Newsgroup: it.sport
Titolo: Dorna NEWS - British GP Second Day

Doohan smashes all records to reclaim pole
Defending double world champion Michael Doohan (Repsol Honda) waited 
until the closing minutes of today's final qualifying
session for tomorrow's British GP to set a stunning sub-record lap that 
gave him back the pole position he had earlier lost to
Italian Marlboro Yamaha rider Loris Capirossi.
Kenny Roberts Junior (Marlboro Yamaha) was third, impressively for a 
500-class rookie in only his seventh GP; with class
veteran Alex Barros (Pileri Honda) taking fourth place. The first three 
riders were inside the long-standing lap record, set by
Kevin Schwantz (Lucky Strike Suzuki) in 1991; the front row was covered 
by barely half a second; and you had to scan all
the way down to 13th place before finding a time slower than last year's 
pole position.
Warm, dry conditions have played a part in the tumbling times, as well 
as the highly competitive nature of the top class in
racing. A fastest-ever lap time for Donington Park, set by Superbike 
racer Troy Corser earlier this year, was smashed by
more than half a second as the 500s reasserted their superiority.
Yesterday's provisional pole qualifier Jean-Michel Bayle ended up with 
his Marlboro Yamaha leading the second row from
team-mate Norifumi Abe, with Alex Criville's Repsol Honda down in 
seventh in the close times, instead of his usual top-three
place.
Shinichi Itoh's V-twin Honda completed the row; Repsol Honda team-mate 
Tadayuki Okada led row three. The twisting
Donington Park circuit was thought to be a good venue for the 
lightweight V-twins, and both are in the thick of the V4 pack
on lap times.
Luca Cadalora dropped to 10th, the Kanemoto-Honda rider almost the only 
person not to improve from day one to day two;
with Carlos Checa (Fortuna Honda) 11th and Scott Russell 12th on the 
Lucky Strike Suzuki.
British rider Sean Emmett crashed heavily after his brakes failed at 
high speed. He was not hurt, but his bike smashed through
the catch fencing landing in the crowd enclosure, fortunately without 
causing any serious injuries.
250cc: BIAGGI PIPPED AT THE LAST GASP
French works-bike rookie Olivier Jacque (Chesterfield Elf Honda) waited 
until the dying minutes of practice to depose
defending double world champion Max Biaggi (Chesterfield Aprilia) from 
the pole position he had held throughout the
weekend.
Jacque slotted in by less than a tenth of a second; with third-placed 
Ralf Waldmann (HB Honda) even closer, promising a
hard race tomorrow.
Jean-Philippe Ruggia (Chesterfield Elf Aprilia) completed the front row. 
Ruggia is the lap-record holder, with a time set in
1993.
Erstwhile title challenger Tetsuya Harada qualified fifth as the 
Marlboro Yamaha rider's gradual return to form continues. He
was heading Jurgen Fuchs (HB Honda), Nobuatso Aoki (Rheos Honda) and 
Luis d'Antin (MX Onda Honda).
Tohru Ukawa's time put him ninth, but he was out of the race after a 
heavy crash destroyed his bike and left him battered and
bruised.
125cc: TOKUDOME FIGHTS BACK
The Japanese 125-class hierarchy fought back today after an all-European 
provisional front row yesterday, with Masaki
Tokudome putting the Ditter Plastics Aprilia on top by two tenths from 
yesterday's leader Jorge Martinez (Airtel Aprilia), with
Stefano Perugini's Nastro Azzurro Aprilia only fractions of a tenth 
behind and Noboru Ueda (Docshop Honda) completing
the front row.
Defending champion Harachuki Aoki (Rheos Honda) led the second row, with 
the first 11 riders covered by the space of one
second.
