2001 Grand Prix 500 - Round 14 - Phillip Island - Qualifying 1
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Barros led nearly the
whole session on the drying Phillip Island circuit before McCoy pulled out
a scorcher in the final lap of the session. During the warm down lap
McCoy entertained the crowd with some wild slides. One of which was
the biggest I have seen complete with smoke haze frying off the tyre and
the bike so sideways he must have had the handlebars at full lock.
Amazing stuff. Rossi recovered from a fall and then an off-track excursion on his second machine to clock the third fastest time behind Barros, with Checa completing the provisional front row after a consistent performance. "I am desperate to do well at this race and I feel mentally and psychologically prepared," said McCoy. "I struggled a little with the wind today like everyone else and I am still bruised from my crash last week in Motegi so it is extra pleasing to set the fastest time. The most important thing though is the race on Sunday and I feel confident I can do well. I want a race win before the end of the season and hopefully I can do it here." Rossi - "What a pity
to have to race at such a nice track in such bad weather conditions!
Today I crashed at the 'Siberia' corner, in second gear at about 130kph.
I think it was because the rear tyre construction was too soft. I
went over a small bump and the rear tyre slid away. I only bruised
my ankle in the crash. At the moment the bike is not perfect and we
have to work tomorrow to find better machine settings."
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