsu Aoki was playing catch-up, after missing yesterday afternoon’s timed session. He had fallen in the morning, and doctors insisted on precautionary X-rays to a painful neck. However, equipment at the track was not up to the job, and Aoki was obliged to endure a long road trip to Dandenong hospital, and lengthy waiting time there, missing out on a full hour in which to gain track knowledge and work on tyre choice and machine set-up. His top speed was 312.4km/h, and though his lap time was another second off that of his team-mate, he was still less than 2.5-seconds off pole position time, set by 2003 World Champion Valentino Rossi (Honda).

The weather stayed fine and mild for a second day at the seaside circuit south of the Victoria state capital of Melbourne, notorious for the biting winds that can blow off the Bass Strait. Conditions for tomorrow may be less benign, with the possibility of showers. The Australian GP is the third in a trio of back-to-back flyaway races, following the Pacific GP in Japan, and the Malaysian GP. There is one more round in two weeks time, at Valencia in Spain.

Jeremy McWilliams
I’m really happy, though it would have been even better to stay on the second row. We don’t really deserve to be where we are. I can’t imagine how much easier it would be riding a machine with 40 more horsepower than we have. We’re doing the best we can with what we’ve got, and this position probably surprised all of us . me included. My fast lap was a bit risky, but thankfully it all stayed together. I can definitely race with them, though we have a worry over rear tyre duration, and I’m not sure we can overcome that overnight. Some tracks suit the Bridgestone tyres, but we haven’t had the time to test here, and it shows. But I’m getting points tomorrow, no matter how I have to do it.

Nobuatsu Aoki
I had painkillers and treatment from Dean Miller, so pain from my neck was not really a problem. I am a full hour behind in testing, and also I had gearbox problems all session. I was getting a lot of neutrals when I was trying to shift up, from first to second and from second to third. It happened twice even on my best lap, otherwise I could have been at least half a second quicker. We still have a lot of things to do before the race tomorrow.

Chuck Aksland – Team Manager
Jeremy really worked for that. That’s why he fits so well in this team, where everybody works hard. Nobu also did well. He missed a session yesterday, and he’s still not in perfect condition, but he’s only two-and-a-bit seconds off pole. It’s more than we expected of both. Our two-stroke set the fastest ever two-stroke lap round this track, and this is the first time the four-stroke has been quicker than the two-stroke. We weren’t optimistic about these three flyaways, and even wondered whether to bring the two-strokes – but our new engine has run well and consistently for all three weekends, the package is working, and we’ve improved every weekend.


More, from a press release issued by Alice Aprilia Racing:

AUSTRALIA GP/2nd QUALIFYING SESSION

A TOUGH SESSION

A tough second qualifying session for both Alice Aprilia Racing Team riders and an uphill race tomorrow. Colin and Nori improved their yesterdays lap time but for two different reasons they were unable to do better. A clutch problem for the Japanese rider whilst Edwards found an obstacle in the middle of the track during his fastest lap time.

COLIN EDWARDS: “I feel very angry because Biaggi ruined my fastest lap on qualifying tyres. He was coming in and should leave the way free. It’s not the first time. So he ruined my plans and have to start from the 18th position tomorrow. Anyway I feel confident because my bike is quite competitive”.

NORIYUKI HAGA: “Today we worked hard making many changes but the feeling is not the same. Maybe I made a bit of confusion. Moreover I had a clutch problem and lost the major part of the session. It’s a pity!”

GIGI DALL’IGNA (Project Leader): “Races are very strange: when we found the best setting and were expecting a good lap time for Colin someone ruins our plans. Haga had some clutch problems loosing half of the session”.


More, from a press release issued by Camel Pramac Pons:

Max Biaggi and Tohru Ukawa to start the Australian Grand Pix from the second row on Phillip Island

Max Biaggi and Tohru Ukawa will start tomorrow’s Australian Grand Prix, the penultimate race of the season taking place at Phillip Island, from the second row of the starting grid. The second day of qualification was run under cloudless skies in mild temperatures, but rain is forecast for the race tomorrow. The two Camel Pramac Pons riders qualified in sixth and eighth place and both riders maintain their chances for the race victory.

6th Max Biaggi
“We have not made any progress with the bike set-up although we have not gone backwards either which explains why today’s time is similar to yesterday’s. I tried to change some things to improve the performance of the chassis and the engine but it didn’t work out and I must ride with what I have. I hope, however, that I can have a good race, although there are two points on the track where I lose a lot of time. The important thing is to make a good start and also we will see what the weather is like, if it is wet or dry, although normally I ride well when it is wet”.

