Rider claims after Brno qualifying

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2007-08-18 Rider claims after Brno qualifying
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Casey Stoner does a wheelie after getting pole in Brno

Casey Stoner continues where he left before summer break, setting pace through all practice sessions in Brno, and finally getting pole position. Read his thoughts and thoughts of other MotoGP riders after qualifying.

Casey Stoner - pole position, 1m 56.884s:
It went really well again today. We had a little problem with the rear brake at the start of this afternoon's session, so we missed maybe 20 minutes. Once we had that fixed we were quite fast on race tyres that had had a few laps on them, so everything seems to be working quite well. Pole position is just a nice add-on, it's been another successful weekend, we've been quickest in every session bar one and things just seem to be going quite well for us at the moment. We definitely improved today, we didn't seem to find any problem getting the bike turned out of the corners today. Yesterday we had both bikes set up different, so we were testing between one and the other, now we have them set up the same; we decided which way to go and we've stuck with that. The bike seems to be working well, of course it's not perfect, but for race conditions I think we're looking pretty good. I'm still going for as many wins as it's possible to get before the end of the season. It's not easy to win races, so we're just going to see what happens and fight all the way.

Nicky Hayden - 2nd:
This weekend, even though we haven't put in the one quick lap in every session, we've quietly been reasonably close to the pace and perhaps a bit better than it looked on paper. This afternoon the warmer temperature helped us, the tyres worked better and straight away we were able to get down into those 1m 58s laps where we need to be. I quite enjoyed my qualifying laps. My first run went pretty well and on my second one I hung it out a little bit further and was able to go a couple of tenths faster - it was fun. For the afternoon session we changed the bike geometry around which seemed to help us. We'll see what happens in the race tomorrow, but nonetheless that's my first front row of the season so I'll try to get a good start and turn it into a good result.

Dani Pedrosa - 3rd:
In qualifying we improved our position quite a lot and the Michelin qualifying tyres worked very well. I'm happy to be on the front row of course and this gives us a good chance to get away at the front in the race. The warmer conditions also helped our performance as expected this afternoon, though we must continue to work on our race settings tonight and tomorrow morning. We still need to make the final decisions on which race tyres to choose, based on what we learned today. A good start is going to be essential tomorrow and I hope that we can find a package that will let us fight with the front group and challenge for the win. It's going to be a tough race and I'm looking forward to it.

John Hopkins - 4th:
The day didn’t really end the way we wanted it to, but to be frank, Brno is just one of those tracks where you’ve got to go for it, and I pushed just a bit too hard. I guess I’ve made a bit of extra work for the mechanics, so they probably won’t be too pleased – sorry guys! We got through a lot of stuff over the weekend and today we made some experiments, but we decided to go back to the set-up we had as that was working well. I feel really happy with the way things are going and the race times are looking good and we can do them consistently. We are still looking for a tenth here and there, but I think we are more than ready for the race tomorrow. We’re in a good position for the start, we’re not on the front row but we are in pole position one row back! We’ll try to get away from the line well and keep with Casey because I’m sure he’ll have a blistering pace, so we’ll just try to stick with him and get by him at the end!

Randy de Puniet - 5th:
My position isn't as good as I'd hoped for but I'm still feeling very optimistic for the race as I've been going well all weekend. I had some problems in the qualifying session, so my initial lap times weren't as strong as this morning, but we made some modifications to the bike and, towards the end, I did some pretty good times. Sure, I'm disappointed because I think the first row would have been possible today but the second row is not so bad. We have good tyres and a good set up, I like it here and I hope to do well.

Valentino Rossi - 6th:
This morning we had quite a lot of problems, especially with the tyres. It was quite cold and with the temperature like this we didn't have enough traction and we suffered quite a bit. On the exit of the corners I was spinning a lot and this meant I was really quite slow. After this my engineers worked hard on the setting in order to find more traction for this afternoon, and actually we were able to improve the situation quite a bit so thanks to everyone for a good job. This afternoon, with the race tyres, I had quite a good rhythm and the feeling was a lot better. It's not perfect and we still need to understand more about the final setting for tomorrow, especially on the front, because at the moment it's pushing a little bit too much and we need to resolve this.

Regarding the qualifying tyres, unfortunately with the first one I made a mistake in braking and so lost that lap. Then the second time around I rode quite well but tyre was too soft on the right side and didn't last all the way to the end of the lap, so we lost some time in the last section. Also in T1 I had to pass four or five slower riders and so I lost one or two tenths there also. Anyway, the second row is not so bad and I think that sixth place is more or less what we expected this afternoon.

For tomorrow we haven't yet made a final decision about the tyres. If it's hot then we have a good tyre already decided, if it's cooler like this morning then we will have to choose something different. We have some more work to do on the setting in warm-up, but this year it's always quite difficult to work in warm-up because we have to use different tyres to the ones we are keeping for the race. Anyway, we will do our best to try to find a way to improve the situation with the front so I can ride at the maximum during the race, which of course is going to be necessary. We hope for a good temperature, like this afternoon, because our tyre works a lot better when it's hot. For sure it will be a hard race but our rhythm with the race tyre is quite good so I think it can be possible to fight for a good result.

