Sete Gibernau will start tomorrow from pole position in the Czech Republic Grand Prix, the eleventh round of the season and the first of a series of races that the Spaniard has earmarked each as a ‘cup final’.
It is Sete’s third pole of the campaign and the tenth of his career, taken at the end of an exciting qualifying session today.
Sete was the first rider ever to lap under the 1’58” mark at this track with 15 minutes of the session still remaining but he still hadn’t finished. On the penultimate lap of a total of 22 he recorded a stunning time of 1’57”504, 1.2 seconds inside Valentino Rossi’s 2003 pole record, to seal front spot on the grid.
Nicky Hayden and Loris Capirossi will join him on the front row with his team-mate Marco Melandri not far behind after qualifying fifth fastest, less than half a second behind Gibernau. The Italian has taken two seconds off his best time over the course of the four sessions and is hoping to adjust some minor details with his bike set-up for a race that promises to be as tough as always at Brno.
SETE GIBERNAU (1st, 1’57”504): “We’re ready to tackle a race that will be very tough, as it always is here at Brno. The races are very long at this circuit and it is very difficult to escape. They tend to be in a group and there are so many places to overtake so you have to be prepared for constant changes in the order. The race will demand a lot of concentration and every rider from the first to the tenth will count because the lap times are so close. We’ve got a good pace but the hardest part is still to come. We will have to be ready to fight until the final corner. We’ve done a good job and now we just need to finish that off by choosing the right tyre with Michelin”.
MARCO MELANDRI (5th, 1’57”999): “Today we continued preparing for the race with a few small changes to the bike to improve my feeling on the rear end. I’m happy with fifth place because my objective was to get on either the front or the second row. It was a bit of a shame because on my final lap with qualifying tyres I made a few mistakes, which meant that I couldn’t improve on my grid position. Tomorrow I will have to get a good start and stay in the front group. I know it will be a long and hard race because there are so many places to overtake and it won’t be decided until the final lap.”
LAP TIMES
1. Sete Gibernau (Esp/Honda)1’57”504
2. Nicky Hayden (USA/Honda) + 0”047
3. Loris Capirossi (Ita/Ducati) + 0”181
4. Valentino Rossi (Ita/Yamaha) + 0”371
5. Marco Melandri (Ita/Honda) + 0”495