Except for the pole position, Michelin has returned to front rows in Phillip Island qualifying, showing once more that one-tyre rule is not something that we need in MotoGP. Stoner got pole position once again, and Rossi's 12th position on the grid will maybe give us the chance to see different scenario at Phillip Island. Read rider impressions after qualifying.
Rossi Phillip Island crash video
Casey Stoner - Pole Position - 1:28.665: We struggled a little bit this morning with race set-up so we needed this afternoon to sort things out and get the bike working properly on a race tyre. Once we did that I felt pretty confident that we could stick a qualifying tyre in and put a good lap together. This is actually the first time this season we've had three identical qualifying tyres and the first one ran out of grip in the final sequence of left-handers. With the last one I tried to preserve it a bit better by picking the bike up out of the corners earlier and even then it was do-or-die in those final three bends. I thought the lap time would be good enough for a front row start but we ended up on pole position so I'm surprised and extra happy today. This is my home race but there is no pressure on us and I just want to enjoy it. I hope the fans do too.
Jorge Lorenzo - 2nd: I’ve been fairly consistent throughout the sessions here and we made another step this morning which allowed me to be quite fast this afternoon. The weather was more complicated than it looked because the wind was very strong, but anyway my bike worked very well. I am disappointed to miss out on the pole position by such a tiny amount but anyway I am happy to be on the front row and also to have such a good race pace. My rivals are fast too and we know that it is going to be a hard battle, but I am really looking forward to it. Yesterday we tried some practice starts, because this has been an issue for me lately, so now I hope I can get a good start tomorrow, stay at the front and try to fight. Thanks to my team and Michelin for getting us onto the front row again; the fourth race in a row!
Nicky Hayden - 3rd: The front row is always really important and I'm happy to there, but to be honest I'm a bit disappointed. I've had a couple of poles here before, and today another one certainly wasn't out of the question, there was less than a tenth in it. I would really liked to have been on pole, the season's on its way out, so it would be nice to have salvaged one of them. But we have been competitive all weekend, fastest this morning and in the rain yesterday, so we're not too far away. I know the race isn't going to be easy, we need to sweeten up the bike to see if we can get some more traction, also the rider's going to have to get it together a little better. The team is doing a great job here, everyone at Repsol Honda is working hard and the Michelin tyres seem to be good. I'll try to get in there tomorrow and not let these guys get away from me.
Randy De Puniet - 4th: I am very happy about the result and the job we made for tomorrow’s race. We tested different rear race tyres with good results but we still have to make our choice for the race. However my pace was consistently fast and I can say that we have got the potential to finish in the top eight positions. I feel satisfied about my performance on q-tyres and missed the front row for one tenth only but this 4th place is a very positive result for me and the crew.
James Toseland - 5th: For once it feels nice to be slightly miserable because I know I could have been on the front row. I went wide at the second corner and I had a bit of a slide coming out of Siberia on my last qualifier but I came across the line and saw a 29 flat. I was pleased with that, but when I saw the front row was a 28.7 and pole was a 28.6, I realised I could have perhaps got pole being only three-tenths off even with a couple of mistakes. At least it is nice to know where I lost those three-tenths and that with a bit more time I could have found them rather than wondering where I need to make up time on the quick guys. I’ve got to thank my guys at Tech 3 because we have worked well all weekend. The bike has been brilliant in the dry and it is a long time since I have come to such a familiar track and been comfortable with the bike. And when it all comes together it is a great feeling to show people what I’m capable of. If I can’t do well at these tracks then I’m in trouble. So it is nice to prove that on a track I’ve got some experience on with this bike, I can get the job done. We have got a great set-up for the race having made a small change on the rear. The new setting helped me use the tyre a bit better on the corner exit, so rather than spinning and going sideways it was just hooking up a bit better and on these long apex corners it is better for the tyre life, which is crucial at this track. If we can get a good start, there is no reason why I can’t run at the front. It is an exciting prospect because it has been a long time since I’ve been able to push at the front, and that’s all I came to MotoGP for. Looking at the times it could be a cracking race and I will be giving it my all to celebrate my birthday with a good result.
Dani Pedrosa - 6th: Tomorrow I will take the start from the second row - it's important to be close to the front of the grid for this race, so you can get away with the leaders. The Bridgestone qualifying tyres worked very well in this afternoon's qualifying session but I couldn't exploit their potential to the maximum. We struggled a bit this morning because conditions were pretty cold, then everything improved this afternoon with warmer track temperatures All in all, it was a positive day, I have a good race pace, which is most important, and I'm feeling quite confident for the race. Tomorrow it will important to have a good start, the first laps will be crucial. Tyres consistency will be determined but it is also very physical race.
Colin Edwards - 7th: I thought it was going to be much better after I got fifth this morning when I was really happy. We just reverted back to our standard setting this morning and instantly I felt good. I was running a good pace and I felt really confident for qualifying. But we had to change bikes for this afternoon and I just didn’t have the same feel. Normally changing bikes isn’t a big deal, but I think on a track like this where everything is so fast and it all feels so sensitive, I felt the change a lot more. It just felt rigid and I couldn’t get much feel. And when you have got push so much harder on the qualifying tyres, it is hard to go fast when you don’t have feel. After all that happened, to come out of it with seventh,I’m actually really happy. It could have been a lot worse given how uncomfortable I felt so I can’t complain too much.
