BARROS ON FRONT ROW, GIBERNAU ON ROW TWO
09 October 2004 - Honda Racing

MotoGP final qualifying here in steamy Malaysian humidity belonged to Valentino Rossi (Yamaha).

Rossi starts from pole in tomorrow’s 21-lap race. But the Honda men are right in contention with Alex Barros (Repsol Honda RC211V) qualifying second for the second consecutive race and Sete Gibernau (Telefonica MoviStar Honda RC211V) lining up right behind Rossi as fourth fastest on the second row. Shinya Nakano (Kawasaki) qualified third.

Spots of rain fell towards the end of the hour-long session and riders’ times in the third sector of the track suffered. This section of the track had also been rained on yesterday, and the threat of sporadic showers remains for tomorrow.

Makoto Tamada (Camel Honda RC211V), riding on Bridgestone tyres, had held provisional pole overnight, but the Japanese ace was one of the few riders not to manage an improvement today. His 2m 02.394 second lap was still enough to secure him a second row start from fifth, and he’s only 0.561 seconds away from the pole time.

Many riders opted to put in their swiftest qualifying laps on race rubber in the early stages, but Gibernau and Tamada had not improved their times with 20 minutes still to go. Tamada was second after Rossi dislodged him and Gibernau was fourth with the final third of the session to go.

With ten minutes remaining Tamada lay third and Max Biaggi (Camel Honda RC211V) was fourth with Barros fifth fastest. Then came the frenzy of qualifying tyres. Gibernau couldn’t quite maximise his speed on sticky tyres and briefly flirted with the front row before Barros clocked his 2m 02.228 second lap to knock the Spanish title contender down to row two. Nakano was his other problem in third.

“I’m happy because we’ve improved in terms of race pace,” said Sete. “Obviously I would have preferred to start on the front row, but I wouldn’t swap that for the progress I’ve made. We’ll keep working in the warm-up tomorrow to see if we can improve the pace even further and have a good race.”

Barros said, “We all seem to have grip problems here – normally this is not an issue at Sepang but this weekend is terrible. The race will be very tough and it’ll be really hard on tyres towards the end of the race. I just want to make a good start and keep out of trouble and fight for the win.”

Tamada is in typically positive mood here. “I’ve tested a lot on this track, and our settings have changed slightly since the winter tests here. But thanks to a consolidated base setting we could go quickly almost immediately. The tyres have also improved a lot. The heat doesn’t bother me, in fact it feels a bit chilly here,” he quipped.

Nicky Hayden (Repsol Honda RC211V) qualified sixth. “This was a whole lot better than yesterday,” said the American. “The conditions are so different than they were back in the February tests. We just need another big step tomorrow because it’s so close out there. I’m pretty excited about the race.”

Max is not at ease here in seventh, 0.6 seconds off pole. “This isn’t a new track,” he said. “I always have a good feeling here and instead of that we’re unable to get close to the top times. The problems are the same, chatter on the brakes and too sharp a power delivery. But we have another chance tomorrow to show how good the bike is and we never stop trying.”

Colin Edwards (Telefonica MoviStar Honda RC211V) is less than delighted with his 12th place on the grid. “The bike has improved form yesterday,” he said. “But not enough to move me much further forward on the grid. We’ll need to find something in the warm-up to allow me to run at a more consistent pace. And it’ll be tough starting from the fourth row.”

In the 250cc class it was Sebastian Porto (Aprilia) who retained pole from his provisional efforts yesterday when light spots of rain fell throughout most of today’s final hour-long session. Dani Pedrosa (Telefonica MoviStar Junior Team RS250RW) qualified in second place with Randy de Puniet and Alex de Angelis (both Aprilia) in third and fourth.

Dani suspected his efforts yesterday would not be in vain as the weather here has proved unsettled in the run-up to tomorrow’s 20-lap race. As it turned out, the canny Spanish star is now well placed to be in contention for at least a podium finish as he bids to wrap up the World Championship here.

If Dani wins and his main rival Porto finishes lower than second, the 19-year old from Barcelona will win his second title in consecutive years after his 125cc success last season.

Tony Elias (Fortuna Honda RS250RW) qualified fifth and starts from the second row with Dani’s team-mate Hiroshi Aoyama (Telefonica MoviStar Junior Team RS250RW) alongside him in sixth. Roberto Rolfo (Fortuna Honda RS250RW) qualified tenth.

“Tomorrow’s race may be hard to deal with,” said Dani. “Today the weather stopped most of us from going faster and conditions are hard to predict now. I’m happy to be on the front row and my only objective is to get a good result and whatever else comes my way will be a bonus.”

His team-mate Aoyama said, “The rain really spoilt it for me because Sepang is a new track for me and I needed to complete as many laps as possible. I was sure I could have been faster than yesterday.”

Andrea Dovizioso (Team Scot Honda RS125R) continued his domination of the 125cc class with another pole – his sixth of the season so far. Hector Barbera (Aprilia) lines up alongside the title chase leader in second, with Casey Stoner (KTM) in third and Marco Simoncelli fourth fastest.