8th Tohru Ukawa
“I made a considerable improvement compared to my times from Friday, but the track conditions were excellent and all the riders made similar improvements so everything has stayed more or less the same. To start from the second row of the grid, having spent nearly all season starting from the third row, is not too bad. When you start so far back it is difficult to enter the leading group, but if I start well tomorrow I will try and make contact with the leaders because I have a good rhythm. We have made some improvements to the mapping of the engine, but not enough because the bike still slides in the corners, especially coming onto the main straight. Anyway, I think that it is a problem that we are all suffering from. I hope that the race is a dry one”.

Sito Pons:
“It is obvious that we have not set good times for the starting grid, but the race is different and Max has a good rhythm. Biaggi is a rider that always rises to the occasion and I am convinced that he will take his chances tomorrow in the race. For Tohru, it is important that he makes a good start and sticks with the leaders. The weather forecast is for rain, which will change everything, but we will continue to work on optimizing the settings for a wet race”.


More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

Ducati Marlboro men confirm front-row starts
Ducati Marlboro Team riders Loris Capirossi and Troy Bayliss will start tomorrow’s Australian Grand Prix from the front row of the grid after storming rides in this afternoon’s final qualifier at Phillip Island. In unusually warm conditions the pair ended the session second and fourth quickest, giving the team high hopes of running up front in the race, the penultimate round of the 2003 MotoGP World Championship.

“We’re very happy because both our riders have a good race pace and they’re both on the front row, which is where we need to be,” said Ducati Marlboro Team technical director Corrado Cecchinelli. “This is the toughest track for tyres, it’s especially hard on the left side, so this is the kind of place where you can’t choose your race tyre based purely upon performance.
Both Loris and Troy used the last hour to test race tyres with their bikes set the same as this morning. Both did more than half-distance endurance runs, then when we felt we could get pole, both had a go on qualifiers.”

This is the second time that both Ducati Marlboro Team men have qualified on the front row in the Desmosedici’s debut season. In May Capirossi and Bayliss qualified first and second quickest for the Marlboro Spanish GP at Jerez.
Capirossi second quickest and consistent

Loris Capirossi was delighted with his pace in today’s two sessions. The Ducati Marlboro Team rider made excellent progress with his race set-up, leaving himself enough time to have a tilt at pole position, using a soft Michelin qualifying tyre for his final run. He ended the day 0.458 seconds off pole in second spot for his 11th front-row start from the year’s first 15 races.

“I’m very satisfied because today’s sessions have confirmed that the bike is behaving well over race distance,” said Capirossi who has started from pole position on three occasions this season. “I used the same rear tyre throughout the final session and I ran a good race pace, only fitting a qualifying tyre at the very end. The fact that both Troy and I are on the front row here confirms that the bike has improved a great deal since we tested here ten months ago. I’d like to thank the team because they’ve worked so well this weekend. I think we can use what we’ve done here as a reference point, a direction in which to work for the future. I have only one worry for tomorrow – that it will rain…”

Bayliss spills, retains fourth on the grid
Ducati Marlboro Team rider Troy Bayliss gave his enthusiastic home crowd what it wanted today – a top-four qualifying performance that gives the Aussie his first front-row start since May’s Spanish Grand Prix. Bayliss achieved fourth-fastest time this afternoon despite a mid-session spill at Lukey Heights which left him nursing minor grazes and bruises.

“This is the first time in a while that I’ve been up front in qualifying and I’m feeling pretty good,” said Bayliss who is currently fifth overall in the World Championship and top-placed rookie. “My race pace is good, not as good as some guys but I think we should go all right tomorrow. I want to finish in front of Hayden and Ukawa to help me in the championship, anything more than that will be a bonus. The crash happened when I was testing a harder front tyre – I was trying hard, the conditions were a little windier today, so it didn’t work out. And maybe I could’ve been a bit quicker on my run with a qualifying tyre but I’d used the tyre by the time I got to the last two lefts.”


More, from a press release issued by Fortuna Yamaha:

Melandri and Checa strong on day two ‘down under’
Fortuna Yamaha Team pair Marco Melandri and Carlos Checa substantially improved their Friday provisional qualifying times in virtually perfect conditions during this afternoon’s final qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix. Both Melandri and Checa put up a hard fight in the effort to clinch a strong start for tomorrow’s main event and eventually finished seventh and ninth respectively, after the final ten-minute qualifying reshuffle.

Twenty-one-year-old Melandri made a big improvement over his Friday performance by 1.400 seconds with a lap time of 1:31.227. The young Italian and his crew rectified some of the grip issues he suffered from yesterday during hard braking and acceleration. Melandri contributed some of the improvement to the chassis’ overall suspension balance but felt that the main gain came from improved throttle response and slightly modified gearbox ratios.

