MotoGP 2005 Qualifying

Loris Capirossi demonstrated why Ducati were so keen to secure a recent contract renewal for next season with a stunning lap time in today’s single qualifying session for the Grand Prix of Japan. The Italian rider will start the twelfth round of the MotoGP World Championship from pole position thanks to his record time of 1’46.363, enough to hold off his closest challenger John Hopkins by 0.498 seconds. The top two riders on the grid are both using Bridgestone tyres, who celebrated victory in last year’s race with Makoto Tamada, whilst Marco Melandri was the top Michelin qualifier with the final front row spot in third place.

“For me this is great weekend,” smiled Capirossi. “We have worked very hard and I did a lot of consecutive laps on race tyres today. Bridgestone have done a great job for their home race and have given us some excellent tyres to choose from. Tomorrow is a different day, the race is always difficult but I am ready to do my best.”

Valentino Rossi missed out on a final qualifying lap as he arrived at the finish line just three seconds after the chequered flag was waved, effectively losing places instead of making them up and eventually dropping to eleventh. It means the reigning World Champion will start from the fourth row of the grid, his worst qualifying performance since being sent to the back of the grid at Qatar last season, as he looks to revalidate his title in tomorrow’s race.

Tamada showed signs of a return to his best form after a difficult season, challenging for pole before dropping to fourth place as Capirossi raised the stakes in the final moments of the session. The home favourite is joined on the second row by Max Biaggi and Nicky Hayden, with Biaggi needing to take at least eight points off Rossi in tomorrow’s race order to keep his championship hopes alive.

Biaggi and Hayden are two of six riders still with a mathematical chance of dethroning Rossi although the more realistic battle between them is for the runner-up spot, currently occupied by the Italian. Sete Gibernau will be looking to turn that situation around and put an end to his recent bad luck as he start from the third row, where he is joined by Carlos Checa and Kenny Roberts. Rossi is sandwiched on row four between Alex Barros and Alex Hofmann, whilst the World Champion’s team-mate Colin Edwards had an even more disappointing day today as he struggled to thirteenth place and a fifth-row start ahead of Shinya Nakano and Tohru Ukawa.

Rossi was not the only World Champion with problems today, 250cc title-holder Dani Pedrosa crashing from his Honda for the third time this weekend in the morning free practice session. The Spaniard, nursing shoulder, thumb and elbow injuries after falling twice yesterday, recovered to set the seventh fastest time in the afternoon qualifying session but was unable to prevent his team-mate, Hiroshi Aoyama, from clinching a memorable pole position at his home Grand Prix. Aoyama’s younger brother Shuhei also made it a day to remember as he clinched a front row start in third place, behind Jorge Lorenzo but ahead of Alex de Angelis. Andrea Dovizioso, Yuki Takahashi and Randy de Puniet join Pedrosa on the second row whilst Casey Stoner, the Spaniard’s main challenger for the championship starts from just behind them in ninth place.

Neither of the two main title contenders were able to seal a front row start for the 125cc race as Gabor Talmacsi clinched his first pole position with a time of 1’58.653. Thomas Lüthi and Mika Kallio, separated by eight points at the top of the standings, will both be on row two after qualifying seventh and fifth respectively, with Kallio unable to improve on his provisional pole time from yesterday. Local rider Tomoyoshi Koyama will start from alongside Talmacsi after qualifying second fastest, with Mattia Pasini and Marco Simoncelli completing the front row.

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