Dovizioso’s pole time of 2m 12.684 seconds makes him the only man to broach the sub-2m 13 second barrier. The genial Italian was fastest in yesterday’s provisional timed session and no one could topple him today either.

Dovi’s title rival Barbera is 0.892 seconds shy of the pole time. And in any class, least of all the ultra-tight 125cc category, this represents a massive gap in pace to take into tomorrow’s 19-lap race.

Stoner is more than a second off Dovi’s time and if the race remotely follows the qualifying pattern, the field will be hard-pressed to prevent Dovi from romping into the distance to sew up the title here.

Simone Corsi (Team Scot Honda RS125R) qualified 14th, 2.3 seconds down on his team-mate Dovi, while Julian Simon (Angaia Racing Honda RS125R) managed 15th on the grid on row four.

“I didn’t expect this weekend to start so easily,” said Dovi. “My best result here so far was 12th, but everything has been easy so far. I feel confident on the bike and the ideal race for me would be to pass Locatelli, Barbera and Lorenzo on the last corner of the last lap to win.”

HONDA TEAM QUOTES:

MotoGP:

Alex Barros, Repsol Honda Team, 2nd: “We played it pretty tactical in that session. We used a qualifier early to put in a good time and then we work on race set-up. We all seem to have grip problems here – normally this is not at issue at Sepang but this weekend it is terrible! The race will be very tough. It’ll be really hard on the tyres towards the end of the race; both the front and the rear. I just hope to make a good start and keep out of trouble and try and fight for the victory.”

Sete Gibernau, Telefonica MoviStar Honda: 4th: “Today, unlike yesterday, we weren’t able to get the best out of the qualifying tyres but I am happy because wehave improved in terms of race pace. Obviously I would have prepared to start on the front row, but I wouldn’t swap that for the progress I have made. We’ll keep working in the warm-up tomorrow to see if we can improve th! e pace even further and have a good race”.

Makoto Tamada, Camel Honda (Bridgestone tyres): 5th: “Traffic, a lot of traffic. When I went out for my fast lap to confirm the provisional pole I came up behind two slow riders and I lost the chance. We can now choose harder tyres and still be competitive on endurance and I’m satisfied with this and with the data we have collected from them. Rossi has picked up his rhythm from the off this morning, but now we just need to see if he and the others are capable of keeping it up throughout the race. In tomorrow’s warm-up I will try some more little things and then I will be able to say that I’m ready to go.”

Giulio Bernardelle, Camel Honda, (Makoto Tamada Technical Director) : “We continued to work hard, choosing a harder rear tyre to try and improve the endurance, and we picked an ideal set-up for these tyres. We got the consistency of performance that we were looking for, but we’re not sure how it compares to the rest yet, because lots of riders upped the tempo this afternoon. Now it just remains to be seen how many riders will be able to maintain the rhythm throughout the whole race. We’re confident and it’s a similar situation to Motegi, where we prevailed in the race.”

Nicky Hayden, Repsol Honda Team, 6th: “The whole day was a lot better than yesterday. The team has done a great job with the Showa guys. We tried a whole load of stuff on the bike and it all feels a lot better. I’m feeling so much more confident than yesterday. The conditions are so different here than they were back in February for the tests. Unbelievable. Anyhow – we made a big step forward today – we really need another big step tomorrow. It’s so close out there. Other than Rossi the times are real close; you just have to squeeze everything out of the qualifiers. Pretty excited about the race tomorrow.”

Max Biaggi, Camel Honda (Michelin tyres), 7th : “Things went better today, more than anything we made steps forward compared to yesterday, but what is annoying me most is that we can’t get to the level of performance we showed in pre-season here, from which we have data on the computer. Starting from this base, and with all the experience I have at this circuit, I hoped for a very different result. As soon as I got my wheels on the track yesterday I realised that the bike was giving me different sensations, above all in braking, where it’s really hard work. With the qualifying tyres I only improved by two tenths, which isn’t normal either. I don’t think I will make any substantial changes though, the set-up is decided and the race tyres too.”

Sito Pons, Camel Honda (Team Principal) : “The rhythm that both our riders have shown means that we can be optimistic for the race. It will undoubtedly be a tough race and the tyre choice will be crucial. We expect it to be hot and consistency throughout will be the key. It depends on who is able to keep a high rhythm like the one we saw today. Our work isn’t over, and in the warm-up we will be looking for the finishing touches to be as competitive as possible.”

Colin Edwards, Telefonica MoviStar Honda, 12th: “The bike has improved from yesterday but not enough to move me much further forward on the grid. Tomorrow we will need to find something in the warm-up which will allow me to set a quicker and more consistent pace, although I know it will be tough starting from the fourth row”.

Fausto Gresini (team manager): Today we have worked well thinking about therace and we can be happy with Sete’s result, although there are a couple of details still to refine. Sete will start from the second row and it will be a tough race because of the heat. The weather forecast for tomorrow in fact is 33° with 60% of humidity. I hope that it won''t rain in the afternoon as it is foreseen for tomorrow.''

