2007 FIM MotoGP World Championship Donington Park, England June 23, 2007 Final Qualifying Results: 1. Colin EDWARDS (Yamaha), Michelin, 1:28.531 2. Valentino ROSSI (Yamaha), Michelin, 1:28.677 3. Dani PEDROSA (Honda), Michelin, 1:28.863 4. Nicky HAYDEN (Honda), Michelin, 1:29.025 5. Casey STONER (Ducati), Bridgestone, 1:29.061 6. John HOPKINS (Suzuki), Bridgestone, 1:29.073 7. Carlos CHECA (Honda), Michelin, 1:29.281 8. Randy DE PUNIET (Kawasaki), Bridgetone, 1:29.415 9. Marco MELANDRI (Honda), Bridgestone, 1:29.498 10. Toni ELIAS (Honda), Bridgestone, 1:29.711 11. Shinya NAKANO (Honda), Michelin, 1:29.718 12. Chris VERMEULEN (Suzuki), Bridgestone, 1:29.793 13. Loris CAPIROSSI (Ducati), Bridgestone, 1:29.900 14. Alex HOFMANN (Ducati), Bridgestone, 1:29.911 15. Alex BARROS (Ducati), Bridgestone, 1:30.071 16. Sylvain GUINTOLI (Yamaha), Dunlop, 1:30.271 17. Anthony WEST (Kawasaki), Bridgestone, 1:30.718 18. Makoto TAMADA (Yamaha), Dunlop, 1:30.800 19. Kurtis ROBERTS (KR-Honda), Michelin, 1:31.543 More, from a press release issued by Marlboro Ducati: STONER ON ROW TWO & SUPER QUICK IN RACE TRIM, CAPIROSSI ALSO HAPPY WITH HIS RACE PACE Ducati Marlboro Team riders Casey Stoner and Loris Capirossi qualified fifth and 13th quickest at Donington Park this afternoon. Both today’s sessions were run in cloudy but dry conditions after yesterday’s deluge, allowing riders to work on dry set-up for the first time this weekend. World Championship leader Stoner showed superb race pace throughout the day but was out of luck on his crucial final qualifying run. The Australian was on course for a front row start until a moment at the final hairpin. Capirossi, using Bridgestone’s new 16 inch rear slick, was also confident of moving up the order but got the chequered flag as he started what he hoped would be his best lap. Nonetheless the Italian is happy enough because he also showed good speed in race trim. Tomorrow’s weather forecast predicts further rain with sunny intervals. CASEY STONER, 5th fastest, 1m 29.061s “On race tyres we’re pretty well safe and looking pretty good, and we should be able to make a couple more improvements before the race if we get a dry warm-up session. Qualifying was unbelievably disappointing, the electronics were playing up, every time the tyre would spin just a little bit the engine cuts would start, so I couldn’t get on the gas and I was losing tenths on the exit of every corner. So I decided to do two laps on that qualifying tyre and the second lap wasn’t too bad because I had learned how to ride around the cuts. Then going into the last turn the bike hit neutral, so I had no engine braking, so I was entering the corner too quick. I got it back into first but unfortunately I just had to push it in there too hard to try and make the corner and nearly lost it, but I’ve got a pretty good feeling with the tyres because the Bridgestones actually give me feeling so it’s a little bit easier to save. We tried the 16 inch rear this morning but we’re going to stick with what I know and just make sure I make everything right. We have got a good race pace so we’ve got to look at that now since qualifying was kind of a disappointment. It doesn’t really matter if the race is wet or dry because we’re also pretty quick in the wet but it would probably be a lot safer having a dry race. One or the other, wet or dry, is okay, we’d just rather it wasn’t something in between.” LORIS CAPIROSSI, 13th fastest, 1m 29.900s “When I saw Casey had done two laps with a qualifying tyre I decided to do the same. But on the first lap I almost lost the bike twice, so I slowed down a little, then when I crossed the line I got the chequered flag, so I missed the chance to do another lap. Anyway, I’m quite happy because my race rhythm isn’t so bad. Today I made a different choice to Casey – I used the new 16 inch rear, which seems to give me better traction. I did 27 laps with the tyre and it performed well throughout, so I think I’ll use it in the race, weather permitting, because the forecast isn’t good. Today we understood a lot on bike set-up, we changed the engine settings slightly and all the changes we’ve made have given me a better feeling with the bike, both in the wet and the dry. That makes me confident, even if qualifying didn’t go so well.” More, from a press release issued by Konica Minolta Honda: Middle of the fourth row for KONICA MINOLTA Honda at Donington Park Shinya Nakano took his KONICA MINOLTA Honda to 11th place on the grid for tomorrow’s British Grand Prix. The 29-year-old Japanese rider enjoyed much better conditions than yesterday around the 2.5-mile Derbyshire circuit, with the rain staying away for both sessions. This morning the Team made changes to the gearbox and suspension and also tested tyres before the timed qualifying in the afternoon. With small set-up improvements, Shinya was able to improve his dry lap time from the morning and get into the top ten with just five minutes to go. In the dying seconds of the qualifying hour, he was bumped down to 11th overall, missing out on 10th place by just seven-thousandths of a second. Rain is forecast for tomorrow’s 30-lap race. Gianluca Montiron Team Manager KONICA MINOLTA Honda “Today’s dry conditions I think have made things difficult for everyone after yesterday’s very wet weather. No-one had any dry time until this morning meaning that many riders had problems and some even crashed. For us we know that tomorrow we need to be making many consistent laps and Shinya needs to get into a good rhythm. At the moment I think we need more time to find a good set-up that gives Shinya the confidence in the technical package that we have so he can push harder. I think the key for the race is consistency, if Shinya get a good rhythm going then we hope to not lose any places from our grid position or maybe pick up a place or two.” Shinya Nakano Rider, KONICA MINOLTA Honda (53 laps 1′ 29.718″) “More changeable weather conditions! But saying that I have been pleased that it’s been dry. This morning we tried three new tyres for the first time and we struggled a little. This is because this is our first time here with the 800cc Honda and my first time here on Michelin tyres in the dry, so it took time to adjust. We made some gearbox adjustments also, we normally do this on the first day, but the conditions have been so different we needed to do it again. I am a little disappointed with the final grid position, we are still not up with the top group, but we have closed the gap a little and that is important. When you have a bike that works well around Donington, it’s one of the most exciting tracks to ride around, so it should be a very thrilling race!” Giulio Bernardelle Technical Director, KONICA MINOLTA Honda “Compared to this morning we have improved quite a