Ducati

Ducati Marlboro Team rider Loris Capirossi proved that Ducati are on the way back with a stirring ride to fifth place in this afternoon's opening qualifying session at sun-baked Rio de Janeiro. Meanwhile team-mate Troy Bayliss was 13th after a minor mistake cost him valuable time on his fastest lap.

Capirossi and his crew were understandably delighted with his pace. For the first time the Italian has both his Ducati Marlboro Team Desmosedici GP4s equipped with the factory's new Twin Pulse engine which uses different firing intervals for more rider-friendly power delivery. For the time being Bayliss continues with one Twin Pulse motor and one Four Pulse.

"The more the riders ride the Twin Pulse, the more they like it," said Ducati Marlboro Team director Livio Suppo.

"This is only our second race with the new engine, so we're all still getting used to it, which makes us optimistic for the future. Loris did a great job today, both on race tyres and qualifiers, as did Troy who was good with race tires but missed something in the qualifying lap."

Loris Capirossi is confident of scoring his best grid position of the year so far after placing fifth on today's provisional grid. The Ducati Marlboro Team rider was as high as third at one point, finally ending the session 0.732 seconds off provisional pole and just 0.053 seconds off second position.

"I'm very happy, not just because I'm fifth but because I'm having fun on the bike and because I can feel the results starting to come," grinned Capirossi. "The bike is definitely improving, so a big thank you to everyone at Ducati who has worked so hard to give me two Twin Pulse motors. I did a lot of laps on race tyres today. I'm happy with the times, though I feel I can go quicker tomorrow after we've made some chassis adjustments."

Troy Bayliss was also in confident mood, the Ducati Marlboro Team rider clocking his fastest lap with his sole Twin Pulse motor and ending the day at the front end of the provisional fifth row.

"I feel really good on the bike, even if 13th place doesn't look that spectacular," said Bayliss. "I made a bit of a mistake on my fastest lap at the end of the session - I went into turn one in fourth gear, not third, and though I had another go the next lap, my qualifying tyre was finished by then. I've been going okay but it's been a little difficult riding the two different engines. I only started using the Twin Pulse halfway through the session because we want to save parts."

Yamaha

The MotoGP contingent encountered perfect weather and improving track conditions at Rio today, putting in a hot day of toil throughout the first of two timed qualifying sessions. Valentino Rossi (Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha), who was fastest in the unofficial morning session, finished fourth fastest overall on day one; team-mate Carlos Checa was tenth quickest.

Of the two riders Checa was the first to show his speed, going second within minutes of the start of the qualifying session and only being slowly deposed as the session wound down. Rossi was in third spot for the first half of the hour, but fast laps from his rivals pushed the world champion to tenth place at one stage.

With five minutes left on the clock, Rossi re-entered the competition for provisional pole at the very top level, setting the best lap to that point, a 1’49.327s. Sete Gibernau (Honda) nonetheless proved to be the ultimate top qualifier on day one, his time of 1’48.618s the best ever at Rio. Makoto Tamada (Honda, 1’49.297) and Alex Barros (Honda, 1’49.299) filled the provisional front row, just ahead of Rossi. Checa’s best lap of the day was 1’50.031s, as the London-based Spaniard was hampered by rear traction concerns.

Fortuna Gauloises Tech 3 riders Marco Melandri (1’50.393) and Norick Abe (1’50.710) had to work hard in the beating Brazilian heat today and still the results were less than ideal. Melandri ended today’s provisional qualifying session in a lowly 14th place while Abe put his Yamaha YZR-M1 in 15th on the grid.

Marco lost valuable time with machine trouble in the morning free training and this hampered his progress this afternoon. But the Italian and his crew are sure they can glean vital information from the data and raise their game in tomorrow’s final qualifying session.

The 27-degree air temperatures are expected to continue tomorrow and qualifying lap times should drop further, as the seldom-used Rio tarmac generally offers more grip with each passing session.