250cc:

Daniel Pedrosa, Telefonica MoviStar Honda: 2nd: “The official session was a little strange because we spent the majority of the time in the pit box. Intermittent rain spoilt the session because it was really difficult to put a rhythm together. In any case the session was positive, if a little short, and I’m sure that with one more lap I could have improved my time from yesterday. I think we’re ready for the race but we’ll have to see what happens with the weather. Obviously I have good memories of last year at Sepang, but my only objective is to get a good result and whatever comes from that will be a welcome bonus”.

Toni Elías, Fortuna Honda: 5th: “It wasn’t a successful session for us today because we weren’t able to do anything. I think it was more than possible to lower my lap time, but I lost some important time when I came in to change the tyre and it was impossible. Even so I am happy because we improved the set-up this morning and the problem we had has virtually gone. “Tomorrow it will be important to get a good start and try and get on the podium again. It will be a very hard race because the tyres will be decisive as far as the general set-up of the bike is concerned and that is where the difference will be”.

Hiroshi Aoyama, Telefonica MoviStar Honda:6th: “The rain really spoilt it for me because Sepang is a new circuit and I needed to complete as many laps as possible. Also, I was sure I could improve on my fastest lap from yesterday. In the afternoon we were able to gather a little bit of data but I’ll have to wait for the warm-up tomorrow before deciding on the set-up of the bike.

Alberto Puig: (team manager): “The weather really affected the session, especially for Hiro because he needed to gather as much information as possible. As far as Dani is concerned, we did a great job in the morning free practice which without doubt will help us for tomorrow’s race. I think they are both ready, we’ll see what the weather’s like tomorrow”.

Roberto Rolfo (10th): “I am pretty happy with the feeling of the bike on the front end, which has given me a lot of headaches this year. The position is not good and is not where I want to be but if I get a good start I can be in the front group. “This morning we managed to improve the traction even more but we have to keep working on that tomorrow, so hopefully it will stay dry for the warm-up and the race because the weather was strange today. There were a couple of damp patches where you didn’t really understand what the grip was.”

Alex Debon, Wurth Honda BQR, 11th: “Today was not so bad for us, the weather was difficult for all riders but I took 11th place. The bike is really good, the engine is OK top speed not so bad. I think it’s possible for me to have a good are tomorrow. We will run hard compound tyres front and rear in the race but it will be hard work against the factory bikes at this track.”

David de Gea replacement rider for Eric Bataille, Wurth Honda BQR, 22nd: “I am not so very happy with that qualifying session, I came in early and many, many riders set better times. Obviously I would have preferred to start in the top 15 but I found it difficult to push hard from the start of qualifying. ”

125cc:

Andrea Dovizioso, Scot Honda, 1st: “I didn’t expect this weekend to start so well, my best result here before was a 12 place. Everything has come easy for us this time, I feel comfortable on the bike and very confident. I want to win the race tomorrow. I’m a 125cc rider I have to show my potential in every race. I want to win tomorrow and show I deserve to take the title. The ideal way to take the title would be to pass Locatelli, Barbera and Lorenzo on the last corner to win it.”

Simone Corsi, Kopron Scot Honda, 14th: “We made a big step forward in the last session. The long corners were giving me problems because I just could not hold my line. We kicked the front end out a bit to make it better. It’s a compromise but the lap times are better. Same with the gearbox, one corner it’s too short, another too long so we are now somewhere in the middle. In the warm up we have to check tyre performance, everything depends on the temperature of the track..”

Julian Simon, Angaia Honda, 15th: “I had a front tyre problem in that session. When I got going the engine was good but not enough power against the factory bikes on this circuit. I will need to get a good start if I am going to do well in the race.”

Thomas Luthi, Elit Honda, 19th: “We are using an older version frame today and every time I took the bike out I was more confident. Yesterday I was always in the wrong place on the track at the wrong time and today was not much better. Today I just could not find anyone to run with until the end when Corsi caught me and we were faster. Corsi got 14th with me in 19th place. The bike is good and we just have to see what the weather will be like before making a tyre choice.”

Lukas Pesek, Ajo Motorsport Honda, 20th: “We received some new parts in time for this race but they we did not have the time to get them to work like they should, I did nothing out there. Today we went back to what we know and I improved a bit. The bike was very good at the beginning of the session but power dropped off a little when it was really hot. We have still to decide which tyres to race with. The soft one is too soft and the hard one maybe just little too hard. We will decide in the warm up. ”

Dario Giuseppetti, Elit Honda, 26th: “This is the second time I have been to his track, it’s not so bad. I am racing with Tom’s (Luthi) frame here because he changed to his old one. I think it’s better for my style. This one I can chuck it into the corner later than my old one, I can be more aggressive with it that suits my style. In the qualifying session I set a good time on the third but after that I didn’t get hooked up with a fast rider so I’m back in 26th place. ”

Raymond Schouten, Molenaar Honda, 33rd: “We have a problem with top end power something that we have had to live with at a couple of races this year. I also sufered from rear end chattering all weekend and the combination of the two things kept me from setting a better time.”

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