dcp2419r.jpgDucati’s Loris Capirossi stormed to the top of the charts on Saturday qualifying at the Japanese Grand Prix in Motegi, a track reknowned for strong Bridgestone performances. Loris set a new lap record of 1′45.724 on the Japanese rubber, the fastest ever lap of the Motegi circuit. Valentino Rossi and Phillip Island winner Marco Melandri completed the front row.

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Ducati Marlboro Team rider Loris Capirossi scored his second pole position of the year at Motegi today while team-mate Sete Gibernau improved to a close fifth fastest for a second-row start. The pair set an impressive pace on race tyres and were running first and second until the final moments of this afternoon’s qualifying session.

Pole sitter and winner here last year, Capirossi was at his aggressive best on qualifying tyres as he rode the fastest-ever lap of Motegi, bettering his 2005 pole time by 0.639 seconds. This is the Ducati Marlboro Team’s first pole since Gibernau topped qualifying at June’s Italian GP and Capirossi’s first pole since he was quickest at Jerez in March.

Gibernau meanwhile made excellent progress at a track which has always proved a challenge for the Spaniard. His crew changed his set-up today and he was able to dramatically improve his pace.

Loris Capirossi (pole position, 1′45.724)
“My best lap was amazing, seven tenths faster than last year’s pole, incredible! I did my best but a big part of this is down to my crew, they’ve done a great job today and all weekend. Step by step we have worked towards a fast, consistent pace on race tyres. Me and my crew have worked together for four years and there is so much respect and friendliness in our relationship. Even when things aren’t going so well they still manage a smile and that’s important. We really deserved today’s pole. As always, tomorrow is another day. We’ll see what happens with the weather. I know I can also be fast if it rains but as usual I would prefer a dry race.”

Sete Gibernau (5th, 1′46.316)
“We wanted the first or second rows, so we made it. Today was very good, the guys did a great job, we went though a lot of stuff, step by step. We combined the best aspects of the two set-ups we ran yesterday and changed the geometry so the bike was much more natural and better balanced on the brakes, so I could load the front without unloading the rear too much. First time out this afternoon I was quite fast with race tyres, I was putting in some good times, I was pleased with that. But I didn’t get the best out of the qualifier, I rushed it a little too much, I wanted to do too much, so didn’t use its full potential. This is a place I don’t really like, so I think we have done a lot of good work and now we are just trying to decide whether to use the big tyre or the other tyre for the race. Both tyres are good but grip is better with the big tyre, maybe consistency too, while the bike is more manoeuvrable with the other tyre. We’ll try both again in warm-up and see which is better. We also want to improve the front a little during straight-up braking, but overall we are feeling good.”

Afternoon session temperatures. Ambient: 22 Track: 39

Press release courtesy of Ducati Marlboro Team

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Camel Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi delighted his legion of local fans with a sensational final lap in qualifying practice for the Grand Prix of Japan this afternoon. Rossi continued his excellent progress with another day of hard work on the race setting of his YZR-M1 before heading out to challenge Loris Capirossi (Ducati) for pole. Unfortunately Rossi’s first attempt on qualifying tyres was baulked when a rider crashed in front him, forcing the Italian to make a last-minute pit-stop. It made for a tense finale as Rossi returned to the track and beat the chequered flag by just ten seconds, giving him one last chance to challenge Capirossi’s dominance. The World Champion responded in typical style with a lap of 1′45.991 - inside last year’s pole record but not quite enough to topple pole man Capirossi, meaning he will start tomorrow’s race from second place.

Colin Edwards worked in tandem with Rossi throughout the day to improve the solid base setting the pair had found in yesterday’s opening free practice sessions. The Texan was again one of the leading riders on race rubber, lapping consistently in the low 1′48 mark and even dipping under the lap record of 1′47.968. However, the Texan struggled to improve on that pace significantly after fitting a qualifying tyre and he slid down the time sheets in the closing stages, ending the session in tenth place and setting himself a tough challenge tomorrow from the fourth row of the grid.

Valentino Rossi (2nd, 1′45.991)
“For sure I am very happy to be on the front row again for the fourth race in a row. My M1 has worked well from the start here so we’ve been able to work on the setting with various different things and then mix everything together to find the very best race set-up. Now it seems we’re in good shape. The bike worked very well also with the qualifying tyre and I had very good grip. Unfortunately I lost one qualifying tyre when Hopkins crashed in front of me, but luckily my team did a great job with the pit-stop – it was even faster than a Formula 1 team! Fortunately I made a good lap with the final tyre and now we’re starting from second. I am happy; tomorrow will be a difficult race but I am quite confident.”

