2001 Grand Prix 500 - Round 15 - Sepang

Loris Capirossi took pole position for the Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix in sweltering conditions at the Sepang circuit this afternoon. Capirossi's pole record lap of 2'05.637, set in the first qualifying practice yesterday, proved to be just out of reach of fellow Italian Rossi, whose Honda provided the only real pole threat today as several of the riders struggled to lower their provisional times. One of those unable to improve was Yamaha rider Biaggi, who qualified in third despite falling. McCoy, also on a Yamaha, did manage to move up one place however and completes the front row in fourth.

Having lost two sessions to the weather, Capirossi decided to prioritise race settings this afternoon, rather than going all out for the quickest-possible one-off lap. Of course, he had the luxury of being able to do that thanks to his Friday speed. "We worked a lot on choosing the correct race tyres and finding the best settings for race distance," he explained. "I stayed out on the track for as long as I could, doing endurance tests on tyres and set-up. With five minutes to go we fitted a soft rear but we also fitted a new front and there wasn't enough time left to get confident with the front, so I couldn't go faster than yesterday."

Rossi may well have taken pole from his compatriot if he hadn't run wide as he exited the last turn on his final lap. "That was my best lap but I ran a little wide and over the other side of the kerb," said Rossi, who last weekend became the first Italian to win a 500 title for Honda. "Without that little mistake maybe I could've made pole. But the big thing is that we made some crucial settings improvements which make me feel better about the race, though it's going to be a very tough day for everyone."

Alex Barros (West Honda Pons NSR500) made a big effort in the late stages, bouncing back from a fall earlier in the session to move up to fifth, but he couldn't dislodge third-quickest Max Biaggi (Yamaha) and 4th quickest Garry McCoy (Yamaha) from the front row.

"We had so many thing to do this afternoon because we weren't able to do much work on set-up in the damp morning sessions," said Barros. "Then I went and wasted some more time by crashing. I managed to get in a good lap later on while chasing Rossi but we still need to do some more work to find the right set-up for full race distance."

McCoy, 4th - "Despite leaving a gap when I came out, I still got a little held up by Abe on my fastest lap. Although it is difficult to say, I reckon without that I could have maybe posted the second fastest time. Still I am happy to get on the front row and from there I should be able to have a good crack at the podium though I think tyres are going to be crucial. The tyre we preferred yesterday wasn't the best today for example, and while logically it should be to my advantage if it stays hot tomorrow, there is always a question mark over endurance."

Team-mates Alex Crivillé (Repsol YPF Honda NSR500) and Tohru Ukawa (Repsol YPF Honda NSR500) had an altogether tougher time at Sepang, ending the day 11th and 12th. "The track is very slippery, worse than yesterday," said Crivillé. "I still managed to go half a second faster but it wasn't enough. We'll do some more work in the morning in an effort to get rid of the chatter we're getting."

Ukawa did move up to sixth at one stage this afternoon but was unable to stay there as other riders moved ahead. "The track is very slippery, it's easy to crash here," said the Japanese rider who had a big moment early in the session when he lost the front before regaining control and somehow managing to stay upright. "We've done a lot of work with rear tyres but we keep running into front-end chatter problems."

Noriyuki Haga 14th - "We tried a lot of different settings today but didn't manage to make any improvement. I still have the same problems the front wants to tuck in, while the rear chatters with certain tyres. We also tried a gearbox ratio set up that didn't work out. All of which means we're going to have a busy warm up session tomorrow!"

Proton Team KR rider Jurgen van den Goorbergh is a doubtful starter for tomorrow's Malaysian GP, after suffering concussion in a heavy crash early in the final qualifying session. Although not otherwise injured, the Dutch rider was taken to hospital in Kuala Lumpur for observation, and the results of the medical examination will determine whether he will be fit to take part in tomorrow's race.

One-race team-mate Kurtis Roberts reversed his fortunes after crashing out of yesterday's first timed session. Today he improved steadily as he gained familiarity with a track he has never seen before, and a motorcycle he has never ridden before. By the end of this afternoon's final timed session he had slashed four seconds of his best time of yesterday, and was beginning to get on terms with the 500, and starting to think about ways to adapt the motorcycle to suit his riding style.

Kurtis Roberts - "I've never seen this track before yesterday, so it was good to have a full dry session without any trouble. We haven't even scratched the surface yet. This bike has been developed around Jurgen, and my riding style is quite a bit different, from my experience riding Superbikes, especially in the way I load the front. We've got some changes to make tomorrow, and if I can get the bike to do what I want it to do, I believe I can get into the 2:08 bracket, and maybe even a bit quicker. Then I hope I can get among some of the four-cylinders, and have some fun in my first 500-class GP".

Anthony West is just behind Roberts but struggling with carburation problems on his less powerful twin - "I just couldn't go fast enough in that last session. I think the answer is to hold the throttle open longer! After Phillip Island we've run into a few problems here. The heat really affects the engine, making carburetion difficult. We're making it better, but the heat costs power, and the 'Twin' doesn't have too much of that to spare compared to the four-cylinder bikes. The chassis setting has been difficult too. You don't brake hard, except for two places, so you don't get the weight transfer into the turns so the front grips. Then, on the way out, you're on light throttle so again the weight doesn't transfer and that makes the rear slide. We changed the suspension, front and rear, but with wet weather this morning we were a bit short of time to test it. I could have done with a few more laps."