MotoGP Qualifying 1. Casey Stoner, Honda, Michelin, 1:55.683 2. Loris Capirossi, Ducati, Bridgestone, 1:55.721 3. Toni Elias, Honda, Michelin, 1:55.735 4. Nicky Hayden, Honda, Michelin, 1:55.793 5. Dani Pedrosa, Honda, Michelin, 1:56.008 6. Valentino Rossi, Yamaha, Michelin, 1:56.076 7. Sete Gibernau, Ducati, Bridgestone, 1:56.177 8. Colin Edwards, Yamaha, Michelin, 1:56.230 9. Shinya Nakano, Kawasaki, Bridgestone, 1:56.237 10. Kenny Lee Roberts, KR, Michelin, 1:56.272 11. Chris Vermeulen, Suzuki, Bridgestone, 1:56.356 12. Marco Melandri, Honda, Michelin, 1:56.822 13. John Hopkins, Suzuki, Bridgestone, 1:56.981 14. Carlos Checa, Yamaha, Dunlop, 1:57.299 15. Randy de Puniet, Kawasaki, Bridgestone, 1:57.822 16. Makoto Tamada, Honda, Michelin, 1:57.891 17. James Ellison, Yamaha, Dunlop, 1:58.674 18. Alex Hofmann, Ducati, Dunlop, 1:59.591 19. Jose Luis Cardoso, Ducati, Dunlop, 1:59.733 250cc Grand Prix Qualifying 1. Jorge Lorenzo, Aprilia, 2:01.755 2. Hector Barbera, Aprilia, 2:02.081 3. Roberto Locatelli, Aprilia, 2:02.198 4. Alex de Angelis, Aprilia, 2:02.359 5. Sebastian Porto, Honda, 2:02.452 6. Andrea Dovizioso, Honda, 2:02.552 7. Jakud Smrz, Aprilia, 2:02.902 8. Hiroshi Aoyama, KTM, 2:03.031 9. Manuel Poggiali, KTM, 2:03.426 10. Sylvain Guintoli, Aprilia, 2:03.548 125cc Grand Prix Qualifying 1. Alvaro Bautista, Aprilia, 2:07.453 2. Mattia Pasini, Aprilia, 2:07.628 3. Mika Kallio, KTM, 2:07.676 4. Sergio Gadea, Aprilia, 2:07.693 5. Lukas Pesek, Derbi, 2:07.872 6. Gabor Talmacsi, Honda, 2:07.877 7. Pablo Nieto, Aprilia, 2:07.923 8. Joan Olive, Aprilia, 2:08.153 9. Hector Faubel, Aprilia, 2:08.156 10. Julian Simon, KTM, 2:08.220 More, from a press release issued by Kawasaki Racing: NAKANO OVERCOMES CHATTER TO QUALIFY NINTH Kawasaki’s Shinya Nakano bounced back after a difficult two days at the Losail International circuit, snatching ninth place on the grid for tomorrow’s 22-lap Grand Prix of Qatar during the final seconds of this afternoon’s qualifying session. Nakano has struggled all weekend to find a confidence-inspiring set-up on his Ninja ZX-RR. After a disappointing opening day, The Kawasaki ace was confident that small changes to set-up would reap big benefits in terms of lap times, but despite the best efforts of his crew, the chatter problems that hampered the 28-year-old Japanese rider yesterday were still in evidence during practice and qualifying today. Nakano battled on throughout this afternoon’s hour long timed session, but was still lying in a lowly 14th position with just ten minutes remaining. A change to a rear qualifying tyre reduced the effect of the chatter enough to allow Nakano to push for a fast lap right at the end of the session, to move up five places and secure a third row start for tomorrow’s race. Despite the improvement, Nakano is under no illusions about how tough tomorrow’s race will be if his crew cannot find a solution to the problems overnight. While not happy to only qualify 15th for tomorrow’s race, Randy de Puniet was more than a little relieved to have made it to the start line at all, after problems with the hand he injured at Jerez almost forced the Frenchman to withdraw from the Grand Prix of Qatar following yesterday’s opening practice session. But after responding well to treatment in the circuit medical centre, the 25-year-old Frenchman has seen an improvement in his hand with every track session today. After bettering his lap time on race tyres during qualifying, de Puniet was forced to settle for 15th position, and the fifth row of the grid, after suffering an off-track excursion on his final flying lap on a qualifier while avoiding pole sitter Casey Stoner, as the Australian toured back to the pits after his own qualifying lap. Shinya Nakano: 9th (1’56.237) “I’m never happy to qualify as far back as ninth, but if I’m honest, it is better than I was expecting today, after the problems we’ve had here. Since yesterday we’ve been struggling with chatter from the front and rear of the bike, and although we’ve managed to make a small improvement through changes to the bike set-up, it’s still a major problem. The chatter was less on the qualifier, which allowed me to at least salvage a reasonable starting position this afternoon, but we can’t race on a qualifier unfortunately. I’m hoping that we can sit down tonight and come up with a solution to try in warm-up tomorrow, because it’s going to be a very difficult race for me otherwise. I guess we will see tomorrow, but I’ll be out to collect as many points as I can regardless.” Randy de Puniet: 15th (1’57.822) “Thankfully, my hand is much better today. I’ve been able to steadily improve my lap time on race tyres and I’m sure I could have qualified higher today but for going off the track after running wide to avoid Casey round the back of the circuit. So, while I’m not so pleased to be starting 15th on the grid, I am happy that I’ll actually be on the grid tomorrow after the problems that I had with my hand on Thursday. Tomorrow my aim is to finish my first MotoGP race, preferably in the points. If I can do that then it will be a good end to the weekend for me and for the team.” QUALIFYING PRACTICE – FINAL TIMES 1. Casey Stoner (AUS) LCR Honda 1’55.683; 2. