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2006-08-20 Brno Interview: Rider claims after qualifying
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 After three weeks of summer break, we once again saw great action in qualifying session at Brno. Valentino Rossi returned to the title fight in style by getting pole position, with refreshed Loris Capirossi setting second fastest time and Kenny Roberts Jr being fastest Honda in qualifying. Hectic pace saw 11 riders going under pole position time set last year by Sete Gibernau. Read rider claims after qualifying.
Valentino Rossi - 1st
I think the practice today was a great emotion for everybody but especially for us! We worked well on the bike, especially the tyres, because we have suffered too much this season during the practice sessions and my team and Michelin did a great job today. When I saw Loris' time I thought it was very fast and didn't know if I could beat it but I was very determined and I pushed hard on all three qualifying tyres. In the end the final lap was great and to set a 1'56.1 was unbelievable! For tomorrow pole position is definitely better than starting from the fifth row like in other races so for this I am very happy. We still need to decide two or three things about the setting before the race, but I am quite competitive.
Loris Capirossi - 2nd
At the end of yesterday's first practice session I felt like going home but yesterday afternoon we made some crucial adjustments to our settings that worked well. Then we had a big meeting in the evening and decided to make a big change to the geometry. Today we discovered that this radical change gave us a big improvement that could also be useful in the future. This morning I was fastest on race tyres and this afternoon we rode full-race distance and I did a 57.7, also on race tyres. We used a new rear today, softer than yesterday's tyre and similar to last year's Brno tyre, but better. I am really happy and confident because the bike and the tyres are working well, so I expect a good race, though we will have to see what happens. Of course, it's a pity not to have pole but at the end of the session I preferred not to take big risks that might ruin all our good work. Second fastest and on the front row is enough, because no one remembers what happens on Saturday, it's the race that matters.
Kenny Roberts Jr. - 3nd
If Im not fighting for the win, it automatically means we need to make the bike better. Weve been within ten seconds of so of the leader over the last few races, and we need to shrink that gap. We had a fuel supply problem with a new shorter tank were using today. Well fix that problem tonight and with this package, our race pace should be strong. If youd asked me this morning, Id have said we should be good for the top six. Now, I believe we should be OK for the podium.
Nicky Hayden - 4th
I think that was the best session weve had all weekend as far as consistency is concerned. The front row would have been nice but I feel like my guys have done a really good job and weve made some good progress we found a nice direction so well see how it goes tomorrow. Im looking forward to race day and getting back in the ring with the boys. I feel like weve got a decent bike right now. If we can just tweak the bike and rider a little we should go OK.
Shinya Nakano - 5th
After three good free practice sessions here at Brno, the second row was my minimum target this afternoon. Obviously, I'd have preferred to be making my fourth front row start of the season tomorrow, but I think it's still possible to get away with the leaders from the second row of the grid. Our Ninja ZX-RR has been working well at this circuit right from the start of free practice and, with the refinements we've made today, I think we've got the best possible combination of chassis and engine set-up for this circuit, together with a race tyre from Bridgestone that we know will also work well tomorrow. I'm confident going into the race, which is a new feeling for me at Brno, as our results here for the past two seasons haven't been so good. I think our obvious improvement this year, at what we've always regarded as a bogey track for us, just goes to show how much progress Kawasaki have made with the Ninja ZX-RR since this time last year.
Tony Elias - 6th
I am very happy with this result. After a good start to the season, we had a series of races which were made difficult by injury. But this is the result of a lot of hard work by the team. There is a great spirit in the team and I want to thank everyone for their effort. It will be important to make a good start tomorrow and try to stay with the lead group.
John Hopkins - 7th
I would like to have started higher but the final qualifying tyre I used was too soft and I suffered with some front end chatter, so unfortunately that limited my performance. As far as race set-up goes we are working really hard with it and we made a big step forward from yesterday. From what I hear through the grapevine we may have rain tomorrow for the race, if it does we would really have liked to have started from the front so we have a clear track ahead of us. We have just got to make sure that we are ready for tomorrow, come rain or shine!
Colin Edwards - 8th
I really don't know what to think about today! Our race pace is okay, we're doing 58.6 which looks like it could compete for the top five, but I won't be happy with that! I think we need to make some more changes for tomorrow morning to the setting and see if we can find another three-tenths. With the setting we were using today, the race tyre was working well for 3 or 4 laps and then it was starting to lose grip and then the lap times were going. So we've got a few ideas and we'll fiddle with the setting in the morning a bit to see if we can sort that out. On the positive side, I think we're finally figuring out what we need to do with the setting in order to make the tyres work better with our bike, and today the qualifier especially worked really well for me. Unfortunately I lost half a second on the first split but the tyre was perfect so that's pretty encouraging after some of the problems we've had with qualifiers so far this season!
Dani Pedrosa - 9th
In the morning we did a good job and improved a lot from yesterday, and the grip from the track was better too which helped. Also we made a good step on the machine set-up. This afternoon we had some problems finalising the gear ratios and I had to swap machines during practice, so I lost some time there. The bike set-up is not so bad but I think we can still improve it. Lets see what the weather does for the race. I hope it stays dry.
