MotoReview

Capirossi & Gibernau celebrate

Once the oil had been cleaned up as much as possible the pit lane re-opened for the remaining 55 minutes of qualifying.

Once the qualifying tyres came out it was clear Capirossi was very quick on his GP6 and he went fastest with around 20 minutes of the session left. Shortly after, the Kawasaki ZX-RR of Shinya Nakano shot up the timing screens as he made his attempt at a quick lap with a super-sticky tyre. The green machine was briefly second but finished the hour in third place - no doubt a pleasing result for team manager Harald Eckl who is today celebrating his birthday.

As the clock ticked down the Repsol Honda riders put in their fast laps, with Hayden qualifying fourth and Pedrosa just a tenth of a second slower in fifth, in his first ever MotoGP qualifying session.

Toni Elias also put in an impressive showing and qualified in sixth - he even managed to go faster than teammate and runner-up in last years championship, Marco Melandri.

Rossi with Jeremy Burgess

Outside of the top 10 however, a more usual pattern appears. Ninth he may be, but Rossi was still the quickest Yamaha qualifier ahead of his teammate Colin Edwards and the Tech 3 bikes. 

The final grid looks an exciting one and we could have a great start to the season tomorrow. Both Ducatis are very quick and Gibernau will be especially determined. A quarter of the grid have never even taken part in a MotoGP race before. And Rossi's in ninth, so don't miss it.

Qualifying Times

1) Loris Capirossi Ducati Marlboro Team 1'39.064
2) Sete Gibernau Ducati Marlboro Team 1'39.285
3) Shinya Nakano Kawasaki Racing Team 1'39.526
4) Nicky Hayden Repsol Honda Team 1'39.666
5) Dani Pedrosa Repsol Honda Team 1'39.734
6) Toni Elias Fortuna Honda 1'39.875
7) Marco Melandri Fortuna Honda 1'39.932
8) Randy De Puniet Kawasaki Racing Team 1'40.146
9) Valentino Rossi Camel Yamaha Team 1'40.160
10) Colin Edwards Camel Yamaha Team 1'40.181
11) Chris Vermeulen Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1'40.215
12) John Hopkins Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1'40.340
13) Kenny Roberts Team Roberts 1'40.497
14) Carlos Checa Tech 3 Yamaha 1'40.851
15) Casey Stoner Honda LCR 1'40.982
16) Makoto Tamada Konica Minolta Honda 1'41.119
17) Jose Luis Cardoso Pramac d'Antín MotoGP 1'41.749
18) James Ellison Tech 3 Yamaha 1'42.267
19) Alex Hofmann Pramac d'Antín MotoGP 1'42.341 

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