FIM MotoGP World Championship Motegi, Japan April 25, 2009 Final Qualifying Results (based on combined practice times, all on Bridgestone tires): 1. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha), 1:48.545 2. Casey Stoner (Ducati), 1:48.601 3. Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha), 1:48.965 4. Chris Vermeulen (Suzuki), 1:49.382 5. Colin Edwards (Yamaha), 1:49.697 6. Loris Capirossi (Suzuki), 1:49.980 7. Andrea Dovizioso (Honda), 1:50.030 8. Marco Melandri (Kawasaki), 1:50.123 9. Toni Elias (Honda), 1:50.209 10. James Toseland (Yamaha), 1:50.342 11. Dani Pedrosa (Honda), 1:50.391 12. Nicky Hayden (Ducati), 1:50.393 13. Yuki Takahashi (Honda), 1:50.404 14. Sete Gibernau (Ducati), 1:50.538 15. Alex De Angelis (Honda), 1:50.601 16. Randy De Puniet (Honda), 1:50.669 17. Mika Kallio (Ducati), 1:51.643 18. Niccolo Canepa (Ducati), 1:51.929 More, from a press release issued by Fiat Yamaha: QUALIFYING WASHOUT LEAVES ROSSI ON POLE AND LORENZO THIRD IN JAPAN For the second race in a row MotoGP was a victim of severe weather conditions today, when Qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix was cancelled amidst torrential rain at the Motegi Twin Ring. The decision to abandon the session meant that the grid for tomorrow’s race was decided on the fastest times from all free practices, leaving Fiat Yamaha rider Valentino Rossi on pole and Jorge Lorenzo in third. This morning’s session was the first wet practice of the season and offered the riders their first chance to try out the new generation of Bridgestone rain tyres. Rossi and Lorenzo were happy to find their wet settings working well from the off and the Italian finished the session second with his Spanish team-mate in fourth. Tech 3 Yamaha rider Colin Edwards made it a good morning for Yamaha by topping the time sheets. The rain became heavier throughout the morning and by the early afternoon there was plenty of standing water on the track. MotoGP practice was delayed until 1500 but by then it was clear that the rain was not stopping and the decision was taken to cancel the session for safety reasons. With the grid being formed on free practice times, Rossi and Lorenzo’s strong showing in the only dry session yesterday stands them in good stead for tomorrow’s race, which is expected to be dry. Valentino Rossi Position: 1st Time: 1’48.545 Laps: “We’ve been very unlucky in these two races and last year as well, because we’ve just had so much rain! This year has been worse though because first we had to delay the race in Qatar and now we’ve had to cancel qualifying here. I don’t think it was such a good idea to come to Motegi in April! So now we’re going into a race after just 45 minutes in the dry and 45 minutes in the wet, and I think maybe it will be one of the most uncertain races ever! We’re lucky because we had a good session in the dry yesterday and so we’re on pole, which is very important for the race here but it’s still impossible to be at 100% after such a short time and with so little data. In the dry this morning our setting worked well also so I think we can fight whether it’s dry or wet, and after all it’s the same for everybody. Of course I would prefer it to be dry but above all I hope it’s not half and half, I hope it’s either fully wet or fully dry otherwise it will be even more difficult.” Jorge Lorenzo Position: 3rd Time: 1’48.965 Laps: “I am relieved to be on the front row and very happy we were able to do such a good time yesterday. Today is a pity but anyway I am fast in the dry and in the wet so I feel good for the race tomorrow. My bike is working well in both types of conditions and it feels good in the braking and through the chassis. Of course we don’t have so much data but we have options for a wet or a dry race so now we just have to wait and see how it is tomorrow morning.” Davide Brivio Team Manager “It’s a pity about the rain today and a shame to have to cancel the session but the conditions meant it was impossible. It was good to have a first chance to test in the wet this morning but it could have been useful to have more time this afternoon. Now it looks like it will be dry tomorrow but our setting yesterday was not bad so we hope we can make the most of this pole position. It will be interesting to see how we can perform in this race with so little track time. Now we are just hoping for a dry race and we will be looking forward to fighting at the front.” Daniele Romagnoli Team Manager “It’s been a very strange day today without qualifying, but Jorge has a good front row so this is important. This morning in the wet we were quite fast, although we still need to find some more traction. It seems tomorrow it’s more likely to be dry so yesterday’s session will be very important to help us to have the right race setting. We are ready and confident that we can do a good race whatever the weather.” More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda: QUALIFYING CANCELLED FOR JAPANESE GRAND PRIX Saturday April 25, 2009. Twin Ring Motegi, Japan The rain gods today played havoc with the 2009 MotoGP World Championship for the second race in succession – this time causing the cancellation of qualifying for tomorrow’s Japanese Grand Prix. With deep standing water on the Twin Ring Motegi circuit, it was decided that conditions were too dangerous to ride, so grid positions for the race will be determined by each rider’s fastest time in the two practice sessions so far. For Repsol Honda aces Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso, this damp intervention was not great news and they will start the 24-lap race from 7th and 11th respectively – the positions they achieved in yesterday’s dry afternoon session. This morning the 45 minutes of practice was held on a wet track, so lap times were slower than yesterday. Pedrosa finished in 10th position in this morning’s wet session, and Dovizioso in 11th. With dry conditions expected to return tomorrow, both sides of the Repsol Honda garage are cautiously optimistic of making significant improvements to their dry set-ups ahead of Honda’s home race. Andrea Dovizioso – Starting position 7th “We could really