CAMEL YAMAHA RIDERS SCORE CRUCIAL GRID ONE-TWO AT ESTORIL
 Camel
Yamaha Team riders Valentino Rossi and Colin Edwards will
start the Grand Prix of Portugal from the front two places
on the grid tomorrow, after a sensational qualifying practice
that saw the Italian seal his fourth pole of the season with
a record time of 1’36.200. Edwards was just 0.278 seconds
off the pace of his team-mate to equal his best qualifying
position of the campaign ahead of what promises to be a mouth-watering
penultimate round.
Both riders worked hard on the race setting of their YZR-M1
machines throughout the day, building on positive recent tests
at Motegi and an exhaustive first day of practice yesterday.
In the morning they were second and fifth fastest but the
momentum grew in the afternoon when they both dipped under
the 1’38 mark on race rubber before launching their
grid attack in an exciting climax to the session, Rossi setting
his definitive pole time on the last of three impressive efforts.
Tomorrow’s race, which gets underway at 1pm local time
(CET –1), will see the reigning World Champion aim to
reduce a 12-point deficit to series leader Nicky Hayden, who
clinched the final front row spot in third place, before the
final round of the season at Valencia in two weeks’
time.
VALENTINO ROSSI (1st – 1’36.200; 27 laps)
“With the championship as it is now I think it was fundamental
to be on pole position today and for Colin to qualify second
is perfect – I am really pleased for him and all his
guys. We’ve worked hard this weekend because the right
setting was quite difficult to find and all the team had to
give 100% so I’m really thankful to them and to Michelin
for a great tyre. Of course the important thing is tomorrow
and with Hayden on the front row with us it looks like it
will be a great battle for the victory. There are a lot of
other riders with good pace too but for now I’m really
happy with the pole position. My first two qualifying laps
were quite good but the last one was unbelievable –
it is so much fun to ride the M1 when it’s working so
well like this. Hopefully the weather will stay like this
tomorrow and we can have a good show for everybody.”
COLIN EDWARDS (2nd – 1’36.478; 27 laps)
“It’s a fantastic feeling to be back on the front
row and running with consistent times that we know can make
us competitive in the race. Hats off to my team and to Michelin
as well, because we had a lot of help from them today. After
Motegi we stayed and tested and finally figured out the little
piece of the puzzle that has been missing all year. Now the
bike feels easy to ride – I can push it to the limit,
even go over the limit, and I don’t know how to thank
the guys enough. Personally I feel good and feel that I’m
riding great. Tomorrow looks like it’s going to be really
interesting so hopefully I can play my part for the team and
we’ll see what happens.”
DAVIDE BRIVIO – CAMEL YAMAHA TEAM DIRECTOR
"It was a perfect end to the session for us and a perfect
way to start the race tomorrow! To have Valentino and Colin
start first and second at such a crucial moment in the season
is very important. It's great for us to see Colin back on
the front row and so happy on the bike. It's also encouraging
to see that we're making progress with the bike, even at this
stage of the championship. It's fantastic that Valentino is
on pole and in such good shape for these last two battles.
But it is only Saturday and now we have to focus on tomorrow
and hope for an equally good day.”
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