Copyright 2004, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

MotoGP Grid
Valencia, Spain
1. Makoto Tamada, Honda, Bridgestone, 1:32.815
2. Max Biaggi, Honda, Michelin, 1:32.831
3. Valentino Rossi, Yamaha, Michelin, 1:32.913
4. Sete Gibernau, Honda, Michelin, 1:32.936
5. Nicky Hayden, Honda, Michelin, 1:32.999
6. Troy Bayliss, Ducati, Michelin, 1:33.083
7. John Hopkins, Suzuki, Bridgestone, 1:33.422
8. Colin Edwards, Honda, Michelin, 1:33.438
9. Carlos Checa, Yamaha, Michelin, 1:33.504
10. Shinya Nakano, Kawasaki, Bridgestone, 1:33.557
11. Alex Hofmann, Kawasaki, Bridgestone, 1:33.723
12. Alex Barros, Honda, Michelin, 1:33.773
13. Loris Capirossi, Ducati, Michelin, 1:33.781
14. Jeremy McWilliams, Aprilia, Michelin, 1:34.104
15. Norick Abe, Yamaha, Michelin, 1:34.175
16. Marco Melandri, Yamaha, Michelin, 1:34.209
17. Ruben Xaus, Ducati, Michelin, 1:34.280
18. Neil Hodgson, Ducati, Michelin, 1:34.602
19. Gregorio Lavilla, Suzuki, Bridgestone, 1:34.974
20. Garry McCoy, Aprilia, Michelin, 1:35.064
21. Nobuatsu Aoki, Proton KR, Dunlop, 1:35.082
22. Olivier Jacque, Moriwaki Honda , Dunlop, 1:36.394
23. James Ellison, Harris WCM, Dunlop, 1:37.143
24. Kurtis Roberts, Proton KR, Dunlop, 1:37.922
25. Chris Burns, Harris WCM, Dunlop, 1:38.661




250cc GP Grid
Valencia, Spain
1. Dani Pedrosa, Honda, 1:36.367
2. Sebastian Porto, Aprilia, 1:36.535
3. Alex De Angelis, Aprilia, 1:36.800
4. Randy De Puniet, Aprilia, 1:36.813
5. Toni Elias, Honda, 1:36.900
6. Franco Battaini, Aprilia, 1:37.799
7. H. Aoyama, Honda, 1:37.123
8. Manuel Poggiali, Aprilia, 1:37.307
9. Naoki Matsudo, Yamaha, 1:37.245
10. Chaz Davies, Aprilia, 1:37.461



125cc GP Grid
Valencia, Spain
1. Andrea Dovizioso, Honda, 1:39.927
2. Hector Barbera, Aprilia, 1:40.146
3. Jorge Lorenzo, Derbi, 1:40.413
4. Gino Borsoi, Aprilia, 1:40.461
5. S. Gadea, Aprilia, 1:40.523
6. Casey Stoner, KTM, 1:40.562
7. Roberto Locatelli, Aprilia, 1:40.571
8. J. Simon, Honda, 1:40.662
9. Steve Jenkner, Aprilia, 1:40.726
10. G. Talmacsi, Malaguti, 1:40.909


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

Valencia Grand Prix
Valencia, Spain
Saturday 30th October

ROSSI ON FRONT ROW AS CHECA OVERCOMES MORNING CRASH

In bright and sunny conditions Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha rider Valentino Rossi earned a front row grid position for Sunday’s 30-lap MotoGP race, riding his YZR-M1 to a time of 1’32.913s. Carlos Checa earned a third row start in what will be his final ride for the team, having recovered from the effects of a fall in this morning’s free practice. Pole man was Japanese rider, Makoto Tamada (Honda) from his team-mate Max Biaggi.

Rossi, going for pole position after his outstanding championship-winning season, ran off track half way through the session, on the second corner of the track. He almost brought the M1 to a halt unscathed, but toppled over at walking pace and returned to the pit to allow the machine to be checked over. His mishap caused him to drop through the order for a time, but the final exchanges of the lead put him third overall, gaining an all-important front row start and securing himself the award for the fastest qualifier of the year.