have done with a dry session today because we’ve got some new parts to test on the machine which could move us forward – but with the rain that obviously wasn’t possible. So, we’re starting from seventh, which isn’t ideal. If we get a dry warm-up then it’s possible we can improve the settings for the race – and that’s what we’ll be working towards. In the wet session this morning, the feeling on the machine wasn’t great but really it all depends on what the weather does tomorrow. It’s Honda’s home race so I’m really hoping to be able to get a good result for the team and the fans.” Dani Pedrosa, Starting position 11th “Well, this is definitely a pretty strange situation, especially after what happened in Qatar. In the morning’s wet session I gradually improved my lap times and was able to get a better feeling with the new rain tyres, so that was a useful learning process. I’m starting the race from eleventh on the grid and most of my rivals are on the front row, so this means I’ll have to get a great start and pass a lot of riders to get near the front. Our dry set-up is not perfect so we’ll have to get things right in the warm-up tomorrow.” Kazuhiko Yamano – Team Manager “This has been a strange day – though we got a taste of this sort of thing at the first race in Qatar two weeks ago. Both riders had the potential to make real improvements if it had been dry today so it wasn’t an ideal situation for the team. We’re going to be very busy in the warm-up tomorrow to get through the set-up work we have planned and if things go well I think we can make some significant progress for the race. There will be a lot of Honda fans here tomorrow supporting Honda at our home race, so I really hope we can get a result to please them.” More, from a press release issued by Rizla Suzuki: Rizla Suzuki MotoGP racers Chris Vermeulen and Loris Capirossi will start tomorrow’s Japanese Grand Prix from fourth and sixth places on the grid respectively, after today’s qualifying session was cancelled due to adverse weather conditions. For the second successive Grand Prix the rain intervened to cause the cancellation of part of the Grand Prix weekend. The race at Qatar was delayed for a day due to heavy rain and similar weather conditions at Motegi today gave the organisers no choice when the decision was made to cancel the session. Vermeulen and Capirossi did manage to get out on track in the morning session when the rain was not as heavy and were able to get some wet setting information for the 4,801m circuit. Vermeulen clocked the fifth quickest time as he completed 14 laps, with Capirossi in 13th also after 14 laps. Vermeulen is in confident mood after having the fourth and fifth fastest time in the respective dry and wet conditions. Today’s cancellation of the qualifying session meant that the grid was decided on the best times from the two free practice sessions that had been run over the weekend. This left Vermeulen in fourth with Capirossi sixth and reigning World Champion Valentino Rossi on pole. Tomorrow’s 24-lap race will get underway at 15.00hrs local time (06.00hrs GMT) with both Rizla Suzuki men hoping for better weather. Chris Vermeulen: “Obviously it has been really difficult conditions this afternoon for everyone involved in the championship. I feel like we’ve been very unlucky to have the rain in the desert and now in Japan! From a personal point of view I am really happy to have qualified on the second row in fourth position. It’s always the goal to be on the front row, but this gives us a good opportunity to get a good start and be right up the front from the beginning of the race. The bike worked well in the dry yesterday and not too bad in the wet this morning. We were fourth and fifth in the two sessions so we have something to look forward to whatever the weather. I hope it is dry though because this is better for everyone and makes for a better race. We will still try our best and the goal is certainly to be on the podium and if we can do that it will be a great weekend!” Loris Capirossi: “I am not too happy really as we still had some problems with the setting and tyre selection from yesterday, and we didn’t get a chance to sort it out today. We worked well in the wet and never really pushed too hard to get a good lap-time, but I believe we will be competitive so we will need to see what happens with the weather tomorrow. The conditions this afternoon were just too bad to go out in and it was better that we didn’t try to ride as it could have been very dangerous. I really love this track and want it to be nice tomorrow so I can see the true potential of our bike at a race. It has been good in testing and we need to see how it performs in race conditions. We try to improve every time we go out on the track, but we have done nearly nothing this weekend and now it will be hard to make the correct choice for tomorrow, but I think we will do alright and will be quick whatever the weather!” Paul Denning – Team Manager: “It has been a frustrating day for everybody involved in MotoGP, but there is nothing that could have been done to change the situation. Obviously we’re fortunate that both the guys did a good job yesterday afternoon which has put us on the second row and given us a chance to go for it from the start – whatever the conditions. “After this, our Japanese colleagues are now banned from complaining about the weather in England ever again!” More, from a press release issued by Bridgestone: Bridgestone wets working well; downpour cancels qualifying Round 2: Japan Qualifying Twin Ring Motegi, Saturday 25 April 2009 Tyre compounds used: Wet tyre (soft compound) It seems MotoGP is unable to escape the weather so far this season as the qualifying session in Motegi was cancelled after heavy rain left the Twin Ring Motegi circuit submerged in places. The rain hit in time for this morning’s practice session, meaning that all riders used Bridgestone’s wet tyres in their first competitive outing this season. Whilst it was wet for a time during the Qatar test in March, and it rained again during the official IRTA pre-season test in Jerez, today is the first time that all riders