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati Marlboro Team +0.038; 3. Toni Elias (SPA) Fortuna Honda +0.052; 4. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team +0.110; 5. Dani Pedrosa (SPA) Repsol Honda Team +0.325; 6. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Camel Yamaha Team +0.393; 7. Sete Gibernau (SPA) Ducati Marlboro Team +0.494; 8. Colin Edwards (USA) Camel Yamaha Team +0.547; 9. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Kawasaki Racing Team +0.554; 10. Kenny Roberts (USA) Team Roberts +0.589; 15. Randy de Puniet (FRA) Kawasaki Racing Team +2.139 More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse: Losail Grand Prix, Qatar Qualifying, Friday April 7 2006 DUCATI MARLBORO RIDER CAPIROSSI ON LOSAIL FRONT ROW Ducati Marlboro Team riders Loris Capirossi and Sete Gibernau qualified second and seventh respectively for the Qatar GP, putting Capirossi on the front row and making Gibernau the first rider on row three. Capirossi was firmly on target for his second pole of the season until Casey Stoner took a new circuit best lap, leaving Capirossi’s 1’55.721s lap time only 0.038 seconds from pole. The Italian rider backed up his qualifying prowess with fully competitive times on race tyres, filling his team with confidence for a strong race result. Gibernau had the misfortune to miss a second row start by only 0.101 seconds, in what was the Spanish rider’s first visit to Qatar on the Desmosedici GP6. He was less than half a second from pole, thanks to a best lap of 1’56.177s, having already made improvements in his race pace in the earlier practice session. LORIS CAPIROSSI, second fastest, 1m 55.721s “I missed pole by only 38 thousandths of a second. On my final fast lap I tried too hard in last part of the track and the bike slid a couple of times. I lost a few tenths and missed my second pole of 2006. It doesn’t matter so much, because last year I was on pole at Qatar but not so competitive in the race. This year we have a very good race tyres. This morning things were a little difficult as the track was dirty and we made some modifications to the set-up, which did not work the way we expected. So we went back to our existing settings on the front of the bike and that allowed me to be fast, on both qualifiers and race rubber. The championship has just started but it is important to be competitive all the time. The track is proving to be less difficult for us than expected and we made a nearly perfect job this weekend. Bridgestone has done a great job in these months! I think we can be an important part of the game tomorrow.” SETE GIBERNAU, seventh fastest, 1m 56.177s “The race lap times are not too bad so it’s a pity to be so close to the second row and not get there. Normally that’s as far as you want to be back from pole. We have some work to do in the morning warm up to get more feeling on the front because we are still playing catch-up a little. We need to find two or three tenths to be able to fight for a good race finish and the start will be crucial. Before I have to think about the start I want to make the bike a little bit easier to ride, because now we are pushing the front a bit too much.” Temperatures: Ambient: 32 degrees C. Track: 45 degrees C. More, from a press release issued by Dorna: Rookie Stoner takes stunning first MotoGP pole Commercialbank Grand Prix of Qatar Friday 7th April 2006 With the return of intense heat to the Losail Circuit, it was left to Casey Stoner to provide the novelty factor in Qatar. The Honda rookie took pole for the Commercialbank Grand Prix of Qatar, becoming the second youngest pole-setter in MotoGP since records began, just days older than when MotoGP Legend Freddie Spencer did so in 1982. Stoner clocked a time of 1’55.683, having already topped both yesterday and today’s morning sessions. Last year’s pole man and current series leader Loris Capirossi was close behind the young Australian, as he looks