-- 
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20 July 1996 - 18:30 CET
Marlboro Riders - Final 500cc Qualifying
CAPIROSSI SO CLOSE TO POLE
Young Italian Loris Capirossi came within seconds of grabbing his first 
500 pole position at Donington this afternoon. In hot,
muggy conditions the Marlboro Yamaha Team Rainey rider bettered Mick 
Doohan's 1995 pole time by over a second and
led the session until the final second when Doohan slotted in a faster 
time on his Honda. Capirossi ended up just 0.158
seconds behind the World Champion and the top 11 riders were all under 
Doohan's '95 pole time. "We've reverted to the
chassis I used during winter testing and at the beginning of the season, 
and I feel much better with this chassis," said a
delighted Capirossi. "The chassis we had been using was far too 
sensitive and very difficult to set up. For sure I think I can
ride a good race tomorrow Ð the bike is perfect and we've got good 
tyres. Also, I love Donington, but I think I'll love every
track with this chassis." Team owner Wayne Rainey was also more than 
happy with Capirossi's return to form after a rather
bleak spell. "He went a second faster than yesterday, and then he backed 
that up with a 32.9," said Rainey. "Loris likes the
bike the way it is. He's getting a good feeling from it, and that's what 
it's all about."
ROBERTS JUNIOR MAKES FRONT ROW
Kenny Roberts Junior made the 500 front row for the first time this 
afternoon, taking his Marlboro Yamaha Team Roberts
YZR to third on the grid, two tenths of a second off Doohan's pole time. 
The American led the session in the early stages, an
impressive performance from a man who rode his first 500 GP only three 
months ago. "We struggled yesterday but we got in
the groove this afternoon," he smiled. "My guys put their heads together 
and though we drifted off course a bit this morning,
the bike was great for the last qualifier. For sure it was one of the 
best bikes on the track this afternoon. All I did was get on
and ride. "I messed up the last turn on my best lap, so I could have 
been a couple of tenths faster, but we're not complaining.
It wasn't a ballistic lap either, it felt smooth. I did a lot of 33s on 
race tyres, so I'm confident for the race, making the front row
is just a bonus. "Starts have been my problem at the last few races, so 
my guys have mixed and matched some of the different
types of clutch plates we've got. We've tested some starts and I'm 
hoping to get away good tomorrow. If we can get a good
start I'll just try and hang in there with the fast guys. I want to make 
the podium, but the main thing would be I'd learn a lot
from running with those guys." Roberts Senior was happy about his son's 
move up the order, and equally impressed by his
team's strongest qualifying performance of the year, with all three 
riders in the top six. "The Yamaha works good round here,"
he said. "But if we have made any improvement here, it's down to our 
riders because they're young and they're learning."
BAYLE JUST MISSES FRONT ROW
Jean-Michel Bayle missed out on a front row start by five hundredths of 
a second after setting fifth fastest time today. The
French Marlboro Yamaha Team Roberts ace was on provisional pole 
yesterday, but remained unflustered by his move to fifth
on the grid. "We had a bit of a problem with front-end chatter, I think 
the tyre may have span on the rim," said Bayle. "I'm not
worried about losing pole. The main thing is that the bike suits this 
track. I expect a close race tomorrow and I think tyres
could be the deciding factor. Also this track is very tiring, probably 
the third most demanding track after Malaysia and
Indonesia, so fitness will also play a big part."
ABE ON SECOND ROW
Norifumi Abe made the second row for the first time since the 
season-opening Malaysian GP with sixth fastest time. The
result confirmed a steady return to form for the brilliant young 
Japanese, who has been getting plenty of advice from former
GP ace Randy Mamola. "The bike is getting better, I'm riding better and 
the tyres are better than before," grinned the
Marlboro Yamaha Team Roberts man. "Randy has been helping me a lot too. 
I'm hoping for a good result tomorrow. I
usually finish the race higher than my starting position, but that's 
because I normally qualify quite badly! However, I'll be trying
as hard as ever tomorrow and aiming to improve on today's result."
CRIVILLE SEVENTH
Marlboro rider Alex Criville has taken pole position at the last three 
GPs, but he was unable to make it four in a row on his
Repsol Honda today. "I tried everything over the last few laps, but it 
was impossible to find a clear lap," said Criville. "The
problem here is that it's very difficult to pass slower riders. However, 
I think the bike is working well and I see no reason why
I shouldn't have another good rider tomorrow."