“I’m very happy,” said Melandri, who won the 250cc World Championship at the Phillip Island circuit last year. “Since yesterday we’ve changed the chassis setting slightly and improved my confidence with the front. This is really important at this circuit because of the high speeds here. My team have worked so hard and I’m really grateful. The rear grip felt better today and I can use the throttle more than yesterday. I found a good rhythm this afternoon and think I can find a good pace for the race. I’m happy.”

In an effort to improve on yesterday’s performance, Checa opted for a modified chassis geometry today, which eventually proved less effective than initially hoped. Despite the slight setback the Spaniard still made a 0.252 second improvement on his provisional time, setting a fastest lap time of 1:31.302. Checa is confident that his Friday package, to which the team will revert, will be competitive during the main event tomorrow.

“We’ve changed so many things today but basically didn’t improve,” said a philosophically upbeat Checa. “My mistake was to not go back to yesterday’s setting today, as I was more confident with that. We will now go back to that setting for tomorrow. I still think I can make a good race with the pace and confidence I had yesterday, as long as it’s dry. If not of course it will be a different story! We tried something different today but didn’t improve but that’s normal, sometimes you improve from changes, sometimes you don’t.”

Team Director Davide Brivio said, “Marco had a good improvement today compared to yesterday, not only his lap times but also his pace. I think he can do well tomorrow if it doesn’t rain. Carlos is there as well, and I think both can do a good job at this circuit. Both of their crews have made quite a few changes to the bikes this weekend and both have improved their times since yesterday.”


More, from a press release issued by Harris WCM:

David de Gea: 23rd 1:34.246
“Tomorrow I think will be good for me, we have good settings on my bike and I have found a race tyre that I am very happy with. Maybe it will rain tomorrow but for me, I think that¹s okay.”

Chris Burns: 24th 1:34.858
” I am a lot happier with the bike this afternoon, we had a few problems this morning so I am feeling much more confident now for the race. It would seem that the problems with the clutch are finally solved and I ran half race distance in the qualifying session today and everything seemed to work well and I put in some consistent lap times. We tried a new swing arm also and it is much more stable when you come out of the turns. Overall I’m happy enough and I¹m getting faster all the time. All I want for is to put in some consistent lap times tomorrow and to finish the race for me and the team.”

Peter Clifford (Team Manager)
“Great job from the entire team today. All four bikes are running well and both guys are improving their times. If the others would just wait up a minute we’d catch up.”


More, from a press release issued by Pramac Honda Racing Information:

Makoto Tamada on fifth row at Phillip Island
Right at the beginning of today’s practice sessions, Makoto Tamada was able to slice almost a second of the time he posted yesterday, and he made a further step forward in the qualifying session for tomorrow’s grid. But not enough to achieve the pace set by the leaders, who raced at giddy speeds. Tamada came in 1.734 [seconds] from Rossi’s pole time but, although the gap is not that huge, he will be starting from fifth row.

Further tests were carried out on the tyres in the two sessions today in order to make the final choice for the race tomorrow. In the end, a rear tyre was found that gives the rider better confidence and handling on the technical circuit of Phillip Island. In terms of endurance too, this rear tyre was considered very good for conditions like today’s. The unknown factor remains the weather, as rain is forecast for tomorrow – and that would thwart all the efforts made yesterday and today. Even so, the beautifully clear sky of this late afternoon would appear to dispel any such fear.

Makoto Tamada (Pramac Honda Team): 17th – 1:31.806
“I can’t say we’ve got everything perfectly right, but I am confident about tomorrow. Unlike the others, I didn’t use soft tyres but concentrated entirely on the race configuration of the bike and this is why I didn’t get a really fast time for the pole. But I think I’m able to set a good pace, even though tomorrow’s race is going to be an uphill struggle as I’m starting back on row five. We’ve chosen some tyres that’ll work well even over the entire distance of the race and this means I’m not at all worried about tomorrow. The real enigma is the weather: if it decides to rain, everything’s going to be that much more complicated. We haven’t ridden much in the wet and we really don’t have that much experience.”


More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki:

Hopkins and Roberts side by side for third row start

Phillip Island, Australia – Saturday, October 18, 2003:

Team Suzuki riders John Hopkins and Kenny Roberts Jr. will start tomorrow’s Australian GP from the third and fourth rows of the grid, after both riders cut close on a full second off their previous best times in an all-action final qualifying session for tomorrow’s Australian GP.

