Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

with the pace of the leaders. Barros is scheduled to return to Braz il for more physiotherapy. Hayden knew from qualifying and morning practice that he didn't have the pace of the leaders. "I'm just glad to get the first race out of the way and to get on to the next one now," he said . Marlboro Ducati's loris Capirossi was just three-tenths of a second behind Hayden at the finish . "l'rn very happy w ith the result," the Italian said . "I didn't expect something as good as this after qualifying." Telefonica MoviStar Honda's Colin Edwards was next, the Texan bedeviled by an increasingly strident front -end chatter. "Today I had a problem of chatter since the first lap that never stopped; the bike didn't turn," Edwards said. He was well clear of the final factory Camel Honda of Makoto Tamada, but Qualifying: The American§ Repsol Honda's Nicky Hayden would be on the front row for the season-opening betandwin.com's Africa's Grand Prix if this was 2003 . But in the new world of the three-man front row, Hayden's fourth -fastest qualifying time put him back on row two, a spot he was happy to be in considering how far he'd come. Next to him was Telefonica MoviStar Honda's Colin Edwards in his best-ever GP qualifying performance . The Suzukis of Kenny Roberts Jr. and John Hopkins (pict ured ) shared the fourth row in 10th and 11th, respectively, Hopkins ' mark a career best. Machine problems with both of Hayden's Repsol Honda RC211Vs had him struggling for much of Saturday 's one-hour session . At crunch time , Hayden was loiteri ng in the nether regions at the back of the grid. He 'd been there too often last year and admitted the pressure was on him to do better. He did. With about 4:30 to go , he shot to the top with a brilliant flying lap, but he neve r knew it. His lap timer didn't work, and his pit crew had left the pit wall, understandably since he'd slowed following his flyer. A small mistake convinced him to abort the second flyer, but he went fo r a th ird and got P-3 on his board. The position wouldn't hold. On his very final lap, Telefonica MoviStar Honda's Sete Gibernau unleashed his best, dropping Hayden from third to fourth and nearly taking the pole from Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha's Valentino Rossi. "It was getting ugly fo r a little bit," Hayden said after his fastest lap eve r at Phakisa Raceway, a I:33.098. "I could n't get one bike to run. We had a lot of problems. Nothing was going right. I knew I had to do something to stop the little bit of bleeding . I th ink I was 17th. Did I go from 17th to first? Fifteenth to first? I was deep. Man, I was runningout of time. I was kind of nervous." Hayden , always the coolest character at the track, admitted he knew what was expected of him. "I was feeling a lot of pre ssure ," he admitted. "Definitely feeling a little pressure, back against the wall. I didn't want to be stuck back with the pace car again. I did that too many times last year. I just thought try to salvage something out of it. And I never even seen P-I . I made a mistake and backed off, and the team thought I was coming in, and they backed off the wall, and I didn't get my pit board either. I went back; lap timer didn't work. Then when I came by the next lap, I saw P-3. I didn't expect that at all. Lot better than yesterday, and we 're moving in the right direction." Following Friday's qualifying, Hayden knew he had to make a gea ring change . Part of it was due to a new profile Michelin rear tire that offers better grip but affected the gea ring. Saturday's problem was faulty fuel injection on one of his bikes the other not pulling 100 percent. Hayden had the benefit of the 2004 machine from the start of off-season testing . Not so for Edwards . The biggest decision was about the swingarm and rear linkage. After doing back-to-back tests with the 2003 and 2004 swingarms on Friday, the Texan went with the older model throughout Saturday's final practice and qualifying. It was the first real comparison. Inclement weather in preseason tests prevented him from making a thorough evaluation. It came down to comfort, and he felt comfortable enough to take fifth on the grid, right next to Hayden. Tamada had company from fellow Japanese r ider Norick Abe, suddenly the second-quickest Yamaha rider despite a problem with traction. Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha's Carlos Checa was 10th and sounding like one of the Honda r iders. "We 've been struggling all weekend to find a good setting and to get a better feeling, but we have not found the way," he said. Teammate Marco Melandri chattered "My position : I didn't come here to test; I came here to race ," he said after deciding to race the '03spec machine . Edwards was confident he could be on the pace with the more familiar machine. "We can do mid-33s no problem on a race tire , no problem," he said. "The whole theory of the '04 in the beginning was better side grip, and that was their intention and just figuring out how to ride it." Edwards said the 2004 bike loads the front end a little better because of the better side grip. "I'm hunched over the tank like I'm banging a football. It's just my riding style. I don 't have a problem with the '03 stuff getting it loaded. All it is is just experience. I've just got more time on it. You can't base a decision on crappy conditions and a cold track at Barcelona , a cold track at Jerez." There was a gap of a row, then two more Ame