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2009-04-25 Rider claims after qualifying cancelation in Motegi
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 Rain stroke again at Motegi to make things hard for MotoGP teams and riders, as qualifying session was canceled due to rain and Valentino Rossi got pole position based on his time in first free practice. Stoner this way took middle of the first row, while Jorge Lorenzo grabbed third position in the row. Read rider thoughts about unexpected twist in Japan.
Valentino Rossi - pole position:
We've been very unlucky in these two races and last year as well, because we've just had so much rain! This year has been worse though because first we had to delay the race in Qatar and now we've had to cancel qualifying here. I don't think it was such a good idea to come to Motegi in April! So now we're going into a race after just 45 minutes in the dry and 45 minutes in the wet, and I think maybe it will be one of the most uncertain races ever! We're lucky because we had a good session in the dry yesterday and so we're on pole, which is very important for the race here but it's still impossible to be at 100% after such a short time and with so little data. In the wet this morning our setting worked well also so I think we can fight whether it's dry or wet, and after all it's the same for everybody. Of course I would prefer it to be dry but above all I hope it's not half and half, I hope it's either fully wet or fully dry otherwise it will be even more difficult.
Casey Stoner - 2nd:
It would be strange to go through a whole season and have one session that you can’t ride in, so it’s amazing that we’ve had this situation occur in each of the opening two rounds. It’s unbelievable, the rain we’ve had, and I’d probably be feeling angry and frustrated right now if it wasn’t for the fact we’re on the front row! It is a difficult situation for everybody to have had so little track time here but we’re all, almost literally, in the same boat! With just 45 minutes of dry time and 45 minutes of wet there are obviously plenty of areas we feel with could improve the bike but, like I say, it is the same situation for all the riders. I’m confident we have a set-up to do decent lap times in both the wet and the dry. In any case it’s good to have a longer warm up tomorrow morning and I hope the circuit will be dry.
Jorge Lorenzo - 3rd:
I am relieved to be on the front row and very happy we were able to do such a good time yesterday. Today is a pity but anyway I am fast in the dry and in the wet so I feel good for the race tomorrow. My bike is working well in both types of conditions and it feels good in the braking and through the chassis. Of course we don't have so much data but we have options for a wet or a dry race so now we just have to wait and see how it is tomorrow morning.
Chris Vermeulen - 4th:
Obviously it has been really difficult conditions this afternoon for everyone involved in the championship. I feel like we've been very unlucky to have the rain in the desert and now in Japan! From a personal point of view I am really happy to have qualified on the second row in fourth position. It's always the goal to be on the front row, but this gives us a good opportunity to get a good start and be right up the front from the beginning of the race. The bike worked well in the dry yesterday and not too bad in the wet this morning. We were fourth and fifth in the two sessions so we have something to look forward to whatever the weather. I hope it is dry though because this is better for everyone and makes for a better race. We will still try our best and the goal is certainly to be on the podium and if we can do that it will be a great weekend!
Colin Edwards - 5th:
That was pretty frustrating when you consider the lack of track time we already get now. But it was impossible to ride out there. There was a lot of standing water and it wasn't even worth going out and trying. This morning was really good in the rain, though I have to say thanks to Valentino and his crew because they got a pretty good rain setting from last year. But this is the first day I've been on the Bridgestone rain tyre. I ran it in Jerez in testing but it was just damp and nowhere near full wet. The rain tyres are really impressive. You can actually push them and get load and that to me is a new thing. Now I can push a bit and that was pretty good fun with so much feel. Before I've just had to roll around in the rain and not really have the feel to push too hard. The Bridgestone front rain tyre is like their slick, it's just magic. I'm a front-end guy and the confidence it gives is amazing. It is a bit annoying that I couldn't go out this afternoon and try for the front row but I'm happy with fifth. It's a shame I didn't go out on the soft tyre yesterday but I got a full 19 laps experience on the hard tyre, and that will be the race tyre. If the temperature comes up a bit too I should be in even better shape. So rain or shine I feel ready for a good race.
Loris Capirossi - 6th:
I am not too happy really as we still had some problems with the setting and tyre selection from yesterday, and we didn't get a chance to sort it out today. We worked well in the wet and never really pushed too hard to get a good lap-time, but I believe we will be competitive so we will need to see what happens with the weather tomorrow. The conditions this afternoon were just too bad to go out in and it was better that we didn't try to ride as it could have been very dangerous. I really love this track and want it to be nice tomorrow so I can see the true potential of our bike at a race. It has been good in testing and we need to see how it performs in race conditions. We try to improve every time we go out on the track, but we have done nearly nothing this weekend and now it will be hard to make the correct choice for tomorrow, but I think we will do alright and will be quick whatever the weather!