took to the track with a wet setup. The Bridgestone wets performed well in the morning’s session, but several hours of rain left the track submerged in places, resulting in the afternoon’s qualifying session being cancelled for MotoGP, 250cc and 125cc classes. As a result, tomorrow’s race will start based on the fastest times from both practice sessions, which means the order will be taken from yesterday’s dry first practice. Tohru Ubukata – Bridgestone Motorsport Manager, Motorcycle Race Tyre Development “I am quite happy with our wet tyre performance today, as even in the cold conditions our soft compound wet tyre worked from the beginning to the end of the session. There was a reasonable amount of water standing on the circuit and it was also quite cold, at 11 degrees Celsius, so these were very tough conditions for the tyre. “It is the first real wet test we have had this year, and before this we were basically only going from the Jerez test result. There was constant rain all through the session, but our wet tyre worked quite well so about this I am quite happy.” Top ten from free practice 2 (Saturday 10:05 10:50 GMT+9) Pos Rider Team Practice Time Gap 1 Colin Edwards Yamaha Tech3 2m01.841s 2 Valentino Rossi Fiat Yamaha 2m01.893s +0.052s 3 Casey Stoner Ducati Team 2m02.497s +0.656s 4 Jorge Lorenzo Fiat Yamaha 2m03.007s +1.166s 5 Chris Vermeulen Rizla Suzuki 2m03.427s +1.586s 6 Nicky Hayden Ducati Team 2m03.723s +1.882s 7 Alex de Angelis San Carlo Honda 2m04.136s +2.295s 8 Sete Gibernau Francisco Hernando 2m04.454s +2.613s 9 Randy de Puniet LCR Honda 2m04.469s +2.628s 10 Dani Pedrosa Repsol Honda 2m04.489s +2.648s Weather: Wet. Ambient 11°C; Track 12°C (MotoGP official timing) Top ten race starting positions (taken from free practice one) Pos Rider Team Practice Time Gap 1 Valentino Rossi Fiat Yamaha 1m48.545s 2 Casey Stoner Ducati Team 1m48.601s +0.056s 3 Jorge Lorenzo Fiat Yamaha 1m48.965s +0.420s 4 Chris Vermeulen Rizla Suzuki 1m49.382s +0.837s 5 Colin Edwards Yamaha Tech3 1m49.697s +1.152s 6 Loris Capirossi Rizla Suzuki 1m49.980s +1.435s 7 Andrea Dovizioso Repsol Honda 1m50.030s +1.485s 8 Marco Melandri Hayate Racing 1m50.123s +1.578s 9 Toni Elias San Carlo Honda 1m50.209s +1.664s 10 James Toseland Yamaha Tech3 1m50.342s +1.797s More, from a press release issued by Monster Yamaha Tech 3: Motegi monsoon frustrates Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team pairing Colin Edwards and James Toseland will start the Japanese MotoGP race from fifth and tenth places on the grid after torrential rain forced today’s decisive qualifying session to be abandoned. A frustrating day had started in stunning fashion for 35-year-old Edwards, who produced a brilliant display of wet weather riding in this morning’s rain-hit second free practice session at the Twin Ring Motegi. Only reigning world champion Valentino Rossi could lap within half-a-second of the American – a performance made even more impressive considering today was Edwards’ first chance to properly assess Bridgestone’s rain tyre. Hopes that Edwards could continue his fantastic pace to challenge for pole position were dashed as the rain worsened in the build-up to this afternoon’s qualifying session. Race Direction decided to delay the session by 55 minutes with the deluge leaving several large patches of standing water scattered around the 2.983 miles circuit. Circuit staff also placed sandbags on the perimeter at some sections of the circuit to prevent water flooding across the track, but with no let up in the downpour, a decision was taken to abandon qualifying at 3pm. Grid positions were decided on combined practice times, with times posted in yesterday dry practice session counting. That left Edwards on the second row for tomorrow’s 24-lap race and British rider Toseland 10th. Toseland had a difficult wet practice this morning, his first outing on Bridgestone’s rain rubber hindered by a front fork issue. Toseland though is determined to deliver a positive result for Yamaha in its home race, his confidence boosted by the competitive pace he set yesterday on Bridgestone’s hard compound slick rear tyre. Today’s rain disruption comes less than two weeks since the opening race in Qatar was delayed by nearly 24 hours because of heavy rain Colin Edwards 5th 1.49.697 “That was pretty frustrating when you consider the lack of track time we already get now. But it was impossible to ride out there. There was a lot of standing water and it wasn’t even worth going out and trying. This morning was really good in the rain, though I have to say thanks to Valentino and his crew because they got a pretty good rain setting from last year. But this is the first day I’ve been on the Bridgestone rain tyre. I ran it in Jerez in testing but it was just damp and nowhere near full wet. The rain tyres are really impressive. You can actually push them and get load and that to me is a new thing. Now I can push a bit and that was pretty good fun with so much feel. Before I’ve just had to roll around in the rain and not really have the feel to push too hard. The Bridgestone front rain tyre is like their slick, it’s just magic. I’m a front-end guy and the confidence it gives is amazing. It is a bit annoying that I couldn’t go out this afternoon and try for the front row but I’m happy with fifth. It’s a shame I didn’t go out on the soft tyre yesterday but I got a full 19 laps experience on the hard tyre, and that will be the race tyre. If the temperature comes up a bit too I should be in even better shape. So rain or shine I feel ready for a good race.” James Toseland 10th 1.50.342 “Not being able to get out and ride showed how much rain there was out there and it’s incredible when you think about what happened in Qatar. This morning it wasn’t raining that hard at all, but even at that stage there were a few puddles starting to appear, so I thought if it got any worse we would really find it difficult to go out because in two or three places the standing water was getting quite bad. It wasn’t dangerous at that point but the rain has really come down this afternoon and made it impossible. If it is dry tomorrow I mostly ran the hard