These press releases were released to the press today:

LORENZO SEALS STUNNING POLE IN MOTEGI FOR YAMAHA'S HOME RACE

Jorge Lorenzo was on superb form at Motegi today, taking an impressive pole position on his first visit to Japan as a Yamaha rider. The 21-year-old will head the field for his Factory's home race tomorrow whilst his Fiat Yamaha team-mate Valentino Rossi, who will be bidding to seal his eighth World Championship crown, will start from fourth.

Lorenzo struggled in the dry yesterday afternoon but some overnight set-up changes to his M1 reaped rich rewards today and the Spaniard was in very different shape from this morning, finishing the early session in second. This afternoon saw him sustain an even higher level of performance, improving with three out of four of his Michelin qualifying tyres and holding off Casey Stoner, Nicky Hayden and Rossi to hang on to pole position. With his challengers already back in the pits he had pole in the bag for his final run but was nonetheless able to improve once again, setting a best lap of 1'45.543 and bettering the previous pole record by 0.181 seconds.

Lorenzo began his MotoGP career this season with three straight poles, culminating in a win from the third one in Portugal. He has started from third at the last two races and finished in the same position for both, meaning he has been on the podium each time he has started on the front row this season. He will be looking to keep this record intact when the lights go out at 1400 local time tomorrow.

Jorge Lorenzo

Position: 1st Time: 1'54.543 Laps: 27

"I'm so happy for this pole position because this is how I started my season and it shows that we are returning to how we were. It's the first pole since Portugal, when I won, and we have had a hard time since then until the last two podiums so this is a great satisfaction for me. I was able to ride so fast all day today, a big improvement from yesterday, and my Michelin tyres worked so well all day so thank you to them. My team have done a great job to set the bike up and this is a fantastic qualifying for us. It's not the race so now we have to wait for tomorrow, but we're starting in the best place so I am looking forward to having a great race."

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ROSSI TO LAUNCH TITLE ASSAULT FROM SECOND ROW AT MOTEGI

Valentino Rossi will contest his first ?match point' of the 2008 championship from the head of the second row tomorrow, having qualified fourth at Motegi today. Rossi's Fiat Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo sealed an impressive pole position today and will lead the field, with Casey Stoner and Nicky Hayden behind him.

After the changeable weather of yesterday, today was bright and sunny and Rossi was in good shape this morning and finished the session third. This afternoon he signalled his intentions with twenty minutes to go by going to the top of the time sheets with his first Bridgestone qualifying tyre, although he was displaced soon after by Stoner, who was then knocked off by Lorenzo in turn. Despite improving with his next two tyres Rossi was unable to make a dent in his team-mate's time and he than ran into traffic on his last run, meaning he was unable to improve a final time and was edged off the front row by Nicky Hayden at the end.

Finishing on the podium will be enough for the Italian to secure his eighth world championship tomorrow, although he can also take the title from further down the order depending on where Casey Stoner finishes. Tomorrow's 24-lap race gets underway at 1400 local time.

Valentino Rossi

Position: 4th Time: 1'46.060 Laps: 26

"Honestly I'm a bit disappointed because the front row was our target today, but anyway fourth isn't too bad! Unfortunately we spent a bit too much time with the race tyres and started our qualifying sequence a few minutes late, this meant that I was maybe one or two minutes late going out with my last tyre and I got a bit caught up with traffic when de Angelis fell. Anyway, our race pace is quite good so I am confident that we can be in the fight, although we will have to get a good start. We have one or two small problems that we need to work on so we will use the warm-up to check a few things and I think we can improve a little bit more. I am not thinking about the championship right now, I will just aim for the podium and see what happens."

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Grand Prix MotoGP of Japan . Motegi - Qualifying Practices. Sat. 27th Sept. 2008
Edwards and Toseland ready for Japanese battle

Tech 3 Yamaha duo Colin Edwards and James Toseland claimed top ten grid positions for tomorrow's 24-lap
Japanese MotoGP race at the Twin Ring Motegi.

