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Colin Edwards: Telefonica Movistar Honda - 1st ? 1:33.870
"During the two days of tests at Jerez we worked a lot on the set-up of the bike. It was important for me to find the limit of the bike and solve the chattering problems we've had. On the second day we tested some qualifying tires and I was finally able to find the limit of the RC211V. I felt comfortable today - I still don't know the track too well but I got a good feeling for it and for the bike and the tires. I think my time can come down a bit tomorrow because I was able to set that rhythm pretty easily today."
Sete Gibernau: Telefonica Movistar Honda - 5th -1:34.288
"I arrived in Le Mans not in the best condition physically and today I didn't feel too good. Despite a sore throat and a temperature I went out on track to set the bike up and to get a good time in so I had a solid grid position. I'm happy with the feeling of the bike, and I hope to be better tomorrow, and above all for Sunday and the race."
Makoto Tamada: Camel Honda ? 6th ? 1:34.303
"The track is 'softer' and not as bumpy as last year, thanks to the new asphalt. I'm lapping well and quick too, and I'm satisfied with the bike, although obviously we need to improve the set-up for this type of track and for the race. Tire selection has gone okay too, I've picked out a tire from before that I like a lot and I want to find an optimum set-up so I can get the best out of it in the race. Just by completely concentrating on the set-up of the tyres for the race I perhaps haven't made the most of the bike in its qualifying mode. But tomorrow we will try it."
Valentino Rossi: Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha - 7th ? 1:34.307
"I had some problems today and I couldn't ride the way I wanted to ? at 100%. I'm mainly having braking problems and the bike doesn't feel stable. We've made some changes to the front and some changes to the back but I still can't improve. Towards the end we made some positive steps, but not enough. The Yamaha corners well and is very agile, but we're still a way behind the others. The fact that Carlos and Marco are doing well gives me confidence and we'll see what happens tomorrow."
Max Biaggi: Camel Honda ? 8th ? 1:34.328
"The new asphalt is a lot less slippy, and so we didn't see the usual practice day of people making their choices, as is usual. Tomorrow we will see who is really quick and who has the bike set up well. We have worked hard with the team to get the best race set-up and to be ready for the 28 laps of the race. After the qualifying session my mechanics and I talked at length, so we could study all the data and be more consistent tomorrow. We have to make the bike give away less, so all the power is transferred to the track perfectly."
Shinya Nakano: Fuchs Kawasaki- 9th ? 1:34.381
"We had a few problems with the rear pumping this morning, maybe as a result of the increased grip levels offered by the new track surface. We made some changes to the rear of the bike this afternoon to combat this problem, but while it definitely felt better during qualifying, I think there is still room for us to make further improvements in this area tomorrow. I didn't feel so confident braking from high speed this morning, but again, we managed to sort that out before the start of this afternoon's qualifying session. Today we've tested two specifications of engine, but one definitely seems to offer an advantage over the other, so we'll stick with this for the next two days. Tomorrow we'll try to identify a good race tyre, as well as further improving the overall handling of the bike."
Alex Hofmann: Fuchs Kawasaki - 18th - 1:35.718
"I wish we could start today again to be honest. We haven't really made the progress with the bike we were hoping to during today's two practice sessions. For some reason the bike just hasn't felt right on track today, and whatever changes we tried didn't seem to improve things. We need to go through the data tonight to see if we can identify where we can make improvements. Although we're now under pressure to get everything sorted in the limited track time we have available tomorrow, I have the utmost confidence in my crew and I'm sure they'll pull something out of the bag once again."
Provisional Qualifying Results:
1. Colin Edwards (Honda) - 1:33.870
2. Nicky Hayden (Honda) - 1:33.966
3. Carlos Checa (Yamaha) - 1:34.207
4. Marco Melandri (Yamaha) - 1:34.260
5. Sete Gibernau (Honda) - 1:34.288
6. Makoto Tamada (Honda) - 1:34.303
7. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) - 1:34.307
8. Max Biaggi (Honda) - 1:34.328
9. Shinya Nakano (Kawasaki) - 1:34.381
10. Alex Barros (Honda) - 1:34.535
"During the two days of tests at Jerez we worked a lot on the set-up of the bike. It was important for me to find the limit of the bike and solve the chattering problems we've had. On the second day we tested some qualifying tires and I was finally able to find the limit of the RC211V. I felt comfortable today - I still don't know the track too well but I got a good feeling for it and for the bike and the tires. I think my time can come down a bit tomorrow because I was able to set that rhythm pretty easily today."
