Marco Melandri and Toni Elias will both be hoping to make a good start to Sunday’s race in Valencia to finish what has, so far, been a difficult weekend in good style. In the morning free session both riders found good rhythm, but they did not make best use of their qualifying tyres and failed to get good grid positions for the race. Melandri will start from the fourth row, while his team-mate will Toni Elias will set off from the fifth. The huge crowds expected on Sunday, around 120,000 people, will ensure a superb spectacle as Fortuna look to sign off their involvement with the team in style. Melandri is hoping the team will be able to find a way to improve his feeling with the bike overnight as he looks to claim third place in the world championship ahead of nearest rival Loris Capirossi.
Marco Melandri: (1’32”062, 12th):”I am not satisfied, it will be a very hard race tomorrow. I hope to make a good start as I have the race rhythm to be up with the front-runners. I did not make best use of the qualifying tyre and could not guarantee myself a good position on the grid. I want to try and get a good result so that I can confirm third place in the championship.”
Toni Elias: (1’32”144, 13th):“I am not happy with the result because I wanted to be further up. However, I don’t want to write off my chances as in Portugal I started 15th but ended up winning the race. I hope to make a good start and make up as many positions as I can quickly. My race rhythm has improved over the weekend so I hope I can get a good result.”
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