Colin Edwards (10th, 1′46.726)
“I’ve been happier with my qualifying position but I’ve got a good race pace so it’s not all doom! To be honest, even though on paper it doesn’t look too great, I’m really happy with the bike right now. It’s working really well, it’s just we couldn’t quite get it together with the qualifying tyre and when we put it in today it just overloaded the suspension a bit and made everything a bit too soft, so that’s something we need to think about for the next time. Race-wise our setting is pretty good and I think I’ve got one of the best rhythms out there. Obviously it’s annoying to be starting from the fourth row but I think I can come through the pack pretty quickly and then just get my head down! I need to get a good start, fight my way past a few people and then just keep pushing. I’m actually pretty excited about tomorrow and I’m looking for a good result.”

Davide Brivio – Camel Yamaha Team Director
“It’s been another very good day for Valentino, it seems things are working well and it’s nice to be consistently on the front row. It’s good to be starting tomorrow’s race, which is so important for us with regards to the championship, from this position. It looks like he’s in good shape for the race and hopefully he can make the most of the start to get away in front. Unfortunately Colin wasn’t able to qualifying in such a high position but he actually has a very strong race pace so the situation is not too bad. If he can get a good start then I think he will be able to come through the field quite quickly and once he’s up front he should be able to stay there. Now we hope that the weather stays dry and that we can have a fun and exciting race!

Press release courtesy of Camel Yamaha Team

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The positive weeekend enjoyed by the FORTUNA HONDA riders continued as Marco Melandri and Toni Elias claimed third and sixth places respectively on the second day of qualifying at Motegi. The Gresini team riders shone as they proved the two fastest Honda riders in the MotoGP class. Melandri lapped with a good rhythm in the morning session and continued that form in the afternoon. Having put on the qualifying tyres, the Italian posted a lap of 1′46.250, five tenths behind Loris Capirossi who claimed pole. With an all-Italian front row, (Capirossi, Rossi and Melandri), Sunday’s race promises to be a spectacular affair. Elias finished up on the second row after another creditable performance on Saturday. The Spaniard will now be hoping for a good result to cap what has been a fine weekend thus far.

Marco Melandri (3rd, 1′46.250)
“Things are going really well for me at the moment and it’s been a really good weekend so far. It’s a good feeling to be on the front row, I’ve not been there since Donington Park and it’s down to making use of the qualifying tyre. In the morning I found a good rhythm, but the bike’s grip was not quite as I wanted. However, when I put on the qualifying tyre I made full use of the bike’s potential. It is very important to start the race from the front row and I hope to make a good start. The race is sure to hard and very competitive.”

Toni Elias (6th, 1′6.326)
“I am very happy. My obejctive was to get a place on the front two rows and I have achieved that. It is the result of the hard work of the team. It will be important to make a good start tomorrow and not lose contact with the lead riders. I will give my maximum over the first few laps to stay in touch and then do everything possible to get a good result.”

Press release courtesy of Fortuna Racing

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Kawasaki’s Shinya Nakano missed out on a front row start in his home Grand Prix by the narrowest of margins today at Motegi, after finishing fourth fastest in what must rank as one of the most unpredictable and exciting qualifying sessions of the MotoGP season so far.

Nakano’s Kawasaki teammate, Randy de Puniet, will start from eighth place and the third row of the grid, after running top three on the timesheet for much of this afternoon’s qualifying session.

With rain threatening ahead of this afternoon’s timed session, Nakano, like many of his factory rivals, opted to run a qualifying tyre right at the start, claiming pole position with his first flying lap.

The Kawasaki pilot was demoted from the top spot by Loris Capirossi just fifteen minutes later, but the Italian only managed to hold on to pole position for thirty seconds, before he was pushed back to second place by a hard charging Randy de Puniet.

At the halfway point Nakano put in a second flying lap on a Bridgestone qualifier, to move up to take second place behind his teammate, giving Kawasaki their first ever one-two at the top of the qualifying timesheet.

Capirossi bounced back with just ten minutes to go, shattering the previous pole position record to reclaim his place at the front of the grid, just ahead of the Kawasaki pairing.

Capirossi’s lap was good enough to secure him pole position, but a flurry of fast laps in the last minute of the session saw both Kawasaki pilots pushed from the front two rows of the grid and, while Nakano was able to retake fourth place with his final flying lap, de Puniet was unable to improve his previous best time on his last qualifying tyre, and was forced to settle for eighth place at the chequered flag.

A mechanical problem with his number one bike forced Kawasaki’s wild card rider, Naoki Matsudo, to switch to his spare Ninja ZX-RR for the second half of this afternoon’s qualifying session. The 33-year-old Japanese rider was unable to improve upon his previous best lap time aboard his number two machine, but finished the session a creditable sixteenth fastest overall.