to repeat his Jerez win tomorrow in the desert. A late surge from Toni Elias put the Spaniard on the front row, as he continues a run of fine form. The official Honda riders will be one row back from Elias, Nicky Hayden fourth and Dani Pedrosa, who suffered a crash at the end of free practice, coming in fifth. World Champion Valentino Rossi will be off the front row for the second successive Grand Prix, having qualified in sixth. The Yamahas looked to have made steps forward in the battle with the chattering problem they encountered in Jerez, but with both he and Colin Edwards not in the top three again, separated by Sete Gibernau on the grid, tomorrow’s race will show if all has been resolved or not. Another rider battling with chatter in Losail was Shinya Nakano, who nonetheless managed to ride his Kawasaki inside the top ten qualifiers, who are completed by yesterday’s fastest rider Kenny Roberts Jr. Yesterday night also saw three MotoGP stars taking to the track under the cover of darkness. Loris Capirossi, Valentino Rossi and Kenny Roberts Jr. all undertook laps of the circuit at 6.30pm local time, on behalf of the riders’ safety commission in order to assess the possibility of a cooler night race in Losail. 250cc Jorge Lorenzo took his second consecutive pole position of the season in Qatar, coming off the back of a start-to-finish lead in Jerez. The Spaniard’s lap of 2’01.755 broke his own pole time from last year, as he finished in front of team-mate Hector Barbera. The appearance of Roberto Locatelli and Alex de Angelis made the front row an all-Aprilia affair, with the second line comprising of Sebastian Porto, Andrea Dovizioso, Jakub Smrz and Hiroshi Aoyama. Czech rider Smrz was celebrating his birthday today, and gifted himself seventh place on the grid, his highest ever in the World Championship. Gilera rider Marco Simoncelli suffered a crash in the final stages of qualifying, although without serious consequences. 125cc Alvaro Bautista will defend his leadership of the 125cc Championship from pole tomorrow, snatching the front spot from Mattia Pasini at the close of the session and denying the Italian a second pole on the bounce. Finland’s Mika Kallio and Spain’s Sergio Gadea complete the front row. MotoGP Qualifying 1st – Casey Stoner (Honda) : 1’55.683 (new pole position record) “I would never have imagined a couple of years ago that I would be in MotoGP on pole! I thought it was going to take me at least another couple of years to be in this kind of position. The team have done a great job, we’ve fine-tuned the bike well, and with the tyres we’ve had an excellent session, I was able to use the qualifiers better than in Jerez. I think it’s too early to be talking about winning races, but if I finish in the top five I will be happy.” 2nd – Loris Capirossi (Ducati) : 1’55.721 “Last year I was on pole at Qatar but not so competitive in the race. This year we have very good race tyres. This morning things were a little difficult and we made some modifications to the set-up, which did not work the way we expected. So we went back to our existing settings on the front of the bike and that allowed me to be fast, on both qualifiers and race rubber. The championship has just started but it is important to be competitive all the time. I think we can be an important part of the game tomorrow.” 3rd – Toni Elias (Honda) : 1’55.735 “It’s been an excellent start to the season so far, I feel really good with my new team and bike and things are going well. I’m not feeling well though personally, and have a bit of a stomach bug. This is my first time on the front row in MotoGP and I hope that I can race like I did in Jerez. I still think we have to look out for Valentino Rossi though, as I see him and Colin Edwards as being very consistent.” 250cc Qualifying 1st – Jorge Lorenzo (Aprilia) : 2’01.755 “This has been a fantastic start to the season so far, but we need to stay concentrated for the race. We had a few problems with the front tyre earlier on this weekend, but I think we have resolved them now because I was able to qualify so well. “ 125cc Qualifying 1st – Alvaro Bautista (Aprilia) : 2’07.453 “After winning in Jerez I have now got my first pole, so that’s two objectives for the season gone already! I’m feeling good and the team are moving forward all the time, but I know it will be a difficult race. There are lots of riders who will be close together and it will be important to conserve some energy for a hard battle late on.” More, from a press release issued by Gresini Racing: SUPERB PERFORMANCE FROM TONI ELIAS