Edwards claimed his best qualifying position since his home race in Laguna Seca as he finished an exciting
session with the seventh quickest time. Having spent most of the day trying to improve rear traction on race
tyres, Edwards was immediately in the groove on his first Michelin qualifying tyre.

He jumped to the top of the timesheets with a lap of 1.47.082 with 23 minutes remaining and showed
impressive progress throughout. By the end he was only 0.046s off claiming a superb second row start with a
best time of 1.46.496.

Toseland will start from 10th position as the British rider worked tirelessly on fine-tuning his race set-up to suit
harder compound tyres, with conditions much hotter than yesterday's mixed weather. Toseland steadily
improved his pace and he's confident he can fight his way into contention for a top six finish in Yamaha's home
race.

Colin Edwards 7th 1.46.496 - 24 laps
"I felt like I threw everything at it today but I couldn't get close to Jorge's time. That was pretty impressive and
he did an awesome job. The weird thing is that our qualifier doesn't usually spin at all but for some reason today
that's all mine did. Michelin have had a great qualifier all year but today it felt more like a soft race tyre, which is
very strange and I don't know if it is down to the tyre or the set-up. Looking at Jorge and how he seemed to
make it work, I guess it was our set-up. On race tyres it is the same. Everything I have got it is spinning but
there is no variation. I've got three tyres I could race and they all feel the same. Normally that would tell you
there is a set-up issue. We had spinning problems yesterday and we played around with rear springs and some
other suggestions we thought might work, but none of it really seemed to make any difference. We just haven't
found anything yet. Looking at my race pace, I don't really have a low 47 in my package at the moment and it
looks like that's what we are going to need. It would have been good to be on the second row because history
has shown that the first corner here can be pretty tough. It is also not the easiest place to overtake on. There
are a lot of hard braking zones but you've got lots of momentum going into the corner, so you've got to be really
confident to dive underneath somebody. This is a big race for Yamaha tomorrow and hopefully I can play a big
part in it."

James Toseland 10th 1.46.863 - 23 laps
"I paid for my lack of time and experience on this track really. To be in the top ten is not too bad but when you
believe you can do a lot better it is frustrating. With four qualifiers you need half the session to use them and
that just leaves you ten to fifteen laps on race tyres to find a good set-up. We got the bike a bit better and got
into the 48s but we really need to be doing high 47s to be challenging for the top six. I'm pretty happy with my
progress but with that rain session yesterday it has held me back a little bit. We made a step forward with the
set-up yesterday but there is more we need to do. The temperature was a lot hotter today and the softer tyre
that was looking good,we can't use. Now it is warmer we need to run the harder tyre and we need a lot more
weight on the rear to make it work. The setting that we had was fine for the softer tyre but with the harder one it
wasn't putting enough load on the rear tyre. On the qualifiers I got into the 46s and I'm only three-tenths off
Colin and he has been here many times on the same bike. I could have done with being on that third row so it
will be a bit difficult but we'll try and keep out of trouble early on. You need a good start because there is not
much distance between the start and the first corner. There is a top six finish out there if we can improve the
setting and I'll be giving it my all as usual with this being such an important race for everybody at Yamaha."

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Stoner takes front row for Bridgestone's home GP

Round 15: Japan - Qualifying
Twin Ring Motegi - Saturday 27 September 2008

Ducati rider Casey Stoner has taken second place on the grid for tomorrow's Japanese Grand Prix after this afternoon's
qualifying session at the Twin Ring Motegi circuit. It is the Australian's eleventh front row start of the season.

Four Bridgestone riders secured top six positions for tomorrow's 24-lap race with Valentino Rossi in fourth place for Fiat
Yamaha, Dani Pedrosa in fifth for Repsol Honda and Loris Capirossi in sixth for the Rizla Suzuki team.