tyre yesterday, so hopefully I’ll be sat on the grid in a little bit better position than some of the others. I’m a bit annoyed because until the end of yesterday’s session I was in sixth or seventh, and if I’d put another tyre in I could have been on the second row maybe, which would have been great. I feel with the set-up we have and the distance I’ve done on the hard tyres puts me in good shape for the race.” More, from a press release issued by Pramac Racing Team: Qualifying session in Motegi Cancelled for heavy rain. The starting grid decided by the combined free practices: Kallio seventeenth, Canepa eigheenth. After yesterday’s unlucky free practice session, Pramac Racing riders didn’t have the possibility to improve their performances due to bad weather. In the afternoon heavy rain has completely wetted the track not allowing MotoGP riders to step on the circuit for qualifying session. The starting grid has therefore been decided by combined free practices lap times where Kallio and Canepa are respectively in seventeenth and eighteenth position. For tomorrow the weather forecast says sun and the race should therefore start at 3pm local time without any complication. Fabiano Sterlacchini – Pramac Racing Technical Director “We have been really unlucky these two days. Yesterday Mika slipped not being able to conquer a good lap time, then today, after the wet morning free practice, rain has increased and we couldn’t come out of the pit box. Therefore we will have to start from the last two positions with our riders. We hope to be able to set up the bike in the best way possible during tomorrow warm up to allow Mika and Niccolò to accomplish a good comeback.” Mika Kallio – Pramac Racing riders – 17th in starting grid “Let’s say this hasn’t been a lucky weekend for us, but we cannot do nothing about it and we have to take things how they come. Tomorrow we should have a sunny day since the warm up, even if it will not be easy to set up the bike at the best in only twenty minutes. The left ankle I injured in yesterday’s fall is getting better, it’s only a hard contusion and it will go away with time. Tomorrow I should be almost at the top.” Niccolò Canepa – Pramac Racing rider – 18th in starting grid “What to say, two surprising weekends. First the rain in Qatar and the race postponed to the day after and today heavy rain and qualifying session cancelled. I would say an interesting start of my MotoGP career. Jokes apart, it didn’t go too well for us as seen how yesterday and this morning practices went we will have to start from the back of the grid. Let’s hope tomorrow the track conditions will be better to be able to race without complications and continue my learning period in this category.” More, from a press release issued by Dorna Communications: Heavy lunchtime rain at the Twin Ring Motegi circuit led to the cancellation of all qualifying sessions for the Polini Grand Prix of Japan, leaving grid positions in all three World Championship categories to be decided according to Free Practice positions. Valentino Rossi will thus start from pole position at Motegi for the first time in his career, courtesy of his late time on Friday afternoon. All MotoGP times were faster in the first free practice session, the only dry run that the riders have had in preparation for the 2009 race. Rossi will line up alongside series leader Casey Stoner and Fiat Yamaha teammate Jorge Lorenzo on Sunday, the same three riders making up the front row as at the first race of the year in Qatar. The 2008 World Champion is in a prime position to avoid a breakaway by Stoner, the rider who took victory so comprehensively less than two weeks ago. Rizla Suzuki rider Chris Vermeulen is joined by Monster Yamaha Tech3’s Colin Edwards – the fastest rider in the wet FP2 session on Saturday morning – and three-time Motegi racewinner Loris Capirossi on the second line, whilst the highest placing Honda comes on the third row. Andrea Dovizioso leads the Japanese company’s charge in his first home race for the Repsol Honda factory squad, with Hayate Racing man Marco Melandri and San Carlo Honda Gresini’s Toni Elias by his side. 250cc Grid positions in the 250cc class were, prior to this season, decided on the basis of combined times from two qualifying sessions. On Saturday at Motegi the starting places for the category were once again based on Friday times, as their crucial session was cancelled due to excessive rain. With the time schedules for the day only useful for origami practice, Marco Simoncelli was awarded pole position for his full race return. The Metis Gilera rider had been fastest in the dry on Friday afternoon, some six-tenths of a second quicker than any other rider. The quarter-litre category’s reigning titlist missed the opening round of the season with a hand injury. Hiroshi Aoyama starts from the front row at his and Honda’s home race, placing second ahead of Mapfre Aspar’s Álvaro Bautista and Team Toth rider Mattia Pasini. 125cc Andrea Iannone was the principal beneficiary of rain for the third time in his 125cc career, as the heavy downfalls led to him being awarded the pole position spot. Having won his first race in a restarted Chinese round in 2008, and most recently taking victory in the rain-affected opening round of the 2009 season in Qatar, the Ongetta I.S.PA. Team rider reaped the rewards of the regulations and a speedy Friday time. With all times in the opening session quicker than a wet second run, Iannone’s 2’00.685 lap was enough to take him to his second Grand Prix pole. The series leader will be racing against Bancaja Aspar rival Julián Simon, 2008 racewinner Stefan Bradl and Blusens Aprilia’s Esteve Rabat – on the front row for the first time – to take the Motegi 125cc holeshot. The Sunday warm-up sessions will be extended for all three classes, with 125cc running from 8.35-9.05am local time, 250cc from 9.15-9.45am, and MotoGP from 9.55-10.35am. More, from a press release issued by Marlboro Ducati: RAIN STRIKES AGAIN AS QUALIFYING CANCELLED AT MOTEGI Just two weeks on from the postponement of the opening round of the MotoGP World Championship in Qatar due to rain, the