Checa, who had rested after his morning session fall, went to 10th place after 20 minutes of the final session had elapsed, and he ultimately earned a ninth place on the grid. His third row start came courtesy of his last lap, 1’33.504s, an improvement on his previous times, despite his slow-speed off. Checa’s time is only six-tenths of a second off the pole with the first 13 riders separated by less than a second.

VALENTINO ROSSI (3rd, 1’32.913s)
“I hope we are ready for the last race of the season. We had a lot of problems during practice, it was a difficult one. I thought my M1 would be very good straight away on this track, but we have had more problems than we expected. Even with that I am happy because the bike is better, the feeling is not so bad, I am on the front row and we have worked very well. I think we are not at 100% yet but we still have tomorrow morning. I think we will have the same good weather as today so I hope we can make a good race.”

CARLOS CHECA (9th, 1’33.504s)
“It was a slow crash I had this morning at turn two but I fell quite hard on the asphalt. I didn’t lose consciousness or anything, but it was a good idea to take a little bit of a rest before the afternoon. We went a bit better in this session and for tomorrow I suppose I will feel better than today. I’m on the third row and that’s not too bad a position to be in. My pace on race setting is not too bad either but it will be hard tomorrow with 30 laps of this track. You always like to feel well on the eve of the race but right now I have a little bit of a headache. I want to finish well here, it’s my home race and my last for Yamaha, and I want to finish with the best possible feeling.”

DAVIDE BRIVIO, TEAM DIRECTOR
“Valentino ran on while trying for a good lap time with one particular tyre choice and he went in just a little bit too fast. He fell over but it was not really a crash. We still have some problems with his bike but really it is a case of studying the situation to fix the settings. I think it’s a normal situation we have every weekend. It’s a shame that Carlos fell. He seems to be OK but it is not a perfect preparation. He showed determination because he improved his time afterwards anyway. We all wish him well in his last race for us. Another point we must look at this weekend is that Valentino has won another BMW car, thanks to his success in the combined pole position competition. That is significant, I think, so thanks again to everyone in the team, it has been a big effort this season. Our results come from all their jobs.”

FRONT ROW
1. Makoto Tamada (JPN) Camel Honda 1’32.815
2. Max Biaggi (ITA) Camel Honda 1’32.831
3. VALENTINO ROSSI (ITA) Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha 1’32.913

SECOND ROW
4. Sete Gibernau (SPA) Telefonica Movistar Honda 1’32.936
5. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team 1’32.999
6. Troy Bayliss (AUS) Ducati Marlboro Team 1’33.083

9. CARLOS CHECA (SPA) Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha 1’33.504



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

HOPKINS QUALIFIES SEVENTH AT VALENCIA

VALENCIA, Spain (Saturday, October 30, 2004) – Suzuki’s John Hopkins qualified seventh on the four-kilometer Valencia circuit in Spain on Saturday. He shaved nearly a full second off his time from Friday’s preliminary qualifying session and will head up the third row alongside fellow American Colin Edwards and Spain’s own Carlos Checa.

“It was not too bad today,” Hopkins said. “We mainly worked on a race set-up most of the session. Then when I went out on qualifiers [tires] I did the best I could, but I was out there running by myself and seventh was the best I had. I would have liked to found just a tick more to put it on the second row, but this isn’t bad and I’m looking for a good result tomorrow.”

Hopkins said the team is still trying to find a race tire combination that will give firm grip the entire race.

“Unfortunately we’re running into the problem again of struggling when the tire goes off,” he said. “When the race tires are fresh they’re great, but after a number of laps we just really fall of the pace and I can’t afford that on race day. The team is working hard to find a solution.”

Hopkins and his factory Suzuki GSV-R not only made major improvements from Friday’s session, but also went two seconds faster at Valencia today than last year. “It shows how much the bike is improving,” Hopkins added.

Basketball superstar Michael Jordan was a guest of Suzuki in the team’s paddock today.

“That was really fun to have Michael hanging out with us,” Hopkins said. “I gave him an autographed helmet. He seems to be taking it all in and really enjoying it here.”

Jordan sponsors a motorcycle racing team in America.