AT LOSAIL The Spaniard will start from third on the grid whilst team-mate Marco Melandri has to settle for 12th FORTUNA HONDA rider Toni Elias will start the Qatar Grand PriX on the front row after a superb performance on the second day of qualifying at the Losail circuit. Showing excellent consistency and real confidence, Elias was amongst the leading riders throughout the second qualifying session. In the end he ensured a spot on the front row after finishing the day in third spot and will be joined at the head of the field by Loris Capirossi, who took second, and Australian Casey Stoner who claimed a shock pole position. Team-mate Marco Melandri had to settle for 12th position after spending the day trying to find the ideal set-up for his bike. The Italian is hopeful of making a good start in tomorrow’s race and challenging for the podium spots. TONI ELIAS (1’55.735, 3rd – front row of the grid): “I am very satisfied. I want to thank my team and the Michelin mechanics for the great job they have done. We worked very well today, but it is going to be a difficult race tomorrow as a lot of riders are going quick and the tyres are sure to disintegrate because of the heat. The most important thing will be to get a good start. This is my first front row start of the season and I hope to continue this kind of form. I also want to thank the Clinica Mobile who have helped me over gastroenteritis and I am looking forward to the race.” MARCO MELANDRI (1’56″822 12th – fourth row of the grid): “In the morning session I was lapping in the 1’56s on race tyres so we ended the session in confident mood. In the afternoon, and with the qualification tyres on, things were different and we could not better our time from the morning. The bike is working well and I feel comfortable on it so I’m disappointed. Tomorrow I have to make a good start – it won’t be easy from the fourth row of the grid and overtaking on this circuit is quite tricky. It’s a shame because this is a circuit I like a lot.” OFFICIAL TIMES 1.C.Stoner (AUS/Honda) 1’55″683 2.L.Capirossi (Ita/Ducati) 1’55″721 3.T.ELIAS (Sp/Honda) 1’55″735 … 12.M.MELANDRI (Ita/Honda) 1’56″822 More, from a press release issued by Camel Yamaha: CAMEL YAMAHA RIDERS MAKE PROGRESS AHEAD OF DESERT BATTLE Camel Yamaha Team riders Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards improved the setting of their Yamaha YZR-M1 machines for tomorrow’s Grand Prix of Qatar despite struggling for a fast single lap in this afternoon’s qualifying practice. Whilst both riders again demonstrated encouraging pace on race rubber, the improved rear grip offered by the qualifying tyre at the end of the session exaggerated the remaining traces of vibration problems and prevented them from mounting a serious challenge for a front row start. Rossi was the quickest of the pair, clocking the sixth fastest time to seal a slot on the second row of the grid. Edwards, meanwhile, was just over a tenth of a second outside the time set by his team-mate and will start from just two places behind him in tomorrow’s 22-lap race, which starts at 15h local time (14h CET). Leading the way from pole position will be Australian youngster Casey Stoner (Honda), who produced a record lap of 1’55.683 to surprise the rest of the field in only his second MotoGP appearance. Loris Capirossi (Ducati) and Toni Elias (Honda) complete the front row. VALENTINO ROSSI (1’56.076, 25 laps) “The problem is that when the grip comes up we push more and the bike vibration comes back, so we couldn’t use the full potential of the qualifying tyre today and I am only sixth. Anyway my rhythm is not so bad and there are many riders close together so I think it will be a good battle tomorrow. I am very surprised by Stoner and I would like to give him my sincere congratulations. He has been very fast all weekend and he used the qualifying tyre to 100%, even better than Loris, who has a lot of experience. Loris is in good shape again but I think the guys to beat are the young Honda riders Stoner, Elias and Pedrosa. Tomorrow we will see but it should be interesting”. COLIN EDWARDS (1’56.230, 22 laps) “We definitely made the bike better from yesterday and even this morning. We’re still struggling with a little bit of vibration but the problem is continually reducing and I think we’re on to something with the setting. We’ll make a few small changes in the morning but it’s a fine line between what could work and what definitely doesn’t work so we have to be careful not to go backwards. My race pace is okay but I’m not going to lie it was hard work. If the other