Dani Pedrosa produced a sublime display of riding at sun-drenched Jerez this afternoon to claim his first pole position of the year, ahead of fellow Spaniard Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha). This was the 24-year-old’s 14th premier-class pole and his first at Jerez since 2007.

Pedrosa who is making the most of a revised RCV chassis has an enviable Jerez record to build on tomorrow. Since graduating to MotoGP in 2006 he has never finished lower than second here. Race winner in 2008, the former 125 and 250 World Champion was Jerez runner-up in 2006, 2007 and 2009. He also won the 250 GP here in 2005.

Pedrosa’s best lap cheered all the way by a massive and patriotic crowd was a stunning 0.285 seconds faster than the rest, an impressive advantage in modern-day MotoGP racing. But the next five riders were covered by just 0.104 seconds, suggesting that tomorrow’s second round of the 2010 MotoGP series should be a close and thrilling race.

Privateer Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda RC212V) rode another dazzling qualifying session to claim a second-row start at the tail end of that five-strong group, despite sliding off at Turn Ten this morning. The Frenchman who finished fourth at Jerez last year will be gunning for a podium tomorrow.

Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda RC212V) had expected great things this afternoon after lapping within four tenths of the fastest time this morning. But in the quest for an even better pace, Dovi tried some modifications this afternoon which actually took him back a step. Nonetheless, while his grid position isn’t what he would have wanted, Dovizioso’s pace is fast enough for him to be in the hunt for a podium, so long as he gets away with the front-runners. His best lap was less than half a second off fourth-quickest Valentino Rossi (Yamaha).

Marco Melandri (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V) was a morale-boosting tenth fastest, sixth thousands of a second behind Dovizioso. Melandri’s performance indicates that he is starting to gel with his RC212V after a challenging start to the season in Qatar three weeks ago. He looked rejuvenated on the bike and may well have scored a better grid slot if he hadn’t made a minor error during the final sector during his best lap.

Hiroshi Aoyama (Interwetten Honda MotoGP RC212V) was second best rookie of the day in 12th place, just behind Loris Capirossi (Suzuki) who will start his 301st GP tomorrow. The reigning 250 World Champion continuing his intelligent, step-by-step progress of acclimatisation into MotoGP, improving today from 14th this morning to make the top dozen this afternoon.

Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V) had another tough day, ending the hour-long session in 16th place, but the Italian rookie already proved in Qatar that he can find plenty more speed when it comes to the race.

Weather conditions for tomorrow are expected to be slightly cooler than today, which should add an interesting twist to today’s performances in both MotoGP and Moto2.

The new Honda-powered Moto2 World Championship produced a breathtakingly close qualifying session today; the fastest 20 riders separated by just 0.811 seconds! The pack was headed by Shoya Tomizawa (Technomag-CIP, Suter), the man who made history in Qatar by winning the inaugural Moto2 race. The 19-year-old Japanese rider set the fastest lap with 22 minutes to go, then slid off his Suter MMX machine two minutes later. Despite that hiccup, the 19-year-old held onto pole position by just two thousands of a second from reigning 125 World Champion Julian Simon (Mapfre Aspar Team, RSV).

Toni Elias (Gresini Racing Moto2, Moriwaki) made it two Spaniards on the front row by recording the third fastest time, a further five hundredths of a second behind his compatriot. Elias – winner of the 2003 250 GP here and Moto2 pole position man in Qatar three weeks ago – is still riding in some discomfort, suffering from a nasty left-hand injury he sustained during a hefty crash at Jerez during preseason testing.

Last man on the front row was Yuki Takahashi (Tech 3 Racing, Tech 3), who was less than three hundredths of a second behind Elias and only one hundredth in front of second-row leader Thomas Luthi (Interwetten Moriwaki Moto2, Moriwaki).

Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC212V), pole position at 1m 39.202s,
“It’s always nice to get pole position and especially here because it is my home race and the support from the fans is amazing, so I’m very happy for them. I really didn’t expect this pole to be honest, but I was pushing very hard so I’m very happy about it. Actually though, it’s not so significant for me because the important thing is the performance in the race and we still need to work very hard on this area. The new frame is delivering some improvements but we’re still not all the way there and we must continue to work on the stability because this is very important in order to be competitive over race distance. Our rivals are also showing a lot of potential so we can’t relax in any way because this will be a long, tough race. Obviously I will start the race thinking about the win, and I know there will be a lot of fans out there cheering for me so I hope we can give them something special.”

Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda RC212V), sixth at 1m 39.591s,
“I am very happy because it has been a very good qualifying session. I am just eight hundredths off the front row and the adjustments we have made to the bike work well especially in race trim. This afternoon we concentrated to obtain the second row and we are delighted with this result as we are the first independent team on the grid for the second time after Qatar GP. My target is to keep this placement in tomorrow’s race to repeat the positive result we gained in Qatar, but I know it won’t be so easy.”

Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda RC212V), ninth at 1m 40.021s,
“I actually think we could have made it onto the second row today so I’m a little disappointed with the result this afternoon because it can be very important to start from the first two rows. We showed our full potential in the morning session where we were four tenths behind the fastest rider, so it’s a shame we couldn’t repeat that in qualifying. For the afternoon we made some adjustments to the electronics and machine set-up and this actually took us back a step, so tomorrow we will return to this morning’s set-up and I’m confident that will give us an improvement. Starting from the third row it will be important to make a good getaway and stay glued to the front riders because this is key to having a good race – as we saw in Qatar.”

Marco Melandri (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V), tenth at 1m 40.027s,
“We had a great session today, setting an excellent race pace and I’m really confident about the race. We’re struggling a bit for rear grip but we’re working to improve and I think with a small step forward we can make a big improvement. It is a shame about the qualifying lap because I made a small mistake on my last effort and it cost me a lot of time in the final sector. Anyway, I think that with a good start we can have a fun race tomorrow. I’m happy because we’ve done a good job together, everybody in the team is highly motivated and I think we have created the right atmosphere to improve.”

Hiroshi Aoyama (Interwetten Honda MotoGP RC212V), 12th at 1m 40.322s,
“My lap times in the qualifying session were not bad today, but the starting position for the race could have been better and therefore I am not 100 per cent satisfied. I am not happy that we are not closer to the front. In general we worked a lot on the setup and it worked out. Tomorrow we want to improve the setup in the warm-up and then I hope we will have a good race.”

Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V), 16th at 1m 40.586s,
“After this morning’s session I was hoping for better this afternoon but we’re still struggling a little and I can’t ride how I want. The reality is that we’re not that far off the top guys – 1.3 seconds isn’t a big gap but I am still in sixteenth. All we can do is try to improve a little more before tomorrow and then do our best to make up positions in the race.”

Results from Qualifying at the GP of Spain – Jerez – 05-01-2010

Casey Stoner will start tomorrow’s Grand Prix of Spain from the front row of the grid in third place with his team-mate Nicky Hayden just two positions behind him in fifth after another highly-competitive display at Jerez this afternoon.

This morning the American escaped unhurt from high-speed crash and his team worked hard to repair his bike in time for an intense afternoon session that saw him lap just 0.049 seconds off the pace of Stoner.

Both riders are targeting a podium challenge tomorrow as they look to ruin the party for local favourites Dani Pedrosa and Jorge Lorenzo, who occupy the front two positions on the grid.

CASEY STONER (Ducati Marlboro Team) 3rd (1’39.511)
“We made a really strong start as soon as we rolled out onto the track yesterday but to be honest we haven’t made much progress with the set-up since then and nothing we have tried seems to have worked. As a result we went back to our original setting this afternoon and even though it was good enough for a front row position we still have plenty of room for improvement with it. It is going to be a busy warm-up session for us tomorrow morning and hopefully we can find something that helps us ahead of the race. In general the bike is still working better than it ever has around here though so I feel more confident for the race than I ever have at Jerez and I’m looking forward to the race tomorrow.”

NICKY HAYDEN – (Ducati Marlboro Team) 5th (1’39.560)
“The crash this morning wasn’t pretty but other than a couple of scrapes and bruises I’m fine. Considering I had a 130mph tumble I feel pretty good actually! Unfortunately it complicated things for the team because they had to work like dogs to fix the bike. I started the afternoon session on my other bike but we had a few issues with the gear shifter that we couldn’t resolve during the session so I had to jump on the bike I’d crashed. The guys were pretty sure it was okay but I wasn’t riding it because they wanted more time to check some things. I did a couple of 1’39.5s and it’s not crazy to suggest we had a couple more tenths in us that could have put us on the front row. Fifth place isn’t so bad – it’s going to be a long, hard race but I can’t wait to get started. I want to say thanks to the team for all their hard work today – hopefully I can pay them back with a good result tomorrow.”

