- Round: 14 - Qatar MotoGP
- Circuit: Losail Circuit
- Temp: 34ºC
- Weather: Dry
- Circuit Length: 5380
- Lap Record: 1' 59.293 (Colin Edwards, 2004)
- Fastest Lap Ever: 1' 56.917 (Loris Capirossi, 2005)
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."
"Three in a row - it's incredible, I'm so happy!" grinned the Italian.
"Once again we've worked well since we got here. The bike and tyre
package is really good now, which helps us to prepare for the race. The
team's done a great job and Bridgestone too, especially on the front
tyre. It's important to be on pole here because it's so difficult to
pass. Race distance is no problem for me in this heat, but for everyone
it will be difficult on tyre life. I will try my best and we will see
what happens..."
Session 1:
- 1. L. Capirossi, Ducati - 1' 56.917
- 2. S. Gibernau, Honda - 1' 56.994
- 3. V. Rossi, Yamaha - 1' 57.360
- 4. C. Edwards, Yamaha - 1' 57.447
- 5. M. Melandri, Honda - 1' 57.468
- 6. C. Checa, Ducati - 1' 57.481
- 7. S. Nakano, Kawasaki - 1' 57.697
- 8. N. Hayden, Honda - 1' 57.872
- 9. T. Elias, Yamaha - 1' 57.902
- 10. M. Tamada, Honda - 1' 58.317
- 11. K. Roberts, Suzuki - 1' 58.329
- 12. J. Hopkins, Suzuki - 1' 58.527
- 13. M. Biaggi, Honda - 1' 58.622
- 14. A. Barros, Honda - 1' 59.084
- 15. R. Rolfo, Ducati - 1' 59.392
- 16. R. Xaus, Yamaha - 1' 59.482
