2001 Grand Prix 500 - Round 16 - Rio

Rossi was off the pace for much of first qualifying but came through with a fast lap to take provisional pole position after the chequered flag had been waved. "We had a few problems today because the track here is very bumpy - a lot worse than I remember," said Rossi. "I set the best time on my last lap but I am not very happy overall and we must keep working hard. Hopefully it won't rain tomorrow because there is not much grip as it is."

Suzuki's Kenny Roberts was fastest for most of the session before being overtaken by Rossi, Abe and Nakano in the dying minutes.

Barros did his best to provide early cheer for the home supporters and ended with the fifth best time of the day.

Checa went straight back out on the spare bike and ended up 6th, just 0.627 seconds off pole. "We tried a front tyre with a different casing and it didn't work the way we wanted it to," said the Marlboro Yamaha Team man. "I flicked into a turn and lost the front as I hit maximum lean. I think some of the problem comes from the rear, because we've now got so much rear grip, and this is something we're working on with Michelin. So far the lap times aren't as fast as last year's but I think that's just grip; this track doesn't get used much, so the asphalt is a bit dirty. I'm happy enough though, the bike seems quite good and I don't think we'll need to make any changes to geometry, pivot points and so on, we can just focus on normal changes, getting the suspension balance and engine settings right for the race."

Checa's team-mate Biaggi was 8th quickest - "This track seems very slippery and more bumpy than last year, so it's important to find the right setting before going for a very fast lap," said the Italian. "We want the bike to work smoothly around here and that's what we've been focusing on throughout both of today's sessions. Tomorrow will be much more important though, because the surface will be more grippy, and that means we can ride harder and also do more effective work on race settings, because the conditions will be closer to what we'll have to contend with in Saturday's race."

Van Den Goorbergh, 10th - "I'm not feeling 100 percent yet. I'm not suffering from double vision or anything like that, but I'm finding it harder than usual to concentrate, and that's costing me a lot of effort. This morning I took it slow, and built up speed this afternoon. It went better than I expected, with consistent times in the 1:53s. The bike seems to be working pretty well. The important thing for me is to take part in the race here on Saturday, and get a good result in my last race with this team".

McCoy managed to qualify 12th after he also fell - "The crash started with a big slide. I'd just fitted new tyres and they were gripping pretty well - I thought I was going to be able to save it - but eventually lost it over the bumps. Up until then I was going pretty well and the fastest out on the track. Unfortunately the bike was too damaged to repair quickly and so we had to switch to the other bike that didn't suit me as well. Right at the end of the session I went out for two quick laps but sabotaged my efforts by making a series of silly mistakes. Hopefully things will go better tomorrow."