I’m still looking forward to tomorrow and I believe I can get in the fight, because it is crucial to hang in the slipstream around here. It’s my 100th Grand Prix tomorrow and I’ve had some memorable moments since2003. Hopefully I can make tomorrow one of them.
Andrea Dovizioso - 8th: I am very satisfied with practice and qualifying today. After an excellent day yesterday, today we have continued to work towards being competitive in the race. We achieved that result, but tomorrow is another day and we will have to do the best we can. We have made the most of all the material made available by Michelin, even trying a very soft compound tyre, and we have also made progress with the front rubber. I can always turn a time of around 1'37" that would allow me to stay with the front-runners. I will have to make a good start but from the third row I think I can recover some positions well. Tomorrow in the warm-up we will have the chance to make some more adjustments, but we know which way to go, so I think we could make a good race.
Shinya Nakano - 9th: During free practice yesterday and this morning we tried a few things and put a decent pace together. Even though we weren’t consistent we put a lot of fast laps in. In the afternoon we changed the front setting a little to try and get a bit more out of the qualifying tyres and with the last one we improved. I’m satisfied with my race pace and happy with the position on the grid. We need a little more traction for the race tomorrow so we’ll experiment with a modified rear setting in the warm-up.
Alex De Angelis - 10th: Qualifying today was back to the same level as our normal standard but in general our race pace is even better than the grid position suggests. It will be important to get a good start tomorrow, make up some places and try to have a good race. We’ve definitely got the potential to stay in the top ten.
Loris Capirossi - 11th: Today we improved a bit compared to yesterday, but we know this is the not the best track for us so we are quite happy with how much we have improved here since last winter’s test. With the race tyre today my rhythm was not too bad, but we struggled a bit with the qualifiers and couldn’t quite get the grip we wanted. I think we can still have a good race tomorrow but for sure it will be a little bit tough!
I also want to say a really big thank-you to all my team, because when I crashed this morning the bike was completely destroyed and it needed a 100% re-build, but they did it in one-and-a-half hours and that was really fantastic!
Valentino Rossi - 12th: I was pushing a lot with the qualifying tyre but unfortunately I went too wide at turn two and I came onto the grass on the exit. I thought I could take the bike back onto the track but, as soon as I touched the muddy grass I lost control and I couldn’t stop it. Then I bumped my head and neck pretty hard when I landed in the gravel. It’s a pity that I will have to start from 12th tomorrow, because this afternoon, with my Bridgestone race tyres, I had a very good pace. Now Dr. Costa and the Clinica Mobile staff will work to put me in good shape again – I am having treatment on my neck and then I will go immediately back to the hotel to rest until tomorrow. Tomorrow I am sure I will feel a lot better; we have good tyres and a good set-up so I will try to ride a good race!
Chris Vermeulen - 15th: I’m not too happy with my qualifying position, but we have definitely taken big steps with the bike today and on the race tyres we are a lot further up and can consistently run those times. I am quite happy with the race tyre situation, but we still had a similar sort of problem with using the qualifiers at Phillip Island as we have had before here. The bike uses the tyre too hard and we are not quite able to maintain the grip for a whole lap which makes it quite difficult for us. I just hope I can get a good start tomorrow and put on a good show for all the Aussie fans here!
John Hopkins - 16th: Our ultimate goal today was to find a more workable setting, particularly in the balance of the machine, as we were pushing the front going into the turns, and losing the rear on the way out. We have been trying to find a better direction and although we've made some improvements, they weren't significant enough to give us a good lap time. We had a small crash this morning when I lost the front going into Honda Corner, because in the cold conditions we just didn't have enough heat in the tyre. We need to find better turning and stability on the machine to make use of the grip available. Out of the whole lap I'm losing a lot of time at the final turn, and this is definitely the main area that needs improvement for tomorrow.
Marco Melandri - 17th: I'm really disappointed because this was supposed to be a good track for us but it's turned out to be even more difficult than the rest. After the problem we had this morning and the crash, which was really strange because I was riding slowly and upright, things didn't improve. Normally I try to brake really hard to make up for the fact we're losing out on corner exit but today I couldn't do that because I had no confidence under breaking. It's a really difficult situation and we'll have to wait and see if we can turn it around for the race.
Anthony West - 18th: We made a lot of changes today to try and get more feeling from the bike, and although we found some improvement in the front-end, we haven't made enough steps for the overall machine feedback. The bike doesn't feel particularly stable in the turns, and on a qualifying tyre the situation is no different, because I can't feel the grip level that's there. This is frustrating because obviously this is my home Grand Prix and I really wanted to do well, but so far we haven't managed to achieve the lap times we need. I'm not overly confident for tomorrow, but hopefully overnight we can find something that will make a significant difference for the race.
Except for the pole position, Michelin has returned to front rows in Phillip Island qualifying, showing once more that one-tyre rule is not something that we need in MotoGP. Stoner got pole position once again, and Rossi's 12th position on the grid will maybe give us the chance to see different scenario at Phillip Island. Read rider impressions after qualifying.