Team Suzuki Alstare rider Leon Haslam took his first ever Superpole victory at Phillip Island today after consistently being in the top two or three throughout practice and qualifying.

The young Briton stormed to a lap of 1:31.229, over half a second inside the lap record, in Superpole 3, ahead of Michel Fabrizio (Ducati) and fellow Briton Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha). For a while it looked Leon’s team mate Sylvain would be joining him on the front row of the grid, but a late surge by Crutchlow, relegated the Frenchman to fifth place and row two.

Leon – 1st, 1:31.229
I am absolutely delighted to get my first Superpole victory but the results in the races tomorrow are more important. Sitting in the garage watching the other guys go round in final Superpole and seeing their times falling was more nerve-racking than being out on the track and riding and it was a great relief when it was over. When we use qualifying tires I have to use a slightly different riding style then when I am on race rubber.

Today once again we concentrated on getting a good race set up and did a lot of time on race rubber getting ready for raceday. From previous data we knew there was a certain way of working at this track to keep progressing and we did that rather than just chase any lap times.

My aim is to be in the first three in the first eight or nine laps and that will put me in a good position a good position at the end of the race. It is not what you can do in the first five laps, it’s what you do in the last five laps here that is most important
Although this is my first race weekend with the team, everyone is working together fantastically well. I have felt at home here at Suzuki Alstare since the very first time we tested and the boys have made my life easy.

Sylvain – 5th, 1:31.696
I thought I had done enough to get on the front row, but then I lost the position right at the end of final Superpole. It’s a bit disappointing because it would’ve been nice to be on the front row near my team mate and it would’ve been great for the team. But row two is OK and as long as I get good starts, I think I can get good results.

The important thing though is that I am really happy with the bike and how everything is going at the moment. I used race rubber in Superpole 1 and than qualifying tires in Superpole 2 and 3. I feel very comfortable on race tires and I am enjoying myself here.

Today we started with the same base set-up as yesterday and just made minor adjustments throughout the day. Also, I tried to improve the way I ride the bike and get more out of it, but I am just so happy at the moment and cannot wait for the races.

Phillip Island (Australia), Saturday 27th February : the first Superpole of the 2010 World Superbike season took place this afternoon at a breezy Phillip Island, and Ducati Xerox rider Michel Fabrizio was undoubtedly one of the protagonists, putting in a strong and consistent performance to snatch second place on tomorrow’s grid, and missing out on pole by just a fraction of a second. Team-mate Noriyuki Haga had a more difficult time, qualifying in tenth place for the opening races of the year. Of the first ten bikes on tomorrow’s grid, five are Ducati 1198s, yet another a demonstration of the bike’s competitiveness.

In this morning’s qualifying, and on a much cooler track compared to yesterday, the three fastest riders from yesterday, Checa, Fabrizio and Haslam did not manage to improve on their best times but they nevertheless held on the top three spots on the timesheet, qualifying first to third for the afternoon’s Superpole. Noriyuki, maintaining a similar pace to yesterday, preferred to work with a used tire than change to a fresh one in the final minutes to record a fast lap, meaning that he qualified for Superpole in fourteenth place. It is interesting to note that the fastest seventeen riders lapped within seven tenths of a second of each other, a sure sign that this year’s championship will be extremely hard fought.

As expected, Superpole was a close battle between the top eight. In the first of the three phases, 14 minutes in length, Nori immediately recorded a time fast enough for him to be able to return to the garage, safe in the knowledge that he had done enough. Michel meanwhile needed a tire change before his fastest lap propelled him up the timesheets to third place, to easily proceed to phase two along with his team-mate.

In the second mini-Superpole both factory riders went out on qualifiers, Michel making a fast lap and Nori changing tire mid-session. What seemed to be a clean lap for Haga unfortunately failed to equate to a fast enough lap, due to an apparent lack of rear grip which meant that Haga’s Superpole finished here, with the tenth fastest time of the afternoon, although only two tenths off Michel’s pace in the same session.

