United States Grand Prix
Laguna Seca, USA
Saturday 9th July

ROSSI STORMS ONTO FRONT ROW AT LAGUNA SECA

Yamaha Factory Racing riders Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards will start from
the first and second rows respectively in the eighth round of the MotoGP World
Championship, after finishing second and fifth fastest in today's sell-out
qualifying session at Laguna Seca. After lapping fifth and sixth quickest in the
morning free practice, both riders were consistently on the pace in the
afternoon heat and are confident of their chances in tomorrow's Grand Prix, the
first to be held on U.S. soil since 1994.

Riding at the Californian circuit for the first time, Rossi produced a stunning
lap to gatecrash the top three at the end of the session and out-qualify ten
riders with previous race experience at this circuit. The only man capable of
lapping faster than Rossi today was local rider Nicky Hayden (Honda), who took
his first ever MotoGP pole position with a time of 1'22.670. Edwards rode
equally hard for a top grid position in front of passionate home support and is
now targeting a second consecutive podium finish following his third-place in
Assen two weeks ago.

VALENTINO ROSSI (2nd; 1'23.024 - 31 laps)

"It was very important to make a good lap time today and to be on the front row
and second place is very good. The team have worked so hard and there was a big
difference in the bike between yesterday and today. This track is very
particular compared to any other circuit in the world so the settings have to be
very particular too. Now I have started to understand the track and I was able
to do a fast lap, but I think I will discover some more secrets in the warm-up.
It's always difficult to win races in MotoGP but this time it's even worse
because there are more riders than usual with a chance of victory - Hayden is
very fast, also Bayliss and Colin. The Americans have an extra motivation but we
all want to win and that is what I am here for. We have a good position on the
grid, now we need to improve the setting some more and choose the tyres. We'll
see what happens at the end of the race."

COLIN EDWARDS (5th; 1'23.469 - 28 laps)

"It took a big effort to set that lap and I'm actually quite lucky to be on the
second row because we made a small mistake with the front tyre choice at the end
of the session. Anyway, the important thing is that we're on the second row and
I've got a decent race pace. Nicky did a few laps in the 1'23 mark today, which
looks to be the benchmark, and it will be tough to go with that but I'm
confident we can do it. Laguna is a funny track and you never quite know what to
expect on race day because a lot of things can happen, so we'll just concentrate
on the job at hand and go for it. The support here has been amazing all weekend
and I can't imagine what the atmosphere will be like tomorrow. Hopefully we can
give them all something to shout about."

DAVIDE BRIVIO - YAMAHA FACTORY RACING TEAM DIRECTOR

"Valentino did a very good lap at the end and he has an excellent position to
start the race, which is important at this circuit. Colin is also in good shape
because he managed to keep a good pace. At the end he qualified on the second
row so I think both Colin and Vale have a chance to stay with the top group in
the race, although they will be 32 hard laps. It will be a big emotion to see
our riders in the yellow and black colours for Yamaha's 50th Anniversary and I'm
sure our riders will try their best to help us celebrate."

FRONT ROW:

 1. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda Team,        1'22.670
 2. VALENTINO ROSSI (ITA) Yamaha Factory Racing  1'23.024
 3. Alex Barros (BRA) Camel Honda,               1'23.312 

SECOND ROW:

 4. Troy Bayliss (AUS) Ducati Marlboro Team      1'23.358
 5. Colin Edwards (USA) Yamaha Factory Racing    1'23.469
 6. John Hopkins (USA) Red Bull Suzuki           1'23.493
 
THIRD ROW:

 7. Max Biaggi (ITA) Repsol Honda                1'23.596
 8. Carlos Checa (SPA) Ducati Marlboro Team      1'23.597
 9. Makoto Tamada (JAP) Konica Minolta Honda     1'23.750