lot, so that is very positive. We seem to be able to work a little better in these kinds of conditions this afternoon the track temperature was around 30 degrees Celsius. From the test after Catalunya we have been working hard on the front suspension. I think the new settings we have found are an improvement and the new construction front tyre from Michelin has also helped us, so now Shinya’s feeling with the front of the bike is better and for this reason he can push harder. I think if Shinya pushes hard and is consistent there’s a chance he has the potential for the top 10, but this will mean him pushing at his maximum.” More, from a press release issued by Bridgestone: Stoner and Hopkins lead Bridgestone’s British challenge Round 08 Great Britain – Qualifying Donington Park, Britain Saturday 23 June 2007 Ducati Corse’s Casey Stoner will be the highest placed Bridgestone-shod rider for tomorrow afternoon’s British Grand Prix after the current championship leader set his best qualifying time on Bridgestone race rubber to take fifth place on the grid. Riders endured a tough afternoon around the 4km Donington Park track as qualifying rubber failed to give the usual comparative increase in performance over one lap. Colin Edwards’ pole time of 1m28.531s represents an almost one second deficit over the pole position time from 2006. Track temperatures are somewhat cooler than last year and yesterday’s washout practice sessions have reduced valuable dry running by half which means that teams and tyre manufacturers have been playing catch-up throughout today. Suzuki’s John Hopkins took sixth place to line up alongside Stoner on the second row while Kawasaki’s on-form rider Randy de Puniet and the Honda Gresini duo of Marco Melandri and Toni Elias secured positions eight to ten in this afternoon’s qualifying hour. Bridgestone is able to derive a lot of encouragement from its slick race tyre performance today given the previous struggles around Donington Park, but with rain an ever-present threat, Bridgestone’s five teams may still revert to the wet specification tyres from Friday practice for tomorrow afternoon’s 30-lap British Grand Prix. Tyre Talk with Tohru Ubukata Bridgestone Motorsport Manager, Motorcycle Race Tyre Development What were the reasons for the reduced performance of the qualifying tyres this afternoon? “The qualifying tyres did not seem to give the performance increase that we would expect over one fast lap but I believe this is a result of the conditions we faced today. The track was cooler by around 17 degrees compared to last year and did not offer substantial grip levels. Donington is a circuit that tends to ‘rubber-in’ over the course of a race weekend and the lack of dry weather yesterday meant that today’s sessions were almost like a traditional Friday where teams need to work on dry set-up and tyre manufacturers focus on initial slick tyre evaluation. We have basically all been playing catch-up today.” What work did Bridgestone accomplish with race tyres in today’s dry conditions? “As expected with the dry conditions, we have had a lot of work to do today. We tried soft and medium compound slick tyres with some very promising results and some teams also tested our new 16” rear tyre which showed encouraging performance with some teams and riders. Unfortunately, the two hours we are missing from yesterday meant that we were not able to carry out longer runs with our tyres so we were unable to verify the consistency of the lap times over more than one-third race distance. Nevertheless the fact that Casey was able to qualify fifth on our race tyre highlights the initial competitiveness of the race rubber in dry conditions.” Riding Perspective Casey Stoner Ducati Corse 5th Place “We are pretty safe on race tyres and looking in quite good shape. If tomorrow’s warm-up is dry we will be able to make a couple of additional improvements. In qualifying though, I had some issues with the bike on my final run. I opted to do a second lap on that qualifying tyre and I was able to ride around the problem but the bike hit neutral heading into the final turn and I lost my advantage. I got a pretty good feeling with the tyres because Bridgestone actually give me feeling, so it is a bit easier to save, but the final result was very disappointing. We tried 16” rear tyres this morning, but we are going to stick with the 16.5” tyres we know and just make sure everything is right. I am sure we will have a good race whether wet or dry, but a dry race would probably be better.” Bridgestone Qualifying Practice Session Results Pos Rider Team Best Lap Gap P5 Casey Stoner Ducati 1m29.061s +0.530s P6 John Hopkins Suzuki 1m29.073s +0.542s P8 Randy de Puniet Kawasaki 1m29.415s +0.884s P9 Marco Melandri Honda Gresini 1m29.498s +0.967s P10 Toni Elias Honda Gresini 1m29.711s +1.180s P12 Chris Vermeulen Suzuki 1m29.793s +1.262s P13 Loris Capirossi Ducati 1m29.900s +1.369s P14 Alex Hofmann Pramac D’Antin 1m29.911s +1.380s P15 Alex Barros Pramac D’Antin 1m30.071s +1.540s P17 Anthony West Kawasaki 1m30.718s +2.187s Weather: Dry Air 18°C, Track 29°C, Humidity 61% More, from a press release issued by Team Roberts: ROBERTS GAINS KNOWLEDGE AND SPEED Kurtis Roberts will start tomorrow’s British GP from 19th position, but his back-of-the-grid position doesn’t reflect the progress the substitute rider has made in just one day of dry practice and qualifying. Friday was wet throughout, but both this morning’s free practice and the afternoon qualifying session were dry. It meant a quick learning curve for Kurtis, in only his third race on the Honda-powered KR212V machine, and his third visit to the circuit. The 28-year-old Californian, second son of legendary team owner Kenny Roberts, showed his aptitude by cutting almost three seconds off his lap time morning to afternoon. He feels there is more improvement to come. This is the home race for Team Roberts and their machine, built little more than an hour down the road in the heart of the “Formula One Belt” at Banbury, but it comes at an awkward time. The team has identified weight distribution problems with their first 800cc prototype, but must now wait while a revised chassis is constructed. The new bike is expected to be ready for the US GP on July 22. Regular rider Kenny Roberts Jr. will sit out the intervening races, while Kurtis substitutes in the role of development-racer. Team principal Kenny Roberts said: “Kenny has more experience on the 990, but Kurtis has been racing in the 600 class. This new bike is more like a 600 in the way you ride it, so in some ways it suits Kurtis better.” KURTIS ROBERTS – 19th Position, 1:31.543 We made a lot of improvements today. The wet yesterday hurt us, because I’m still trying to get used to this bike, as well as the track. I’ve been