Valentino Rossi (Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha), fourth – 1’49.327 "We have quite a lot of problems here. I wasn’t able to go as fast this afternoon as this morning, we seem to have lost our small advantage and could only manage fourth. I think we still haven’t made enough kilometres with this bike. I like this track and normally I have gone well here, but for some reason this afternoon we lost about half a second each lap, although I did make a good time with qualifying tyres. The temperature makes it difficult as well; the bike is very difficult to control. Apart from Assen, where we went immediately very well, we have generally needed more set-up time at the other tracks.”

Carlos Checa (Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha), tenth – 1’50.031 "We have a traction problem, with no side grip. We have been trying hard but after a few laps the tyre grip goes down and then there is nothing I can do. We have to try to find a solution to let me qualify in a better position tomorrow."

Davide Brivio, Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha team director "We need to work more on the settings to find the best. It is only the first day, so we have time. It is very bumpy here and that stresses the chassis, and makes finding the correct settings even more important. Valentino did a good lap time on his qualifying tyre but we need to improve the overall pace. This track is a favourite of Valentino so we have to create the right package for him. Carlos was good through the session but went back down the grid after fitting a qualifying tyre.”

Marco Melandri (Fortuna Gauloises Tech 3), 14th – 1’50.393 “We had problems with both bikes this morning and lost time and as a result this afternoon was very difficult. We’ll have a good look at the data and see what we can learn, but the fact is I can’t get on the gas quick enough at the moment.”

Norick Abe (Fortuna Gauloises Tech 3), 15th – 1’50.710 “This is my first time here on a four-stroke at this circuit. This morning felt good and we adjusted some settings for this afternoon and then things felt worse. The rear of the bike feels good, but the front is where the problem is at the moment. There’s more grip than there was this morning and the lap times are coming down, but we’ve got to try more settings tomorrow.”

Hervé Poncharal, Fortuna Gauloises Tech 3 team director “I don’t quite know why we are where we are at the moment. After two good weekends at Catalunya and Assen it’s hard to accept where we are on the provisional timesheet. Marco had a few problems this morning and lost 40 minutes, but that doesn’t quite explain things. The bumps are a problem, but the weather looks stable and we’ll just try again to get things working better tomorrow.”

Repsol HRC

Alex Barros overcame considerable pain today and posted a gallant third fastest time and provisional front row start for Sunday’s Brazilian GP with team mate Nicky Hayden being eighth fastest after the hour long first qualifying session fought out under clear blue winter skies at the Nelson Piquet circuit on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro today (Friday).

Local hero Alex Barros had a difficult time today and was clearly suffering from the effects of his high-speed crash at Assen only a week ago. The experienced Brazilian, who will start his 201st premier start GP on Sunday, is suffering from stretched tendons in his left shoulder and a very sore left hand. Although the 33-year-old is receiving intense physiotherapy he is not 100% fit for the GP he has wanted to win so badly for so long. He came within a second of victory in 2000 but has never achieved a coveted home win.

Nicky Hayden, in his second visit to the 4.933km circuit, started the weekend well and in determined mood by posting the second fastest time this morning after his strong showing at Assen only five days ago when the 22-year-old finished a strong fifth.

In the afternoon the young American struggled for grip on his Honda RC211V and posted his fastest time on his last lap of the day to elevate him from 13th fastest when the clock read ‘zero’ to eighth as the hour-long session finished.

Joint championship leader Sete Gibernau posted the fastest time of the day – 0.420 seconds faster than Valentino Rossi’s pole time of last year. Makoto Tamada was second fastest with Barros making up the last place on the provisional front row and a Honda RC211V one, two, three.

Nicky Hayden - “This morning was not so bad. The bike felt good and we were in a good position. This afternoon it was real tough. Grip is a big problem for me here. I’m not completely happy with how the bike is feeling right now. I’m riding quite rough and I can’t find a good solid feel. We definitely want to try a few things tomorrow to improve things. I like to track layout but it feels really bumpy. I just need to be a lot more consistent.”