ricans, Roberts first. Tenth in qualifying, just in front of teammate John Hopkins, he knew that he and the new Suzuki GSV with Bridgestone tires ·R we re better tha n that. "I'm counting two to three guys in front of me that I'm more consistent than on race tires," he said. "My aim is still top seven without a doubt. We're going to make some changes to the bike in the morning, just go from there." The GSV-Rhas improved greatly since last year, but there's still work to do. In the final portion of the trac k, Roberts was losing time because of excessive engine brak ing, a problem he expects to see resolved in the coming wee ks. "The biggest thing is, we 've made a difference in engine con trol and less engine braking and less shoc k to the syste m from last year, but it' s not what we wan t ," he said. "It' s a temporary fix given our situat ion. At Jerez [site of the Spanish GP in two weeks time and a two-day test imme diate ly after) you guys willknow what I'm talking about. Not maybe the race , but shortly after, maybe in the test if all goes well. We should have something that significantly, not so much looks , but is different sounding ." There was too much time lost in th e fast portions of the T-4 final segment. He tried using different gears going through the comers, but it wasn't enough. Tire life was more important than one fast lap to Hopkins . Throughout Saturday's practice and qualifying, Hopkins worked on his race setup and race tires, winnowing it down to one best. When it came time to throw in a qualifier, he was ready and nearly equaled the time of his teammate. "We nt out on the qualifyingtires and got into a rhythm of using the qualifyingtires so much, I was getting such good drives, I still went faster than I had went, still put in my fastest time at the po int," he said. "Went out on the second qualifier and just squeezed in one last lap five seconds before the checkered flag." That was a lap of I:33.598, just about a second behind polesitter Valentino Rossi. The race pace would be slower, he knew, so the concentration went to race setup. "We nt out and did about a fIVe-lap run and came in and made a little adjustment and went out and did about another 10 laps, and that was about a continuous 10 laps," he said. More time would add up to 28 laps consistently in the low 35s. As for the race, Hopkins said it should be close . "The first II guys are all running the same pace . It's going to be a wild race tomorrow. It's going to be good." Briefly... Continued from page 13 local government and that the negotiations would continue throughout the weekend. "Th e independent economic impact study of MotoGP on the economy of Lejwelputswa conducted at the race in 2003 by SA Tourism far exceeded expectations, and the economic benefit to the region as a result of the event is unrivalled in the Free State, if no t in South Africa," explained Beef Molefe, the chairperson of the Phakisa Major Sport Events and Development Corporation. The locals would like to keep the race because of the positive economic im pact on the otherwise depressed area. But if the numbers don't add up, Do rna has to cut its losses. One complication is the recent South African e lections. Voting took place on Wednesday, but the results won't be known until the day after the GP. There were both state and national elections. with the voters choosing the party they want to govern their state, in Welkom's case , the Free State. It w ill be up to the new government to approve any plan, and it may be up to the federal government to lift the tobacco ban. Tobacco advertising is prohibited, which means many of the teams derive no added be nefit from being here. Kawasaki's Shinya Nakano was briefly fast qualifier on Saturday, end ing up a morethan -respectable sixth fastest. The spot was Kawasaki's best qualifying mark in the premier class since Kork Ballington qualified fourth for the Grand Prix of Finland at the Imatra circu it In 1981. Ballington's thlrdplace finish was the last podium finish for Kawasaki in the premier class. Nakano 's qualifyingtime was 1.852 seconds faster than the best time by a Kawasaki rider in last year 's South African GP. The WCM team was back in business in Welkom , but in reduced form . Instead of the Doma contract-mandated two riders , they had only one, Italian Michel Fabrizio. Team principal Peter Clifford assured Doma they 'll have a second entry, with British rider Chris Burns 90 percent confirmed , for the following race in Jerez. Last year the team, owned by American Bob Maclean, was banned from Grand Prix racing because of technical Irregularities and only entered a few races at the end of the year after modifications to thei r bikes. They are still seeking financial backing, but whatever hap pens, they will continue th is sea son. "W e've been promised money since December, and I do n't think it's going to arrive next week," Clifford said. Fabrizio finished 18th, th ree laps down , after pitting to change a rear tire . The "For Sa le" sign is hanging outside the Aprilia factory. The company ran into financial problems with its acquisition of Moto· Guzzi. Between the initial price and investments in the company, Aprilia spent 100 million euros. Aprilia has also been hard hit in the past few years by decline in scooter sales, partially brought on by helmet laws being introd uced in Italy and a rise in insur- Continued on page 17 www.cyclenews.com CYC LE NEWS • APRil 28 , 2004 lS

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