YRC News
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MotoGP : Rossi takes first pole of 2005 in sizzling style
Round: 1 - Jerez MotoGP
Circuit: Jerez
Date: 9 April 2005
Temp: 20ēC
Weather: Windy
Gauloises Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi and his YZR-M1 machine will start
from pole position at the opening round of the 2005 MotoGP World Championship
after a breathtaking performance in this afternoon's single session qualifier
for the Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez. Rossi smashed his own pole position record
from last season by almost 1.5 seconds as he stormed to a time of 1'39.419,
holding off the challenge of closest rival Sete Gibernau (Honda, 1'39.915) by a
comfortable 0.496 seconds.
Colin Edwards (1'41.176) was left with contrasting fortunes to his Gauloises
Yamaha team-mate, struggling to convert his pre-season pace to a qualifying lap
and lining up 15th on the grid. Edwards has shown good consistency all weekend
but suffered from grip problems with the front-end of his YZR-M1 machine when
using Michelin's excellent rear qualifier and now faces a fight through the pack
when Sunday's race gets underway at 2pm local time.
Young MotoGP Rookie Toni Elias enjoyed his first official qualifying session
with a consistent performance which saw him top the time sheets in the early
stages, eventually finishing the one hour session with a 1'41.029 for 13th
fastest. He placed the Fortuna Yamaha YZR-M1 ahead of Kenny Roberts (Suzuki,
1'41.058) and Edwards.
Rossi and Gibernau are joined on the front row of the grid by Marco Melandri
(Honda, 1'40.179), who posted his best time on the final lap to relegate Nicky
Hayden (Honda, 1'40.465) to the second row alongside Shinya Nakano (Kawasaki,
1'40.542) and Loris Capirossi (Ducati, 1'40.648).
Valentino Rossi (Gauloises Yamaha Team) - 1st, 1'39.419
"My fast lap was incredible! Michelin made a great job with the qualifying tyres
- my first one was good but the second was even better. There is a big question
mark over the tyre choice for the race tomorrow because after a few laps they
start to slide a lot, but it's the same situation for everyone. Now we're just
looking for good weather tomorrow and hopefully it will be a beautiful race."
Colin Edwards (Gauloises Yamaha Team) - 15th, 1'41.176
"I was really confident that I would be able to lap in the mid-1'40 mark but it
just didn't happen today. The basic problem is that the rear qualifying tyre has
so much grip that it pushes a lot of load on to the front and it keeps tucking
under. I was losing the front all over the place and we just couldn't come up
with an answer in time. The good thing is that on race tyres I'm not having this
problem and my pace is pretty good. I've been in the mid-41s fairly consistently
and if I can grit my teeth together and squeeze a couple more tenths out then I
should be enough to stay with the front group. The hardest thing will be to make
sure I don't get blocked in so I'll be going out there to pass as many riders as
I can from the first corner."
Davide Brivio, Gauloises Yamaha Team Director
"Valentino did an incredible lap and for a few minutes afterwards the garage was
in shocked silence! Michelin have made a big step forward with the qualifying
tyre and it allowed Valentino to exploit his full potential. But this is only
pole position and our focus now is on the race. It will be a different matter
altogether because tyre durability could become a major issue. Colin will start
with a disadvantage because of his grid position but he has shown this weekend
that he has good pace and I am looking forward to seeing him improve his
position in the race. We'll see what happens tomorrow but I'm confident that
both our riders will be competitive."
Toni Elias (Fortuna Yamaha Team) - 13th, 1'41.029
"I'm quite happy with today. In the tests we were improving all the time and it
all came together in that session. I'm very comfortable with the bike in race
trim, but I need more time to get used to pushing hard on the softer tyres when
it counts in qualifying. I'm very happy with the time, just not the position,
but I need to remind myself that I am still learning. It's important to be there
and learn from these fast guys tomorrow."
Ruben Xaus (Fortuna Yamaha Team) - 17th, 1'42.286
"We need to improve, but we need to do this progressively. It's getting tough
out there, especially with the pressure of qualifying, but we are making
progress step by step. I've always been better in the race than I have in
qualifying, so I hope that I can get a good start and put in a good show for my
home crowd."
Round: 1 - Jerez MotoGP
Circuit: Jerez
Circuit Length: 4423m
Lap Record: 1' 42.788 (Valentino Rossi, 2003)
Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 41.900 (Valentino Rossi, 2003)
Date: 9 April 2005
Temp: 20ēC
Qualifying
Pos.Rider Manufacturer Nat. Fastest Lap
1 V. Rossi Yamaha ITA 1'39.419
2 S. Gibernau Honda ESP 1'39.915
3 M. Melandri Honda ITA 1'40.179
4 N. Hayden Honda USA 1'40.465
5 S. Nakano Kawasaki JPN 1'40.542
6 L. Capirossi Ducati ITA 1'40.648
7 M. Tamada Honda JPN 1'40.707
8 A. Barros Honda BRA 1'40.720
9 T. Bayliss Honda AUS 1'40.774
10 A. Hofman Kawasaki GER 1'40.812
11 J. Hopkins Suzuki USA 1'40.825
12 C. Checa Ducati ESP 1'40.948
13 T. Elias Yamaha ESP 1'41.029
14 K. Roberts Suzuki USA 1'41.058
15 C. Edwards Yamaha USA 1'41.176
16 M. Biaggi Honda ITA 1'41.233
17 R. Xaus Yamaha ESP 1'42.286
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