here twice in ten years … once in ’97 and once in ’04. It’s kind of tough having to relearn the track in just one day. But this afternoon we got closer to the guys the machine has been running with lately. A lot of that’s just me learning where I’m going. I’m still missing the line sometimes, going in a little late, because I’m trying to do it all so fast. I don’t know how the weather’s going to be tomorrow. I think either way we will be up a little higher than we are in qualifying, just by being able to think about the track tonight. I like this track. It’s just getting the corner speeds and stuff down. You’ve got to figure that out. Wet or dry, we’re going to have to put our heads down and race for it. CHUCK AKSLAND – Team Manager Bike-wise, we’re running what we’ve had all year. There won’t be any significant changes until the new chassis comes. Kurtis is doing a good job. He picked up a lot of time from this morning to the afternoon in the dry sessions. I think he was just starting to get confidence with the race tyres when we had to throw in the qualifying tyres. That adds a whole new element. On race tyres, he continues to improve each time there is the opportunity. Regardless of what the weather does tomorrow I am sure Kurtis will give us a good race! More, from a press release issued by Gresini Racing Honda: MELANDRI AND ELIAS READY TO FIGHT BACK IN THE RACE Team Honda Gresini are looking ahead to a tough British Grand Prix tomorrow with their riders starting from the third and fourth rows of the grid. After a wet day of free practice yesterday Marco Melandri and Toni Elias today got the opportunity to set their bikes up in the dry. Weather forecasts for tomorrow are predicting more rain, however, which will make life even more difficult for the team. MARCO MELANDRI (9th, 1’29.498): “Today we worked on the dry setting but the forecast is for more rain tomorrow so I don’t really know what to expect for the race. In the fast sections I can let the bikes run and I am fast but we’re still struggling to set the bike up for the long braking. It’s a problem we’ve had since the start of the season and it doesn’t allow me to ride as I like. It will be a tough race tomorrow – even more so if it rains, because the track here is very slippery.” TONI ELIAS (10th, 1’29.711): “We tried to make the most of the two hours we had on a dry track to prepare as best as possible for a dry race. We struggled a bit this morning because we couldn’t get the tyres up to optimum temperature. In the afternoon the situation improved and we’re quite ready if it is dry tomorrow. Unfortunately we had a technical problem at the end and only got chance to use only one qualifying tyre, which means I was unable to set a good lap. I’m disappointed by that but I’m hoping for a dry race tomorrow.” More, from a press release issued by Fiat Yamaha: EDWARDS AND ROSSI TAKE THE TOP SPOTS FOR THE BRITISH GRAND PRIX Colin Edwards took his second MotoGP career pole at Donington Park today with team-mate Valentino Rossi in second place, meaning that between them the Fiat Yamaha riders have now filled the top grid spot for six out of eight races this season. Edwards, who also took his first ever MotoGP podium here in 2004, put in a perfect lap of 1’28.531, 0.146 seconds ahead of Rossi, with Dani Pedrosa filling the final front-row slot. Following yesterday’s rain, the British weather perked up a little today and this morning the riders were rewarded with their first dry track session. The pair finished the morning in seventh and eighth places with Edwards generally pleased about his initial dry set-up, although Rossi had a slight incident when he ran off into the grass at turn one after exiting from pit lane. This afternoon the track had significantly more grip and times began to fall from the start as the hour-long qualifying session commenced. Rossi’s first qualifying lap was good enough to put him on pole and, despite valiant efforts from Casey Stoner, Nicky Hayden and Pedrosa, he held onto the top spot until the very end, when Edwards’ second lap saw him edge his team-mate into second place. Tomorrow’s race gets underway at 1300 local time and, with showers forecast, the weather could once again play a part in what promises to be another tense MotoGP battle. Colin Edwards Position: 1st Time: 1’28.531 Laps: 29 “I’m really happy so far this weekend. We made big steps with our rain set-up yesterday and then today Michelin brought the tyres I wanted and things were looking good in the dry too. With the qualifying tyre things felt really great once again and I’m seriously happy to be on pole here. This track is known for the left turn down Craner, it’s one of the only lefts on the track and you need to have a lot of confidence in that side of the tyre to really attack it. With my second soft tyre I got the left side really warmed up on my out lap and then just gave it everything I had. If you really want pole you have to risk it a little bit; that’s what I did today and it paid off! My race pace feels pretty good and it was fairly consistent this afternoon, I need to study the data with my guys now to really know exactly where we are but we’re definitely in good shape for tomorrow. Thanks a lot to Michelin and to all my team, they’ve done a great job so far.” Valentino Rossi Position: 2nd Time: 1’28.677 Laps: 29 “When the bike and tyres are feeling good this is a fantastic track to ride and now with these new 800s you can use all the best lines, so it’s a great feeling. Unfortunately I got a little bit blocked by another rider on my lap and I lost a bit of time, but anyway Colin and I are one and two so this is the most important thing and I want to say well done to Colin. This morning was not brilliant for us but this afternoon things were a lot better and my bike felt very good. Thanks to Michelin because they’ve brought some good tyres here and they seem to be working well with our bike; we have two good race tyres to choose from for tomorrow. Now let’s hope that it stays dry like this for the race!” Davide Brivio Fiat Yamaha Team Director “It’s been a very good day for us! Luckily it’s stayed dry all day and so we had some time to work on our dry set-up this morning. Colin this morning was not bad although Valentino had some problems. Then this afternoon things improved a lot for us and Valentino recovered to be able to fight for the front row with Colin. It’s great for us to have our riders in the top two positions and now we’re aiming for the same tomorrow.” More, from a press release issued by Dorna Communications: Edwards takes second pole as Michelin strike back at Donington Nickel & Dime British Grand Prix – Saturday 23rd June Report Day 2 Edwards takes second career pole motogp On a day in which Michelin fought back in the MotoGP tyre