series was hit by another freak weather setback in Japan as a torrential downpour led to the cancellation of this afternoon’s qualifying practice. With this morning’s session having been hit by rain, when Ducati Marlboro riders Casey Stoner and Nicky Hayden lapped third and sixth fastest respectively, yesterday afternoon’s cold but dry opening session was decisive, meaning Stoner will start from the front row in second place with his American team-mate back in 12th. As a result of the reduced track time today, tomorrow’s warm-up has been extended to 40 minutes for the MotoGP class. CASEY STONER (Ducati Marlboro Team) 2nd (1’48.601) “It would be strange to go through a whole season and have one session that you can’t ride in, so it’s amazing that we’ve had this situation occur in each of the opening two rounds. It’s unbelievable, the rain we’ve had, and I’d probably be feeling angry and frustrated right now if it wasn’t for the fact we’re on the front row! It is a difficult situation for everybody to have had so little track time here but we’re all, almost literally, in the same boat! With just 45 minutes of dry time and 45 minutes of wet there are obviously plenty of areas we feel with could improve the bike but, like I say, it is the same situation for all the riders. I’m confident we have a set-up to do decent lap times in both the wet and the dry. In any case it’s good to have a longer warm up tomorrow morning and I hope the circuit will be dry”. NICKY HAYDEN (Ducati Marlboro Team) 12th (1’50.393) “It’s a shame for everybody to have this situation two races in a row. The fans, the teams, the riders”¦ everybody wants to see us line up out there and go into battle so it’s a real shame. This morning was the first chance I’ve really had to ride the bike in the rain I’ve ridden it in damp conditions but never really in full rain and I got steadily faster and faster as the session went on. We made some changes that consistently improved the bike and to be honest with you I was looking forward to qualifying in the wet. I liked my chances better in the wet today and I’m not sure what conditions I’d prefer for the race. The forecast is saying it will be dry and after today I think the fans deserve it. For me the circumstances have been unlucky because I need track time with the bike and tyres, especially when we going to tracks for the first time, but it’s race day tomorrow so whatever the weather brings the aim is to just get a good start, go for it and see what happens. Good to know that the warm up will be 40 minutes!” Circuit Record: Casey Stoner (Ducati – 2008), 1’47.091, 161.391 Km/h Best Pole: Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha – 2008), 1’45.543, 163.758 Km/h More, from a press release issued by Honda: Final Qualifying Motegi Japanese Grand Prix at Motegi: final qualifying Saturday 25 April 2009 Weather: heavy rain Temperature: 11-degree ambient, 13-degree track Humidity: 90% RAIN WASHES OUT MOTEGI QUALIFYING Rain wreaked havoc on the MotoGP World Championship for the second race in a row, washing out qualifying for all three classes for Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix at the Twin Ring Motegi circuit and forcing race officials to determine grid positions based on practice times. A persistent cold rain began falling overnight and continued into the morning, when all classes were able to complete their practice sessions. But as the rain intensified in the afternoon, the 125cc qualifying session was postponed to the end of the day. Track officials made several exploratory laps before deciding that qualifying wasn’t possible and the decision was made to revert to Friday’s lone dry session to fix the grids. Some riders were helped and some hurt, but two of the three riders on the front row weren’t affected. Valentino Rossi (Fiat Yamaha) was fastest in the dry and second in the wet. Casey Stoner (Ducati Marlboro) was second in the dry and third in the wet. Rossi’s teammate Jorge Lorenzo will fill out the front row, while Repsol Honda’s Andrea Dovizioso will start seventh. Dovizioso was one of many riders who could have used an extra session to confirm his dry settings. The team had a number of parts to test following Friday’s practice, but Saturday’s rain washed out any hope of gaining knowledge prior to the Sunday morning warm-up. And the track temperature was only 22 degrees on Friday, with expectations it will be much warmer for Sunday’s race. San Carlo Honda Gresini’s Toni Elias was better in the dry than the wet and benefitted from race direction’s decision, though he knows there’s more improvement to be found. On Friday there were problems with the electronics, gearbox and chassis that prevented him from finishing the 45-minute session higher than ninth. Elias is hopeful of a sunny race to validate the changes the team needs to make and to increase the rear tire grip. Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa was 11th in the dry and tenth in the wet, though happy to experience the Bridgestone rain tires. From the fourth row of the grid, Pedrosa knows he’ll have to get a lightning start to mix it up with the front-runners. And the break since the season-opening Grand Prix of Qatar has given the Spaniard time to continue his recovery from pre-season surgery. Yuki Takahashi (Scot Racing Team MotoGP) qualified 13th in his first home MotoGP race, but was faster in the wet, which was a positive sign since this was his first wet ride on the Honda RC212V. Still, having only two sessions affected the MotoGP rookie more than most, because of his limited experience. On the plus side, Twin Ring Motegi is Takahashi’s home track, which made it the perfect venue to understand the machine. Of all the Honda riders, San Carlo Honda Gresini’s Alex De Angelis was the unluckiest of all when qualifying was canceled. The rider from San Marino had shown good wet form by finishing seventh in Saturday morning practice, despite a very low speed tip-over that cost him track time. With the possibility of a dry race, De Angelis thinks the race will be a gamble, since the team has made significant changes to his RC212V based on the lone dry session. Randy