Chinese GP - Round 3 - MotoGP
Shanghai -  Saturday 30th April 2005 - Official Practice

Changeable weather affects MotoGP qualifying

The rain, or rather the lack of, rendered the MotoGP official practice a real
lottery, as both Alex Barros and Troy Bayliss will be forced to get a good start
in tomorrow's race in order to make the most of the good rhythm they have found
over the two practice days. Around half an hour into the session the first drops
of rain began to drop onto the track, and the marshals brought out the white
flag with a red cross on to signal a damp surface. Several riders, the Camel
Honda duo included, decided to make the most of the qualifying tyres straight
away in order to cleverly avoid being caught out. However this weekend's
inclement weather had the last laugh as the sun decided to make an appearance,
favouring those who were able to make the most of their soft set of tyres at the
end of the session when the track was drier, warmer and subsequently quicker.

Sito Pons - Camel Honda

"I think the race will be really unpredictable tomorrow because nothing has been
certain this weekend, no-one has been obviously quicker and at a higher pace.
Our riders clearly need a good start tomorrow whether it is a dry race or not
because they have the pace to do a good race, but I think that the most
important thing is to think about the championship and try to keep our position
in it or even improve it if possible."

Alex Barros - Camel Honda -   2'01.117 - 11th fastest

"The weather has been really changeable all weekend and even today it began to
rain halfway through the session.  So I put on the first of my soft tyres and
then the second straight after, and I improved half a second, but obviously not
enough to beat those who used them at the end. It's a bit annoying after the
weekend we've had, because by the end of the session I was riding as quick with
the race tyres as with the qualifiers. I'm now on the fourth row when I could
have been in fifth or sixth place for sure. However with the weather so unstable
as this it's not easy to work. If it is dry tomorrow I should be able to ride in
the low 2'01s or even less, but choosing the race tyre won't be easy because we
have tried a few things but nothing has been able to make the endurance. If it
rains meanwhile, it will be much easier because you know what tyres you will
use, and that's that."

Troy Bayliss - Camel Honda -  2'01.328 - 12th fastest

"We could have gone a little better than we did, but the conditions were so
variable all weekend. I've no idea what it will be like tomorrow, perhaps we can
decide in the warm-up and try a few things, but we have to wait and see, the
race could be wet or dry, you just can't say. I will be hoping to have a good
race though, and will try to get the best result out of this as possible."