|
MotoGP 2002 DVD
Complete review of 2002 season in which Valentino Rossi dominated first year of new four-stroke class. Three hours packed with action and legendary Rossi-Biaggi rivality.
Buy - More details
HighRevs Shop
Valentino Rossi autobiography
This 288 page book goes into details of life of Valentino Rossi, one of the best MotoGP racers ever. Autobiography provides inside details of both on-track and off-track life of living motorcycle legend, allowing reader to get better understanding of life and achievement of Valentino Rossi.
Buy - More details
HighRevs Shop
|
2007-05-19 Rider claims after Le Mans qualifying
 Be first to comment this story
 Colin Edwards got his first pole position at Le Mans today, stealing it from Casey Stoner in last seconds of qualifying. Does he have good enough race pace, we will see tomorrow, but for sure Championship leader, Casey Stoner, has fantastic set-up for tomorrow. Read rider impressions after qualifying.
Colin Edwards, pole position
This morning's off was a pretty big one and as I was flying through the air I was pretty sure it was going to hurt! Somehow though I landed, the bike sort of rolled over me, I stood up and realised I was ok! I honestly think that had a positive bearing on my performance this afternoon; my bike was working great but I screwed up the last section with my first qualifying tyre and so I knew it had to make or break the second time around. As I went into that final section I thought "here goes, it's pole or crash and after this morning I've realised the ground doesn't hurt so much after all!" I gave it everything I've got and it paid off. Yet again the Michelin qualifying tyres were brilliant and my bike worked really well with them. It's my first pole in MotoGP so it feels good. As for the race, this place is something of a turnaround for us because we've actually got two race tyres that are working well. I can do 35.0s with both so it's just a case of checking a few things tonight and making our final decision for the race. I've got to say a big thank you to my team because they worked flat out to rebuild my bike after this morning and that's the one I did my lap on. I'm really looking forward to tomorrow; hopefully this is the start of a great weekend.
Casey Stoner, 2nd
I haven't been off the front two rows this year which is a big surprise for me because I'm not usually much of a qualifier. I thought we might've had the pole today but Colin [Edwards] just pipped me at the end. Anyway, the bike and tyres have been working brilliant all weekend. Today we capitalised on the work we did yesterday - we made a few more minor improvements, improving rear grip a little bit and getting the corner entry a little better, so it's helping me all round. This afternoon we were doing low 35s and I did a 34.7 with tyres that had done over 20 laps so we're looking pretty strong. I'm not doing anything much different myself this year but I've gone up a level in team and found a bike and tyres that suit me, so the level of everything has jumped up and we're able to keep that level through most racetracks and most sessions, so it's real good. I've heard all sorts of weather forecasts for tomorrow, so we'll just have to wait and see what tomorrow holds, you never really know what it's going to do here from hour to hour.
Carlos Checa, 3rd
We are happy. At the last two races we had problems that we just couldn’t seem to fix. Now, after some changes I can go fast again. My first qualifying tyre was good, the second was good too, but on my third run I hit traffic and couldn’t push as hard as I wanted. But at least we are the right level now. The front row is always my target, but getting the bike right is a bigger achievement this weekend.
Valentino Rossi, 4th
Today was much, much better than yesterday! We changed a lot of things on the setting and straight away this morning I could ride better, although things still aren't perfect and we definitely still need to improve more. I didn't use my qualifying tyres so well today and I lost the front row through a small mistake, but anyway fourth isn't so bad. Of course it would be better to be on the front row because I think, with these bikes and with everyone so close, it's going to be a big battle tomorrow! Our biggest decision now is about the tyre for the race and I think we've got some work to do tonight and in warm-up. Colin is looking really strong and I'm happy for him. Now I hope we can get a good start and stay with the leaders tomorrow.
John Hopkins, 5th
I’m really happy with the way the day has gone. We got two full sessions with a dry track and we were able to dial in the set-up and finalise what tyres we’ll use tomorrow – if it’s dry! We did quite a long run this afternoon and got a good race pace going that felt really comfortable. I got a good rhythm and made a point of riding on my own and doing things my own way. On the qualifiers I gave it my all and I am happy that we made it onto the front two rows because it’s going to be really crucial to get a good start tomorrow. I need to be in the front pack from the start. Hopefully it will be dry for the race and we’ll go out and just give them hell!
Toni Elias, 6th
I’m happy to be on the second row. We’ve done a good job and set a good pace and I’ve just to get a good start and hope that the race conditions will be like this and that the weather doesn’t play too much of a part tomorrow.
Nicky Hayden, 7th
That’s the best my bike has felt on qualifiers for a while, with the least amount of chatter, and it felt pretty good today. I didn’t get the final section of my best lap perfectly right and I wish I could have got through there a little bit quicker. So it wasn’t a stellar day finishing back in seventh in both sessions but overall I’ve felt better than I have in the last few races and the Michelin tyres seem to be working well too. Also there aren’t any long straights around this circuit so I’m not losing out a whole lot top speed wise.
