FIM MotoGP World Championship Losail International Circuit Doha, Qatar March 9, 2007 Qualifying Results: 1. Valentino ROSSI (Yam YZR-M1), Michelin, 1:55.002 2. Casey STONER (Duc GP07), Bridgestone, 1:55.007 3. Colin EDWARDS (Yam YZR-M1), Michelin, 1:55.233 4. Toni ELIAS (Hon RC212V), Bridgestone, 1:55.358 5. Dani PEDROSA (Hon RC212V), Michelin, 1:55.361 6. John HOPKINS (Suz GSV-R), Bridgestone, 1:55.833 7. Loris CAPIROSSI (Duc GP07), Bridgestone, 1:55.851 8. Randy DE PUNIET (Kaw ZX-RR), Bridgestone, 1:55.933 9. Nicky HAYDEN (Hon RC212V), Michelin, 1:56.041 10. Marco MELANDRI (Hon RC212V), Bridgestone, 1:56.222 11. Shinya NAKANO (Hon RC212V), Michelin, 1:56.306 12. Carlos CHECA (Hon RC212V), Michelin, 1:56.609 13. Chris VERMEULEN (Suz GSV-R), Bridgestone, 1:56.639 14. Olivier JACQUE (Kaw ZX-RR), Bridgestone, 1:56.754 15. Alex BARROS (Duc GP07), Bridgestone, 1:56.814 16. Sylvain GUINTOLI (Yam YZR-M1), Dunlop, 1:57.257 17. Alex HOFMANN (Duc GP07), Bridgestone, 1:57.274 18. Kenny Lee ROBERTS (Hon KR212V), Michelin, 1:57.495 19. Makoto TAMADA (Yam YZR-M1), Dunlop, 1:58.024 20. Jeremy McWILLIAMS (Ilmor GP), Michelin, 1:59.606 21. Andrew PITT (Ilmor GP), Michelin, 1:59.725 More, from a press release issued by Ilmor GP: McWilliams down but not out Losail International Circuit 09.03.07: Today didn’t exactly go to plan for Ilmor GP as the first official qualifying session of the 2007 MotoGP World Championship got underway at the Losail International Circuit in Qatar. After making some positive developments during the two free practice sessions yesterday hopes were running high for the qualifying session today however the team suffered a series of minor issues and then unfortunately Jeremy McWilliams took a tumble on his final lap during the hour long timed session. Luckily the Northern Irishman is made of strong stuff and managed to escape the spectacular off with what appears at the moment to be nothing more than severe bruising. There was initial concern that he had broken his left femur after he fractured it during the pre-season test back in November last year- the team’s initial fears were put to bed when he made his exit from the circuit ambulance on two, albeit wobbly, feet and fiercely refusing the kind offer of a wheelchair. As a precaution McWilliams will have his leg x-rayed later this afternoon but it will come as no surprise to all who know him that he has every intention of competing in the first race of the season tomorrow. Despite his incident, McWilliams had a relatively positive day and even managed to clock up the seventh fastest recorded speed of the day at 313 Km/h. And whilst the day didn’t end quite so badly for McWilliams’ team mate Andrew Pitt, the Australian was still left frustrated after experiencing some problems with one of his engines. The electrical team, headed up by Phil Collins, have identified some further areas for the crew to work on as they make final preparations for the race tomorrow. Jeremy McWilliams, Ilmor GP Rider (20th 1’59.606, lap 10): “It’s a shame that I couldn’t get a full lap on the qualifying tyres, I messed up the first lap and there wasn’t a second in the tyres but the bike was in good shape and I would have liked to see what I could have done. I’m relieved that all I appear to have is some bruising, I can bend my knee and I’m able to put weight on both legs. I’m feeling a little weak and lucky, very lucky! I should be okay tomorrow and I have every intention of racing.” Andrew Pitt, Ilmor GP Rider (21st 1’59.725, lap 7): “It wasn’t a great day for me, we had an engine change and then there was a fuel leak which hampered our overall progress today. The major positive that we can take from today is that we made some good steps forward on the tyre front we established which tyre not to use fro the race we will use a harder compound to deal with the high track temperature. I’m still experiencing quite a lot of chatter but I know the guys are working on that I’m not expecting miracles overnight but the team are working very hard to give Jeremy and I the most ridable bikes possible for the race tomorrow. “ Mario Illien, Ilmor GP Team Principal: “I’m glad that Jeremy appears to be okay after his fall. We watched the crash on screen in the box and it looked terrible we assumed that he’d done more damage than he has fortunately. Qualifying was disappointing and we need to find the reasons for why things didn’t work out the way we planned.”