guys were doing 1’57s I’d be delighted but I think we’ll have hold it in the 1’56 mark during the race to come out with a top result. It’s going to be tough but if we can make a small step in the morning we’ll be ready”. DAVIDE BRIVIO CAMEL YAMAHA TEAM DIRECTOR “We have had less problems here than we had in Jerez but the situation is still not perfect. The qualifying session did not go very well for us but both riders have a decent race pace and I think they are in good shape for tomorrow. It will be hard because no doubt the young riders will push hard from the start. It will be a close battle at the front but I think we can be a part of it”. More, from a press release issued by Honda Racing: Qatar Grand Prix at Losail, Final Qualifying Friday April 7, 2006 SENSATIONAL STONER STUNS GRID WITH MAIDEN POLE In only his second ever MotoGP qualifying, class rookie Casey Stoner (LCR Honda RC211V) rode rampant here in the burning desert heat to notch his first pole position in MotoGP on a 990cc machine. Loris Capirossi (Ducati) was second fastest with another red-hot Honda rookie Toni Elias (Fortuna Honda RC211V) completing the front row in third. Despite a bout of flu and airline mishaps that prevented the young Aussie from arriving at the Losail track until the morning of first free practice yesterday, Casey showed just how quickly he has adapted to the big bikes by being fastest in that initial hour-long session. And he kept up the momentum by heading the final free training timesheet this morning too. Few, however, expected him to maintain station at the top of the charts today. But Stoner’s astonishing time of 1m 55.683 seconds showed just how rapidly he has adapted to the step up in class from 250cc racing. With a track temperature of 45 degrees C at this sun-baked circuit, conditions were punishing for both riders and machinery and Stoner was flying from the off, heading the field until Capirossi put in a 1m 56.187s lap at the midway point. At the halfway mark the order was Capirossi, Stoner, Colin Edwards (Yamaha), Sete Gibernau (Ducati), Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC211V), Elias, Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) and then Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC211V), in eighth overall. Kenny Roberts (Roberts KR211V), who had been fastest in the second of the free training sessions, couldn’t quite find the speed to up his pace for this timed hour, and starts from row four as tenth fastest man. The American former World Champion will draw some encouragement from this performance. Marco Melandri (Fortuna Honda RC211V), who finished last season so strongly, has been struggling to find form so far in 2006 and his 12th place on the grid will not please him. Of more concern perhaps is Makoto Tamada (Konica Minolta Honda RC211V), way down in 16th place and 2.208 seconds shy of the pole time. It looked as if Capirossi would be the man to beat here when he punched in a time of 1m 56.683 seconds with 15 minutes left on the clock. That was the fastest ever lap of this ribbon of asphalt in a sea of sand before Casey blew it away with his 1m 55.683s time four tenths of a second faster. Questions remain about who will have the better race set-up for what promises to be a grueling 22-laps tomorrow in much the same conditions. Stoner has won here on a 250, Capirossi qualified on pole here in 2005. But the dark horse is perhaps Elias third on the front row. Although he hasn’t made the headlines yet, like Dani, second at Jerez, and Casey on pole here, Toni has shown a precocious consistency so far with a fighting fourth in Spain and now a front row start here in Qatar. Whatever transpires tomorrow, Honda has shown it has the riding talent to triumph. Cool-headed Stoner, now the second youngest poleman in premier class history next to Freddie Spencer, said, “I expected it to take two years to get a pole not two races. The LCR team has given me a bike with strong set-up since first practice. And this afternoon it was a case of just bolting in the qualifiers and going for a lap. But when I saw the other riders attacking the time I was sure they’d be faster. I’m still a bit weak from the flu so this a big relief.” “I am very satisfied,” said an enthusiastic Elias. “I want to thank my team and the Michelin mechanics for the great job they’ve done. We worked very well today, but it is going to be a difficult race tomorrow as a lot of riders are going quick and the tyres are sure to suffer because of the heat. The most important thing will be to get a good start.” Hard-riding Hayden, in