war, Colin Edwards took his second MotoGP pole to put himself in the driving seat for the Nickel & Dime British Grand Prix. A hot lap of 1’28.531 at the end of the hour-long session was enough to put ‘The Texan Tornado’ at the top of the timesheets in a dry session at odds with every previous run-out for the riders this weekend at Donington Park. The American still chases an elusive maiden MotoGP victory, and will be taking nothing for granted after seeing himself drop down the order at the scene of his last pole position in Le Mans. For the fourth time this season both Fiat Yamaha riders qualified on the front row, with seven-time Donington winner Valentino Rossi just 1.5 tenths of a second behind his team-mate. It is the duo’s second 1-2 of the year, following on from April’s visit to Turkey. Last year’s victor Dani Pedrosa completes an all-Michelin front row, ahead of team-mate and reigning MotoGP World Champion Nicky Hayden. Two days of tyre testing after the race in Catalunya seem to have paid off for both the French company and the ‘Kentucky Kid’, who put in an enormous amount of laps in onboard the Honda RC212V and has expressed his happiness with finally finding the right direction to go. On course for pole before a final corner error, Casey Stoner will have to make do with fifth on the grid for tomorrow’s showdown in Leicestershire as the fastest Bridgestone rider, alongside Rizla Suzuki’s ‘home town hero’ John Hopkins, the Anglo American who was based just a short distance from Donington Park until this year. At the scene of his first MotoGP win back in 2005, Carlos Checa had one of his better qualifying performances of the year to head row three, alongside Randy de Puniet and Marco Melandri all within a second of Edwards’ pole time. 250cc In a class in which the winner of the past nine races have started from pole, Alex de Angelis will be able to sleep comfortably tonight ahead of the 250cc Nickel & Dime British Grand Prix after putting himself at the head of the quarter litre field. A lap of 1’32.391 gave the Aspar rider his first pole position of the season, ahead of current series leader and title holder Jorge Lorenzo by little over 4 tenths of a second. The two exciting riders were the only ones to break the 1’33 barrier, and will be joined on the front row by Julian Simon and Alvaro Bautista. The latter duo both suffered some hairy moments in the qualifying session; Simon crashed late on, whilst Bautista had to use all his guile and balance to tame his flighty Aprilia as it threatened to highside. Row two for tomorrow’s race will consist of Finnish star Mika Kallio, title challenger Andrea Dovizioso and factory Aprilia rider Marco Simoncelli and Team Toth’s Hector Barbera, trailed by former 125cc World Champion and recent recipient of a minor operation on both arms Thomas Luthi and Hiroshi Aoyama on the second KTM machine in the top ten. 125cc Mattia Pasini is on pole for the fifth time this season in the 125cc class, although he has thus far failed to convert such qualifying success into results due to a series of crashes and mechanical problems. The Polaris World rider’s time of 1’37.399 was nearly half a second faster than fellow front row starter Simone Corsi, and Pasini will want to carry that pace over to what will be the closing race of the Nickel & Dime British Grand Prix. Catalunya race winner Tomoyoshi Koyama attempts to take a second triumph from the front row, with World Championship leader Gabor Talmacsi completing the first line of attack. Talmacsi’s Aspar team-mates Sergio Gadea and Hector Faubel are joined by Pablo Nieto in a Spanish-flavoured second row, alongside Frenchman Alex Masbou. After hovering around the top spots during practice, Bradley Smith was unable to take a higher qualifying position than ninth at his home track. The Honda factory rider was on front row pace late on in the session, but was left bruised by a dramatic late high side on his flying lap. British hopes lie in Smith’s young hands tomorrow, and the ice cool sixteen year-old will be one of the most cheered-for riders at Donington Park y the passionate fans. More, from a press releass issued by Kawasaki Racing Team: PROGRESS CONTINUES AS KAWASAKI PREPARE FOR THE BRITISH GP Randy de Puniet and Anthony West will start tomorrow’s MotoGP race from eighth and 17th on the grid respectively after today’s qualifying practice at Donington Park. After two wet sessions yesterday, the final practice was held this morning in the dry and saw de Puniet finish sixth on combined times, just ahead of the afternoon’s eventual pole position man, Colin Edwards. Meanwhile, Anthony, adapting to a dry track on the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-RR after Friday’s spectacular, rain-hit debut where he came seventh on combined times, finished in 18th place in practice, nearly two seconds ahead of Team Roberts rider, Kurtis Roberts. The qualifying session brought with it some unexpected sunshine and lap times continued to rise. De Puniet, with a best time of 1’29.415 and a top speed of 266.485kmh, finished the session just 0.884 seconds behind Edwards, earning himself a position on the third row of the grid. Still limping slightly due to a knee injury sustained at Mugello, the Frenchman put in a sterling performance. Happy with his bike’s set up and Bridgestone tyre choices, he feels confident he can do well in tomorrow’s race and certainly aims to beat the 12th place finish he achieved at the Leicestershire circuit last year. Newcomer to the team, West, managed to find a good dry set up for what will be his first ever MotoGP race. The 25-year-old Australian put in a 1’30.718 lap, putting him 17th on the grid, ahead of Tamada and Roberts. Having never before ridden on a qualifying tyre, the former 250cc and World Supersport rider managed to put in consistent lap times and continues to give useful feedback to his mechanics, enabling them to be prepared for tomorrow’s race, regardless of what the weather decides to do. Anthony has done well at Donington in the past, taking a third in 2003 and a second (behind a victorious Randy!) in 2005, both in the 250cc championship. The British GP is always a sell out with the fans and tomorrow’s 30-lap race is unlikely to disappoint as the riders face the challenges prompted by the sweeping undulations of Craner Curves and the notoriously tricky Melbourne Loop. The Kawasaki Racing Team are very pleased with the progress of both bikes and riders and feel confident their new line up and ever-improving Ninja ZX-RRs will bring home some valuable championship points on Sunday. Randy De Puniet #14 – 8th – Best Lap 1’29.415 “Today, I got some good lap times in race conditions and I’m happy about that. I hoped for a bit more in qualifying, and I’m a bit disappointed