French GP - Round 4 - MotoGP
Le Mans - Saturday 14th May 2005 - Qualifying practice

Unlucky qualifying for Camel Honda, but Alex has good race pace

After having done three great free practice sessions, and having shown a similar
pace to the lead group no matter the conditions, Alex Barros had little luck
when it came down qualifying on Saturday afternoon. He was unable to make the
most of the qualifying tyres (in the 15 dry minutes yesterday and on race tyres
he was only 0.297 seconds slower) and with the eleventh quickest time he will
need a good start tomorrow when the lights go out. The lack of time on a dry
track didn't help Troy Bayliss either, as he looked to improve the set-up of his
RC211V. Tomorrow morning the Australian will aim to make the most of the warm-up
to try a few modifications to the settings so he can express his characteristic
aggressive style during the race itself.

Sito Pons - Camel Honda

"Alex is only missing that crucial fast lap this weekend, but his rhythm is up
there with the best. Certainly today's time is a handicap because he will have
to start from some way down the order, but he's got the pace. Tomorrow in the
warm-up we will make a few slight adjustments to improve his set-up, but he has
both the chance and the capability of fighting for the podium. Troy is perhaps
in a little more difficulty, we need to work hard and try and get him more
comfortable behind the handlebars of the RCV. It's obvious that we're not
getting all the potential out of him that we should be, and we have to try and
do everything we can to improve his confidence."

Alex Barros - Camel Honda -  1'33.876  - 11th fastest

"So many problems today, it's a shame. At the beginning of qualifying, when I
was riding with the race tyres, the front tucked on me in the first turn and so
logically I was a little more prudent after that. The track was colder than
yesterday and there was less grip. The thing that we are most affected by though
for tomorrow's race is being unable to make the most of the qualifying tyres.
That's really disappointing for me because if you're aiming for victory you
can't start that far back. From the fourth row I would need a great start and
also a superb first lap, because you have to be there to try and make up ground
on the front guys as they try to clear off. Anyway, we'll see what happens
tomorrow what type of race it's going to be, dry or wet, the conditions can
change very quickly here."

Troy Bayliss - Camel Honda -  1'35.231 - 15th fastest

"I honestly expected something better today. Not great things, but certainly a
bigger step forward. Perhaps I lost a bit of confidence after the crash in
Shanghai in the rain and after that highside in Estoril during practice. I don't
really feel at ease in the saddle, and I need to get a good result to get a bit
of confidence back. So we'll see what happens in the warm-up tomorrow, see if we
can manage to improve a few things, and then we hope to have a good race."