Alex Barros - “I’m not at 100% fitness after the crash last week. My left hand is very sore when using the clutch and in heavy braking. It feels a little bit better than this morning but still I feel it all the time. The bike basically feels good; in turning, on the brakes and the engine. The real problem is the traction. When we put on the qualifying tyres the time comes down. Now we need to do something tomorrow to improve the rear grip. I’m sure we can improve the time a lot if we can improve the traction.”    

Kawasaki

Japanese rider Shinya Nakano led the Fuchs Kawasaki charge with the sixth fastest time in today's provisional qualifying for Sunday's Rio Grand Prix.

However, Nakano's position did not reflect his role as a leading contender for pole position in the frantic final minutes of first qualifying.

After being in the leading group for much of the session, Nakano went second fastest with just two minutes remaining, as he staged a superb battle against factory rivals from Honda, Yamaha and Ducati for a place on the front row.

A little unhappily Nakano had to settle for sixth place, just three tenths of a second off the front row of the provisional grid, as a late rush of riders posted late session times.

His Kawasaki Ninja ZX-RR team-mate, Alex Hofmann, was also in superb form in his comeback ride at Rio. Hofmann is eleventh fastest and looking to move forward with a clear run in final qualifying tomorrow.

After an absence of three years from this track, Hofmann spent much of today's two, one hour sessions upgrading his knowledge of the bumps on the fast Rio circuit.

Both Fuchs Kawasaki riders made dramatic steps forward from morning practice, with major revisions to suspension set-up to deal with the uneven grip levels, but the two riders are still some way from claiming ideal settings, especially in maximising rear end grip and chassis balance for the unique demands of Rio.

With temperatures hitting 36 degrees in near perfect, sunny conditions both riders spent time evaluating race tyre choices, which are always a critical factor at this track.

Kawasaki's tyre partner, Bridgestone, air freighted more than 800 tyres to Rio, with further revisions to compounds and the reinforced construction introduced at Barcelona last month.

Officially it is winter in Brazil, but the perfect-for-the-beach weather, and no threat of rain, indicates that Sunday's 24-lap race will be a hot and exhausting contest.

Shinya Nakano: 6th (1'49.531) - "I should be happy being so close to the front row, but I always want more. At Welkom for the first race sixth on the grid was a very pleasant surprise, but now, seven races into the season, I'm looking for better results. I had some rear end chatter today and we need to work on this before the race, but we also need to concentrate on our tyre choice. Nothing has really changed with the bumps; the track is very rough every year. I just hope that I can either improve tomorrow or, in the worst case, keep today's qualifying position for the race."

Alex Hofmann: 11th (1'50.156) - "After being away for three years I'm now fully updated on where all the bumps are here. The morning session wasn't good for me in terms of chassis balance and grip over the bumps, but in the afternoon we made a lot of progress. Rear grip is always the big struggle here, with the bumps upsetting the bike. That's our big challenge for the race set-up. Hopefully, when some more rubber gets laid down on the track, grip levels will go up and that will things a little easier. I had some traffic on my final qualifying lap, but I'm not complaining. Hopefully it will be my turn for a clear lap tomorrow."

Camel Honda

Makoto Tamada took his yellow Camel Honda RC211V onto the provisional front row of the starting grid with the second fastest time of the day in the first qualifying practice. Clearly having an affinity for the Rio circuit – last year he took third place on the podium - Makoto was once again supremely quick in the final part of the session, and sealed a good lap time. Seventh in today’s first timed session, Max Biaggi was unable to set a good time on his flying lap but was happy with the general pace he showed.

Sito Pons – Camel Honda (Team Principal) - “We were unable to make the most of the qualifying tyres but we have tomorrow to improve. Nevertheless Max showed he had a good rhythm with the race tyres, one of the best in fact. It’s because of this that I’m confident about Sunday’s race, even if we will have to work a little more on improving the lap times so Max can start a little higher up the grid. Already after just the first day of practice he has ridden four tenths faster than last year, so tomorrow we will improve the performance even more. Makoto set a very fast time and I think that he will be capable of getting a result equally as good as last year, if not better.”

