Japan GP. 2nd qualifying practice. Driver´s comments.

Nieto: ‘This is a Honda circuit, and to get pole on an Aprilia is something special’
Valentino Rossi, 1st MotoGP: ‘That was a go one. We were all pushing really hard and I am very pleased to start from pole. The lap times are incredible. We test a lot over the winter and now all times are so close. Maybe this winter was a holiday! It will be a great racing. The 2-strokes and 4-strokes are so close. The last two days have been difficult. I crash yesterday and today and would like to thank Dr. Costa for helping me to get into shape’.Tohru Ukawa, 11th MotoGP: ‘I am actually disappointed. We have tested a lot at Suzuka over the winter and we have made good progress. In the qualifying yesterday and this morning the bike felt great and I was very happy. This afternoon we had a little trouble with the front end and at this level a little problem makes a lot difference. However, we know what a good set up is for the bike is and I am keen to show a good performance in front of my home fans tomorrow’.Fonsi Nieto, 1st 250: ‘I am very satisfied with my first pole here in Suzuka, the first GP of the 2002 championship. It seems the work we’ve been doing before the season is bringing good results. This morning I had some problems with my number one machine, but in the qualifying in the afternoon things were much better. A few minutes before the end of qualifying, I fitted a new tyre to go for a time, and finally I got the first pole of the year. I am really, really satisfied. The team and my Aprilia are working perfectly. This is a Honda circuit, and to get pole on an Aprilia is something special. Tomorrow if we are lucky and it doesn’t rain, I am going to give everything to try to win’.Toni Elías 11th 250 : ‘I’m satisfied with the result, and 11th is not that bad after what happened to me in the last ten minutes of the session. I had been endurance-testing race tyres, and at the end the team put on softer qualifying tyres to try for a lap time. I went off the track twice. In one of these incidents, I had a little tumble. I picked up the bike again, but the front forks were twisted, so that was the end of that. I have to be happy, because these were my first qualifying sessions in the 250 class, and on the Aprilia. For a start, it was not so bad. I hope tomorrow it doesn’t rain, and I will try to get a good finish in my first 250 race’.Daniel Pedrosa 1st 125: ‘Obviously I am very satisfied with this pole – the first of my career. It wasn’t a flat-out maximum lap – I had a headwind on the straights, but I found a good slipstream that helped me to get this time. We are very happy, but we must keep our concentration, keep working, and keep cool. It was only qualifying, not the race. We have to concentrate on that. For tomorrow, we haven’t thought out strategy yet. I think it will be a big group up front, and I’ll have to see how to play the circumstances to my advantage. But I am not going to take too many risks. The championship ends in November, not tomorrow. I only hope that it doesn’t rain.’Joan Olivé 18th 125: ‘This morning, we really made a big step, and I had hopes of making the first or second row of the grid. This afternoon, however, we made some machine changes to improve acceleration, but the result wasn’t what I’d hoped. We lost mid-range performance. I have no plan for tomorrow – just to concentrate on making a good start, and try to gain positions’.