Michel, who still had a qualifier left to use in the final phase, pushed to the limit and it seemed that the pole position was within his grasp, but it all came down to a fraction of a second, with Michel ultimately closing in second place, just 0.016 of a second from Haslam on the Suzuki. Lining up in the first eight on tomorrow’s grid are also the Ducati 1198s of Checa (Althea Racing) in fourth and Smrz (Team Pata B&G Racing) in sixth.

Three-time world champion Troy Bayliss is once again special guest at the Phillip Island circuit this weekend and it was he who presented former team-mate Michel Fabrizio with his Superpole trophy today. Troy will continue to work as a Ducati “ambassador” in 2010.

Michel Fabrizio
“Today’s Superpole was very difficult but I am very happy with the final result. I lost out on the pole by just a fraction of a second which is a shame, but it’s not the first time that that has happened and the important thing is that I’m on the front row tomorrow. I was happy with my flying lap, a clean lap, with no-one in front of me. Tomorrow will be an equally difficult challenge, and various riders, me, Haslam, Checa, Biaggi and Nori will surely be in contention. We know we have a good race pace and I’m feeling confident for the races.”

Noriyuki Haga
“In the second phase of the Superpole I went out on a race tire but even though it felt like a clean lap, the time was not quick enough and unfortunately that put me out of the fight, and I finished tenth. Tomorrow I will of course need to make a fantastic start but I am confident that I am able to do that. I apologise to Ducati for the fact that I’m on the third row but I will, as ever, do my best in the races. Last year I started from 13th and won the race so I know it is possible to achieve a great result regardless of grid position.”

TIMES (Superpole): 1. Haslam (Suzuki) 1’31.2; 2. Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox) 1’31.2; 3. Crutchlow (Yamaha) 1’31.6; 4. Checa (Ducati) 1’31.6; 5. Guintoli (Suzuki) 1’31.6; 6. Smrz (Ducati) 1’31.7; 7. Rea (Honda) 1’21.9; 8. Toseland (Yamaha) 1’32.0; 9. Lanzi (Ducati) 1’32.3; 10. Haga (Ducati Xerox) 1’32.7

Kenan Sofuoglu and Michele Pirro will both start from the front row of the grid for tomorrow’s opening 2010 World Supersport championship race at Phillip Island in Australia.

The Hannspree Ten Kate Honda riders set the second and third fastest times respectively in this afternoon’s final qualifying session, with Spain’s Joan Lascorz taking pole position and Ireland’s Eugene Laverty completing the front row as the third fastest Honda rider.

After struggling with grip and tyre durability in yesterday’s warm conditions at the 4.445km Phillip Island circuit, the World Supersport championship’s most successful team made progress in today’s cooler conditions and both riders are confident for tomorrow’s season-opening 21-lap race.

Kenan Sofuoglu – P2 1’34.116s

That wasn’t so bad and I am really much happier than I was after yesterday’s sessions. We have really improved our package today and I only hope that it stays cool for the race tomorrow. I think I could have gone faster but on both my fast laps I came across slower riders which took away my rhythm. I think maybe I could have taken three or four tenths off my time, but I am happy enough with a front row start. It’s important to get a good start tomorrow because I will try, of course, to win the race. We also found a way to get a longer life for the tyre today and I will do my best to save it for the end of the race tomorrow.

Michele Pirro – P3, 1’34.156s

Well, of course I am happy because I said yesterday that my target today was to get a front row start. We achieved this goal but I had some problems with grip at the front, especially on the corner exit. The bike is new for me this season so the race tomorrow will be my first. It’s difficult to know what to expect but, for sure, there are a lot of fast riders and they will be at the front in the race. I am looking forward to it, but the front row is a good place to start.

Ronald ten Kate – team manager

Well, after the problems we had during the test here and yesterday, we put on a clean shirt today and made the improvements we needed.  Things really started to shape up for us today and I am delighted that both riders will start from the front row. Big compliments especially to Michele who has arrived immediately at the front in his debut for the team. Hopefully, both riders can finish the job off tomorrow.