about being on the third row, but another rider was on my line in the last corner and I lost a little time. Still, I’m happy with the race tyres and we’ve achieved a good set up. I’m just hoping for a good race, like the one in Barcelona, and aim to be in the top eight: it’s a hard track, though, and there are a lot of laps.” Anthony West #13 – 17th – Best Lap 1’30.718 “It’s hard getting only two hours in the dry and there’s a lot to learn. I’ve never used a qualifying tyre before and didn’t know what to expect. It felt”¦ different! I didn’t know how hard I could push it and now I know I wasn’t pushing hard enough. I’ve had a bit of trouble with the front: the bike wants to wheelie all the time and I’ve got to change some aspects of my riding style to suit the ZX-RR. Tomorrow, I hope to finish and maybe try to get further up than I am now. It’s not so bad, though. I normally go faster in the race itself and I’m sure, once I get to follow some of these guys, I’ll learn a few things.” Fiorenzo Fanali West Crew Chief “Yesterday we found a good wet set up but today we had to start again in the dry and it’s very difficult to jump on a bike for the first time and then experience such differing conditions. Anthony did very well indeed: it’s the first time he’s used a qualifying tyre and that isn’t easy. Our target is for him to finish the race and he was very consistent on race tyres. We will keep taking it step by step and I think he’s going to improve quickly. We just need a little time.” More, from a press release issued by Rizla Suzuki: Second row start for Hopkins at British Grand Prix Rizla Suzuki MotoGP’s Anglo-American racer John Hopkins will start tomorrow’s British Grand Prix at Donington Park from the second row of the grid, after he qualified his Rizla Suzuki GSV-R in sixth place today. Hopkins (1’29.073, 30 laps) looked strong all throughout this afternoon’s session and a front row start seemed likely, but he made a mistake on his final qualifying lap and although he gave a mighty effort during the last two sections of the circuit he couldn’t quite make up the valuable tenths he needed to secure a top-three position. Chris Vermeulen suffered a high-speed crash during this morning’s practice session. The 25-year-old Australian high-sided through the fast Craner Curves, fortunately he only suffered minor bruising and was able to get back to the pits and continue with the session on his second bike. Vermeulen (P12, 1’29,793, 29 laps) produced some competitive lap times on race tyres during this afternoon’s qualifying session and is confident of a good performance on Sunday in any conditions. He will start from the fourth row of the grid for tomorrow’s 30-lap race. Today’s sessions were held in dry, but overcast, conditions with air temperatures only reaching 18°C and track temperatures at 29°C. Pole position was taken by American Colin Edwards on his factory Yamaha. Tomorrow’s race is round eight of the MotoGP World Championship and the main event will take place at 13.00hrs local time (12.00hrs GMT). John Hopkins: “It was a good day today and exactly what we wanted. We needed a dry day so we could get some work done with the set-up of the bike. The track surface needed to get some rubber on it to improve grip, because at the start of the day it was still very slippery. It got better as the sessions progressed, but it is still not quite perfect! As far as race set-up goes we are almost there, we will make a couple of changes in the warm-up, but for the most part the Bridgestone tyres and the Suzuki GSV-R are working well again. As far as qualifying goes I made a big mistake coming onto my last lap and that cost me a few tenths. I lost the rear really bad and I rode like a sissy just after it happened! We could have had the front row, but now the plan is to get a good start and make sure we are in contention straight away!” Chris Vermeulen: “We now have the bike set-up for both wet and dry conditions and made a lot of improvements this afternoon, because I lost a bit of time this morning due to a crash down Craner Curves. I’m still a bit stiff and sore from that. The guys did a great job rebuilding my bike in the short time between sessions even some of John’s crew helped so I am thankful to them for that. My last qualifying lap was looking good, but I made a mistake in the Melbourne Loop and ran wide. It’s not perfect starting from the fourth row, but if I can get a good start and push hard throughout the race I know I can be competitive!” Paul Denning Team Manager: “We got a dry day, which was great for the team, the fans, the riders and the British GP in general but unfortunately we didn’t quite get the qualifying result we were looking for John certainly looked like he had the speed for the front row. It’s so competitive out there that the smallest mistake or some bad luck costs vital tenths and makes a big difference to the starting position. Having said that everyone is pushing really hard, and our guys seem to have good consistency. I think we will be in good shape over the 30 laps tomorrow whether it is wet or dry.” More, from a press release issued by Honda: British Grand Prix at Donington Park Saturday June 23, 2007 PEDROSA ON FRONT ROW, HAYDEN STARTS FOURTH After monsoon conditions yesterday Donington Park was dry for the hour of MotoGP timed qualifying and it was Colin Edwards who prevailed to record his second pole of the season ahead of his team-mate Valentino Rossi (both Yamaha), with last year’s race-winner Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC212V) third fastest qualifier completing the front row. The session began at frenetic pace with riders conscious that dry track time was at an absolute premium after the rain. Dani was one of the early pacesetters along with Carlos Checa (LCR Honda RC212V), Kawasaki’s Randy de Puniet and Alex Barros (Ducati). Pedrosa showed no signs of backing off after experiencing a huge wobble in the morning session at Craner Curves. Only Dani’s sheer ability on a bike kept him from parting company with his RC212V and with fifty minutes of the hour gone Dani was back on top of the standings from Barros, with Rossi lying third. Marco Melandri (Gresini Honda RC212V) was sixth quickest in these early stages, reigning World Champion Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC212V) fifth fastest, Checa and Shinya Nakano (Konica Minolta Honda RC212V) both in the top ten. Rossi then turned in a lap of 1m 29.389s to go pole before a scorching 1m 29.061 from Stoner elevated the Aussie World Championship points leader to the top of the chart. Stoner would hold pole with this time set on race rubber until the final ten minutes of the session. At the halfway point it was Stoner from Rossi, then Checa and John Hopkins (Suzuki), with Dani Pedrosa