fourth, said, “In race trim it’s been a little frustrating. We can make the bike better in one area, like getting into the corner, and then it’s not so good coming out. Luckily I’ve got a lot of sharp people around here working hard, so it’s not for a lack of effort or a lack of brains! Tomorrow’s race day, we’ll try and sweeten it up overnight, arrive in the morning with the race face on and be ready to go for it when the lights go out.” Dani, next to his team-mate on row two, said, “The most important thing now is to try to get a good start and get a good position into the first corner this is very important. The qualifying session was difficult for me again. We improved a little, but I still have to learn many things about qualifying: the timing, how to make the most of a qualifying tyre and to decide which front I prefer for a track.” Kenny Roberts said, “I’m much more comfortable on race tyres than on qualifiers. For me it’s not really too big a problem to start from 10th. I need a good start to avoid the jam at the first turn, then I can get settled. I should have a better race finish than where we are now, that’s for sure.” “The bike is working well and I feel comfortable on it so I’m disappointed,” said a dejected Melandri. “Tomorrow I have to make a good start it won’t be easy from the fourth row of the grid and overtaking on this circuit is quite tricky. It’s a shame because this is a circuit I like a lot.” Things look trying for Tamada way down in 16th. He said, “We can’t yet solve the problem I have with the front contact feeling in entering the corners. Tomorrow morning, together with the team technicians, we’ll try what we can. But I can’t stand finding myself so far from the top riders after the qualifying session of the second Grand Prix of the season.” In the 250cc class, Jorge Lorenzo claimed pole again after his win from pole in Spain. His team-mate Hector Barbera lines up alongside him as second fastest qualifier, with old stager Roberto Locatelli third fastest and Alex de Angelis completing the front row in fourth (all Aprilia). With no Honda riders on the front row, encouragement of sorts can be found in the performance of Sebastian Porto (Repsol Honda RS250RW), fifth fastest qualifier. The Argentine had a wretched time in Spain and this performance represents a vast improvement on a Jerez nightmare he will be eager to forget. Andrea Dovizioso (Humangest Racing Honda RS250RW) qualified sixth fastest and the Italian man will know that he has a good chance of making that decent grid position count. He started from 11th at Jerez and finished third and with a fine-tuned race set-up tomorrow he might well be able to improve on that third. Yuki Takahashi (Humangest Racing Honda RS250RW) qualified 11th and rookie Shuhei Aoyama (Repsol Honda RS250RW) will start tomorrow’s 20-lap race from 16th on the grid on row four. Porto said, “The Aprilias have been showing that they are more competitive during the practices, so it’s difficult to beat them there, but the race is something different. There are going to be many laps to cover, it’s going to be really hot and we are betting on the Honda’s reliability. Let’s hope that everything works well and that we have made the right choices.” Dovi said, “I knew it would be hard achieving the front row today because I’m still not able to take full advantage of soft tyres. The situation is definitely better with harder tyres for the race my pace is good and I think I can do well tomorrow.” “It has been a very tough day,” said Takahashi. “We haven’t found the right suspension set-up yet. Yesterday, we found a good tyre for the race and I thought we could fix the bike as well today. But it didn’t happen and now we have to analyze the data and make an important change for tomorrow’s warm-up.” A frustrated and self-critical Aoyama said, “I’m not at all happy with the result and the grid position. This circuit is more difficult than I initially thought. We need to improve the behaviour of the bike further, but it’s the rider who has to do things much better here, because I’m not riding very well on this circuit yet. It’s not something specific I’m doing wrong but I have to be better in the fast areas, in the slow corners, and entering and exiting the corners.” The final half-hour of 125cc qualifying belonged to Alvaro Bautista (Aprilia) who secured pole with a best lap time of 2m 07.453 seconds. His team-mate Mattia Pasini, who had been fastest in the three untimed practice sessions, was the second fastest qualifier. Mika Kallio (KTM) lines up in third with Sergio Gadea (Aprilia) fourth fastest. The times are typically tight in this class with less than one second covering the top 11 qualifiers. And Gabor Talmacsi (Humangest Honda RS125R), the best of the Honda-mounted qualfiers on row two as sixth fastest man, recorded a time of 2m 07.877s only four tenths of a second away from the top time. Reigning World Champion Thomas Luthi (Elit Grand Prix Honda RS125R) qualified in 15th spot, 1.382 seconds off the pole time. He is still hampered by a large gash on his foot, and to a lesser extent now by the broken collarbone he sustained in pre-season training. “I have a very good feeling with the bike at this track,” said Luthi. “The engine is good and we know what we have to do to the chassis for the race. I have to work on myself too. The grid position is not so good but the gaps between the riders ahead of me are small.” Talmacsi said, “I thought I could do even better on the ‘hot’ lap, but in the final stages of the session, when I tried to push harder, the front started sliding a bit and also I was slowed down by another rider. Anyway, second row is a good result and in tomorrow’s warm-up we are going to make some adjustments so we can lap at a more constant pace. We are going in the right direction.” HONDA TEAM QUOTES: MotoGP: Casey Stoner, LCR Honda: 1st. “I expected it to take a couple of years to be up here on pole position, not in just my second race. But the LCR team have worked perfectly and I have a very strong set-up since first practice and this afternoon it was just a matter of bolting on the qualifying tyres and doing the lap. When I saw the gap closing and the other riders challenging I thought I couldn’t keep pole and I would have been happy with a place in the top six. I’m still tired and weak from the flu and all the travel problems so this is a big relief – – it’s an amazing feeling to be on pole.” Toni Elias, Fortuna Honda: 3rd. “I am very satisfied. I want to thank my team and the Michelin mechanics for the great job they have done. We worked very well today, but it is going to be a difficult race tomorrow as a lot of riders are going quick and the tyres are sure to disintegrate because of the heat. The most important thing will be to get a good start. This is my first front row start of the season and I hope to continue this kind of form. I also want to thank the Clinica Mobile who have helped me over gastroenteritis and I am looking forward to the race.” Nicky Hayden, Repsol Honda: 4th. “Man, it’s close! It’s kinda frustrating to be that close but still be so far away because actually a tenth in qualifying is a lot. But I’m looking forward to the race – it should be fun. The Michelin qualifying tyres definitely help my bike. Right now my issues are with grip, but when we put the qualifying tyre in we’re one tenth off pole. In race trim it’s been a little frustrating. We can make the bike better in one area, like getting into the corner, and then it’s not so good coming out. Luckily I’ve got a lot of sharp people around here working hard, so it’s not for a lack of effort – or a lack of brains! Tomorrow’s race day, we’ll try and sweeten it up overnight, arrive in the morning with the race face on and be ready to go for it when the lights go out. On the practice starts I had some problems with the clutch and the bike reared up. I thought it was me so I tried to do another one and I felt like a goon when it did the same thing! The team will get it sorted though!.” Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: 5th. “My grid position here is the same as Jerez which is not too bad because that was a track I know well and we tested there for three days before the race. But this track is new to me on this bike, so I think 5th is ok. I feel quite good for the race. The most important thing now is to try to get a good start and get a good position into the first corner – this is very important. The qualifying session was difficult for me again. We improved a little, but I still have to learn many things about qualifying: the timing, how to take the most profit from the qualifying tyre and to learn which front tyre I prefer for the track. I had crash this morning when I went on the white line and it was very dusty, I touched the brake a little bit and went down. It was my mistake, but now I know about this for the future!” Kenny Roberts Jnr, KR Honda: 10th. “We lost a little bit of time at the start of the qualifying session working on details. After that we worked on tyre choice for the race When we got into It I felt very comfortable on the bike. I’m much more comfortable on