De Puniet (LCR Honda RC212V) was ninth in wet, but 16th fastest in the dry. The Frenchman made a front tire change during the lone dry session that cost him valuable dry set-up time. He also made a small tactical error toward the end of the session that cost him several places. Andrea Dovizioso, 7th fastest at 1m 50.030s said: “We could really have done with a dry session today because we’ve got some new parts to test on the machine which could move us forward – but with the rain that obviously wasn’t possible. So, we’re starting from seventh, which isn’t ideal. If we get a dry warm-up then it’s possible we can improve the settings for the race – and that’s what we’ll be working towards. In the wet session this morning, the feeling on the machine wasn’t great but really it all depends on what the weather does tomorrow. It’s Honda’s home race so I’m really hoping to be able to get a good result for the team and the fans.” Toni Elias, 9th fastest, said: “It seems like the bad weather is chasing us around the world, but looking on the positive side we’ve had a chance this weekend to test in both the dry and in the wet, so we have some information to work from tomorrow in either condition. It is not an ideal situation but at the end of the day we’re ninth on the grid and it could be worse. We had problems yesterday in three areas electronics, gearbox and chassis but we’ve got some ideas we’re looking forward to trying tomorrow and by starting from the third row we know we still have a chance of a good race. Hopefully, the sun will come out for the fans and for us, because there’s no doubt a warm track surface would help us solve some of our problems, particularly in finding some more grip on the harder rear tyre that we’ll have to use over race distance.” Dani Pedrosa, 11th on the grid, said: “Well, this is definitely a pretty strange situation, especially after what happened in Qatar. In the morning’s wet session I gradually improved my lap times and was able to get a better feeling with the new rain tyres, so that was a useful learning process. I’m starting the race from eleventh on the grid and most of my rivals are on the front row, so this means I’ll have to get a great start and pass a lot of riders to get near the front. Our dry set-up is not perfect so we’ll have to get things right in the warm-up tomorrow.” Yuki Takahashi, 13th in his home grand prix, said: “I had a chance to test in the wet – it was my first time with a MotoGP bike. And this is good for my data base of information. On the contrary, the fact that we had only two sessions is very bad. I know very well the track, and this was an excellent chance to understand better the bike. About tomorrow, rain or sun will be the same: with the rain I’ve more chances, but it is more risky. With the dry I’ve more experience, but not enough yet.” Fifteenth-fastest Alex De Angelis said: “Luck certainly wasn’t on our side today because as I showed this morning I was competitive in wet conditions. I’m disappointed because I don’t think the grid is a fair reflection of our potential today, but this is racing and that is the way it goes sometimes. If it rains tomorrow it will be a long, difficult race and there will be plenty of time and opportunity to make up positions. However, if it is dry we’ll be going into it with our eyes closed in a way because we made drastic changes to the bike based on the data from yesterday and we’ll have to wait until the warm-up to see if they work. It’s a tricky one but it’s fair to say we’ll be more confident if it’s wet.” Randy de Puniet in 16th place said: “Of course I’m not happy about this cancellation in these conditions. Like this I will start from the 16th and it won’t be easy to catch the leaders. I was pretty fast in the wet this morning and fixed many adjustments with the team to improve the setting for this afternoon’s session. I could get a good place in the wet, but I agree with the safety procedure.” 250cc Hiroshi Aoyama (Scot Racing Team 250cc RS250RW) will start the 250ccGP from the front row on the strength of the second fastest time in Friday’s practice, while Valencia CF Honda SAG’s Hector Faubel was less lucky. Faubel was clearly the fastest rider in Saturday’s wet session, taking top honors by .281s, but machine troubles on Friday relegated him to 15th fastest. Marco Simoncelli (Metis Gilera) will start from the pole position only three weeks after suffering a serious wrist injury in a motocross accident. Aoyama is second followed by Alvaro Bautista (Mapfre Aspar Aprilia) and Mattia Pasini (Team Toth Aprilia). Raffaele De Rosa, Aoyama’s teammate, will start from row two in the sixth position and not at all worried about his machine set-up for the race. The young Italian said he’d like more time, but the ease of setting up the Honda made him confident for his first Japanese GP as a 250cc rider. Thai Honda PTT SAG’s Ratthapark Wilairot starts from row three in 12th position, with Faubel on row four. Wilairot would have liked more dry set-up time after finding it difficult to come up with the perfect suspension settings. Machine troubles limited Shoya Tomizawa (CIP Moto GP250) to two laps on Friday, not enough to make the qualifying cut-off, but the Japanese rider will be allowed to race in front of his fellow countrymen from the 25th position. Aoyama said: “I hope we can make a good race tomorrow, because here is my home race and there’s my fans and my family and my friends, there’s a lot of supporters here. It’s a little bit strange we didn’t make qualifying, but I got front row, but that’s good to make a good race for tomorrow.” De Rosa, starting his first 250cc Japanese Grand Prix, said: “Nice weather. At home friends say that in Naples it is sunny. Lucky people. Here, not enough time to fix the better set-up, nor in the dry or in the wet. But our Honda is very easy to set up, and I have a good feeling both on dry and on wet. But, as a newcomer, I want more time. Anyway, this is my best position on the grid, so it is not so bad, I would say”. Wilairot, 12th, said: “So, yesterday is dry condition and today is rain. We have to make a choice for dry and wet. And