2004 WORLD CHAMP ON FINAL PROVISIONAL FRONT ROW
29 October 2004 - Yamaha Racing

Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha riders Valentino Rossi and Carlos Checa spent today''s first day of qualifying at the tight and twisty Valencia track in pursuit of a perfect set-up.

Rossi finished his day third fastest, and Checa 11th. Rossi, the newly-crowned MotoGP World Champion set a fastest lap time of 1''33.531, which puts him on the provisional front row, while Checa''s 1''34.500 sees him onto the fourth row. Sete Gibernau (Honda, 1''33.531) was the fastest qualifier, followed by Makoto Tamada (Honda, 1''33.534), on what was a generally slower dry session than many expected, thanks to blustery winds and low track temperatures.

Rossi went to the top of the leader board after just five minutes of today''s qualifying hour, displacing Checa as he did so. Only in the last five minutes of the session did Ducati rider Troy Bayliss hijack Rossi''s lead, albeit temporarily, with first Rossi and finally Gibernau then bettering his time. Tamada, almost the last man on the track, nudged ahead of Rossi in the final seconds; with most other riders already back in pitlane.

Checa, who will race as a Yamaha rider for the final time on Sunday after six years in the Yamaha Factory Team, worked through set-up and tyre options during the session, but gradually dropped down the order. He ended the hour 11th fastest, unable to improve his pace due to a lack of confidence in the front-end.

The Fortuna Gauloises Tech3 pairing of Norick Abe and Marco Melandri set to work today in what was a difficult session with Norick eventually qualifying with a provisional 1''35.072 to be 15th, while Marco found himself 17th on the grid after producing a 1''35.374. Norick, who was seventh fastest in the morning free training session, felt instantly at home on his YZR M-1 today. But the Japanese man couldn''t capitalise on the performance advantage of his qualifying tyres in the final stages of the session.

Marco was dogged by front-end chatter and the young Italian was wise to take things steady, at least until his crew can dial out the problem overnight and enable him to get the best from his machine.

Valentino Rossi (Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha) third - 1''33.795
''The bike wasn''t so much fun to ride today, it''s too cold and when I was accelerating the bike was difficult to control. There was an annoying wind on the track and the bike felt a bit nervous because of it. Now we will look at the data and try to find somewhere to improve our set-up. We are third so that''s not so bad. We did start to reduce the problems this afternoon and the bike felt a bit stronger, and my motivation is still high. Our objective is now to do our maximum to be ready for Sunday''s battle.''

Carlos Checa (Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha) 11th - 1''34.500
''I''m having some troubles and we didn''t expect to have the problems we have under braking. I cannot go into the corner with the confidence or the grip I would like to have from the front, and that''s pretty scary. Especially when you get on the gas and the front is still light. Qualifiers make this problem worse, but we will work hard to improve tomorrow.''

Davide Brivio, Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha team director
''This last race of the year feels quite strange because we have just won the title and this is the last race for Carlos with Yamaha. Even with those things, we are approaching it as a normal weekend and we have been working through the standard first day problems. Both riders have some small problems, and they just need to be smoothed out. Valentino is close to the lead even if the pace seems to be slower than before. I think that is because of the lower track temperatures. Carlos is struggling a little but it is Friday, so we have time to improve.''

Norick Abe (Fortuna Gauloises Tech3) 15th - 1''35.072 ''Everything felt good on race tyres but I got baulked by Biaggi on my first set of qualifying tyres and then I ran out of time to use the second set. My position at the moment''s a bit of a disappointment because the bike feels good here. I''ve got to make the most of tomorrow.''

Marco Melandri (Fortuna Gauloises Tech3) 17th - 1''35.374
''I couldn''t make the best of my qualifying tyres because I got caught up in traffic. There''s a bit of chatter at the front and we couldn''t eliminate it in this session. I can''t push until the bike feels right and we''ll have to work our way to a solution tomorrow.''

Hervé Poncharal, Fortuna Gauloises Tech3 team director
''It''s only Friday. It should stay dry tomorrow and both riders will be able to improve. Norick was seventh this morning and it''s good to see him at the front of the order. It''s a shame he couldn''t make the most of his qualifying tyres. Marco''s a bit far down at the moment and he''s losing ground in T1, but he''s really quick in T2, 3 and 4. We know we have much more potential than we''ve shown so far. This track suits the Yamahas and there''s more to come from us.''

Round: 16 - Valencia Grand Prix
Circuit: Valencia
Circuit Length: 4005
Lap Record: 1'' 33.317 (Valentino Rossi, 2003)
Fastest Lap Ever: 1'' 32.478 (Valentino Rossi, 2003)
Date: 29 October 2004
Temp: 19ºC

Session 1 :
Pos. Rider Manufacturer Nat. 1st Qualifying
1 S. Gibernau Honda ESP 1'' 33.531
2 M. Tamada Honda JPN 1'' 33.534
3 V. Rossi Yamaha ITA 1'' 33.795
4 T. Bayliss Ducati AUS 1'' 34.102
5 M. Biaggi Honda ITA 1'' 34.299
6 L. Capirossi Ducati ITA 1'' 34.324
7 C. Edwards Honda USA 1'' 34.394
8 J. Hopkins Suzuki USA 1'' 34.420
9 S. Nakano Kawasaki JPN 1'' 34.475
10 C. Checa Yamaha ESP 1'' 34.500
11 A. Barros Honda BRA 1'' 34.500
12 A. Hofman Kawasaki GER 1'' 34.599
13 R. Xaus Ducati ESP 1'' 34.881
14 N. Hayden Honda USA 1'' 34.938
15 N. Abe Yamaha JPN 1'' 35.072
17 M. Melandri Yamaha ITA 1'' 35.374

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