CADALORA TENTH
Luca Cadalora struggled with chassis problems throughout practice today, 
consigning the Marlboro rider to the third row of
the grid. "The bike isn't holding its line," he said. "Perhaps it's the 
weight of the on-bike camera I'm carrying, but I doubt it.
The bike feels really heavy and it's running wide everywhere."
DOOHAN BACK ON TOP
Double World Champion Mick Doohan took pole for the first time in four 
GPs this afternoon after a blistering last-gasp
attack on Capirossi's time. His first counter-attack failed, but the 
Aussie pitted for tyres at the last moment, giving him time for
one more go. "It would be good if we could get some grip, I can't find a 
tyre that works, but I guess it's probably the same for
everyone," said Doohan who was riding the outer limits in a bid to 
regain pole from Capirossi. "But we seem to be a lot more
consistent than everyone else. The times are close, so we can't count 
anyone out for tomorrow. I think it's down to the nature
of the track, it's similar to Assen Ð you have to keep things flowing, 
it's down to the guys who are keen to keep the gas
on."Doohan will start his 100th GP tomorrow. He made his GP debut in 
Japan on March 26 1989, took his first pole at the
1990 Spanish GP and his first win at the 1990 Hungarian GP. "If you 
didn't tell me, I wouldn't know," commented Doohan on
his century. "The good thing is that I'm probably having more fun this 
year than I was in my first grand prix season."


20 July 1996 - 18:30 CET
Chesterfield Riders - Final 250cc Qualifying
Olivier Jacque (Chesterfield Elf Tech 3 Honda): pole position, 1m 
34.397s
Frenchman Olivier Jacque stormed to his second successive pole position 
at Donington this afternoon. After major chassis
changes to his machine, Jacque gave it his everything in the dying 
minutes of the final session, eventually beating Max Biaggi's
provisional pole time. "I didn't expect to be on pole, because we were 
having a lot of suspension problems at the start of
practice," said Jacque. "We are running a new front fork here, and this 
morning we had to switch to a harder front tyre
because we knew the one we ran yesterday would not go race distance. So 
we had to change the bike set-up to suit, and that
lost us a lot of time. But I really wanted pole, so I was prepared to 
ride right on the limit once we'd got everything working
well. "I think I can go as fast in the race tomorrow. It's going to be 
fun."
Massimiliano Biaggi (Chesterfield Aprilia Team): second, 1m 34.459s
World Champion Massimiliano Biaggi was on provisional pole after 
yesterday's opening qualifying session but the Italian
slipped to second fastest today. Biaggi and his team experimented with a 
different steering angle in the timed session and lost
time reverting to the old set-up when the new setting failed to produce 
the desired results. "We wanted to improve the bike,
so we changed the angle of the front fork," explained Biaggi. "But I 
quickly realised it wasn't any better, so I had to come
back into the pits so my technicians could put the bike back to the way 
it was. That lost us some time, so I wasn't able to go
faster than I went yesterday. "Tyres are a big problem here but I 
presume that everyone is having the same trouble. "I think
also this is a good track for the Hondas. The NSR engine has a more 
relaxed power delivery and a wider powerband which
is good for the slow corners here. For that reason, and for the tyres, 
it's going to be a very tough race."
Jean-Philippe Ruggia (Chesterfield Elf Tech 3 Honda): fourth, 1m 34.873
Jean-Philippe Ruggia moved up to the front row for the first time since 
last month's French GP at Circuit Paul Ricard. "I'm
always happy to be on the front row," said Ruggia. "The bike is 
definitely better than it was yesterday, but we still need to find
some more acceleration from the engine. As I said yesterday, tyres are 
going to play a very important role in tomorrow's race.
It's going to be very difficult to find tyres that will last full race 
distance, I just hope it'll be the same for everyone."
