2nd qualifying practice

Fonsi Nieto keeps the pole and prepares tomorrows assault on victory
Ukawa and Rossi will start from the second row after making fifth and sixth fastest time; Pedrosa, eighth, will also start from the second row.
After the surprising provisional pole of McWilliams on Friday, there has also been a surprise today with the performance of both Yamaha riders Olivier Jacque and Shinya Nakano, who, with their 2-stroke YZR have taken first and second fastest time respectively on the starting grid. Third place for Max Biaggi with the only 4-stroke machine on the first row. The fourth bike on the front of the starting grid will be the Honda NSR 500 of the Brazilian Alex Barros. The special characteristics of this track, with a lot of corners and very narrow, have made things easier for the two-stroke machines to the detriment of the four-strokes. All of this has caused that, for the first time of the season so far, we won’t be seeing Valentino Rossi on the front row of the grid. Rossi finished sixth, only two tenths away from Jacque’s fastest time. His team-mate Ukawa, who is recovering of his injuries against the clock, made the fifth fastest time. In the 250cc Fonsi Nieto didn’t give a single break to his rivals and has been the fastest rider on both practice days. Fastest in the four sessions held, the Repsol rider will start tomorrow with the firm idea of reducing differences between Melandri and him in the overall classification. His team-mate Toni Elias, who suffered a hard crash this morning in one of the fastest corners of the German track, was set back to the ninth position and will start tomorrow from the third row of the grid.  In the 125cc, today hasn’t been a good day for Alberto Puig’s pupils. Dani Pedrosa, with a lot of problems with the rear suspension of his bike, was set back to the eighth place, while his team-mate Joan Olivé finished fifteenth, also with set-up problems.