Andrea Dovizioso - 7th:
We could really have done with a dry session today because we’ve got some new parts to test on the machine which could move us forward - but with the rain that obviously wasn’t possible. So, we’re starting from seventh, which isn’t ideal. If we get a dry warm-up then it’s possible we can improve the settings for the race - and that’s what we’ll be working towards. In the wet session this morning, the feeling on the machine wasn’t great but really it all depends on what the weather does tomorrow. It’s Honda’s home race so I’m really hoping to be able to get a good result for the team and the fans.
Toni Elias - 9th:
It seems like the bad weather is chasing us around the world but looking on the positive side we’ve had chance this weekend to test in both the dry and in the wet so we have some information to work from tomorrow in either condition. It is not an ideal situation but at the end of the day we’re ninth on the grid and it could be worse. We had problems yesterday in three areas – electronics, gearbox and chassis – but we’ve got some ideas we’re looking forward to trying tomorrow and by starting from the third row we know we still have a chance of a good race. Hopefully the sun will come out for the fans and for us, because there’s no doubt a warm track surface would help us solve some of our problems, particularly in finding some more grip on the harder rear tyre that we’ll have to use over race distance.
James Toseland - 10th:
Not being able to get out and ride showed how much rain there was out there and it's incredible when you think about what happened in Qatar. This morning it wasn't raining that hard at all, but even at that stage there were a few puddles starting to appear, so I thought if it got any worse we would really find it difficult to go out because in two or three places the standing water was getting quite bad. It wasn't dangerous at that point but the rain has really come down this afternoon and made it impossible. If it is dry tomorrow I mostly ran the hard tyre yesterday, so hopefully I'll be sat on the grid in a little bit better position than some of the others. I'm a bit annoyed because until the end of yesterday's session I was in sixth or seventh, and if I'd put another tyre in I could have been on the second row maybe, which would have been great. I feel with the set-up we have and the distance I've done on the hard tyres puts me in good shape for the race.
Dani Pedrosa - 11th:
Well, this is definitely a pretty strange situation, especially after what happened in Qatar. In the morning’s wet session I gradually improved my lap times and was able to get a better feeling with the new rain tyres, so that was a useful learning process. I’m starting the race from eleventh on the grid and most of my rivals are on the front row, so this means I’ll have to get a great start and pass a lot of riders to get near the front. Our dry set-up is not perfect so we’ll have to get things right in the warm-up tomorrow.
Nicky Hayden – 12th:
It’s a shame for everybody to have this situation two races in a row. The fans, the teams, the riders… everybody wants to see us line up out there and go into battle so it’s a real shame. This morning was the first chance I’ve really had to ride the bike in the rain – I’ve ridden it in damp conditions but never really in full rain – and I got steadily faster and faster as the session went on. We made some changes that consistently improved the bike and to be honest with you I was looking forward to qualifying in the wet. I liked my chances better in the wet today and I’m not sure what conditions I’d prefer for the race. The forecast is saying it will be dry and after today I think the fans deserve it. For me the circumstances have been unlucky because I need track time with the bike and tyres, especially when we going to tracks for the first time, but it’s race day tomorrow so whatever the weather brings the aim is to just get a good start, go for it and see what happens. Good to know that the warm up will be 40 minutes!
Yuki Takahashi - 13th:
I had a chance to test in the wet - it was my first time with a MotoGP bike. And this is good for my data base of information. On the contrary, the fact that we had only two sessions is very bad. I know very well the track, and this was an excellent chance to understand better the bike. About tomorrow, rain or sun will be the same: with the rain I've more chances, but it is more risky. With the dry I've more experience, but not enough yet.
Alex De Angelis - 15th:
Luck certainly wasn’t on our side today because as I showed this morning I was competitive in wet conditions. I’m disappointed because I don’t think the grid is a fair reflection of our potential today but this is racing and that is the way it goes sometimes. If it rains tomorrow it will be a long, difficult race and there will be plenty of time and opportunity to make up positions. However, if it is dry we’ll be going into it with our eyes closed in a way because we made drastic changes to the bike based on the data from yesterday and we’ll have to wait until the warm-up to see if they work. It’s a tricky one but it’s fair to say we’ll be more confident if it’s wet.
Randy De Puniet - 16th:
Of course I’m not happy about this cancellation in these conditions. Like this I will start from the 16th and it won’t be easy to catch the leaders. I was pretty fast in the wet this morning and fixed many adjustments with the team to improve the setting for this afternoon’s session. I could get a good place in the wet, but I agree with the safety procedure.
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