and Nicky Hayden lurking in provisional fifth and sixth spots. Series of laps on race rubber were the norm for most riders at this stage, until, as has become the usual pattern, Kawasaki was the first team to go for qualifying tyres with twenty minutes to go. Randy de Puniet snatched third on the green machine, but he was soon displaced by Pedrosa who recorded a 1m 29.363s time to put himself on the front row. Then with twelve minutes left on the clock half the field pitted to make their best bids for the front of the grid with sticky rubber. Rossi’s 1m 28.677s time set with nine minutes left looked good for pole, and try as his rivals might, not even Dani or Stoner could dislodge the former Champ from the head of the grid. Stoner had the best chance until he lost, and then skillfully recovered, the sliding front-end of his machine at Goddards while on course for a pole lap. The mistake cost him a massive 0.7 seconds. Nicky grabbed third with a 1m 29.02s time, Dani temporarily put his hands on second and it looked as if both Repsol riders would start from the front row until Colin Edwards re-arranged the grid with a pole lap of 1m 28.531s with just 50 seconds left on the clock. Dani, on the front row with a best lap of 1m 28.863s, said: “It would be good to repeat my result here in 2006, but today went well both in the morning and this afternoon. I had a slight problem with the qualifying tyre, but I’m on the front row and that’s the main thing. I hope the weather is good tomorrow, but wet or dry we did a good job so we look to be in good shape.” His team-mate Nicky heads row two as fourth fastest man with a time of 1m 29.025s. He said: “The session went pretty well and fourth is definitely my best qualifying position for a while so I’ve got to be happy with that. This has been the closest we’ve been for a while and I’m really looking forward to tomorrow’s race. With a decent start I can at least get in there at the front, see what I’ve been missing and learn some stuff from the boys. So far every race this season they’ve just disappeared after the first corner and I haven’t really learned much but hopefully tomorrow I can go to school and stick right with them.” Carlos Checa qualified seventh with a best time of 1m 29.281s and said: “I think I can be competitive in the race here because like at Jerez top speed is not critical and I have a very good feeling in the dry. I didn’t get the best from my qualifiers my time was only 0.2 seconds better than on my race tyre, which is very positive for tomorrow. Yesterday I had no feeling, today I’m back in the top ten after switching to the base settings we know work on this bike.” Marco Melandri managed ninth. The top nine riders being covered by just less than one second. The Italian said: “Today we worked on the dry setting but the forecast is for more rain tomorrow so I don’t really know what to expect for the race. In the fast sections I can let the bike run and I am fast but we’re still struggling to set the bike up for the braking. It’s a problem we’ve had since the start of the season and it doesn’t allow me to ride as I like. It will be a tough race tomorrow even more so if it rains, because the track here is very slippery.” His team-mate Toni Elias (Gresini Honda RC212V), tenth on the grid, said: “We tried to make the most of the two hours we had on a dry track to prepare as best as possible for a dry race. We struggled a bit this morning because we couldn’t get the tyres up to optimum temperature. In the afternoon the situation improved and we’re ready if it’s dry tomorrow. Unfortunately we had a technical problem at the end and only got the chance to use one qualifying tyre, which means I was unable to set a good lap. I’m disappointed by that but I’m hoping for a dry race tomorrow.” Shinya Nakano, in 11th, said: “More changeable weather conditions! But it’s been dry. This morning we tried three new tyres for the first time and we struggled a little. This is our first time here with the 800cc Honda and my first time here on Michelin tyres in the dry, so it took time to adjust. We made some gearbox adjustments too. We normally do this on the first day, but the conditions have been so different we needed to do it again. I am a little disappointed with the final grid position, but we have closed the gap a little and that’s important.” Kurtis Roberts (Roberts KR212V), the sole KR rider this weekend, qualified 19th. He said: “This afternoon we got closer to the guys the machine has been running with lately. A lot of that’s just me learning where I’m going. I’m still missing the line sometimes, going in a little late, because I’m trying to do it all so fast. I don’t know how the weather’s going to be tomorrow. I think either way we will be up a little higher than we are in qualifying, just by being able to think about the track tonight. Wet or dry, we’re going to have to put our heads down and race for it. Everyone’s on the same track.” Alex de Angelis will start from pole in the 27-lap 250cc race tomorrow. It’s the Italian’s fourth pole in this class. Series points leader Jorge Lorenzo (both Aprilia) starts from second, while Julian Simon (Repsol Honda RS250RW) makes his third front row start of this season as third fastest man. Alvaro Bautista (Aprilia) completes the front row. De Angelis was in control from the very start of this 45-minute session and try as his Aprilia rivals might, not even Lorenzo could match his pace around the swooping 4.023km of this parkland track. Lorenzo is 0.4 seconds away from his time of 1m 32.391s and Simon just over six tenths of a second short. Andrea Dovizioso (Scot Honda RS250RW) will start from sixth on the second row, Yuki Takahashi (Scot Honda RS250RW) from 11th on the grid, and Shuhei Aoyama (Repsol Honda RS250RW), who crashed in the final minute of the session, without injury, from 12th. Rookie Eugene Laverty (LCR Honda RS250RW) starts his ‘home’ race from 15th. Front row man Simon said: “My time is not so bad I have a good second row grid position. The only problem I have is getting the bike to hold the racing line in some corners. But I’m sure we will be OK for the morning warm up. The engine is OK and if I get a good start I can run with the leading group – then we will see what happens in the race. “ Dovi said: “We’re not quite there with the balance of the bike yet. It was not that good this morning but we managed to make small improvements this afternoon. We’re still a bit far away and that’s not so much fun, but if we can improve before the warm up then I might be OK. I was never really up there with the fastest riders and if we don’t improve before the warm-up I’m not that confident about my chances.” Mattia Pasini secured his fifth pole of the season in the 125cc class, with Simone Corsi (both