The Australian GP this weekend is the last of the season. Although the 500cc championship season has been decided, there is a dog fight for the 250 championship between the top three contenders. Appropriately, the top three contenders for the 250 crown finished in the top three spots after qualifying, with the Yamahas of Shinya Nakano and Olivier Jacque first and second quickest, respectively, and the Honda of Daijiro Kato third quickest.
In the 500 class, Jeremy McWilliams put the Aprilia v-twin on pole ahead of the Honda of Alex Barros.
500cc Qualifying Results (Top 10)
1. Jeremy McWilliams (Aprilia) 1'32.552 2. Alex Barros (Honda) 1'32.811 3. Regis Laconi (Yamaha) 1'32.964 4. Kenny Roberts Jr. (Suzuki) 1'33.032 5. Loris Capirossi (Honda) 1'33.282 6. Garry McCoy (Yamaha) 1'33.312 7. Carlos Checa (Yamaha) 1'33.481 8. Valentino Rossi (Honda) 1'33.520 9. Alex Criville (Honda) 1'33.618 10. Tadayuki Okada (Honda) 1'33.667
250cc Qualifying Results (Top 10)
1. Shinya Nakano (Yamaha) 1'33.713 2. Olivier Jacque (Yamaha) 1'34.182 3. Daijiro Katoh (Honda) 1'34.188 4. Marco Melandri (Aprilia) 1'34.287 5. Ralf Waldmann (Aprilia) 1'34.561 6. Tohru Ukawa (Honda) 1'34.678 7. Alex Debon (Aprilia) 1'35.296 8. Alfonso Nieto (Yamaha) 1'35.298 9. Jason Vincent (Aprilia) 1'35.357 10. Sebastian Porto (Yamaha) 1'35.434