It is only the second time this season that Bridgestone has such a presence on the front two rows of the grid and the first
time in dry conditions, the previous occasion being when Bridgestone riders locked out the front two rows of the Brno grid
after a wet qualifying session. Today's qualifying results also represent an improvement over Bridgestone's performance in
last year's Motegi qualifying in which Randy de Puniet was the highest qualifier in fourth place for Kawasaki.

Casey Stoner and pole sitter Jorge Lorenzo (Fiat Yamaha) were the only riders able to set a qualifying time today quicker
than that of last year's pole time with Stoner's best lap of 1m45.831s marking a 1.3 second improvement over his own
qualifying lap from 2007.

Bridgestone has also been able to make good use of today's dry and sunny conditions to evaluate its slick race tyres with
some promising lap times set by Stoner, Rossi, Pedrosa and Capirossi who were also among the top six riders on race
tyres in this morning's free practice hour together with Lorenzo and Repsol Honda's Nicky Hayden who qualified third.

Tyre Talk with Tohru Ubukata - Bridgestone Motorsport - Manager, Motorcycle Race Tyre Development

What are your thoughts on qualifying?
"Our run of consecutive pole positions has come to an end, but I am nevertheless quite satisfied with the results of this
afternoon's qualifying session. Casey claimed another excellent front row and set a best lap time quicker than last year's
pole position time which is very pleasing. We have a total of four riders in the top six which will be good for the race. We tried
a new qualifying compound today which some riders were able to derive benefit from but it did not give everyone the
expected level of performance. Unfortunately, there was a lot of traffic at the end of the session which prevented many
riders from improving their time on the final run."

How is the pace on race tyres?
"We have had good weather today and this has allowed us to put a lot of laps on the race tyres. We looked at medium and
hard specification slick tyres in the warmer conditions that we have faced and the performance has been quite consistent.
The competition is extremely close and the battle for the front positions will be tough in the race. Some riders have put over
a race distance on the tyres today, although not on consecutive laps, so durability will hopefully not be a concern. Of course
the race is a different matter entirely, but we have several riders near the front of the grid who should all have the pace to
fight for the podium tomorrow."

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2008 MotoGP World Championship
Alice Team
Motegi, Japan, fifteenth MotoGP round
Qualifying, Saturday September 27th 2008

DIFFICULT QUALIFYING FOR THE ALICE TEAM IN THE GRAND PRIX OF JAPAN.
ELIAS AND GUINTOLI WILL START FROM THE FIFTEENTH ROW.

Surely not the best qualifying session of the season for the Alice Team and its rider that during the qualifying session couldn't make it to go further than the fourteenth and fifteenth best lap times. Elias, who is in front of his teammate, isn't in the best physical conditions due to illness. Guintoli has a good race rhythm but didn't make it to use in the best way Bridgestone qualifying tyres. Tomorrow morning the Alice Team will try to find the best set up of the bike to let its riders fight with the best in the Japanese race that will begin at 2pm local time.

Fabiano Sterlacchini - Alice Team Technical Director
"With the racing tyres Toni has gone ok. This morning he hasn't been so constant, but in the afternoon we have solved some problems and this allowed us to make a good step forward. Toni is ill and this makes him a bit weak. With the qualifying tyres we couldn't find the right set up of the bike, but we remain trustful for tomorrow's race."

Toni Elias - Alice Team Rider (14th best lap time in 1'46.958 - Total laps 20)
"Today it has been a really hard day because I didn't feel well. I am ill and I don't have so much energies. It isn't the best situation for a racing weekend. This morning we had some difficulties to find the right set up and I also slipped. In the afternoon we have improved, even if I can't be too happy. With the qualifying tyres I went really bad today and I will have to start well in the race to try to remain with the front group."