More, from a press release issued by Fuchs Kawasaki:

MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2004
GRAN PREMIO MARLBORO DE LA COMUNITAT VALENCIANA
30TH OCTOBER 2004 – QUALIFYING PRACTICE 2

NAKANO SET TO CHALLENGE FOR TOP TEN CHAMPIONSHIP POSITION

Fuchs Kawasaki rider Shinya Nakano is on target to secure a top ten finish in the MotoGP World Championship standings in the season ending Valencia Grand Prix tomorrow.

Nakano is confident with the race set-up of his Ninja ZX-RR after today’s final qualifying session and he will start from tenth on the grid, two rows ahead of his nearest rivals in the points.

Nakano needs to make up just three points on Ruben Xaus and Marco Melandri to claim tenth in the championship.

Xaus has qualified 17th with Melandri 16th, both well behind Nakano on the sixth row of the grid.

Joining Nakano on the fourth row of the grid is his Fuchs Kawasaki team-mate Alex Hofmann, who was 11th fastest in the today’s sunny but cool final qualifying session.

With just four minutes remaining in the session, Hofmann was eighth fastest before being bumped by the late rush of fast times on soft qualifying tyres.

After overnight revisions to race tyre choice for improved edge grip, plus rear suspension and swinging arm set-up, both riders improved their first day qualifying times by almost one second.

In particular Hofmann was much more comfortable with his race set-up today, having found a better chassis balance and much improved rear-end control and grip levels.

The current evolution model of the Bridgestone-shod ZX-RR first appeared at Valencia one year ago, and has made significant steps forward in a constant process of development.

Nakano’s qualifying time of 1’33.5s was 1.4s faster than the best Kawasaki qualifying time for this race last year. Thirteen riders qualified within one second of pole position.

Track conditions on the twisting and compact 4 km Valencia circuit were warmer and faster today than in yesterdays provisional qualifying and continuing fine weather is forecast for tomorrow’s 30 lap race.

Shinya Nakano 10th (1’33.557)
“When I saw my lap time I thought I would be further up the grid compared to yesterday, but because everyone is so close I’m quite happy with this position. For sure the start will be very important for me on this track, as I’m aiming for tenth in the championship and a positive end to the season. My final fast lap had a lot of traffic, so perhaps it could have been a little faster. My bike felt much better this afternoon compared to yesterday and this morning, we made a lot of rear suspension changes and I will try more improvements in the pre-race warm-up session tomorrow.”

Alex Hofmann 11th (1’33.723)
“I’m very happy with the work my team has done to improve the bike from yesterday; I really struggled with rear-end slides, but today we made an important step forward and my race pace is faster and more consistent. I did my fast time alone without a tow, but there are no points for qualifying so my focus is on the race and a top ten result. The chassis balance is much improved and we have more edge grip now and some more ideas to try in the warm-up.”

Harald Eckl: Team Manager
“Our goal for the race is to have Shinya tenth in the championship, ahead of Ruben Xaus and Marco Melandri, and he has taken the first step in qualifying. Alex showed today that he is capable of a strong finish to the season and, with the improvements to the ZX-RR, both riders have an excellent chance of a top ten race finish. I’m hoping that both riders can finish the final GP with positive memories for the winter break.”

QUALIFYING PRACTICE 2 – COMBINED TIMES
1. Makoto Tamada (JPN) Camel Honda Team 1’32.815; 2. Max Biaggi (ITA) Camel Honda Team +0.016; 3. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha +0.098; 4. Sete Gibernau (SPA) Telefonica Movistar Honda +0.121; 5. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda +0.184; 6. Troy Bayliss (AUS) Ducati Marlboro Team +0.268; 7. John Hopkins (USA) Suzuki Grand Prix Team +0.607; 8. Colin Edwards (USA) Telefonica Movistar Honda +0.623; 9. Carlos Checa (SPA) Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha +0.689; 10. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Kawasaki Racing Team +0.742; 11. Alex Hofmann (GER) Kawasaki Racing Team +0.908; 12. Alex Barros (BRA) Repsol Honda +0.958; 13. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati Marlboro Team +0.966;