Hopkins is on a mission, after he was controversially disqualified from the last round, the Malaysian GP, following a first-corner incident in the previous round at Motegi in Japan … Australia is the third of a trio of back-to-back flyaway races. The 20-year-old Anglo American rider is focused on proving that the suspension was not only unfair and demeaning, but also a disproportionate punishment for a rider who has impressed all year with the consistency of his effort and performance.

Roberts’s aim is equally clear. Firstly, it is to get the best result possible from a machine that is still not capable of the race-winning form that the 2000 500cc World Champion showed on the old 500cc two-stroke. Secondly, he means to give the clearest possible information to factory race-department staff about problem areas that still remain. In this way, engineers can take lessons from this year’s machine into account while still at the design stage of next year’s Suzuki GSV-R.

Roberts asked team supervisor Yasuo Kamomiya to watch at particular corners today, for a live demonstration of problems he is having with engine braking and overall control.

Today’s final practice took place on a second consecutive day of benevolent conditions, with warm sunshine and relatively still air. The notorious biting ocean winds that often sweep the picturesque seaside circuit stayed away. But tomorrow’s weather forecast is uncertain, with a possibility of rain.

Tomorrow’s race, round 27 laps of the 4.448km circuit, is the penultimate round in a World Championship that has already been decided in favour of defending World Champion Valentino Rossi.

John Hopkins– 13th Position, 1:31.705
That was a pretty good session. We figured out this morning what we wanted to run, and made maybe one minor change, and confirmed what I want to use as my race tyre. I’m feeling good about the race. In a tow (a slip-streaming pack of machines), we’re able to do pretty good. After what’s happened, I’m determined to take points, and try to make it into the top ten. I had a mental boost when I used a qualifying tyre at the end of the session. I was hoping to get a tow down the straight, but I was on my own instead … and that was my best lap. That made me feel good.

Kenny Roberts Jr. – 14th Position, 1:31.742
There are some places around this track where you can visibly see things that are costing a lot of time on this bike. We had Mr Kamomiya go out and watch the last section, so he could see some things I was describing that we need to improve. As far as qualifying goes, I ran around on some race tyres at the beginning. The lap times are nothing flash … probably a couple of seconds slower than on qualifying tyres. The times are so much faster than last year and in my opinion it’s all down to Michelin, and tyres that have so much grip. There were some minor electrical glitches that didn’t allow me to really trust the machine to put a lot of effort into a fast lap, but again we’re just trying to get in the points, so it doesn’t really matter to me where we’re starting. The lap times are either going to be good enough for points, or they’re not. We just have to wait and see what the weather does, get a decent start, and stay out of any first-lap trouble.


More, from a press release issued by John Hopkins’ publicist:

HOPKINS RETURNS AND QUALIFIES 13TH FOR AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX

PHILLIP ISLAND, Australia (Oct. 18, 2003) – Suzuki’s John Hopkins qualified 13th for Sunday’s Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix with a time of 1:31.705 on the 4.4-kilometer Phillip Island Circuit. Hopkins will head up the fourth row in Australia on returning to action after a controversial one-race suspension. Hopkins shaved nearly a second off of his time from Friday’s qualifying session. His Suzuki teammate Kenny Roberts will start alongside in 14th position. Newly crowned world champion Valentino Rossi won the pole with a time of 1:30.068.

The Australian Grand Prix, the 15th round of the 16-race series, marks the return of Hopkins to the championship. Phillip Island is a track Hopkins is very familiar with since Suzuki did off-season testing there. He said all systems were go on Saturday.

“We got a pretty good run in today,” Hopkins explained. “The weather’s been cooperating and we’ve found a pretty consistent race setup. I turned in my best lap with about a minute to go. I was hoping to get on the third row, but we just missed it. I seem to be able to run with most of the Yamaha riders this weekend so it could be an interesting race.”

Hopkins was happy with the big improvement from Friday’s time. “We found a better setup and I rode harder,” he remarked.

The time spread between top qualifier and the rest of the field was closer than at many races. The top 20 qualifiers are separated by less than 2.4 seconds. Hopkins said there was good reason for that. “It’s contract time and a lot of guys are pushing it pretty hard here.”

Hopkins added there would be no change of strategy for Sunday’s race. “I’m going to be aggressive early like always, but this time I’m hoping to remember where the front brake lever is,” he joked, referring to the first-turn crash in Motegi, Japan, a few weeks ago that brought on his penalty. “One thing is for sure, I’m not going to ride with my tail between my legs.”

Hopkins qualified 13th for the Australian Grand Prix last year and finished 16th.


More, from a press release issued by Tech 3 Yamaha:

Motivated as ever, Valentino Rossi put in a class performance to hold onto the pole for tomorrow’s Australian Grand Prix, going more than 4/10ths of a second quicker than his closest challenger, Ducati mounted Loris Capirossi. Spaniard Sete Gibernau will start the penultimate GP of the season in third place just ahead of local favourite Troy Bayliss.