Sylvain Guintoli - Alice Team Rider (15th best lap time in 1'47.400 - Total laps 22)
"A really bad qualifying. During every free session I went quite well and the race rhythm is good, but I am really sad to have to start so far behind. With this bike is like playing golf, when you try to push harder, as I have done during today with qualifying tyres, you can't make it to improve. Maybe I have to be more relaxed with this bike and I don't have to try so impetuously."

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HOPKINS ELEVENTH IN MOTEGI QUALIFYING
Kawasaki's John Hopkins will start tomorrow's A-Style Grand Prix of Japan at the Motegi circuit from 11th place on the grid, after making further steps forward in race set-up aboard his Ninja ZX-RR.

Hopkins made changes to his chassis set-up in this morning's practice session, particularly to suit a different specification Bridgestone front tyre that he is using for the first time competitively this weekend. The Kawasaki pilot was looking set throughout this afternoon's timed session to take his first top ten grid position since Brno, but a small mistake during his final run on qualifying rubber left him in eleventh place with a best time of 1'46.888s around the 4.8km circuit.

Hopkins is confident that he has a much-improved race pace with the adjustments he and his crew have made today, which has enhanced the braking stability of his Kawasaki race machine. The 25-year-old Anglo-American is looking forward to tomorrow's 24-lap race and is hoping to fight for a strong finish aboard his Ninja ZX-RR, which also features a new specification engine for this weekend.

Anthony West also made a vast improvement during today's two hour-long sessions, despite qualifying in 17th position on the grid. The 27-year-old Australian worked with his crew to identify the cause of the corner entry difficulties that have caused him great frustration in the last few races.

With the changes made to the Kawasaki racer's chassis and engine management settings in this morning's stint, West managed to slash a second off his lap time on a race tyre in the afternoon session. Unfortunately this improvement was not evident on qualifying tyres, but West is now concentrating on building his confidence, especially as he now feels much more comfortable aboard his Ninja ZX-RR.

John Hopkins
#21 - 11th - 1'46.888
"From yesterday to today we've definitely made a big improvement with the bike, particularly in the rear end grip and braking stability. The Bridgestone tyres are working well here, and we're now using the same specification front tyre that the other competitors have been on for some time. We had to make a few set-up changes to suit this, but my confidence is growing, so we're back on track and going in the right direction. I was hoping to be in the top ten, but I made a mistake on my last qualifying tyre and we didn't get the best run, which prevented us from achieving a higher starting position. However, it's a better result than we've had in the last few rounds and our race pace is strong, so we're looking for a good start, and I hope we can get away to fight for a good finish, especially as it's Kawasaki's second home event."

Anthony West
#13 - 17th - 1'47.669
"I'm obviously disappointed to have qualified so far down the grid, but we've made some progress today. I have been really struggling on corner entry when the machine is under heavy braking, because it locks up and makes it feel very unstable to turn. It's been particularly bad at this circuit, as it's very tight and there are a lot of corners that require heavy braking and hard acceleration. We made some changes from this morning to this afternoon and this made a huge difference in the way the bike handled on a race tyre, giving me a lot more confidence and the ability to run consistently good times. We just didn't have enough time to continue our progress, but it's the first time I've felt really comfortable on the bike for a while and I hope this will transfer into a better result for us in tomorrow's race."

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Motegi - Japan - 27 September 2008

Andrea Dovizioso ready for another top five finish at Motegi

After the final day of testing for the Japanese Grand Prix, Andrea Dovizioso will start from the fifth row of the grid with the daunting prospect of moving up through the field to finish in the top five. During the free practice sessions the JiR Team Scot rider has managed to develop his Honda RC212V with the aim of being able to do consistent lap times. On a track that commits both bike and the rider during both braking and acceleration, Andrea Dovizioso is confident he can achieve a good result, and utilize to the maximum the early laps as he aims to recover vital positions.