More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

Marlboro Valencia Grand Prix, Valencia
Final Qualifying
Saturday October 30 2004

DUCATI MARLBORO TEAM JUST 0.268s OFF POLE

Ducati Marlboro Team rider Troy Bayliss rode an awesome final qualifying session at sun-kissed Valencia this afternoon, putting his Desmosedici GP4 on the second row of the grid, just 0.268 seconds adrift of pole position man Makoto Tamada. Loris Capirossi had a less lucky day, getting too sideways on his fastest lap to end the session on the fifth row. The grid for tomorrow’s Marlboro Valencia Grand Prix – the last of the 16-race MotoGP season – is incredibly closely packed, Capirossi only 0.966 seconds off pole.

“Troy ran a very good pace this afternoon, so he should have a good race tomorrow,” commented Ducati Corse CEO Claudio Domenicali. “Loris was unlucky, he lost the rear through the last, fast left-hander, so he will start further back on the grid than he really deserves. Without that, he would’ve made the second or third rows. Troy used the different front forks he tried during our recent tests at Phillip Island. Loris also tried these forks at the tests but decided he prefers what he’s already using; it’s just a matter of individual rider preference. Tomorrow morning we will work to try and find some more speed for Loris but starting from the fifth row will make it a difficult race for him. >From what we’ve seen of Troy’s pace on race tyres, I think he could fight for a podium finish, which would be a good end to the season.”

‘PERFECT DAY’ FOR BAYLISS
Troy Bayliss enjoyed another fine qualifying performance at Valencia this afternoon, recording the sixth fastest time aboard his Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici GP4. The Australian opted to use different Ohlins forks today and immediately found them to his liking, gaining more front-end feeling so that he can attack corners more aggressively.

“That was a perfect day – as good as it’s going to get,” said a cheerful Bayliss. “I’m now using the new front forks we tried at Phillip Island and I’m really happy with them, really happy. They give me a lot more feeling going into the turns, so the bike feels better than it’s felt for a while. It’s finally coming together, so I really do believe that Ducati will have a good bike next year. The track picked up some grip today and I did some good laps on race tyres so things are looking okay. I want a good race tomorrow. It’s my last race for Ducati and I want to give them a good result, not that I don’t always try just as hard.”

CAPIROSSI AN UNLUCKY 13th
Loris Capirossi had a more difficult last qualifying session of the season, losing vital time on his final qualifying run when he lost control through the complex cambered fast left-hander that precedes the tight final turn at Valencia. The Ducati Marlboro Team man ended the day 13th quickest, which puts him on the fifth row of the grid.

“I’m not so happy because we’ve not been able to get the bike working the way I like,” said Capirossi. “It feels pretty hard to ride here, I’m not so comfortable. On my best qualifying lap I lost the rear through the fast left, I was lucky to stay on, which cost me a lot of time. The race is going to be difficult, because although I can do 34s, I think the fastest guys can do 33s. Furthermore, I’m starting from the fifth row of the grid, which for sure won’t help!”



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

AOKI CUTS TIME, ROBERTS WITHDRAWS FROM VALENCIA GP

Round 16, Valencia GP, Ricardo Tormo Circuit Final Qualifying: Saturday, October 30, 2004

Nobuatsu Aoki: 21st, 1:35.082
Kurtis Roberts: 24th, 1:37.922

Proton Team KR rider Nobuatsu Aoki cut his previous best lap time by almost a second in today’s final qualifying session for tomorrow’s Valencia GP, last round of the 2004 MotoGP season. But on a day when conditions were more favourable for all riders, he lost two places on the grid.

Team-mate Kurtis Roberts, however, did not take part in the final qualifying session, and will not race tomorrow. The American son of team principal Kenny Roberts, who has been battling for fitness after sustaining elbow and wrist injuries at the Czech Republic GP in August, tried to ride again this morning, but found his wrist and hand lacked strength.

Aoki picked up time in spite of warmer conditions than yesterday, which did not suit his tyres as well. The improvement came after running through a big batch of the latest Dunlops, and finding one that offered significantly better grip.

