CZECH REPUBLIC GRAND PRIX.

20th – 22nd August.

Brno Circuit

OFFICIAL REPORT: 2nd. QUALIFYING PRACTICE

DATE: Saturday, 21st. august

SETE GIBERNAU TAKES PROMISING POLE

Colin Edwards hoping for another podium

Sete Gibernau will start from pole for the fourth time this season at the Czech Republic GP tomorrow on what will be a crucial day for the team with just seven races remaining. The Spanish rider was unstoppable in the rain and will start ahead of Alex Barros and Valentino Rossi on the front row. As well as the top position on the grid, Gibernau also hopes to achieve a good dry setting for his bike in the warm-up session tomorrow, weather permitting.

Colin Edwards is back in action and reporting similar feelings to those he had in Great Britain, when he ended up on the podium. The Texan was competitive in both wet and dry conditions, giving him reason to be optimistic of further glory here at Brno.

The team will stay on at the Czech circuit for two days of tests on Monday and Tuesday, when Gibernau will take the opportunity to test the new material he has been given by  Honda for the decisive final part of the season.

SETE GIBERNAU

(1st, 2’09”782): “The weekend has improved a little but the uncertainty over the weather means we’ll have to be ready for anything. It looks as though the race is going to be dry so I hope that the work we have done in the wet can translate into a good dry set-up. God willing, the warm-up will be dry and we’ll have to work up to the very last second of it to get the bike perfect for those conditions. It’s always good to start from the front although the most important thing for me is to have the same feeling in the dry that I’ve had in the wet. For that we just have to hope that it doesn’t rain in the warm-up.”

COLIN EDWARDS

(5th, 2’11”096): “I was a bit worried because whatever happened we just had to improve on eleventh place on the grid and the rain in this afternoon’s session made that difficult. We made some changes to the front end and the improvement was obvious from the start. Within five minutes I had a good rhythm and I just concentrated on making up positions. We stuck a tyre in there with ten minutes to go and I went for it – maybe we could have changed earlier but it worked out okay. We’ll have to wait and see what the conditions are like tomorrow but basically I think I can get back on the podium.”

FAUSTO GRESINI

(Team manager): “This is a very good result for the team - Sete has set a fantastic time in the wet and managed to work on the dry setting in the morning. I would have liked to have more dry time but it was the same for all the teams. Colin was also competitive and I am hopeful that he will be fighting for the podium. As far as the new material we have recived from Honda is concerned, the weather conditions just haven’t given us the chance to test them out properly. We have had very little dry time and Sete preferred to concentrate on finding a good set-up on the bike he knows best. We will have the chance to get plenty of laps in without any pressure on Monday and Tuesday.”

LAP TIMES

1.      Sete Gibernau (Spa/Honda) 2’09”782

2.      Allex Barros (Bra/Honda) + 0”308

3.      Valentino Rossi (Ita/Yahama) + 0”688

4.      Troy Bayliss (Aus/Ducati) + 1”141