The session started with McCoy fastest on the first sighting lap and he was again quickest the next time around after banging straight in with a 1m34.606 lap.

The third time around the circuit Alex Barros shot to the front with a scorching 1m33.040s time, Olivier Jacque then recorded a 1m33.520s time to be 2nd on the timesheets.  Barros put in another flyer to break in to the 1m32s with a 1m32.767.  The best ever 500 qualifying lap around Phillip Island was a 1m32.319, both records were set by Kenny Roberts in 1999.

With 10 minutes of the 60 minute qualifying session gone the order was Barros, McCoy, Ukawa, Jacque, Rossi, Nakano, Biaggi.

With 20 minutes down Capirossi had improved to 2nd spot with a 1m32.931s but nobody had yet bettered Barros' earlier 1m32.767.

At the halfway point of the session Barros improved his time down to 1m32.421s, a full half a second in front of his team-mate Capirossi who was 2nd fastest. 

Shinya Nakano then pulled out a 1m32.893 to grab 2nd spot on the timesheets but did not hold it for long as Checa got down to a 1m32.878 and took that 2nd position.  Checa went straight into another hot flying lap before coming oh so close to losing the rear and getting spat off with 20 minutes remaining in the session.  Barros' 1m32.421 remained the fastest but the Brazilian headed out on to the track once again to see if he could better it.

Olivier Jacque went close to matching Barros' time but was just 5 hundredths of a second outside it with 15 minutes of the session remaining.  Max Biaggi improved greatly to move in to 3rd with a 1m32.694.

With 10 minutes remaining only 2 seconds covered 18 of the 22 rider field.

Max Biaggi then did an absolute scorcher of a lap to record a 1m31.984, the fastest ever 500 lap at a Phillip Island GP.  Strangely though the top speeds are some 10kph down from the 314.9 that Regis Laconi recorded in 1999.

Barros then crashed heavily coming out of Honda Corner and stayed down for some time before limping to the sidelines.  Let's hope the Brazilian is fit enough to race tomorrow.

Rossi had been well down the order for most of the session, possibly doing some tyre testing or something similar, before moving up to 2nd spot on the timesheets with 1 minute remaining in the session.  But nobody could match Biaggi's record breaking time.

"We found the right tyre for today and set a couple of good laps," said Biaggi. "We think we have found a good compound for tomorrow's race but don't know whether it will be quite good enough. We seem to have been able to find a good tyre for qualifying all season but not in the race, so we will just have to wait and see."

Rossi, 2nd -  "I'm satisfied with second time in practice, which is excellent considering I'm usually not so good in practice as I am in the race. However, I'm not satisfied with the settings of the bike. At the moment my machine is a little 'twitchy', it's possible to make one fast lap but it's very difficult to put together 27 fast laps with the bike in this condition. During practice we had some chatter and I also have to solve a problem with the wind, my front wheel is always in the air. This is a beautiful track but very technical and very difficult and I would really like to improve the machine settings in the warm up tomorrow morning. It would be wonderful to celebrate my first 500 world title with a win in the race. But at the moment that does not look easy to achieve. Of course I feel tomorrow's race is a very important and at the moment I'm trying to stay relaxed treating the race like all others. In this sense my team and my close friends here with me are all helping me cope with the situation."

Barros, 3rd - "Everything went fine, apart from the crash. I was using a soft tyre to try to improve my time and get the pole position, but I fell. Anyway, I think I have a chance to make a good race and I will do my best to win. I am at a very good moment and I will profit from it."

Capirossi, 6th - " I am more satisfied than yesterday, because we could improve the bike's setup and I think we are ready to fight for the first position. We are all very close, and I think there will be a very exciting race tomorrow and I will try to be in the leading group. I like this circuit and I think I have good options."

Ukawa, 8th - "The key to our considerable improvement in the general classification and in my lap times was the choice of the rear tyre, because we found a compound that suits my necessities. My motorcycle still has some front end chatter, but not as bad as yesterday. Now I can push the front going into the turns, the motorcycle gives me more feedback, so I have more confidence. The better weather today helped also, because we had slightly higher temperatures today, the track was completely dry, and the wind dropped. I can maintain a good pace for the race, and I think we have a tyre that will last the whole race distance in good conditions. I hope that I get a good start this time and that I'll be able to fight for a podium finish."

