Valencia GP Qualifying practice
YAMAHA FACTORY RACING FACE SUNDAY CHALLENGE AT VALENCIA
 Yamaha
Factory Racing rider Valentino Rossi faces an uphill battle
in the final round of the 2005 MotoGP World Championship tomorrow
after qualifying fifteenth fastest at the Ricardo Tormo circuit
in Valencia. Rossi slid from his YZR-M1 machine just over
eleven minutes from the end of this afternoon’s qualifying
session and, despite returning to the track on his second
machine, he lost several positions in the final push for times.
The Italian will start from the fifth row of the grid as he
aims to score his twelfth victory of the season and repeat
the success he has enjoyed at this circuit for the past two
years. Rossi’s Yamaha Factory team-mate Colin Edwards
benefited from a more productive afternoon, making major progress
with his new riding style and knocking almost two seconds
off his best practice time from yesterday. For the second
successive race the American will start from the second row
of the grid in sixth place as he aims to improve his championship
position with a good finish tomorrow. Pole position went to
Sete Gibernau (Honda) in a new record time of 1’31.874
and the Spaniard is joined on the front row by Marco Melandri
and Nicky Hayden (both Honda), who will fight for the runner-up
spot behind Rossi in the championship in tomorrow’s
race.
COLIN EDWARDS (6th – 1’32.456; 29 laps)
“I’m halfway happy with the result. We had a
few problems early in the session but we worked things out
and I was able to set a decent time on a qualifying tyre.
The second row isn’t terrible but we have work to do
to find a better race pace. We made more progress with the
new riding style but in reality I need 100 laps to perfect
it, so I can’t wait for winter testing! It takes me
five or six laps to get going and we just need to get it ingrained
in my system. The team has worked hard today and Michelin
has given us some good options for tomorrow - I am determined
to finish the season on a high. The stadium style atmosphere
here is always fantastic so I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”
VALENTINO ROSSI (15th - 1’33.503; 27 laps)
 “When
I crashed I was pushing hard with the qualifying tyre and
honestly I felt confident that I could do a good time. I was
maybe a little too aggressive and when I touched the brake
I just lost the front and went down. I was going fast and
I have some small bruises on my elbow and on my leg, but I
will be fine tomorrow for the race. I was lucky. The grid
position is not so good, my worst for a very long time! The
situation on the track is actually not so bad; the rhythm
is okay, although we do have some problems and for sure I
am slower than some of the other riders. The main problem
is that it’s hard to overtake at this circuit. A lot
will depend on how many riders I can pass at the start and
in the first lap. Anyway, we will try to make some progress
tomorrow morning and see what happens in the race. My target
is to be in the top five, any higher is maybe too difficult,
but it’s going to be a good battle!”
DAVIDE BRIVIO –YAMAHA FACTORY RACING TEAM DIRECTOR
“We are in a strange situation. Colin is on the second
row but his race pace is not as good as we would like, whilst
Valentino is on the fifth row with a better race pace than
his team-mate. We need to combine the two! Valentino’s
starting position is going to make it very difficult for him
and it will not be his easiest race, but that is the reality
of the situation and we have to deal with it. Luckily we have
already won everything but we still want to have a good last
race. It’s going to be tough but we’ll work hard
in the morning and see what the race brings.”
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