Matsudo will start his first Grand Prix for Kawasaki from the head of the sixth row of the grid, in front of MotoGP regulars, Carlos Checa and Makoto Tamada.

Shinya Nakano (4th, 1′46.291)
“I think this afternoon’s session must have been exciting for the spectators, because it was certainly exciting for me! We weren’t sure of the weather at the beginning of the session, so we put in a qualifier straight away, and with this I managed to take pole early on. At the end we were throwing qualifiers into the bike, and I was riding as hard as I could to try and get myself back on the front row. This was good fun, but, unfortunately, I couldn’t quite do enough and I just missed out on a top three spot. Starting from the second row is not such a big disadvantage here at Motegi, but it’s critical that I get a good start tomorrow if I am to stay with the leading group. If conditions change for tomorrow, then we might make some small revisions to set-up during morning warm-up, but my lap times have been both fast and consistent in race trim, so I’m confident we’ll go to the line with a competitive package tomorrow whatever the conditions.”

Randy de Puniet (8th, 1′46.512)
“Yesterday was a bit difficult, but today has been much better. The changes we made to the bike overnight meant I was fast from the off on race tyres this morning, and we were able to improve again in race trim this afternoon. Because the weather looked unsettled this afternoon, we opted to run a qualifier very early on, and with this I was able to take pole position. As everyone else switched to qualifying tyres I slipped back on the provisional grid, but I really thought it was possible to improve my position with my final flying lap on a qualifier. I don’t know why, but the last lap didn’t come together as I was expecting, leaving me on the third row of the grid. But, my times have been good in race trim, and I’m confident it’s possible to put in a strong performance in tomorrow’s race, despite my starting position.”

Naoki Matsudo (16th, 1′47.826)
“We had a mechanical problem with my number one bike very early on in this afternoon’s session, so I completed most of qualifying aboard my second bike, on which I was unable to improve on my previous best lap time. Tomorrow we’ll try the number one bike again. Both the engine and tyres are working well, but we might make some small changes to our chassis set-up depending on the conditions for morning warm-up. I’ve enjoyed myself so far at my first MotoGP event for Kawasaki, and I’m really looking forward to tomorrow’s race.”

Press release courtesy of Kawasaki Racing Team

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Rizla Suzuki MotoGP racer John Hopkins had a day of two distinct halves in Japan today as the morning session saw him as one of the fastest riders on race tyres, but a crash in qualifying saw him relegated to the fifth row for tomorrow’s race.

The 23-year-old Anglo-American has been up with the quickest times all weekend on his Bridgestone race tyres and continued that this morning. Hopkins (P13, 1′47.071) continued to test the tyres he will use in tomorrow’s race whilst other riders chose to use qualifiers in the first session. He showed that he has a good race set-up as he recorded consistently fast laps. The afternoon qualifying session didn’t go to plan and a heavy crash with 10 minutes remaining cost Hopkins valuable time, he was able to get back on track on his second bike but couldn’t better his earlier time.

Rizla Suzuki’s Test Team rider and MotoGP debutant Kousuke Akiyoshi will start from 12th position on the grid tomorrow and the highest placed Suzuki. He used his home track knowledge to the full in the qualifying session to record a time of 1′46.958.

Chris Vermeulen (P15, 1′47.451) continued to improve on his times all day and will start from the fifth row with team-mate Hopkins. He too will be looking for a good start and to get amongst the front pack early on.

The pole position for tomorrow’s 24 lap race was taken by Loris Capirossi on his Bridgestone-shod Ducati. The race will get underway at 14.00hrs local time (05.00hrsGMT) with all three Suzuki racers determined to put on a good show for all the visiting Suzuki management, guests and fans.

John Hopkins (13th, 1′47.071)
“I just couldn’t get the front of the bike to work with any of the qualifying tyres this afternoon and I have now made it hard work for myself tomorrow. On race tyres we are one of the fastest out there so a good grid position was important today. I haven’t got that, so I will have to go all out in the race from the start to get up to the front and show that I can challenge for a podium. I will certainly be going for it, of that you can be certain!”

Chris Vermeulen (15th, 1′47.451)
“We made a lot of progress from yesterday and I made a lot within myself as well. I feel more familiar with the circuit and we are going quicker all the time. With qualifying I felt I was losing too much time in the first split and that is something I need to work on overnight and in the warm-up. I’ve qualified less than four-tenths behind John – which is not too bad for my first time here. We still have a lot of work to do in the race, but I think it’s obtainable. The bike’s working really well, and let’s hope that we can move up through the field”

Kousuke Akiyoshi (12th, 1′46.958)
“I am very surprised but very happy to be the first of the Suzukis. I got in a good lap behind Rossi and set a good time. I will now start in 12th and try to go higher. The bike is working well here and the Bridgestone tyres are giving me lots of grip and confidence. I now look forward to the race.”