Further back down the grid Gauloises Yamaha riders Olivier Jacque and Alex Barros will line up on the fourth row, side by side in 15th and 16th position. With rain forecast for tomorrow afternoon the final result is far from being a foregone conclusion…

Olivier Jacque –15th (at 1.691)
“Unfortunately my bike stopped on my fast lap and I wasn’t able to take advantage of my qualifying tyres, meaning my grid position isn’t as good as it might have been. Apart from that we had a good session, posted regular ‘low 32′ laps and managed to improve our time on race tyres. As far as tomorrow is concerned I think it will be very tight. Often the bikes stay grouped here and it may well be possible to work up through the field a little. A lot will depend on tyre endurance, and in that respect I think we have made the best compromise possible.”

Guy Coulon (Olivier Jacque’s Race Engineer)
“Despite the fact that a technical problem meant that Olivier wasn’t able to exploit his qualifying tyres, I’m reasonably satisfied with how everything went today. We managed to improve the feel of the bike quite considerably – notably the front-end, which was giving us so many problems yesterday. While being on the fourth row will make it difficult for Olivier to get in among the ‘right’ group, the fact that the riders often stayed bunched up here could help us. If it rains, as forecast, set-up choices are going to be a real gamble and anything could happen.”

Alex Barros – 16th (at 1.734)
Sixteenth place wasn’t really how I wanted to celebrate my birthday, but even if we are still far down the grid we managed to improve the bike a lot. The problem is that, once again, we are effectively a day behind and have no time left to ‘polish’ the set-up. Hopefully we can continue to improve the package during warm-up and choose the right rear tyre. At the moment I have narrowed it down to one safe choice and one slightly more risky option. If we get it right I will be able to fight in the second group and have a reasonable result. If it rains I should be able to close the gap on the leaders a little more, though the race risks being something of a lottery.”

Gilles Bigot (Alex Barros’ Race Engineer)
“This morning we completely changed the geometry of the bike, going back to a solution we used at the beginning of the year and which appears to give Alex more confidence with the front-end. Now all we lack is a little bit of speed and a little bit of time. If it rains tomorrow I think it will be to our advantage – as long as we give Alex a wet set-up that provides him sufficient feedback to find the bike’s limits.”

Herve Poncharal (Team Manager)
“Even if both riders progressed in terms of set-up their grid positions are disappointing. Olivier came back from injury and worked well throughout the weekend only for a technical problem to deprive of him his fast lap and the place on the grid he merited. For his part, I’m sure Alex would have liked to have been able to celebrate his birthday with a place a little further towards the front of the pack.”


More, from a press release issued by Honda Racing Information:

HONDA RACING INFORMATION

Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island

Final Qualifying Saturday October 18

THE ROSSI SHOW SHAKES RIVALS AGAIN AS VALE NOTCHES POLE

Valentino Rossi (Repsol Honda RC211V) rode to his eighth pole position of the season here at Phillip Island on the wild southern coast of Australia. In the sun and the refreshing sea breeze blowing off the Bass Strait, he set a 1:30.068 lap that was to end up a full 0.42 seconds faster than anything his rivals could manage. Loris Capirossi and his Aussie team-mate Troy Bayliss put their Ducatis in second and fourth place respectively, while Sete Gibernau (Telefonica Movistar Honda RC211V) qualified third.

With second place overall in the MotoGP World Championship still left to fight for, Gibernau showed he still has the spirit for the struggle. After watching his title challenge, which looked so strong in the mid-part of the season, finally wither and die during these three ‘flyaway’ races which push riders, teams and machines to the absolute maximum, Gibernau still has the challenge of Max Biaggi (Camel Pramac Pons RC211V) to fend off.

Gibernau seemed almost to ‘ghost’ to his third place on the grid. While most eyes were on Capirossi and Bayliss, who had headed the timesheets yesterday, until Rossi spoint the party with a last gasp 1:30.632 lap. The red riders looked in good enough shape today to do further damage to Rossi’s time.

But they reckoned without Rossi’s canny approach to using qualifying tyres. At Sepang last week Rossi opted to fit the super-sticky Michelin rubber halfway through the final session. Here he pitted with ten minutes to go and fired in the 1:30.068 time that looked in no danger of being bested. Riders were trying hard, but the clock showed the futility of their efforts.

“Our work here was good,” said the newly-crowned and now three times World Champion in the premier class. “We’ve got a good set-up and I think we’ll be able to get into a good rhythm. The race will