yesterday we have a little bit of a problem from the front and the rear, but the engine is OK. We improved a little OK in front and the rear suspension, but we will see tomorrow if the weather is dry or wet. But tomorrow we have to close our eyes and go fast in the race, because nobody has a good setting, everybody’s the same. In the morning we’ll test the changes we made. Today in the wet is not so good. For me, I don’t have confidence in the front.” Faubel, fast in the wet, but 15th in the dry, said: “For me, yesterday there were too many problems with the engine in my Honda. I only did six laps. It wasn’t possible to do more laps. Today is very nice for me, the pole position. My confidence with the bike is perfect. No problem. The front’s OK, the rear’s OK. For me it’s better to ride in the rain. Tomorrow will be difficult for me because I’ll be starting from 15th position. Today is OK, but yesterday there were too many problems. Tomorrow we’ll try to get a good start and after work our way up through the positions.” Tomizawa, 25th, said: “Yesterday we had a problem and only did two laps in the dry. It was a machine problem, but now it’s perfect, it was repaired. So I have to learn something every lap and I have to do it in both conditions, the dry and the wet. Today I was very good in the rain because I like riding in the rain. We’ll try out new settings again tomorrow morning in the warm-up. This is an important for my sponsors and for my family. To not crash is very good. Honda rider quotes. MotoGP: Andrea Dovizioso, Repsol Honda: 7th 1m 50.030s. “We could really have done with a dry session today because we’ve got some new parts to test on the machine which could move us forward – but with the rain that obviously wasn’t possible. So, we’re starting from seventh, which isn’t ideal. If we get a dry warm-up then it’s possible we can improve the settings for the race – and that’s what we’ll be working towards. In the wet session this morning, the feeling on the machine wasn’t great but really it all depends on what the weather does tomorrow. It’s Honda’s home race so I’m really hoping to be able to get a good result for the team and the fans.” Toni Elias, San Carlo Honda Gresini: 9th 1m 50.209s.”It seems like the bad weather is chasing us around the world but looking on the positive side we’ve had chance this weekend to test in both the dry and in the wet so we have some information to work from tomorrow in either condition. It is not an ideal situation but at the end of the day we’re ninth on the grid and it could be worse. We had problems yesterday in three areas electronics, gearbox and chassis but we’ve got some ideas we’re looking forward to trying tomorrow and by starting from the third row we know we still have a chance of a good race. Hopefully the sun will come out for the fans and for us, because there’s no doubt a warm track surface would help us solve some of our problems, particularly in finding some more grip on the harder rear tyre that we’ll have to use over race distance.” Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 11th – 1m 50.391s. “Well, this is definitely a pretty strange situation, especially after what happened in Qatar. In the morning’s wet session I gradually improved my lap times and was able to get a better feeling with the new rain tyres, so that was a useful learning process. I’m starting the race from eleventh on the grid and most of my rivals are on the front row, so this means I’ll have to get a great start and pass a lot of riders to get near the front. Our dry set-up is not perfect so we’ll have to get things right in the warm-up tomorrow.” Yuki Takahashi, Scot Racing Team MotoGP: 13th 1m 50.404s. “I had a chance to test in the wet – it was my first time with a MotoGP bike. And this is good for my data base of information. On the contrary, the fact that we had only two sessions is very bad. I know very well the track, and this was an excellent chance to understand better the bike. About tomorrow, rain or sun will be the same: with the rain I’ve more chances, but it is more risky. With the dry I’ve more experience, but not enough yet.” Alex De Angelis, San Carlo Gresini Honda: 15th 1m 50.601s. “Luck certainly wasn’t on our side today because as I showed this morning I was competitive in wet conditions. I’m disappointed because I don’t think the grid is a fair reflection of our potential today but this is racing and that is the way it goes sometimes. If it rains tomorrow it will be a long, difficult race and there will be plenty of time and opportunity to make up positions. However, if it is dry we’ll be going into it with our eyes closed in a way because we made drastic changes to the bike based on the data from yesterday and we’ll have to wait until the warm-up to see if they work. It’s a tricky one but it’s fair to say we’ll be more confident if it’s wet.” Randy De Puniet, LCR Honda: 16th 1m 50.669s. “Of course I’m not happy about this cancellation in these conditions. Like this I will start from the 16th and it won’t be easy to catch the leaders. I was pretty fast in the wet this morning and fixed many adjustments with the team to improve the setting for this afternoon’s session. I could get a good place in the wet, but I agree with the safety procedure.” 