Criville, 13th -  "On this circuit, it is crucial to stick to someone else's rear wheel if you want to improve your lap times, and I didn't find anybody in the last moments of the session. Until the last minutes, I held a position in the second row of the grid, but I rode by myself in the end, and was passed by several riders in the classification. The twelve riders behind Biaggi are within just five tenths of a second though, and I don't rule out my chance to fight for a podium finish if the weather holds up and I get a good start, because I know that I'm up to the required pace. Physically, I feel better, but I still feel a bit weak. I was always better in the race than in practice, therefore I'm optimistic for the race tomorrow".

Anthony West was the quickest of the 'twins' and 16th overall, "The rear wasn't sliding as much as yesterday. We had better grip after making some suspension changes, and that's one of the reasons why my lap times improved so much. There was also another (Michelin) tyre for us to try which worked better than what we'd used before. I did my best lap by myself – I didn't get a tow from anyone like some of the others so it's good to be the first 'Twin'. My bike feels more stable, but after four or five laps it's starting to slide and spin. It seems a lot of the others are having the same problems. The conditions were probably a little better today, although the track temperatures were still cold. I'm closer to the four-cylinder bikes than I've been at some tracks this year so hopefully I can race with them and beat a few of them. It's good to be racing in my 'home' grand prix – my family is here and quite a few friends so I'm hoping for a good result."

Dutch Proton KR rider Jurgen Van Den Goorbergh had this to say after qualifying one place ahead of West on his 3-cylinder machine, "There are two riders out there who deserve better positions. I am one. Anthony West is the other - but he is also short of top speed. I rode the bike to the maximum, and I'm just over a second off pole time. The bike felt good at the start of the session, but after five or six laps I had some engine trouble and had to put that bike away. After that the team hurried to change my spare bike, but it's never good to have to change mid-session. I was running 1:33s consistently, and then put on a new tyre for my best lap. It looks as though we can have a fight with a couple of them tomorrow."

Queensland teenager Brendan Clarke slowly built up speed throughout the session as he comes to terms with the 500 but was a little disappointed with his grid position. "I'm a fair way off where I expected to be.  I've ridden a 250 twice at Phillip Island before and I thought that would help me coming here.  But I've been learning the circuit all over again because the 500 is so different.  You don't brake in the same place or use the same lines so it has been a lot tougher than I anticipated.  We lost a session this morning with some changes that didn't work, but there's still the warm-up to try and get a more consistent set-up for the race."

Even though Garry McCoy slipped from provisional pole to the 4th row of the grid he remains a little upbeat for tomorrow's race, "We have a choice of tyres - but they are all doing the same thing.  We've got plenty of race options but nothing soft enough to do a time.  Apart from that the bike set-up is fine for the gusty conditions - I don't know what it will be like if the wind drops."

His team-mate Noriyuki Haga was 11th quickest - "Yesterday we had a problem with the bike squatting at the exit of the corner. We decided to target the problem and this morning made good progress. Then this afternoon we made some more changes and the bike improved even more. Also Michelin bought us a new tyre and it turned out to be quite good - our lap times came down and maybe we will use it for the race. I think starting from the third row here is less of a disadvantage than at other tracks and although you must remember that I have never raced a 500 here before, I think maybe I can put in a good result."

1. Biaggi 1m31.984s
2. Rossi 1m32.408s
3. Barros 1m32.421s
4. Gibernau 1m32.473s
5. Jacque 1m32.477s
6. Capirossi 1m32.513s
7. Checa 1m32.622s
8. Ukawa 1m32.768s
9. Nakano 1m32.840s
10. Abe 1m32.905s
11. Haga 1m32.934s
12. Roberts 1m32.963s
13. Criville 1m33.009s
14. McCoy 1m33.049s
15. Goorbergh 1m33.093s
16. West 1m33.714s
17. Aoki 1m33.731s
18. Cardoso 1m34.039s
19. Stigefelt 1m35.035s
20. Haslam 1m35.724s
21. Veneman 1m36.043s
22. Clarke 1m36.840s