Sunday’s race is the final round of the 2004 MotoGP World Championship series, and brings to a close a tough season for the England-based Proton team. Development of the second version of the V5 engine has been hampered by sundry problems, but by the end of the season the engine had found consistency and reliability, which it demonstrated again at the Valencia round.

NOBUATSU AOKI
We tried a couple of setting changes today, especially to the front fork. But they didn’t work, so I went back to the settings I had yesterday. We had quite a few tyres to test for tomorrow, and I found one Japanese rear that worked pretty well, even though the track temperature was higher today. It’s a pity. I improved my time by almost a second, but lost two positions on the grid. But we’re still making progress.

KURTIS ROBERTS
Before I came, I was able to ride a minibike for an hour straight, but obviously a MotoGP bike puts a lot more strain on the wrist. I could only go three or four laps before it got really painful. I was riding better today than yesterday, but the nerve sensations in my hand aren’t right. It’s almost as though it’s going to sleep. I had the same problem three weeks ago riding the minibike, and I got through that. But with two days and two sessions a day here, we weren’t going to have enough time to sort it out. I definitely wouldn’t be able to make it through 30 laps … no chance.

CHUCK AKSLAND – Team Manager
The bikes ran good all day, and Nobu got a better time with a better tyre. Every race Dunlop bring a lot of tyres and every race there is something better. Kurtis found there’s a lot of difference between riding minibikes and motocross bikes than a MotoGP racer. His wrist was getting sore after just a few laps. He gave it his all, but he needs more time. He was not confident he could finish the race, and there’s no point in risking doing more damage to his wrist.



More, from a press release issued by Camel Honda:

GP of the Valencian Community – Round 16 – MotoGP
Valencia – Saturday October 30th 2004

Yellow Camel Hondas line up on front row in Valencia

The bright yellow RC211Vs of the Camel Honda team, and their riders Makoto Tamada and Max Biaggi conquered the front row in Valencia today. Makoto took yet another pole position, whilst Max Biaggi was second quickest. Both the riders and the technicians worked flat out on getting the perfect set-up and in today’s practices the yellow team’s two flag-bearers once again showed determination and efficiency in getting the job done. They will start side by side from the front row for the final race of the World Championship tomorrow, where they both hope to play a major role.

Sito Pons – Camel Honda (Team Principal)
“Two yellow Camel Honda bikes on the front row, so I’m satisfied with the work we have done these past two days to get ourselves competitive and ready for tomorrow’s race. We have tried lots of different solutions and our main objectives have been achieved. So I’m confident for the race, a very important last round of the 2004 championship, where we hope to be the main protagonists.”

Max Biaggi – Camel Honda (Michelin Tyres) – 2nd – 1’32.831
“Between yesterday and today we have really made a big step forward with the set-up and at the crucial moment I made the most of the qualifying tyres also. It’s a shame that on my fast lap I had Hayden in front of me, because he was riding a lot slower at the time. He immediately got off the racing line, but when it’s this tight for pole position, even thousandths of a second make a big difference. Anyway, the most important thing is that I feel good on the bike and I’ll be setting off from the front row tomorrow. Perhaps in the warm up we will make a few slight modifications but it’s just some little tweaks. I have to thank the team and Honda for the hard work they’ve done these past days.”

Giulio Bernardelle – Camel Honda – (Makoto Tamada’s Technical Director)
“We have carried out all the work we needed to do for this race in Valencia. We still need to check a couple of things to get the race consistency which will make the difference. In the warm-up therefore, we’ll be making some final changes. So even tomorrow it will be important to work out early on what the grip levels are like, as they are constantly improving, because that could affect the tyre choice for the race.”.

Makoto Tamada – Camel Honda (Bridgestone Tyres) – 1st – 1’32.815
“We used soft tyres to make the fast time, that’s all I can say. It was a great lap and the pole came with it. We have done so much work adapting to the constant changes in the track conditions on these first two days. We still have a few details to sort out, but we have the warm-up tomorrow to do that. It’s the race where I really have to do well though.”