Cirano Mularoni - Team Manager - JiR Team Scot
"The qualifying session has been demanding for Andrea and tomorrow in the race he will give the maximum at the start and push 110% in the early stages, paying special attention to the first turn, which is both narrow and slow after the long straight. We don't need to emphasize the ability of Andrea, who is able to make a good start and then able to manage a race that often sees him come up through the field. With this in mind, I am confident that we could get another good result."

Andrea Dovizioso - Rider - JiR Team Scot MotoGP
HONDA RC212V
13th time: 1'46 "907
"Tomorrow will be a race that I must make a good start in. From the fifth row I will have to start very well, but usually I make a fast start, so I might be able to recover some positions. The first turn on the Motegi circuit could be difficult and has to be approached carefully if we are all bunched up. The circuit has a particular character: there's a lot of acceleration from low speed, out of the slow corners and these characteristics do not help us and also it is pretty challenging to pass on the brakes. Passing is one of my strengths and one, which I will try to exploit to the fullest. I think the first group of four riders will have an advantage, while I can fight for fifth or sixth place in the second group."

Gianni Berti - Technical Coordinator - JiR Team Scot
"In light of the race, we are quite ready and we will work in the warm-up for the development of some minor details. Our position on the grid is just Andrea failing to show his quality in that session, but we are optimistic for tomorrow and I believe that with a good start we can have a good race and collect the rewards."

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Saturday Sep 27 2008
Round 15 - Japanese GP - Qualifying

STONER JUST MISSES OUT ON POLE, MELANDRI STRUGGLING IN THE DRY

It was "A Bug's Life", quite literally, for Casey Stoner at Motegi today as a rogue intruder ruined the Australian's final challenge for pole position in the Grand Prix of Japan. An insect that hit his visor and restricted his vision when out on his third and final qualifying tyre cost the World Champion his concentration and vital tenths off his lap time.

However, with a safe second place already in the bank and a good pace in race trim throughout practice here this weekend, Stoner will launch a confident challenge for the podium from the front row of the grid in tomorrow's race.

Marco Melandri, meanwhile, suffered with the upturn in weather conditions here as the dry track contributed to a resurgence of the problems that have hounded him all season. After a positive showing in the wet yesterday, today the Italian could manage no higher than 16th.

CASEY STONER (Ducati Marlboro Team) 2nd: 1'45.831

"For the race we're in quite good shape. We've still got a few things to improve for tomorrow but we're reasonably happy because we're running consistent lap times. I'm a little bit disappointed with qualifying. Of the three qualifying tyres you always use the first one to try and get used to it and build from there but the second tyre didn't work as we hoped and then on the third one I got a bug on my visor at the start of the lap! I couldn't get the rip-off visor off because I was trying to push but the bug distracted me and I couldn't see properly. It's a silly little thing but stuff just doesn't seem to be going for us at the moment! Anyway, second place is still good and tomorrow's another day. We're in good shape for the race and we'll do the best we can."

MARCO MELANDRI (Ducati Marlboro Team) 16th: 1'47.475

"Today went more or less like the whole season. When the conditions are bad and the pace drops we're able to go well, but with a dry track the same old problems come back. I'm quite strong on the brakes and on the way into the corners but I'm really, really slow on the exit because I can't get the throttle open. The bike is moving around so much and that clearly isn't my style of riding. Unfortunately I'm expecting a tough race."

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PEDROSA FIFTH FASTEST, AND MORE TO COME

Japanese Grand Prix, Twin Ring Motegi
Qualifying, Saturday September 27 2008

Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa will start tomorrow's Japanese GP from the second row of the grid after recording fifth-fastest time in this afternoon's qualifying session.

Conditions were warm and sunny as the Spaniard sped to fifth place in only his second qualifying session on Bridgestone qualifying tyres. Earlier in the day he had recorded fourth fastest time in the final free practice outing. Tomorrow morning Pedrosa is confident he can make further set-up improvements to his RC212V so he can be a part of the front-running pack in the race.