Aprilia) second fastest, Tommy Koyama (KTM) third on the grid and series points leader Gabor Talmacsi (Aprilia) completing the front row as fourth fastest qualifier. The 125cc competitors were the first to sample timed qualifying in the dry and they wasted no time in getting up to speed. But Esteve Rabat (Repsol Honda RS125R) fell within the first few minutes of the half-hour session and it compromised his chances of a good grid slot. He eventually managed 28th. Better luck befell his team-mate Bradley Smith (Repsol Honda RS125R) who ran second fastest for much of the session before getting bumped down the order as the pace quickened towards the end of the stint. The young British rider suffered a huge crash at Coppice on his final lap, but will start tomorrow’s 25-lap race from ninth on the grid. Alex Masbou (FFM Racing Honda RS125R) qualified eighth and said: “Not so bad today. My engine is really fast, on a par with the KTM I was running with. The only small disadvantage is on acceleration off the Melbourne loop. I have some front-end chatter but it’s nothing much and I’m sure we can fix that before the warm-up tomorrow. I’m really looking forward to the race.” Smith said: “I high-sided off the bike and landed on my back and right foot and I’m a bit sore but I’ll be OK to race. My team mate Tito (Rabat) and me have three bikes between us and we’ve both crashed today so the team have a lot to do to get us ready for tomorrow.” Honda rider quotes Donington Park qualifying. June 23, 2007. MotoGP. Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 3rd. “Today went pretty well and I’m very pleased to be on the front row for the race because this is always important. The practice sessions were ok and stayed dry which meant we could find a good set-up and work up to a fairly consistent race pace, though I had a big moment this morning when the temperature was colder. The qualifying laps at the end of the afternoon session were a little difficult for me and I made a few little mistakes with both qualifiers which may have cost me a shot at pole position. With my second qualifier I tried to do a second fast lap and the time was quite good until the last split when the tyre began to go off – but this was not a big surprise because they’re only designed to do one lap. I hope it stays dry tomorrow but we’ve had the chance to practice in both wet and dry conditions so we should be ready whatever happens with the weather. There are a few riders with a good pace here so it will be an interesting race. I’m looking forward to tomorrow.” Nicky Hayden, Repsol Honda: 4th.”The session went pretty well and fourth is definitely my best qualifying position for a while so I’ve got to be happy with that. It felt good to be fastest this morning too, although I didn’t really improve a lot this afternoon and I’d have liked to have gone a little bit quicker. Also I only improved by two tenths on my second qualifying tyre and you’ve got to do more than that to get on the front row. Regardless, this has been the closest we’ve been for a while and I’m really looking forward to tomorrow’s race. With a decent start I can at least get in there at the front, see what I’ve been missing and learn some stuff from the boys. So far every race this season they’ve just disappeared after the first corner and I haven’t really learned much, but hopefully tomorrow I can go to school and stick right with them. I’ve felt pretty good straight away this weekend. The chassis changes really have not made a huge amount of difference – we just tried a lot of different stuff in the two days of testing after Barcelona, and not just settings. We took away some of the traction control and now the bike’s working well and seems to suit me better so that I can control it more with the throttle. A really big thanks to the guys on my team for working so hard and making a few changes on the bike to give me a better feeling.” Carlos Checa, LCR Honda: 7th. “I think I can be competitive in the race here because like at Jerez top speed is not critical and I have a very good feeling in the dry. I didn’t get the best from my qualifying tyres my time was only 0.2 seconds better than on my race tyre, which is very positive for tomorrow. Yesterday I had no feeling, today I’m back in the top ten after switching to the base settings we know work on this bike.” Marco Melandri, Gresini Honda: 9th.”Today we worked on the dry setting but the forecast is for more rain tomorrow so I don’t really know what to expect for the race. In the fast sections I can let the bikes run and I am fast but we’re still struggling to set the bike up for the long braking. It’s a problem we’ve had since the start of the season and it doesn’t allow me to ride as I like. It will be a tough race tomorrow – even more so if it rains, because the track here is very slippery.” Toni Elias, Gresini Honda: 10th.”We tried to make the most of the two hours we had on a dry track to prepare as best as possible for a dry race. We struggled a bit this morning because we couldn’t get the tyres up to optimum temperature. In the afternoon the situation improved and we’re quite ready if it is dry tomorrow. Unfortunately we had a technical problem at the end and only got chance to use only one qualifying tyre, which means I was unable to set a good lap. I’m disappointed by that but I’m hoping for a dry race tomorrow.” Shinya Nakano, Konica Minolta Honda: 11th. “More changeable weather conditions! But saying that I have been pleased that it’s been dry. This morning we tried three new tyres for the first time and we struggled a little. This is because this is our first time here with the 800cc Honda and my first time here on Michelin tyres in the dry, so it took time to adjust. We made some gearbox adjustments also, we normally do this on the first day, but the conditions have been so different we needed to do it again. I am a little disappointed with the final grid position, we are still not up with the top group, but we have closed the gap a little and that is important. When you have a bike that works well around Donington, it’s one of the most exciting tracks to ride around, so it should be a very thrilling race!” Kurtis Roberts, KR212V: 19th.”We made a lot of improvements today. The wet yesterday hurt us, because I’m still trying to get used to this bike, as well as the track. I’ve been here twice in ten years “¦ once in ’97 and once in ’04. It’s kind of tough having to relearn the track in just one day. But this afternoon we got closer to the guys the machine has been running with lately. A lot of that’s just me learning where I’m going. I’m still missing the line sometimes, going in a little late, because I’m trying to do it all so fast.” “I don’t know how the weather’s going to be tomorrow. I think either way we will be up a little higher than we are in qualifying, just by being able to think about the track tonight. I like this track. It’s just getting the corner speeds and stuff down. You’ve got to figure that out. Wet or dry, we’re going to have to put our heads down and race for it. Everyone’s on the same track.” Chuck Aksland Team Manager “Bike-wise, we’re running what we’ve had all year. There won’t be any significant changes until the new chassis comes. Kurtis is doing a good job. He picked up a lot of time from this morning to the afternoon in the dry sessions. I think he was just starting to get confidence with the race tyres when we had to throw in the qualifying tyres. That puts a whole different element in. On race tyres, he generally picked up the pace. We’ll see how he goes tomorrow.” Kenny Roberts Jnr, KR212V: Will not race at the British GP and is replaced by younger brother Kurtis. 