Loris Capirossi - 7th:
I'm really satisfied with my bike because I think we made a big step forward in tuning its electronic engine control systems. My rhythm is good. I don't think that all the guys who were fast on qualifying tyres will be as fast in tomorrow's race. But it's also true that apart from Casey, who has a very good pace, there'll probably be a bunch of riders who can run a competitive pace like mine. Our race tyres are good but I won't make my final choice until warm-up. This afternoon I did two good laps with my first two qualifiers but I made a mistake with my third - I took a risk in one corner and almost lost control, so I couldn't better my time. Anyway, I'm happy and I think that we can fight for a podium finish.

Chris Vermeulen - 8th:
We’ve progressed every session this weekend and without a doubt the qualifying session was my best by far. We made a lot of steps forward with race set-up and tyres, and although my qualifying position is not as good as I wanted, it still gives me a chance to get away with the front group. We’ve got our race tyres sorted for tomorrow and are happy with those, so it should be a good race and I’m really looking forward to it. I’d really like to say a big thank-you to all the team this weekend for all the hard work they’ve put in, especially my mechanics who have given me good bike right from the start and I’ll be trying as hard as I can tomorrow to repay them with a good result!

Colin Edwards - 9th:
This morning we made a tiny change to our bike, just a couple of millimetres in front and a couple behind, and it completely turned things around, which just goes to show how finicky this sport is! It felt much better so I was pretty pleased after the first session. This afternoon we continued in the same way and I was riding as hard as I could but we couldn't do much better than low 59s. It seems that our bike works brilliantly at the smoother tracks like Donington and Assen but where it's a little bumpier, like here, it just gets a tiny bit ‘busy' in front and this is something I think we really need to work on for the future. It probably only costs two or three tenths a lap but with the times as close as they that's key. Anyway, we're on the third row, not too great but not the end of the world either and we'll be doing our best to get into the mix tomorrow and have a good race.

Shinya Nakano - 11th:
We’ve gone much better than yesterday. To be honest we expected a difficult session or two with the new parts as it obviously takes time to find the perfect set-up. Today was an improvement as we’ve found a much better balance between the front and rear of the bike, so I’m feeling more comfortable. The improvement from the engine is very noticeable: it’s provides smoother acceleration and better engine braking. Overall, this makes the bike much easier to ride. The only problem we have now is a little chattering still from the front-end of the bike. This chattering effectively limits the corner entry and mid-corner speed, while the improved motor makes things easier for us than before on the corner exit. This chatter means I cannot push as I would like in the corner, but we have some options to try and a different tyre to look at tomorrow. We are hoping that tomorrow’s weather conditions and track temperatures should be similar to today, which would be better for us.

Carlos Checa - 12th.
The warmer weather today helped the tyre performance and a hotter race day will even be better. On race tyres I was running times in the top seven, but I couldn't improve on the final qualifying tyre, there was some traffic plus I didn't have a enough mid-corner speed today. We tried many adjustments and made some small gains, but the set-up is still not perfect. The top speed and engine response is much better but we still need to find some solutions. I think we have a good tyre choice for the race and a strong top ten finish should be achievable.

Alex Barros - 13th:
The adjustments we made this morning and the different kinds of tyre we chose enabled us to improve in comparison with yesterday’s practice; unfortunately the problem is always the same, I’m not fast enough with qualifying tyres. I don’t know why, but we are always missing the first rows on the grid. This means that also tomorrow I will have to be concentrated on making a good start and to get immediately on the pace. Fortunately, as regards race setting, I’m confident because this afternoon I could ride in the low 1.59s bracket, improving my pace by eight-tenths in comparison with free practice in the morning. Furthermore, this circuit is long and it is not too problematic to overtake usually. Of course this is what I will try to do tomorrow. I want to be fast and overtake from the first laps to ride with the leading group.

Toni Elias - 14th:
I am quite satisfied with my qualifying but I hope for a better result in the race. Today I had much more pain in my injured leg because of the stress I put on the leg yesterday. I know it will be a very difficult race and I have only put in four laps in a row in practice and qualifying and the race tomorrow is 22 laps! I worked very hard on my condition in the month before Brno but I know I cannot expect too much from the race.

Anthony West - 16th:
That session wasn't as good as I'd hoped it would be, obviously, but I was going quicker than in earlier practice sessions, which is very positive. I'm not really happy with how I qualified, and I'm still not getting the best from the qualifying tyres, but on race tyres I was going well. I'm just going to look towards tomorrow, go for it in the race and we'll see what happens.

Kurtis Roberts - 17th
We've been on the new chassis since Laguna, but doesn't make up for the lack of horsepower. That's been an issue all year. We can only do so much with what we have, and we're doing it. I prefer the feel of the new chassis. It holds a corner line a little better. We still need more, but it's an improvement. One problem is Michelin brought us three or four bike turn. There's so much now: how the motor's working, the tyres, the construction all affect the way the bike turns. And ours is different every week. It's hard to get a base line and get consistent, when we keep having these surprises thrown at us.

Ivan Silva - 18th:
Unfortunately, because of some technical difficulties, we couldn’t utilize qualifying tyres as we would have liked. I’m very displeased because I haven’t improved my position. My biggest regret is for the team who decided to give me the opportunity to run in MotoGP again and the crew who have worked very well this weekend. Tomorrow I hope to do a good start and to succeed in riding with the small group of riders in front of me that have the same race pace and to overtake some of them.

Marco Melandri - Injured:
I’m very sorry to give up on this race. I really wanted to try qualifying but the pain was too much. The movement on my helmet while braking put pressure on the compressed nerve and sent too much pain down my left arm. Riding like that would be dangerous for myself – and the others. Now I’ll get ready for Misano.

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