Randy de Puniet, 8th
We definitely improved the bike today and the adjustments made to the front and rear suspension were spot on. The bike is more stable now and that lead to a quick improvement in my lap times this morning. We tried a couple more rear tyre options today but this only served to confirm that yesterday's set-up, which I was already happy with, is the best one for tomorrow's race, if conditions remain the same. We switched to the qualifying tyres early in the afternoon session as we had four different sets to get through. The first and the second ones were fine but the third one was much better. I was so confident for the fourth set but I had a problem during my fast lap. My out lap was too slow, so the tyre wasn't warm enough when I had to push harder and I lost eight tenths in the first two splits. Then, when I got up to speed, it was too late to improve my lap time to get a better spot on the grid. Tomorrow's is going to be a close race and, more than ever, I'll need a good start to follow the leading group. I'm sure I'll be able to, though, as the bike's feeling very good indeed and the fans will be there to support me.
Marco Melandri, 9th
We’ve done some good work on the settings. Unfortunately I wasn't able to make the most of the qualifying tyre because I made a mistake on the last lap that cost me a few vital tenths. We’ll keep working in the warm-up tomorrow to improve the feeling with the front, which will be really important to make up positions on the first lap. It will be important to get a good start in the race. The weather looks like it could change so we'll wait until tomorrow before deciding on the tyre.
Dani Pedrosa, 10th
Today we couldn’t make as much progress in the practice and qualifying sessions. Obviously starting from tenth isn’t really where I want to be and that will make a good start especially important tomorrow. There were a couple of issues with the machine today which cost us some time and then in qualifying I had some traffic in the second section of the lap which meant my time wasn’t as quick as it should have been. It’s a little frustrating, especially as I was on pole position last year, however we have some more options to try in the warm-up tomorrow morning.
Chris Vermeulen, 12th
I was a little bit frustrated at the end of qualifying as I didn’t get a clear lap on my last tyre. It’s a bit annoying, but you get that on tight tracks and it’s all part of racing. We made a lot of progress this morning and I was consistently faster lap-by-lap. I was within half-a-second of the fastest rider on race tyres all session this morning, and again this afternoon I was right up there. The bike has improved and my crew has worked really hard to get it right for here. Fourth row is not an ideal starting position, but I’ve had good results from further back than that! It’s just a matter of getting my head down and catching those front guys.
Alex Barros, 13th
My afternoon session wasn’t very good today, sincerely I hoped to find a better time in order to have as little difficulty as possible getting away at the start of tomorrow’s race. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to get the right feeling with the Bridgestone qualifying tires and I succeeded in only gaining a few tenths which was not enough to get a good position on the starting grid. In spite of that, I’m anyway confident for my race because my race pace and my Ducati Desmosedici’s race settings are very satisfactory. I know that tomorrow will be a very complicated day, in this kind of track, as it is very difficult to overtake, but I will push as hard as possible to be with the leading group and to get final good result.
Shinya Nakano, 14th
This morning we had a good session and did a fast run and then we made some changes to the clutch which helped reduce chatter from the front a little – for a few laps at least. This is our main problem now and with it it’s hard to really push in the corners. The new Michelin front tyres are helping to give me more confidence in the front-end of the bike, which is an improvement. The start here will be vitally important, as will who gets through the first chicane.
Loris Capirossi, 15th
Qualifying was difficult for me today, I'm not at all happy. What's really disappointing is that I'm one of the fastest guys in the first two splits, maybe even the fastest, but I'm losing a second through the slower corners in T3 and T4. I've got no feeling with the gas, with the throttle connection, so I'm struggling there. This is a big problem that we need to work on. For sure this bike is a winning machine with great potential but at the moment I can't use it at its best. For sure I need to work on my riding style but I also need help from Ducati. I have every confidence in them but we have to work on this engine. For tomorrow I'm sure I'll be better in race conditions. I'll give my best as always but starting from 15th will make my race very difficult.
Alex Hofmann, 17th
This weekend seems to be a difficult one for me and we lost too much time because of some technical difficulties. As yesterday, after a little time that I was on track, I had to come back to the box and change my bike. I’m not very satisfied because I have not yet found the right feeling and I do not feel confident which is why it has been difficult to obtain favourable lap times. Now, together with the team, I hope to set the bike up successfully for tomorrow, but I am sure that it will be a tough race for us tomorrow afternoon.
Kenny Roberts Jr, 18th
Everything’s pretty standard down at our end. I don’t know what’s missing. When I am by myself, everything is to the maximum – pushing the front, trying not to fall down mid-corner, then sliding the rear. Then guys ride round the outside of me like I’m going slow – so I’m not really sure. Hopefully it will rain tomorrow, and change our situation.
Fonsi Nieto, 19th
Things are much better today! Yesterday I was quite nervous and spent both sessions trying to get used to the Ninja ZX-RR and the tyres. Today, I've been much more relaxed and quickly improved my lap times. As soon as I went out on track this morning I was two seconds faster and every time I got on the bike I was quicker and more confident. I'm still struggling with braking and getting the most from the tyres but I‘ve only had three hours on the bike. It would have been great to have more time to find the best set up but I'm happy with the job we've done. My first experience with the qualifying tyres has been a bit frustrating. The grip is amazing but I wasn't able to make the most of the three sets I used. With the first two, the front was pushing and vibrating a lot. I improved my times a little on the second lap out with the third set but the tyre was already worn. Anyway, we're feeling positive for the race tomorrow. My target is to finish and it would be fantastic not to have to ride the race alone, but either way, I know it will be fun.
|
Back to MotoGP news home
|
|
Valentino Rossi t-shirt
Yellow Valentino Rossi t-shirt, featuring sun and moon symbols on sleeves. Made of 100% cotton, VR-46 logo on the chest.
Buy - More details
HighRevs Shop
|
