Dutch TT - Round 7 - MotoGP
Assen - Friday 24th June 2005 - Qualifying

Camel Honda duo prepared for a race on the attack

Brazilian Camel Honda rider Alex Barros will tomorrow start from the third row
of the grid in what promises to be a hard battle. Eighth fastest for Alex
doesn't really reflect the potential he showed in the free sessions over these
first two days in Holland. Alex has constantly ridden at a high pace so far, and
he is confident before tomorrow's race. He will need a good start however and a
good first lap, in order to pick up positions with a fast early pace expected.
The weather needs to remain favourable however, with heavy showers forecast for
tomorrow. Fourteenth position and the fifth row for Troy Bayliss whose aim has
been to get a good feeling for the 'reformed' Assen track. Troy has already been
a winner here in the past and tomorrow's race will require a big fightback from
him where he will need all his usual grit and determination.

Sito Pons - Camel Honda

"The third row isn't the ideal starting position, but you can still get a decent
start. All the riders on the front row have a similar pace, so I think Alex has
a decent chance in this race. Then there's the unknown rain factor. The forecast
isn't a good one, and if it did rain tomorrow all the hard work we have done
will effectively be in vain and the warm-up will become crucial to prepare the
bike for the race. If the conditions are good however, we'll still use the time
to fine-tune the set-up. As regards Troy, his qualifying went pretty much as in
Barcelona, and considering the race he had there after a bad start, if he can
get away well at the start he could have a good race."

Alex Barros - Camel Honda -  2'00.232 - 8th fastest

"The practices went quite well, today we got through a lot of work. The heat
here in Holland is quite unusual and so the tyres are really suffering,
especially the rear where we had a bit of a crisis today. Furthermore this type
of track requires quite a hard spring setting with all the changes of direction
right and left, and that conditions performance somewhat. We have worked hard on
this issue, and now we have our ideas a little clearer as regards tyre choice
for the race. The bike isn't perfect yet, but our rhythm isn't too bad. As for
the chance of rain, we'll see what actually happens, because it's more probable
that it rains in the morning rather than during the race."

Troy Bayliss - Camel Honda -  2'01.216 - 14th fastest

"The qualifier went more or less like in the last races so tomorrow we'll have a
lot of hard work on our hands. I gave everything I have, but the others were
going so strongly. Obviously there's still something missing, even though I'm
riding at 100%. It's not an easy situation, but tomorrow I will try and get a
good start and battle on to the end."