The M1 has benefited from a variety of new parts here, including a modified chassis, new fairing and new radiator, though Biaggi elected to use his older chassis today. The aerodynamic improvements are working well, making the M1 the fastest bike on the track. Biaggi clocked 293.6kmh/182.3mph this afternoon, while Checa was second quickest through the speed trap at 291.9kmh/181.3mph. Biaggi's bike was 2.4kmh/1.5mph faster than the best non-Yamaha.

"Today was a good day and I'm confident we can have some fun in tomorrow's race," said Marlboro Yamaha Team director Davide Brivio. "The new parts have brought us some benefits, though Max decided to use the older chassis and new fairing this afternoon. His pace wasn't so bad, he did a few laps inside two minutes, so things look promising for the race. Carlos is on the second row, but his times are pretty close and I think he can also have a good race. Thanks to Max and Carlos for their efforts, and also to the team and engineers, who've been working so hard in recent months."

Max Biaggi today scored the 50th pole position of his career at Brno, where the Marlboro Yamaha Team rider has taken no less than six GP victories in the last eight years, four in the 250 class and two in 500s. Biaggi's second MotoGP pole follows on from his 15 500 poles and 33 250 poles. During this afternoon's session the Italian also became the first man to dip inside the two minute barrier at Brno.

"I'm really happy, it's fantastic to be on pole again," he said. "I used my number-two bike this afternoon, with the older chassis, because although the new chassis may have more possibilities, we need to spend more time testing it to achieve the right set-up. Yesterday the new chassis felt like it would be better but today I wanted something I'm familiar with. Tomorrow I will give my best and give nothing to the others, though I'd like to offer my congratulations to Kato, who rode so well today. Also, my thanks go to the whole team and also to members of my fan club who've come here from Italy."

Carlos Checa concentrated on the revised M1 chassis today, chasing a front-row start and ending the session sixth, just 0.057 outside the top four. The Marlboro Yamaha Team man spent much of the day working to solve the front-end push problems he'd had yesterday and is now confident he can run with the leading group in tomorrow's race.

"We kept working with the new chassis, trying different chassis and suspension settings," said the Spaniard. "We have greatly reduced the front-end push, things aren't so bad now, though I'm still not totally confident braking into turns and mid-turn. We need more stability at these points of the corner, and if we keep working in this direction, we can be faster. We won't make any big changes for tomorrow. If I get a good start I'm sure I can run with the front group."

-----   Red Bull   -----

Garry McCoy and John Hopkins both put in a tremendous performance in the closing minutes of the final qualifying session at the Czech Republic GP to start on the first and second rows respectively. McCoy who is in top physical condition from endless hours of endurance training, is the fastest 2 stroke on the grid. His rookie young gun team-mate and good pal, John "Hopper" Hopkins was only 0.112 seconds behind the 3 times - GP winner.

Garry McCoy: 4th ­ 2m00.129 - "I'm pretty happy to be on the front row for tomorrow and I got a real good run on my fast lap. It feels good to be riding the bike now that my leg is no longer a problem for me. We really did not make any changes from yesterday just the extra track time helped me get a better time today. This afternoon we just used one Dunlop specification qualifier."

Christophe Bourguignon (Race Engineer ­ Garry McCoy) - "I'm delighted that we are on the front row and we really did not expect that result today. Garry is riding the bike so well probably as a result of his fitness level, he's very sharp. We used the 17 inch Dunlop front tyre and will stay with this for tomorrow."

John Hopkins: 7th ­ 2m00.241 - "The qualifying session went great for me and I really want to thank my crew for getting me on the track real quick with all the fast changes. I am really satisfied with the bike and the tyres and we are have a great race set-up for tomorrow, we really need to change nothing tonight and just stick with what we have. At the 15-minute to go mark we tried a soft race tyre and I improved on my qualifying time from yesterday so I was aiming for something special in the last 10 minutes. We put on a qualifier at the 10 minute to go mark and I was into the 2m00s and at 3 minutes to go the last qualifier went in and I had a real smooth and comfortable run. The 17-inch front Dunlop worked for us. I am really looking forward to tomorrow and for the second row start and I'm aiming for a good race at the front and will focus on putting in a really strong race."

Colin Davies ­ Race Engineer for John Hopkins - "I'm really happy with how the crew and John performed today. The bike and tyres are working really well here and we have a good race set-up for tomorrow. John has dropped 3.5 seconds off his fastest time that he set here during two different testing sessions, so I am very pleased with the ongoing improvement we are making. I am really looking forward to tomorrow and we are hoping for a Top 10 finish."

Peter Clifford ­ Director of Racing - "This is the first time that we've had two fully fit riders and therefore the chance to show what the Red Bull Yamaha Dunlop combination can do. It reminds us just what we've been missing without Garry and yet another superb performance from John."