Newsgroup: it.sport
Titolo: Dorna NEWS - Marlboro Riders 125 & 250cc

First Qualifying Practice
250cc
HARADA hits trouble
Tetsuya Harada battled against engine problems throughout this 
afternoon's opening 250 qualifying session at Mugello. The
Marlboro Yamaha Team Rainey rider ended the session seventh fastest.
"The engine wasn't right from the first lap on," said the disappointed 
Japanese ace. "It wasn't revving as well as it normally
does, and the problem seemed to get worse as the session went on." Team 
owner Wayne Rainey, a strong opponent of the
one-bike-only rule, said: "We had a minor problem with the bike today, 
but the one-bike rule turned it into a major problem."
BIAGGI reigns supreme
Double 250 World Champion Max Biaggi (Chesterfield Aprilia Team) was in 
a class of his own in the Italian sunshine this
afternoon. Almost a second faster than his closest rivals, Biaggi upped 
his pace once again at the close of the session, ending
up one and a half seconds ahead of nearest challenger Ralf Waldmann 
(Honda)."I'm really happy to be on provisional pole
because I badly want to be the fastest guy out there when I'm riding in 
front of my home fans," said Biaggi. "I was riding 110
per cent on my last two laps. I wanted to do my best and I took a lot of 
risks. I even touched my elbow on the ground when
the bike got in a bit of a wobble through one corner."
125cc
OETTL on top
Peter Oettl took provisional pole in superb style this afternoon and 
tomorrow the Marlboro Team Eckl rider will bid to score
the first pole position of his ten year GP career. "I have had 
provisional pole many times before, but I've never started a GP
from pole," said Oettl, who won his only 125 GP victory at Mugello in 
1991. "This is my favourite track, I love fast corners.
We had a lot of problems this morning but Joe Skidd from Ohlins changed 
the geometry and suspension set-up and the bike
was great this afternoon, very fast as well. We needed this. Tex 
(Geissler) and I only finished 11th and 12th at Jerez and that
was bad for us the riders, the team and the sponsors, we needed to get 
back on the pace here."
GEISSLER eighth
Manfred 'Tex' Geissler completed a great day for Harald Eckl's Marlboro 
Team Eckl outfit by taking eighth fastest time on
his Aprilia. "This morning went really bad for me, my times were no good 
and I was really mad at the end of the session," said
Geissler. 'It felt great to get in some good laps this afternoon. After 
this morning's session we worked on the bike a little,
because we had a minor engine problem. And then Joe Skidd from Ohlins 
helped us improve the suspension set-up. I'm
really happy."
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Italian GP - Final Qualifying Practice
250cc
HARADA hits trouble 
Tetsuya Harada struggled with serious handling problems at Mugello this afternoon, finishing the red-hot final 
qualifying session ninth fastest. The former World Champion will start tomorrow's Italian 250 GP from the 
third row of the grid. "It's hard because we don't really know what is causing the problem, but the bike is 
pattering very badly through the corners," said the Marlboro Yamaha Team Rainey rider. "The front end is worst 
and it doesn't matter whether I'm on the brakes or off the brakes, it's just pattering everywhere. That means 
I can't get the bike settled in the turns, so I am having to wait a long time before I can get on the throttle 
and accelerate. We had the same problem yesterday, it seems really difficult to solve. It's going to be a very 
tough race tomorrow if we can't fix it."
BIAGGI still dominant
Max Biaggi will start his home Grand Prix from pole position tomorrow after totally dominating both qualifying 
sessions and pulverising his previous best lap time. His best lap would have put him on the front row of this 
weekend's 500 GP. Although the opposition caught up a little today Š the Chesterfield Aprilia Team star is now 
'only' one second ahead, instead of the 1.5 second advantage he held yesterday Š Biaggi is still a very clear 
favourite for another win tomorrow. "It's no miracle, I was simply lapping very fast because I was trying very 
hard Š braking later than the others and accelerating a little earlier," said Biaggi after securing his 26th 
pole position. "I took a lot of risks today and my tyres were sliding all over the place. I really know the 
Aprilia now, because it takes less and less time for me to find the right set-up. I'm therefore very confident 
for the race."
125cc
OETTL still confident
Peter Oettl is still confident of being able to fight for victory tomorrow, despite slipping from provisional 
pole to the second row of the grid. The time sheets showed that the German Aprilia rider was unable to improve 
on his best time from yesterday's opening qualifying session, but what they didn't show was that he was balked 
on his fastest lap this afternoon. "I was near the end of a very fast lap when Rossi got in my way," said the 
Marlboro Team Eckl man, who won his last GP here in 1991. "He looked over his shoulder but didn't move out of 
the way, I had to brake very heavily to avoid a collision, it wasn't a clever thing for him to do. "But I'm 
far from unhappy because I know I'll be able to race with the leaders tomorrow.
My times were fast and consistent today, and though it was a shame to drop to the second row, it doesn't cause 
me too much concern. We left the bike pretty much as it was yesterday, with just a few minor engine 
modifications and I'm delighted with the way it's going. I'm looking forward to tomorrow."
GEISSLER slips to 15th
An engine problem prevented Manfred 'Tex' Geissler from improving on the excellent second row start he 
provisionally secured yesterday. Eighth fastest after the opening qualifier, the Marlboro Team Eckl rider 
slipped to 15th on his Aprilia and will start tomorrow's Italian Grand Prix from the fourth row of the grid 
between Emilio Alzamora (Honda) and Marlboro rider Jaroslav Hules (Honda). "This morning's session went really 
well, the bike was just right after the modifications we made on Friday," said the youngster. "I felt good on 
the bike and was faster than yesterday afternoon, and I was looking forward to going even quicker. But the 
engine wasn't running right, it wasn't revving as well as it usually does and so there was no chance to 
improve my times. However, we should be able to solve the problem and I'm still hopeful of a good ride 
tomorrow."
TOKUDOME takes pole
Fourth fastest Dirk Raudies (Honda) is the only non-Japanese on the front row following this afternoon's 
thrilling final 125 session. No less than six riders bettered Peter Oettl's Friday provisional pole time with 
Masaki Tokudome (Aprilia) taking pole, just ahead of Kazuto Sakata (Aprilia), Tomomi Manako (Honda) and 
Raudies. "I went for it without using anyone's slipstream," said Tokudome, who topped the table on his very 
last lap. "One rider crashed ahead of me on that last lap, but I was lucky not to lose any time, and then I 
was lucky again to get a draft on the final straight."
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