- Round: 13 - Malaysian MotoGP
- Circuit: Sepang
- Weather: Dry
- Circuit: Sepang
- Circuit Length: 5548
- Lap Record: 2' 3.253 (Valentino Rossi, 2004)
- Fastest Lap Ever: 2' 1.731 (Loris Capirossi, 2005)
- Temp: 40ºC
Gauloises Yamaha Team rider Valentino Rossi will launch his second attempt to seal the 2005 MotoGP World Championship in Malaysia tomorrow from the third row of the grid after setting the seventh fastest time in this afternoon's single qualifying session. Rossi was the third fastest Michelin rider around the Sepang circuit, lapping almost 0.6 seconds short of the pole position record he set here last year as the team once again battled to overcome set-up difficulties.
Rossi's team-mate Colin Edwards also encountered unexpected obstacles today as he struggled to overcome tyre problems, seemingly caused by the reduced levels of grip offered by the circuit in comparison to past years. The American will start from the fourth row of the grid in tenth place. Loris Capirossi (Ducati) will start from pole position for the second successive race and is joined on the front row by Sete Gibernau (Honda) and John Hopkins (Suzuki).
Valentino Rossi (Gauloises Yamaha Team), 7th - 2'02.412;
"We are having difficulties again. Personally it is a worse situation for me because I expected to have some problems at Motegi, but not here. Usually the bike flies here, both last year's model and the 2005 version! We have had a big meeting with the engineers and now we will try to find a way out of this. The problem is mainly with the front. Out of twelve races this year we've probably used the same front nine times but then the problems started at Motegi. Anyway, it is not just an issue with the tyres. I followed Hopkins and Capirossi for a while but it was like we were doing a different sport. They were riding really well and I couldn't ride at all. It's now two races that Colin and I have lost feeling with the front. The good thing is that Biaggi is also having problems so my only rival for the title is behind me. Maybe we fight together for sixth or seventh place!"
Colin Edwards (Gauloises Yamaha Team), 10th - 2'02.805;
"For some reason the tyres aren't working well here, we just can't get any load onto the front end to make it stick. I've probably lost the front more times today than I have all season. We had no problems in the test here even though we used basically the same tyre. The track temperature is very similar so the only thing we can put it down to is the extra amount of dirt that there seems to be on the surface this year. For whatever reason we can't break through it and we're having a lot of difficulty getting any grip. Today the team worked so hard and we changed pretty much every setting you could think of - higher, lower, longer, shorter, softer, harder. but nothing seemed to make a difference. We'll keep going and see if we can make the breakthrough tomorrow but at the moment we're struggling."
Davide Brivio - Gauloises Yamaha Team director;
"Of course it was not a brilliant day for either rider. We've tried some different settings but we don't have a clear solution yet. However the team and engineers will continue to work, all night if necessary, and we will see if we can find what we are looking for. We have the warm-up to try to improve so now we wait until tomorrow."
Loris Capirossi, pole;
"The team did a great job today, my thanks to all of them," beamed the
Italian. "We've had to work harder than we did at Motegi, because the
track isn't in such good condition, that's why we're slower than when we
tested here last winter. We made many minor adjustments to the
suspension today, just looking for more grip. My qualifying run went
really well but I also did a lot of laps with race tyres, and I think
maybe we're even better with race tyres! It's going to be a long race -
this heat makes it tough for the tyres and for the bike."
Shane Byrne - Camel Honda - 2'06.493 - 18th position;
"It's not easy to get to grips with a bike like this in so few hours, but the team is giving me all the support I need. Yesterday I wasn't able to get a good run in the dry, but this morning we made the first changes and the bike improved considerably. In the afternoon we continued down the same line, although we still haven't improved the power delivery under acceleration, and in the corner exits I'm not as fast as I would like. When the time came to use the qualifying tyre I was a little lost. The first two laps didn't go too well and I knew it, but the last one seemed really good and I hardly made an impact. Anyway, tomorrow we will try to find something to try in the warm-up and then we will see how the race goes."
Nicky Hayden, 6th;
"We're much better off today than we were yesterday. We just made a few little changes on the bike and it all felt much better this morning. Just felt like I was riding stronger today than I was yesterday. The bike was better than I was showing - I gotta' do my part. We're all in this together. Was third this morning and sixth this afternoon on qualifiers. I'm not where I want to be for the race. My consistency in the afternoon in the heat is not where it should be. I'm gonna' have to make a huge step tomorrow if I'm gonna' make anyone proud. I don't want to run round at the back tomorrow - I looking for a good race but I know it's going to be hard."
Max Biaggi, 12th;
"I'm really disappointed with this situation. We spent a long time with the team yesterday looking at all the data so we could make a better set-up for the machine. It was pretty obvious that we had not made the big improvement as soon as I went out this morning. Same really for this afternoon. Even with the qualifying Michelins I didn't go any faster. There seems not to be too much grip from the back of the machine and we lose time everywhere. I would like to think we can battle hard in the race - for sure I will give my 100% as I always do - I just know that at the moment we don't have the pace to fight for the victory over 21 laps. As I said yesterday, and all year, I do have great confidence in my team and we still have time to change things before the race - not much but we still have time and with time we have hope."
Qualifying Practice - Final Times;
- 1. Loris Capirossi (ITA) Ducati Marlboro Team - 2'01.731
- 2. Sete Gibernau (SPA) Movistar Honda MotoGP - +0.136
- 3. John Hopkins (USA) Team Suzuki MotoGP - +0.286
- 4. Shinya Nakano (JPN) Kawasaki Racing Team - +0.447
- 5. Kenny Roberts (USA) Team Suzuki MotoGP - +0.484
- 6. Nicky Hayden (USA) Repsol Honda - +0.646
- 7. Valentino Rossi (ITA) Gauloises Yamaha Team - +0.681
- 8. Carlos Checa (SPA) Ducati Marlboro Team - +0.688
- 9. Marco Melandri (ITA) Movistar Honda MotoGP - +0.929
- 10. Colin Edwards (USA) Gauloises Yamaha Team - +1.074
- 11. Alex Barros (BRA) Camel Honda - +1.282
- 12. Max Biaggi (ITA) Repsol Honda - +1.479
- 13. Olivier Jacque (FRA) Kawasaki Racing Team - +1.633
