MotoGP – Brno QP1 – Gibernau returns to pole position

He has finally recharged after the summer holidays, and seeing who always accompanies him in the pits and elsewhere, one can believe that he will have had a summer to remember. Sete Gibernau, returning after the 4-week summer break, recorded the best performance in the MotoGP Qualifying in Brno, with a time of 1'57"504, 1"265 below the track record set by Valentino Rossi in 2003. Pole therefore, the second of the season and ninth in his career, for Gibernau, who preceded with a real time another Honda RC211V, the official one of Nicky Hayden, and in third place an amazing Loris Capirossi with the Ducati Desmosedici GP5 with Bridgestone tyres. Always on pole in Brno, therefore, "Hollywood" Gibernau, with great harmony with the Czech Republic track, less so with regards to Valentino Rossi, who was unable to do better than a fourth position, 371 thousandths from the top.

Not bad for the Doctor from Tavullia: tomorrow he will start from the second row, but it doesn't matter, seeing how much he managed to do in this overwhelming first part of the season. Behind Valentino we find Marco Melandri, ahead of Carlos Checa who thus confirms the excellent Ducati performances, then Alex Barros, John Hopkins, Colin Edwards. Max Biaggi is incredibly, in "his" Brno, only in tenth place, 833 thousandths behind his brand mate Gibernau. We will then follow the post-qualifying declarations with interest, to try to understand the reason for this lack of competitiveness...

Behind Biaggi is Shinya Nakano with the first Kawasaki, while incredibly Nobuatsu Aoki, wild card with the third Suzuki, manages to do better than Kenny Roberts Jr, immediately behind him. The competitive sunset of the 500 2000cc champion is approaching, while the dismissal of Ruben His bike, in all likelihood, as we anticipated exclusively yesterday, will be taken by Roberto Rolfo, 20th today with the Ducati Desmosedici with Dunlop tires from the D'Antin team: thank goodness...

MotoGP Brno Qualifying times

01- Sete Gibernau – Honda – 1'57.504
02- Nicky Hayden – Honda – +0.047
03- Loris Capirossi – Ducati – + 0.181
04- Valentino Rossi – Yamaha – +0.371
05- Marco Melandri – Honda – + 0.495
06- Carlos Checa – Ducati – + 0.681
07- Alex Barros – Honda – +0.719
08- John Hopkins – Suzuki – + 0.773
09- Colin Edwards – Yamaha – +0.819
10- Max Biaggi – Honda – + 0.833
11- Shinya Nakano – Kawasaki – +0.986
12- Makoto Tamada – Honda – + 1.106
13- Troy Bayliss – Honda – +1.158
14- Alex Hofmann – Kawasaki – +1.289
15- Toni Elias – Yamaha – + 1.311
16- Nobuatsu Aoki – Suzuki – + 1.991
17- Kenny Roberts – Suzuki – +2.230
18- James Ellison – WCM – +3.025
19- Roberto Rolfo – Ducati – + 3.375
20- Ruben Xaus – Yamaha – + 4.031
21- Franco Battaini – WCM – + 5.081

Alessio Piana