YRC News
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MotoGP : Rossi and Edwards seal top four starts in Qatar
Round: 14 - Qatar MotoGP
Circuit: Losail Circuit
Date: 30 September 2005
Temp: 34ēC
Weather: Dry
Gauloises Yamaha Team riders Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards will both start
from the right end of the MotoGP grid at the Losail International Circuit on
Saturday after setting the third and fourth fastest times respectively in this
afternoon's single qualifying practice for the Grand Prix of Qatar. Rossi
secured his first front row start in five races after lapping almost 1.7 seconds
inside the previous pole record time here, his best lap falling just short of
the pole time of 1'56.917 set by Loris Capirossi (Ducati), who will start from
the front of the grid for the third successive race.
Edwards ended up just 0.087 seconds behind his team-mate after honing his race
pace in the morning before spending several lengthy spells at the top of the
time sheets in the afternoon as he concentrated on a fast qualifying time. The
American starts from the front of the second row in fourth place, his best grid
position since qualifying second fastest at the fourth round of the season at Le
Mans, as he looks to improve on second place at this Grand Prix last season by
taking his first MotoGP victory in tomorrow's race.
Valentino Rossi (Gauloises Yamaha Team), 3rd - 1'57.360
"We are not at 100% but anyway it is okay and we are on the front row so that is
important. The grip is much better than last year and now it seems the track is
more normal. In these conditions it is possible to push the bike to the limit,
so hopefully it stays like this for tomorrow's race and for sure it will be a
good show for everybody. My bike is also working much better than in recent
races, we have found better grip on the front and the rear. We still need to
make some small modifications before the race and then we will see how it goes.
Now the championship is decided so I am riding without any pressure, but of
course I still want to win every race before the end of the season."
Colin Edwards (Gauloises Yamaha Team), 4th - 1'57.447
"This weekend everything just seems to work! Everything has been clear-cut on
how to make the bike work better and we've done just that. We've been struggling
a bit for grip lately but here it's great and everything seems easy! This
morning we did all of our work, the race tyre stuff, and this afternoon just
went out there and concentrated on putting a fast lap time in. I think I did
four or five laps on a race tyre at the beginning and then after that we just
put the soft tyres in and went for it. I should have won the race here last year
and right now I feel the same - we can win it. We are going to go out there with
a good attitude, everybody's been working really good on the team so it would be
a nice payback to get the victory."
Davide Brivio - Gauloises Yamaha Team director
"We are more back to normal this weekend, with Valentino and Colin both at the
top. At this track we are not facing as many problems as we did at Motegi and
Sepang and I think tomorrow there is every possibility of a good race from both
riders. The team has done a good job during the weekend. More or less the
setting has been good from the beginning so we have been able to spend a lot of
time testing tyres and preparing for the race. Still I think Valentino is not
perfect yet but we have good positions on the grid and I think both riders can
stick with the top pace so let's see what happens."
Toni Elias (Fortuna Yamaha Team), 9th - 1'57.902
"The best thing would have been to maintain my second place from yesterday, even
though we knew that this would be very difficult, so I am not as happy as
yesterday. I always seem to struggle a little bit on qualifying tyres. It's
obvious we have improved in relation to the other GP's and I think we have a
good set-up for the race. For tomorrow, the only tactic is to make a good start
and try to lap with the eight riders who will be at the front. I want to finish
a good weekend with a good result to make up for the disappointment in Malaysia."
Ruben Xaus (Fortuna Yamaha Team), 16th - 1'59.482
"Last year I was lapping very fast here but it has been a lot harder this time
around. We are improving little by little and, although we did not get the big
improvement we wanted, we are heading in the right direction. In the afternoon I
found it difficult to match my time in the third free session. Tomorrow in the
warm-up we will try to have the best set-up for the race."
Round: 14 - Qatar MotoGP
Circuit: Losail Circuit
Circuit Length: 5380m
Lap Record: 1' 59.293 (Colin Edwards, 2004)
Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 56.917 (Loris Capirossi, 2005)
Date: 30 September 2005
Temp: 34ēC
Session 1 :
Pos.Rider Manufacturer Nat. 1st Qualifying
1 L. Capirossi Ducati ITA 1'56.917
2 S. Gibernau Honda ESP 1'56.994
3 V. Rossi Yamaha ITA 1'57.360
4 C. Edwards Yamaha USA 1'57.447
5 M. Melandri Honda ITA 1'57.468
6 C. Checa Ducati ESP 1'57.481
7 S. Nakano Kawasaki JPN 1'57.697
8 N. Hayden Honda USA 1'57.872
9 T. Elias Yamaha ESP 1'57.902
10 M. Tamada Honda JPN 1'58.317
11 K. Roberts Suzuki USA 1'58.329
12 J. Hopkins Suzuki USA 1'58.527
13 M. Biaggi Honda ITA 1'58.622
14 A. Barros Honda BRA 1'59.084
15 R. Rolfo Ducati ITA 1'59.392
16 R. Xaus Yamaha ESP 1'59.482
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