Max Biaggi – Camel Honda (Michelin Tyres) – 7th - 1’49.714 - “I’m not really that satisfied today, although the race pace wasn’t too bad my fast time wasn’t too great, which is obviously important for starting position, we’re still not set up right and to be honest, I don’t like that, When we fitted the qualifying tyre we didn’t make that much improvement with regards to the other times, and to be in seventh disappoints me a little. The problems which are slowing us down at the moment are the same we’ve been having for a few races now although they’re more apparent when we’re doing the fast lap rather than when we’re in race mode.”

Gianluca Montiron – Camel Honda – (Makoto Tamada Team Manager) - “Makoto and the team have done a good job today, and with it being just the first day of practice, we can be satisfied with the settings we have found, and especially with the combination between the bike and the tyres. We still need to improve the race rhythm and tomorrow’s tests will be important to complete this task. Makoto did well here last year, and our aim is now to get him in the best shape for the race.”

Makoto Tamada – Camel Honda (Bridgestone Tyres) – 2nd 1’49.297 - “The bike-tyre combination was very good in this first timed session. I need to improve my race rhythm, and my pace will have to be quicker if I want to be at the front again like last year. We still have a lot of work to do to be completely satisfied. We will try to make the settings as good as possible tomorrow without making too many big changes, and then we can make the final tyre choices.”

Proton Team KR

Proton Team KR rider’s Kurtis Roberts and Nobuatsu Aoki both overcame problems to pick up the pace in the first of two timed qualifying sessions for Sunday’s Rio GP, with class rookie Roberts especially pleased with a trouble-free afternoon session that meant he could start to make better progress.

The second son of team principal Kenny Roberts has been plagued with development issues, when he really needed trouble-free running not only to gain experience with the 990cc MotoGP machine, but also to relearn circuits that he rode on seven years ago. In the morning, the familiar interruptions continued, but hard work by the team gave him two reliable motorcycles for the timed afternoon session, and he was able to complete 20 full laps, moving ahead of his team-mate Aoki.

The more experienced Japanese rider ran into an unusual problem in the afternoon that slowed his progress. Problems with his radio, used for communication in the pits, where the noise can be deafening, meant he ran into communication difficulties with his crew chief Nick Davis. A misunderstanding between the two meant he spent the session on his less-favoured spare machine.

Today’s practice took place in fine sunny conditions, in the settled weather of the Brazilian winter. Previous races, held in September, have been plagued by frequent rain. The old track problems remain – a slippery surface that is seldom used, and gains speed almost session by session as rubber is laid on the racing line; and continuous ripples and bumps.

There is one more day of practicing and qualifying before Sunday’s race. Today’s provisional pole time was again set by Sete Gibernau (Honda).

NOBUATSU AOKI - "From the morning to the afternoon, we almost solved the problem of a big difference between my two bikes – but I still prefer my number one bike. Then we had a strange problem. Because the radio was not working so well, we had trouble communicating. I spent the whole session on my number two bike. Afterwards I asked my crew chief Nick why we hadn’t used the bike I prefer … was there some problem? He said no problem, but because I was saying the number two bike was coming better, he thought I preferred it. This was not the case! Anyway, the new tyres are not as good as I had hoped here. The front is not so bad, but the rear was disappointing. Then we cut some material off the shoulder, and it improved it a lot, cutting the pumping from the rear. Tomorrow we will cut all the tyres like that."

KURTIS ROBERTS - "This morning was a bit rough – I think I got only eight laps. I rode here seven years ago, but if you’d asked me to draw a map of the track I wouldn’t have been able to. It was tough going into qualifying with that little experience, but the crew did a great job and both bikes ran well all session, so I was able to work on my lap time a bit. I really need a lot more saddle time on this bike. For example, I always rev it too much, because I prefer to ride higher in the power band. But to get a fast lap, when we have grippy tyres, I do everything a gear higher. It feels like it is too low in the rev range, but the lap time’s faster."

CHUCK AKSLAND – Team Manager - "This morning we had some gearbox trouble with both of Kurtis’s bikes, though Nobu was going alright. This afternoon was just the way it should be … everything was reliable, and the riders were able to work on settings, tyre choice and suspension. We need to keep it going for tomorrow and the race."