Press Release
(2005 FIM Road Racing World Championship)
YRC News
MotoGP : Gauloises Yamaha pair seal top five starts at Phillip Island

Round: 15 - Phillip Island MotoGP
Circuit: Phillip Island
Date: 15 October 2005
Temp: 17ēC
Weather: Dry

Gauloises Yamaha riders Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards both lapped inside the
previous pole record time at Phillip Island today in a highly competitive battle
for grid positions ahead of tomorrow's Australian Grand Prix. Rossi shaved
almost six tenths off the record time he set here two years ago to secure a
front row start in second place behind pole setter Nicky Hayden (Honda).
Team-mate Edwards was in equally impressive form, knocking almost two seconds
off hisbest effort from yesterday as he became one of only five riders to dip
under the 1'30 mark at the legendary track.

After tussling with Carlos Checa (Ducati) at the top of the time sheets for the
majority of the session, Rossi launched his attack for pole in the final few
minutes but was held up by another rider in the final two corners of his fastest
lap. The Italian chose not to finish the lap and came in to switch to a fresh
tyre for one last attempt, which didn't quite match the pace of his first and
fell 0.106 seconds short of Hayden's record-breaking effort of 1'29.337. Edwards
improved as the session progressed, ironing out some set-up difficulties with
the YZR-M1 before clocking his personal best time at this circuit and sealing a
second row start in fifth place.

Valentino Rossi (Gauloises Yamaha Team), 2nd - 1'29.443

"I was quite confident for pole position because the team have done a great job
with the bike this weekend and it worked well from yesterday. I lost my best
opportunity to take pole when I was held up by Xaus in the final corner; I tried
to overtake him but I wasn't able to so I came in and tried again with another
tyre. Anyway, sometimes that happens. I tried my best and my lap time was very
fast but in the end Nicky was faster so congratulations to him - it was a great
ride. I am quite happy because the bike is good and second place is not so bad.
It will be a hard race, especially for the tyres, but hopefully the good weather
will continue tomorrow!" 

Colin Edwards (Gauloises Yamaha Team), 5th - 1'29.943

"When you look back to yesterday the situation today is miles better. It looked
like we were going to have a rough weekend but the team have worked really hard
and we've worked the majority of the problems out. The truth is that we've still
got room for improvement but if we can make progress in tomorrow's warm-up in
the same way we moved forward today then we should be in even better shape for
the race. I must admit that I'm a little relieved because it's a big race for me
and after the first couple of practice sessions I wasn't too confident. Now I'm
looking forward to tomorrow and hopefully I can put on a good show for the
family, friends and fans who have come down here to support me."

Davide Brivio - Gauloises Yamaha Team director

"There was a lot of traffic on the track today and a lot of riders trying to
follow Valentino to set a good time. The penultimate tyre he used was probably
the best, but he got held up by Xaus and he was very sensible to come in and
take a fresh tyre for another attempt. Anyway, even without the pole position
Valentino has shown himself to be very strong today and he has a good race pace.
Colin has also taken some big steps forward since yesterday, so we are confident
both our riders can have a good day tomorrow. We have already won the Riders'
and Teams' titles and we hope we can complete the trio with the Manufacturers'
championship tomorrow."

Unfortunately the quotes from Toni Elias and Ruben Xaus are delayed. They will
be added to the website as soon as possible.

Round: 15 - Phillip Island MotoGP

Circuit: Phillip Island
Circuit Length: 4448m
Lap Record: 1' 31.102 (Loris Capirossi, 2004)
Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 29.337 (Nicky Hayden, 2005)
Date: 15 October 2005
Temp: 17ēC

Session 1 :

Pos.Rider         Manufacturer  Nat.  1st Qualifying
 1  N. Hayden     Honda         USA   1'29.337
 2  V. Rossi      Yamaha        ITA   1'29.443
 3  S. Gibernau   Honda         ESP   1'29.729
 4  C. Checa      Ducati        ESP   1'29.775
 5  C. Edwards    Yamaha        USA   1'29.943
 6  M. Biaggi     Honda         ITA   1'30.070
 7  T. Elias      Yamaha        ESP   1'30.094
 8  M. Melandri   Honda         ITA   1'30.322
 9  M. Tamada     Honda         JPN   1'30.624
10  S. Nakano     Kawasaki      JPN   1'30.628
11  J. Hopkins    Suzuki        USA   1'30.667
12  A. Barros     Honda         BRA   1'30.757
13  O. Jacque     Kawasaki      FRA   1'31.079
14  C. Vermeulen  Honda         AUS   1'31.654
15  R. Xaus       Yamaha        ESP   1'31.728
16  R. Rolfo      Ducati        ITA   1'33.495
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