race tyres than qualifiers. For me it’s not really too big a problem to start from 10th. I need a good start to avoid the jam at the first turn, and then get settled. I will have a better race then where we are now, that’s for sure” Marco Melandri, Fortuna Honda: 12th. “In the morning session I was lapping in the 1’56s on race tyres so we ended the session in confident mood. In the afternoon, and with the qualification tyres on, things were different and we could not better our time from the morning. The bike is working well and I feel comfortable on it so I’m disappointed. Tomorrow I have to make a good start – it won’t be easy from the fourth row of the grid and overtaking on this circuit is quite tricky. It’s a shame because this is a circuit I like a lot.” Makoto Tamada, Konica Minolta Honda: 16th. “Today, the modifications made on the suspensions setting level permitted me to be quicker but not to solve the problem I have with the front contact feeling in entering the corners. Tomorrow morning, together with the KONICA MINOLTA Honda Team technicians, we will try to ameliorate the situation, even if, I could not even imagine to find myself so far from the top riders after the qualifying session of the second GP of the season.” More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki: Vermeulen close to pole pace in Qatar Rizla Suzuki MotoGP racer Chris Vermeulen qualified for tomorrow’s Commercialbank Grand Prix of Qatar just 0.673 seconds from pole position. The rookie Australian set his best lap of the day in the final minute of this afternoon’s qualifying and, but for being held up by traffic, could have bettered the time. Vermeulen will start from the fourth row of the grid in 11th place for the second successive GP on his Rizla Suzuki GSV-R. John Hopkins worked tirelessly all day but was hit with a series of technical difficulties that hampered his practice and qualifying sessions. His time of 1’56.981 smashed his own personal best at Qatar but was still outside of his own high standards and the aggressive Anglo-American will start from 13th on the grid. Today’s qualifying was held in sunny and warm conditions with temperatures reaching 32°c. The pole position was set by another Australian rookie, Casey Stoner riding a Honda. Tomorrow’s race is one of only two Saturday races in 2006 and will start at 15.00hrs local time (14.00hrsCET). Chris Vermeulen: “I’m quite happy today because Qatar hasn’t been a good track in the past for Suzuki or Bridgestone. Being in 11th position doesn’t sound that great and it’s a position that I have consistently found myself in at the last few GPs – but to be only 0.6 off pole is a good result. The team has worked really hard this weekend and the bike has got better and better. The race will be hard work, 22 laps in the heat, and to make a tyre last for that time will also be a test, but hopefully we’ve got a good enough set-up for race day and we can improve on this position tomorrow.” John Hopkins: “It’s difficult to give a quote when you feel as disappointed as I do at the moment. We have worked so hard this weekend and have been up against it from the start. With the qualifiers in I thought that at least we would get a good starting position, but when you can’t start the qualifying lap due to a technical difficulty there’s not much you can do. I am sure I’ll wake up tomorrow with my race head on and be going for it as usual. Congratulations to Chris on a great qualifying time, I think we both deserved a better position than we got.” Paul Denning Team Manager: “I think for Chris to get within 0.6 of a second of pole is a great achievement, given what we have gone through this weekend so far. His position doesn’t quite reflect what might have been as he had to deal with traffic on his fastest lap. Unfortunately, in race trim the gap between us and the faster runners – in terms of consistency – will be greater than it was in qualifying. This is down to a number of reasons that the team can’t fix here at the track. “John is bitterly disappointed, he’s faced similar problems to Chris and has worked extremely hard to get a more consistent and better performing package out of his Rizla Suzuki GSV-R all weekend. Unfortunately he suffered a technical fault just before he started his last lap or I’m sure we would have seen him improve considerably. The target for tomorrow has to be to score some good points and then move on to Turkey where the nature of the track should suit the bike more, and where Suzuki is also hoping to introduce the first stage of some much needed improvements.”