More, from a press release issued by Dorna Sports:

Tamada takes final pole of 2004

Makoto Tamada will start the final MotoGP race of the season from pole position at the Ricardo Tormo circuit on Sunday after clocking the fastest time in the final qualifying practice this afternoon. Watched from the stands by basketball legend Michael Jordan, Tamada held off the challenge of his team-mate Max Biaggi in an exciting climax to the session, with World Champion Valentino Rossi qualifying third fastest to join the Camel Honda pair on the front row.

“We used soft tyres to make the fast time, that’s all I can say,” revealed Tamada, who has set pole position twice already this season. “It was a great lap and the pole came with it. We have done so much work adapting to the constant changes in the track conditions on these first two days. We still have a few details to sort out, but we have the warm-up tomorrow to do that. It’s the race where I really have to do well though.”

Local favourite Sete Gibernau was held up by a slower rider on his fastest lap and could only manage fourth place after setting provisional pole yesterday. The Spaniard is joined on the second row by Nicky Hayden, who was cheered on from pit-lane by his two brothers Tommy and Roger Lee, in fifth place and Troy Bayliss in sixth. Bayliss makes his final appearance for Ducati tomorrow after two years with the Italian factory in the MotoGP series.

John Hopkins signed a new contract with Suzuki yesterday evening and celebrated with the seventh fastest time, putting him at the front of the third row ahead of American compatriot Colin Edwards. Whilst Edwards makes his final appearance for Honda before switching to Yamaha tomorrow, the man he will replace at the Japanese factory, Carlos Checa, starts alongside him in ninth place.

The track action continued after qualifying was over this afternoon with the huge local crowd entertained by Michael Jordan, who completed several laps riding the Ducati Desmosedici which Randy Mamola usually uses to give pillion rides to VIPs. However, on this occasion Jordan took control of the 230bhp machine himself and followed MotoGP riders Kurtis and Kenny Roberts, Sete Gibernau and Colin Edwards around the 4.005km track.

Dani Pedrosa had a mixed afternoon, qualifying on pole position for the fourth time this season in the 250cc class despite crashing his Honda at the start of the session. Pedrosa escaped major injury, suffering a slight knock to his left thumb, and will take his place at the front of the grid as he looks to celebrate his title success in front of over 120,000 fans tomorrow. Alex de Angelis continued his positive end to the season with third place and the front row is completed by Randy de Puniet.

Andrea Dovizioso again showed why he is the 125cc World Champion with his eighth pole position of the season, a comfortable 0.219 seconds clear of his nearest contender Hector Barberá. Jorge Lorenzo qualified third fastest and will start his final race with Derbi from the front row of the grid, where he is joined by veteran Italian Gino Borsoi, also making his final appearance in the class due to new age restrictions which come into force next season.



More, from a press release issued by Honda Racing:

Grand Prix of Community of Valencia, Valencia, October 29, 30, 31 2004

Final Qualifying October 30

FLYING TAMADA ROMPS TO THIRD POLE OF SEASON

MotoGP final qualifying was torn apart by Makoto Tamada (Camel Honda RC211V), riding on Bridgestone tyres, here at Valencia. He set a 1m 32.815 second lap to grab pole and the nearest man to that time was his team-mate Max Biaggi (Camel Honda RC211V) who joins him as second fastest on the front row. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) qualified third.

In sunnier, warmer conditions than yesterday, Tamada really got to grips with the 4.005km Cheste track. The Japanese ace timed his flying lap to perfection with two minutes of the hour-long session to go and although Max stayed out to try and best Tamada’s time in the dying moments, he was to remain 0.016 seconds away.

Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC211V) was the first man to go faster as the session got underway and the American would end up on row two as fifth fastest qualifier. He was fastest in the morning hour of free training, shaving 1.9 seconds from his Friday time.

Sete Gibernau (Telefonica MoviStar Honda RC211V) topped the timesheet in the early stages and although he starts from row two in fourth, the Spanish World Championship runner-up is just 0.121 seconds shy of the pole time and well in contention for the race tomorrow.

Colin Edwards (Telefonica MoviStar Honda RC211V) looked strong and hoisted himself to pole with 15 minutes to go. But he couldn’t sustain the effort required to continue the improvement and had to be content with an eventual eighth place on the third row.