Dani Pedrosa, 5th fastest, 1m 46.303s
"I am happier than I was after Indy qualifying because we are improving all the time. Every time I go out with another qualifying tyre I get faster, but during my last lap today I made a mistake at one corner and lost a lot of time. The second row is okay, it's important to get a good start here because the first corner is so close to the grid. Today we tried a few different race tyres and did some good work, but we still need to make some improvements in a few different places. This is Honda's home track, I have always been a Honda rider, so it is very important for all of us to get a good result here. I will do my best."

Kazuhiko Yamano - Team Manager
"Dani is going well here, he has improved his race pace since yesterday and still has some small improvements to make to his set-up during morning warm-up. This is his second qualifying sessions with Bridgestone tyres, he is starting to understand the tyres, though he can still get faster with them at the next races. Considering this, the second row is a good result. It will be a tough race with many riders running similar lap times."

CRIVILLE AND REPSOL HONDA NSR500 RIDE AGAIN
Alex Crivillé rode his 1999 World Championship-winning Repsol Honda NSR500 at Motegi today. The Spaniard completed two laps as part of the track's ten years of GP racing anniversary - Motegi hosted its first GP in 1999.

"Riding the bike brought back many good and happy memories," smiled Crivillé. "I think the NSR500 is probably one of the greatest motorcycles ever made, and it was good to see the fans enjoying the sound of the 500 once more. I have my other 1999 NSR at home in Spain. This bike is looked after by the Honda Collection Hall and it felt good. The engine still makes very good power - I had a small slide on my first lap. I got on the gas and had some wheelspin, so I told myself to be careful. These bikes have no traction control! Compared to the modern MotoGP machines, everything is different, the 500 doesn't have any engine braking, and the powerband is narrower than that of the four-strokes."

Crivillé rode for the Repsol Honda team for seven seasons, winning 14 of his 15 GPs for the team, including six victories during his title-winning year.

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REPSOL HONDA'S HAYDEN ON MOTEGI FRONT ROW
Japanese Grand Prix, Twin Ring Motegi
Qualifying, Saturday September 27 2008

Repsol Honda rider Nicky Hayden stormed to a front-row start at Motegi this afternoon, signalling his intention to play a leading role in tomorrow's Japanese Grand Prix.

The American ended the qualifying session third fastest, just four tenths off pole position, despite having to ride two full-speed laps on his final set of Michelin qualifiers after he had been baulked by a group of slower riders at the start of his final run. A good grid position is vital at Motegi because the first corner is tight and close to the start.

This is Hayden's third front-row start of the year, after Catalunya and Laguna Seca, Two weeks ago at Indianapolis he recorded his first podium finish of the year with a great ride to second.

Nicky Hayden, 3rd fastest, 1m 45.971s
"Honda's home race, we're on the front row which is nice, now we've got to try and get a result. Yesterday the bike didn't feel good, balance and all. We made some pretty good changes overnight. A lot of the time when you make changes, in theory they should do this or that but a lot of the time it don't work out like that, but today everything worked like we thought it would, so my guys did some good work. My race pace is decent but not great, we need to improve tomorrow morning if we want to turn it into a result, which is the plan. My first qualifier went good, my second I didn't really improve, the third one I did improve, then the fourth felt really good. But going into turn three there was a pack of riders, so I just had to shut it down. I went hard enough for the rest of that lap to keep heat in the tyres and then tried to pull the trigger again. Luckily I was able to get two laps out of it, though the last little bit of the second lap the right side started to go. The Michelin qualifiers were really good today, so I just held on to squeeze on to the front row. That's important here especially because in the past there's been plenty of carnage at the first turn. We'll try to improve the bike in morning, try to get away with them, then see what we got."

Kazuhiko Yamano - Team Manager
"Nicky and his team have done a great job here. His machine and the Michelin tyres are working very well, so he could make the front row, and it is very important to start from the front here. His pace on race tyres is also good. After his podium at Indy he is very motivated to fight for the win here."

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