Sete Gibernau: Telefonica Movistar Honda - 5th -1:34.288
"I arrived in Le Mans not in the best condition physically and today I didn't feel too good. Despite a sore throat and a temperature I went out on track to set the bike up and to get a good time in so I had a solid grid position. I'm happy with the feeling of the bike, and I hope to be better tomorrow, and above all for Sunday and the race."
Makoto Tamada: Camel Honda ? 6th ? 1:34.303
"The track is 'softer' and not as bumpy as last year, thanks to the new asphalt. I'm lapping well and quick too, and I'm satisfied with the bike, although obviously we need to improve the set-up for this type of track and for the race. Tire selection has gone okay too, I've picked out a tire from before that I like a lot and I want to find an optimum set-up so I can get the best out of it in the race. Just by completely concentrating on the set-up of the tyres for the race I perhaps haven't made the most of the bike in its qualifying mode. But tomorrow we will try it."
Valentino Rossi: Gauloises Fortuna Yamaha - 7th ? 1:34.307
"I had some problems today and I couldn't ride the way I wanted to ? at 100%. I'm mainly having braking problems and the bike doesn't feel stable. We've made some changes to the front and some changes to the back but I still can't improve. Towards the end we made some positive steps, but not enough. The Yamaha corners well and is very agile, but we're still a way behind the others. The fact that Carlos and Marco are doing well gives me confidence and we'll see what happens tomorrow."
Max Biaggi: Camel Honda ? 8th ? 1:34.328
"The new asphalt is a lot less slippy, and so we didn't see the usual practice day of people making their choices, as is usual. Tomorrow we will see who is really quick and who has the bike set up well. We have worked hard with the team to get the best race set-up and to be ready for the 28 laps of the race. After the qualifying session my mechanics and I talked at length, so we could study all the data and be more consistent tomorrow. We have to make the bike give away less, so all the power is transferred to the track perfectly."
Shinya Nakano: Fuchs Kawasaki- 9th ? 1:34.381
"We had a few problems with the rear pumping this morning, maybe as a result of the increased grip levels offered by the new track surface. We made some changes to the rear of the bike this afternoon to combat this problem, but while it definitely felt better during qualifying, I think there is still room for us to make further improvements in this area tomorrow. I didn't feel so confident braking from high speed this morning, but again, we managed to sort that out before the start of this afternoon's qualifying session. Today we've tested two specifications of engine, but one definitely seems to offer an advantage over the other, so we'll stick with this for the next two days. Tomorrow we'll try to identify a good race tyre, as well as further improving the overall handling of the bike."
Alex Hofmann: Fuchs Kawasaki - 18th - 1:35.718
"I wish we could start today again to be honest. We haven't really made the progress with the bike we were hoping to during today's two practice sessions. For some reason the bike just hasn't felt right on track today, and whatever changes we tried didn't seem to improve things. We need to go through the data tonight to see if we can identify where we can make improvements. Although we're now under pressure to get everything sorted in the limited track time we have available tomorrow, I have the utmost confidence in my crew and I'm sure they'll pull something out of the bag once again."
Provisional Qualifying Results:
1. Colin Edwards (Honda) - 1:33.870
2. Nicky Hayden (Honda) - 1:33.966
3. Carlos Checa (Yamaha) - 1:34.207
4. Marco Melandri (Yamaha) - 1:34.260
5. Sete Gibernau (Honda) - 1:34.288
6. Makoto Tamada (Honda) - 1:34.303
7. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) - 1:34.307
8. Max Biaggi (Honda) - 1:34.328
9. Shinya Nakano (Kawasaki) - 1:34.381
10. Alex Barros (Honda) - 1:34.535