Alex Barros (Repsol Honda RC211V) struggled in the morning and never really found form here. The best the Brazilian could muster was 12th place on row four.

“We used soft tyres to make that fast time,” said Tamada. “It was a great lap and the pole came with it. We’ve done so much work adapting to the constant changes in the track conditions during these first two days. We still have a few details to sort out and we’ll do that in warm-up. But it’s in the race that I really need to perform.”

Max said, “We made a big step forward in set-up at a crucial time and I managed to make the most of the qualifying tyres too. I had Hayden in front of me on my fast lap, which was a shame because he was going slower than me. Even thousandths of a second make a huge difference. But the important thing is I feel good on the bike.”

“I was half a second faster today,” said Sete. “But I’m still not happy with my rhythm here yet. I need to concentrate in the warm-up tomorrow to get a bit more confidence here. I really want to win here at home and although we’ve improved my race pace I’m not at 100% here yet.”

His team-mate Edwards said, “I’m happy with the set-up, we’ve found some good solutions, although I’m a bit disappointed I couldn’t get the best out of my second qualifying tyre when Melandri was in my way. I need a good start tomorrow so I can push on from there for a podium.”

Hayden said, “Today we had a much better feeling on the bike. We made some changes from yesterday and went in the right direction. We wanted more grip and we got it. I also managed a whole bunch of fast laps, which is even more encouraging. The top group of riders is really close on time and it should be a fun race tomorrow.”

Barros knows he’s in for a tough race but the Brazilian remains upbeat about his chances. “We’ve at last found some good feeling from the bike,” he said. “Now things are better but I feel sorry for the team because they’ve worked very hard and we should not be where we are on the grid. This makes the race more complicated but we’re in much better shape than yesterday.”

The 250cc qualifying session belonged to new World Champion Dani Pedrosa (Telefonica MoviStar Junior Team RS250RW). The 19-year-old Spanish maestro sped to a fastest lap of 1m 36.367 seconds, 0.168 seconds faster than Sebastian Porto who qualified second.

Alex de Angelis and Randy de Puniet (both Aprilia) complete the front row in third and fourth. Tony Elias (Fortuna Honda RS250RW) heads row two in fifth while Hiroshi Aoyama (Telefonica MoviStar Junior Team RS250RW) also lines up on the second row in seventh.

Roberto Rolfo (Fortuna Honda RS250RW) was taken out mid-session in a two-bike crash when he was rammed from behind. But the resilient Italian lines up 18th on the grid nonetheless.

Dani said, “I really want to win here tomorrow, but there are four, maybe five riders who are really close together on times here and that’s going to make it hard. We’ll also have to see what the conditions are like here tomorrow.”

Elias is confident after finding a good set-up. “We had a lot of work to do on the front suspension here – and now it’s working well. I’ve got a good rhythm on race tyres but when we put a softer compound in I couldn’t improve and attack the pole time. There’s a bit more to try in warm-up tomorrow.”

The final half-hour of 125cc qualifying belonged to Andrea Dovizioso (Team Scot Honda RS125R) who romped to his sixth pole of the season. The reigning World Champion put in a lap of 1m 39.927 seconds to deny Hector Barbera (Aprilia) the top slot.

Dovi was lucky to stay on board his machine in the final minute when he lost grip while fully leant over. He saved the slide with his knee but had to take to the grass and a gravel trap. But he’d already secured pole by that stage.

The other front row starters are Barbera who was second fastest with a 1m 40.146 second time, Jorge Lorenzo (Derbi) third fastest and Gino Borsoi (Aprilia) in fourth. Julian Simon (Angaia Racing Honda RS125R) qualified on the second row in eighth. Simone Corsi (Team Scot Honda RS125R) qualified 13th.

“I’m pleased with qualifying,” said Dovi. “We had some front end trouble early on but that’s now fixed. The bike has been no problem really and I feel confident on it. The only place I can’t a good feeling is through the last turn here.”

Simon said, “Everything’s fine. Really no trouble at all, the bike just got better and better and I was able to set my time alone. I waited for a tow and no on