250cc: Hiroshi Aoyama, Scot Racing Team 250cc: 2nd 1m 53.695s. “I hope we can make a good race tomorrow, because here is my home race and there’s my fans and my family and my friends, there’s a lot of supporters here. It’s a little bit strange we didn’t make qualifying, but I got front row, but that’s good to make a good race for tomorrow.” Raffaele De Rosa, Scot Racing Team 250cc: 6th 1m 54.584s. “Nice weather. At home friends say that in Naples it is sunny. Lucky people. Here, not enough time to fix the better set-up, nor in the dry or in the wet. But our Honda is very easy to set up, and I have a good feeling both on dry and on wet. But, as a newcomer, I want more time. Anyway, this is my best position on the grid, so it is not so bad, I would say”. Ratthapark Wilairot, Thai Honda PTT SAG: 12th 1m 55.208s. “So, yesterday is dry condition and today is rain. We have to make a choice for dry and wet. And yesterday we have a little bit of a problem from the front and the rear, but the engine is OK. We improved a little OK in front and the rear suspension, but we will see tomorrow if the weather is dry or wet. But tomorrow we have to close our eyes and go fast in the race, because nobody have a good setting. Everybody’s the same, in the morning we’ll try the changes we made. Today is not so good. For me, I don’t have confidence in the front. Hector Faubel, Valencia CF Honda SAG: 15th 1m 55.588s. “For me, yesterday there were too many problems with the engine in my Honda. I only did six laps. It wasn’t possible to do more laps. Today is very nice for me, the pole position. My confidence with the bike is perfect. No problem. The front’s OK, the rear’s OK. For me it’s better to ride in the rain. Tomorrow will be difficult for me because I’ll be starting from 15th position. Today is OK, but yesterday there were too many problems. Tomorrow we’ll try to get a good start and after work our way up through the positions.” Shoya Tomizawa, CIP Moto GP250: 25th 2m 3.878s. “Yesterday we had a problem and only did two laps in the dry. It was a machine problem, but now it’s perfect, it was repaired. So I have to learn something every lap and I have to do it in both conditions, the dry and the wet. Today I was very good in the rain because I like riding in the rain. We’ll try out new settings again tomorrow morning in the warm-up. This is an important for my sponsors and for my family. To not crash is very good. More, from a press release issued by Playboy LCR Honda: BAD WEATHER STOPPED RIDERS QUALIFYING AT MOTEGI Motegi, 25 April: torrential rain today at Motegi qualifying session with air temperature of 13°C and asphalt temperature of 22°C only. Initially the race direction according with the Riders Commission decided to postpone the session from 14:05 to 15:00 but the track surface was to dangerous and with several trickles in the corners so 3-class qualifying sessions have been cancelled. Following the FIM rules yesterday’s first free session will be used for tomorrow’s grid but LCR Honda MotoGP racer Randy de Puniet is not happy about his position as he was expecting a better place even in the wet. De Puniet 16th De Puniet: “Off course I am not happy about this cancellation and these conditions. Like this I will start from the 16th place and won’t be easy to catch the firsts. I was pretty fast in the wet this morning and fixed many adjustments with the Team to improve the setting for this afternoon’s session. I could get a good place in the wet but I agree with the safety procedure”. More, from a press release issued by Red Bull KTM: Rain washes out 125cc qualifying on soaked Motegi circuit Red Bull KTM Moto Sport factory riders Marc Marquez and Cameron Beaubier spent a dismal afternoon in the team’s pit garage on Saturday as they and other 125 cc compatriots watched as their qualifying session on the Motegi circuit was washed out In scenes reminiscent of the recent races in Qatar, teams waited for officials to make a decision, first for a delayed start to qualifying and then finally abandoning it altogether as black clouds and low lying fog shrouded the circuit. The decision finally came that grid positions would be determined on the collective time from the free practices, depriving teams of the opportunity to continually test and set up the bikes for Sunday’s GP, the first real opportunity for the riders to test themselves over a full race distance this season. The Qatar 125cc GP was called to a halt after just four laps. Marques deprived of a chance to improve times Marc Marquez was tenth in the first free practice and second fastest in the second session but with the times averaged, it was to his disadvantage that the second session was run in the wet and the times were significantly slower. “We are now experiencing the second strange race after the very strange Qatar Grand Prix two weeks ago,” the young Spanish rider said. “The team association IRTA took the decision to cancel this afternoon’s session because they considered the track too dangerous. But I personally would have preferred to go out and ride, and hopefully improve my grid position. Now I am hoping to get a good start tomorrow and to hang on to the race leaders. I like this circuit very much, and I hope for a strong result!” It is the 16-year-old Spanish rider’s second ride on the Motegi circuit after his rookie year in the 125cc class last season. Beaubier confident of a decent result Teammate Cameron Beaubier set out to learn the new circuit and came unstuck in corner five in the first free training session. Despite a blow to his shoulder he was fit to ride on Saturday, had not rain cancelled the session. The young American said he found it complicated to learn the ups and downs of the undulating circuit, which called for lots of hard braking action but he remained confident. “After my fall yesterday, I found my rhythm again quite easily. My only problem in our only wet session this morning was that water somehow got into our ignition system and made the bike cough a bit. Otherwise, I was all right, and I am confident to get a decent result tomorrow,” Beaubier said. Team’s young riders suffering from lack of track time, Bartol says. Predictably, the team’s technical director Harald Bartol was less than satisfied with the outcome. “The organisers should consider the race dates and the seasons of the year. It is no secret that it tends to rain in April in Japan, and it’s also not unknown that it can rain in Qatar in April. If the races were shifted to the appropriate time of the year at each venue, it would be better for everybody. Of course, our young riders are suffering from the lack of track time. In rainy conditions, we don’t look too bad and if it dries up as everybody seems to think, we hope we can improve our set-up in the extended warm-up session tomorrow morning,” Bartol said. Rain is predicted to continue for periods overnight but the outlook is better for Sunday’s race. Instead of the calm that accompanied Saturday’s rain, it is however expected to be windy on race day.