Randy de Puniet - 10th
While qualifying down in tenth place this afternoon was a little disappointing, more important for the race is that we have a good set-up with our Ninja ZX-RR in race trim, and I'm confident that this will allow me to make up places tomorrow. Of course, starting from the fourth row of the grid makes things difficult for the race tomorrow, as I've discovered already this year. The most important thing is not to lose any further places at the start. If I can get away cleanly from the line then I'm confident I can make up places early in the race, and I hope we will leave here tomorrow afternoon with a good result under our belts.
Marco Melandri - 11th
In the two practice sessions I was able to set a good race pace and that means I can look forward confidently to the race. Unfortunately I was not able to get the best out of the qualifying tyres and therefore I wasn't able to get the full potential out of the RC211V. I am not too disappointed by eleventh position as i think I have found a good race rhythm. It will be important to make a good start tomorrow and try to make up positions and get to the lead group. The forecasts are saying there will be rain but I hope to have a dry race.
Casey Stoner - 12th
I made a good step forward today and found a much better set-up and feeling for this track. This makes me confident for the race and even though I havent raced a MotoGP bike here there are some good passing spots. In qualifying I had the option of two qualifying tyres and I did the time I thought I could do, although it may have been quicker if I had been able to run my final lap. In race trim the lap times are fast and consistent although I would still like a little more feeling from the front-end.
Chris Vermeulen - 13th
We made a lot of progress today and I am happy with what we have achieved with the bike. Yesterday we had a big chatter problem but the guys worked really hard and between us we managed to solve it. I got in a good qualifying lap late on in the session and I was happy with the time, but I was surprised by how fast everyone else was going! It’s not an ideal starting position but the bike is getting better and better and the aim will be to get a good start and try to get in amongst the front group and see how we go.
Alex Hofmann - 14th
Today was much better than yesterday, even if the results don't really show it. Yesterday and this morning we couldn't work the way we wanted because I got my first chance to run some proper laps on my race rear tyre this afternoon which was a shame because I didn't have so much time to work on race set-up with these tyres. Then after that we were straight away into the soft qualifying tyres. We will try to improve the bike a little tomorrow morning and I am really looking forward to the race. I feel pretty confident because I can make much bigger steps forward than the other guys. The weekend didn't start the way we wanted, so let's hope it will finish the way we want.
Makoto Tamada - 15th
Todays plan was to decide the tyre choice between the two we tested this morning. But I didnt get the same feeling during the qualifying session. The problem was corner-entries where I started to struggle. We have to get to the bottom of the problems by tomorrow morning.
James Ellison - 16th
It's been a long time coming and obviously I'm happing to be where I am in front of Carlos but you can see the guy has got a lot of problems - he is never three seconds off the pace. We both have things to work on I'm having chattering problems but we have managed to get it down to just two areas. We really need to find out where the problem is coming from. Everytime we improve the chatter I go half a second quicker, it's not just a little step. It's the quickest I've been around here and I know there is more that can come off but I can't believe how quick Rossi is going around here. That is incredible. I've come with the same attitude as ever to push as hard as I can but fortunately for this circuit has been quite good as we have been able to eliminate most of the chatter and I can push as hard as I want. We are by no means on the pace I would like to be but at least we are moving in the right direction. I don't want to change too much now and ruin it for the race. I've done 30 laps on the front tyre so I'm happy with that as it is the bigger tyre as well, so it's just a matter of finding a decent rear tyre for the distance.
Carlos Checa - 17th
I think that is the worst qualifying session of my entire life. I don't know what happened but everything we tried nothing worked. It is very frustrating after how we felt after the first day when we were seventh fastest. Today was a major disappointment because I couldn't lap quicker on qualifiers today that what we did yesterday We haven't got too much time to find a cure and even if we do it will be very hard work from so far back on the grid. I think I will have to put it down to one of those days and hope we can work a bit of magic overnight. Saying that it mightn't be as bad as it seems because the lap times during the race will be nothing like the qualifying laps so that may help us to stay in touch if I can get a good start and stick with the pack
Jose Luis Cardoso - 18th
Unfortunately, this session of qualifying practice hasn't been very positive. I improved my laptime with the qualifying tyre but with the race tyre we didn't make real progresses, the ones with more grip haven't got enough duration and vice-versa. The biggest difficulty today was in the entry of the corners, I do arrive too much on the outside and the changes of direction are quite difficult. We also had some chattering and this made things even harder. Tomorrow, during the warm-up, we will try other solutions to face the race with the best configuration and conquer some more points.
Ivan Silva - 19th
Today things went a lot better than yesterday as I improved three seconds my best laptime. My driving is a lot better, yesterday it was the motorcycle to carry me around while today I could make it go where I wanted to; this is the most important thing to make improvements. Unfortunately, I didn't have enough time to put on the third qualifying tyre and that's a pity as it was softer and I was confident I could improve some more. Tomorrow, I will do my best to make a good race, I want to take advantage of this opportunity they're giving me once again and I would really like to obtain some points for the general classification.
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