250cc: Julian Simon, Repsol Honda: 3rd.”My time is not so bad I have a good second row grid position. The only problem I have is getting the bike to hold the racing line in some corners. But I’m sure we will be OK for the morning warm up. The engine is OK and if I get a good start I can run with the leading group then we will see what happens in the race. “ Andrea Dovizioso, Kopron Scot Honda: 6th.”We are not OK with the balance of the bike. It was not at all good this morning but we managed to make small improvements this afternoon. We are still far away but it’s just a mistake on chassis and suspension settings. It’s not fun but if we can improve before the warm up then I might be OK. The engine I cannot really say too much because I was never with the fastest riders. But if we do not improve before the warm up I am not confident about my chances.” Yukio Takahashi, Kopron Scot Honda: 11th.”The bike is very good. This morning in the dry conditions I found really good chassis and suspension settings or this track and this afternoon we only had small things to change. I ran my best lap times with a hard tyre that didn’t have much grip. On my last lap I was running with Bautista but I made a small mistake with the front but I have a good race set up and I hope to have a good race. I am slowly regaining feeling in my injured foot and my wrist is much better so the important thing is not to crash tomorrow.” Shuhei Aoyama, Repsol Honda: 12th.”That was not so good I crashed on the last lap of qualifying. The front end just turned in and I was down. We have never had that problem with this bike but all day I felt the front end wanting to turn in. Now I think it is a problem with the suspension because we tried many settings and different tyres but it was still a problem. The engine is good but we must fix the front end if I am to have a good race. “ Eugene Laverty, LCR Honda: 15th.”This qualifying session shows what I can do when I know the circuit and the bike set up, I think it shows my potential in grands prix. My lap times are very consistent and I think I can race for a top 12 position in the dry. If it rains the race is wide open.” Ratthapark Wilairot, Thai Honda PTT-SAG: 17th.”Today’s result shows that I only had one a day of dry practice on this track, but in those circumstances, it’s not too bad. What really matters is the fact that I gained some experience in the wet yesterday, which could prove crucial tomorrow as the weather forecast is uncertain. I feel confident for the race, regardless of the weather conditions.” 125cc. Alexis Masbou, FFM Honda: 8th “Not so bad today. My engine is really fast, the same as the KTM I was running with. The only small disadvantage is on acceleration off the Melbourne loop. I have some front end chatter but it’s nothing much and I am sure we can fix that before the warm up tomorrow. I’m really looking forward to the race.” Bradley Smith, Repsol Honda: 9th.” “Its been difficult today because we needed to get a move on after loosing so much time to the weather yesterday. We had many different things to try but didn’t have a perfect set up. I high-sided of the bike coming out of Coppice and landed on my back and foot I’m a bit sore but I will be OK to race. My team mate Tito (Rabat) and me have three bikes between us and we have both crashed today so the team have a lot to do to get us ready for tomorrow.” Mike Di Meglio, Kopron Scot Honda: 15th.”After the Catalunya GP we stayed on at the circuit to test various set up changes and found some improvements. We started practice here with the new settings but nothing worked. The team soon gave me a good bike and I felt OK. Everything was normal, very good this morning and I started the qualifying session with the same settings as this morning on an old tyre. When I came into the box to new change tyres the team adjusted the front and rear suspension trying for a little more grip but the feeling from the bike was not so good. We will go back to the original setting for the warm up and hope to find the same feeling I had this morning.” Enrique Jerez replacement rider for the injured Dino Lombardi, Kopron Scot Honda: 24th. “I am very pleased with the experience I am gaining here in the GP. The team have worked really hard for me and have fixed the suspension problems I have had. I think that tomorrow I will have a good race because today I found a good feeling with the bike and the track.” Tito Rabat, Repsol Honda: 28th. “I didn’t have a very good feeling on the bike in practice today. Then on the second lap of qualifying I clashed with another rider and crashed. My bike ran straight n and hit the wall. I went back to the pit box to take the second bike that I share with my team-mate Bradley (Smith) but the bike was set up for his riding style so I could not really set a fast time. I just used the time to learn the track in dry conditions.” Joey Litjens, Molenaar Honda: 29th.”I am loosing too much time off the sow corners particularly coming off the Melbourne loop I have no bottom end power many riders pull away from me at those points and it is impossible to try and make up ground on the brakes every lap. Pity because on top speed the bike is very good and the handling is also good. I hope it rains for the race tomorrow then I will have a better result than in dry conditions.” Danny Webb, Molenaar Honda: 32nd.”I could be faster than I was, even if I have improved my lap time with every session. The bike is good but the circuit doesn’t have much grip. I am running constant 1m 41.1 lap times but I need to be inside 1m 40s, but I set my time riding alone so that’s a good thing. Just one tenth of a second faster in qualifying and I would b four places higher up the grid that’s how competitive it is. I have to push a little harder in the race than I did today. I am English but I have only ever riding two 20 minute training sessions at Donington”