Alex Barros and Sebastian Porto will start tomorrow from the front row
Barros second in MotoGP, Hayden sixth; Porto keeps the pole in the 250cc, with Fonsi Nieto seventh. Pablo Nieto, eighth fastest in the 125cc
The rain threatened to show up during the qualifying practices, but respected part of the second session -125 and MotoGP-, to finally show-up at the beginning of the 250cc practice, thus ruining any possibility to improve the positions taken yesterday in the quarter-of-a-litre class.
The MotoGP class has become really lively due to the duel for the leadership in the overall standings between Rossi and Gibernau, and due to the arrival of new bikes and competitive riders to the leading places. This time it’s been Japanese rider Nakano, on his Kawasaki, who moved-up to the third position of the starting grid, so that he’ll be starting tomorrow from the first row of the grid joining Rossi, pole-setter and the Repsol Honda Team rider Alex Barros -second fastest. Barros, who already explained yesterday that his back position of the grid was due to a mistake made during his only fast lap on qualifying tyres, kept on working focussed on the setting of his bike for the race during the second qualifying practice. Five minutes before the end of the session he put on the qualifying tyres to go for his fastest lap and managed to set a time only three tenths behind the fastest time of the session. His team-mate Nicky Hayden, was also preparing the set-up of his bike making a fast lap that took him up to fifth although having finally to settle for sixth after Barros’ fast lap, but keeping a place on the second row of the grid. Rubén Xaus, clearly better than yesterday, improved his time by almost two second, thus finishing fifteenth fastest and getting a place in the fifth row of the grid.
There was not much to do in the quarter-of-a-litre class during the afternoon’s qualifying session because the rain hindered most of the riders from improving the times set yesterday. Only De Puniet -third- and West -eighth-, were able to be faster than yesterday, not without taking some risks. Porto was fourth fastest in the morning and Nieto sixth. In the afternoon, the track was wet on some sections and dry on others, so most of the riders decided not to take any unnecessary risk and spent the time fine tuning some details of their bikes’ setting for the race.In the minor class, the Italian rider, biggest candidate for the title, Andrea Dovizioso, was the fastest in both sessions of the day. Pablo Nieto, who was fourth after yesterday’s first qualifying session, was seventh fastest this morning but was not able to improve his time in the afternoon, loosing his place on the first row of the grid and having to settle for the second row on eighth place. His team-mate Sergio Gadea, twenty-second fastest yesterday, was able to improve the time set yesterday by three tenths, finishing twenty-third today getting a place on the sixth row of the grid.
