MotoGP 2002 - Round 2 - Welkom - Qualifying 2

Aoki: 11th, 1:35.695
McWilliams: 16th, 1:35.995

Proton Team KR riders Nobuatsu Aoki and Jeremy McWilliams slashed their lap times today in the final session for tomorrow’s South African GP, keeping their lightweight three-cylinder 500cc two-strokes up with the closely-matched pack of two-stroke and 990cc four-stroke opposition at one of the circuits where they can really use the advantages of the Proton KR3 machine.

Bumpy, slippery and very twisty, the 4.242km Phakisa Freeway circuit means the riders of the more powerful but heavier four-strokes have few opportunities to use their extra horsepower; while the KR3’s agile handling and high mid-corner speeds combine with a facility to open the throttle earlier to counteract the power differences.

The team’s new Bridgestone tyres also played a big part. Practice was warm and sunny throughout – conditions in which the new tyres excelled.

Today, Aoki was the faster, after suspension adjustments meant he could slash his previous best time by more than 1.5 seconds. McWilliams, who yesterday challenged for pole, cut his time by almost a full second, while also taking the time to endurance test tyres for the race. Both were confident of a strong race tomorrow.

NOBUATSU AOKI - "Pretty good, and the tyres are working very well, though I still have a little worry about getting the bike setting right to help durability of the front tyre. We need to make some chassis adjustments to take the load off the front to improve. Otherwise, we put in a heavier front fork spring today which gave me a better feedback, and that made it easier for me to go faster. I’m looking forward to the race."

NICK DAVIS – Aoki Crew Chief: "We changed the front spring and the oil levels, and did some work with the rear spring, to improve the balance. That seemed to help – but the main thing was that Nobu just got his head down today."

JEREMY McWILLIAMS - "It’s not as good as yesterday – but I still nearly got that extra second I spoke about, and that was my goal. More important, I was able to keep consistent laps in the mid to low 1:36s. I think that’s what you’ll need for the race. The fourth row is not the best starting position, but times are so close, and it’s not the end of the world. We tried various things to improve the bike over the bumps, and I think we went a little too soft. In the end, you just have to ride over the bumps. There’s no way round the problem. If I can get off the line well tomorrow, I think we can get a good result."

TOM O’KANE – McWilliams Crew Chief: "I think we are in better shape for the race than the practice times indicate. Jeremy went practically as fast on race tyres as on anything else, and he did 22 laps this morning, running as fast at the end as at the beginning. The Bridgestone tyres have been much better than we expected. If he gets a good start, who knows what might happen?"