Paul Denning – Team Manager:
“I think the day went to plan for Rizla Suzuki apart from the last 30 minutes of the qualifying session, when unfortunately – especially for John – things just didn’t work out. Congratulations to Akiyoshi san for qualifying as the highest placed Suzuki, and proving his ability in such a strong field.

“John has a mountain to climb tomorrow in terms of his starting position, but he has shown over the weekend that he is amongst the fastest riders on race tyres. So it will all be down to a good start and some aggressive riding early on to see what he can achieve.

“Chris has improved all weekend but it is always tough on a track that you have no experience on. With a few more changes overnight he will be looking to improve his position in tomorrow’s race.”

Press release courtesy of Rizla Suzuki MotoGP

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ALEX HOFMANN classified himself in twentieth position at the end of the Qualifying Practice session of the Japanese Grand Prix, actually closing this long Asiatic tour. The German rider made the maximum even though he had traction difficulties with the tires of his DUCATI DESMOSEDICI GP6 “Sat”. For the race, he hopes to fight once again with the riders that are preceding him to conquest more points for the general classification. JOSE LUIS CARDOSO finished in twenty-first position and tomorrow will make his best to obtain a good result.

The race will start tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. (GMT+9).

Alex Hofmann (20th, 1′48.748)
“I gave the 100% but in these conditions it was difficult to make anything more. Today I was at most and I’m not satisfied. Even if we are quite far from the first riders in qualifying configuration, I’m confident about the race as my DUCATI has a very constant pace. The Team has been working a lot in these days and I really want to thank every member of it. Tomorrow, I would like to fight as in Phillip Island to get some more points. I must make a good start and then I hope to have some luck as well. These 24 laps will surely be a great show!”

Jose Luis Cardoso (21st, 1′50.359)
“I made the best I could but todays’ qualifying practice couldn’t go much better for us. I have difficulties with the traction and tomorrow, during the warm-up, we will try to arrange the last details and allow me to make a good race. I’m confident about the constant pace I have at my disposal and the stability of my motorcycle to get back some positions and satisfy my sponsors, my fans and my Team that assisted me with precision and efficiency”.

Emanuele Martinelli - Track Engineer of Alex Hofmann
“The general situation of this Grand Prix is better than what could be seen today. We suffered riding in qualifying configuration but we are optimistic for the race. HOFMANN’s motorcycle is quite stable and the pace with the race tires is constant. I think there are good possibilities to see our rider fighting with the others to obtain some points tomorrow”.

Press release courtesy of Pramac D’Antin MotoGP

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Qualifying Practice Classification

  1. 65 Loris CAPIROSSI ITA Ducati Marlboro Team 1′45.724
  2. 46 Valentino ROSSI ITA Camel Yamaha Team 1′45.991
  3. 33 Marco MELANDRI ITA Fortuna Honda 1′46.250
  4. 56 Shinya NAKANO JPN Kawasaki Racing Team 1′46.291
  5. 15 Sete GIBERNAU SPA Ducati Marlboro Team 1′46.316
  6. 24 Toni ELIAS SPA Fortuna Honda 1′46.326
  7. 69 Nicky HAYDEN USA Repsol Honda Team 1′46.489
  8. 17 Randy DE PUNIET FRA Kawasaki Racing Team 1′46.512
  9. 26 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team 1′46.576
  10. 5 Colin EDWARDS USA Camel Yamaha Team 1′46.726
  11. 27 Casey STONER AUS Honda LCR 1′46.847
  12. 64 Kousuke AKIYOSHI JPN Team Suzuki MotoGP 1′46.958
  13. 21 John HOPKINS USA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1′47.071
  14. 10 Kenny ROBERTS JR USA Team Roberts KR211V 1′47.310
  15. 71 Chris VERMEULEN AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1′47.451
  16. 8 Naoki MATSUDO JPN Kawasaki 1′47.826
  17. 7 Carlos CHECA SPA Tech 3 Yamaha 1′47.905
  18. 6 Makoto TAMADA JPN Konica Minolta Honda 1′48.426
  19. 77 James ELLISON GBR Tech 3 Yamaha 1′48.716
  20. 66 Alex HOFMANN GER Pramac d’Antín MotoGP 1′48.748
  21. 30 Jose Luis CARDOSO SPA Pramac d’Antín MotoGP 1′50.359

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