2010 World Supersport championship, round 1 – Phillip Island, Australia (4.445km)

Final qualifying results:
1. Joan Lascorz (ESP) Kawasaki 1’33.847s
2. Kenan Sofuoglu (TUR) Hannspree Ten Kate Honda 1’34.116s
3. Michele Pirro (ITA) Hannspree Ten Kate Honda 1’34.156s
4. Eugene Laverty (IRL) Honda 1’34.300s
5. Katsuaki Fujiwara (JPN) Kawasaki 1’34.494s
6. David Salom (ESP) Triumph 1’34.873s

Less than three tenths of a second separated the top five riders after this afternoon’s opening qualifying session for this weekend’s first round 2010 World Supersport championship race at Phillip Island in Australia.

Hannspree Ten Kate Honda rider, Kenan Sofuoglu, set the third fastest time in this afternoon’s 45-minute session, which took place in temperatures of more than 30 degrees with a track temperature of almost 50 degrees. The Turkish rider was just 0.054s behind provisional pole sitter, Joan Lascorz.

Sofuoglu’s new team-mate for 2010, Michele Pirro, was fifth fastest today, his debut competitive outing for the Hannspree Ten Kate Honda team. The 23-year-old Italian was less than two tenths behind his more experienced team-mate and only three tenths away from Lascorz’s time.

Kenan Sofuoglu – P3, 1’34.683s

I am actually very disappointed because it seems that we have only two tyre options and we are experiencing problems with both. We have a pretty good set-up to do a fast lap, but we have had to concentrate today’s time on trying to make the tyres last. I know I can probably go 0.5s faster but there is no point going for that. We don’t have many ideas for a solution right now, but we will all sit down later and try to come up with some ideas for tomorrow.

Michele Pirro – P5, 1’34.918s

The times are very close so I am not so unhappy with my performance today. The bike is not perfect, however, and we have worked hard to find the right set-up and tyre choice for the race on Sunday. Tomorrow we will try some different ideas to get the tyre to work better and I will try very hard for a front row starting position.

Ronald ten Kate – team manager

We have spent a lot of time today trying to find a good race set-up. Although we’re not far off, there is still a lot more to come. We have both riders fully up there and we’re confident that things will improve both tomorrow and on Sunday.

2010 World Supersport championship – round 1
Phillip Island, Australia – 4.445km
1. Joan Lascorz (ESP) Kawasaki 1’34.629s
2. Eugene Laverty (IRL) Honda 1’34.634s
3. Kenan Sofuoglu (TUR) Hannspree Ten Kate Honda 1’34.683s
4. Katsuaki Fujiwara (JPN) Kawasaki 1’34.783s
5. Michele Pirro (ITA) Hannspree Ten Kate Honda 1’34.918s
6. Chaz Davies (GBR) Triumph 1’34.939s

Phillip Island (Australia), Friday 26th February : The World Superbike Championship officially got underway at Phillip Island today and, for the Ducati Xerox team and riders Noriyuki Haga and Michel Fabrizio, results of the first qualifying session were very positive, Fabrizio propelling himself to second place on the timesheets and Haga concluding in fifth.

After the very encouraging results of the recent tests held here last weekend, Michel closing fastest and Noriyuki in sixth, the team returned to work today in a motivated and enthusiastic frame of mind.

In the early afternoon the Superbike riders took to the tracks for the first free practice session. Faced with hotter track temperatures (circa 45°C) compared to those of last week’s test, both Noriyuki and Michel continued to work on the set-up of their Ducati 1198 machines. Both riders concentrated on tyre durability, trying to find the best set-up on used tyres. Michel was victim of a crash mid-session caused by an unexpected lack of grip at the front on entry into a corner, the asphalt was extremely slippery due to the heat. Having lost valuable time, the Italian rider exited on his second bike but was unfortunately unable to record a very fast lap, closing the session in 11th. Noriyuki made his fastest lap near the start of the session, closing in seventh place, but confident.

Later on, in the first qualifying session, the two factory riders significantly improved on their times , lapping consistently fast and towards the end of the session, on soft compounds, they both registered times that left them both happy and in the top five. Noteworthy performances also came from Carlos Checa and Shane “Shakey” Byrne (Althea Racing), they too riding the 1198, who finished the session in first and fourth placed respectively.

Michel Fabrizio 1m32.1s
“We tried different tyre solutions this morning and various setting solutions in agreement with my engineer. I had a fall, losing the front, but without causing myself, or my bike, too much damage fortunately. Then in the qualifying session we found a good direction with the tyre solution that may well be the one to choose for the race; the results were quite encouraging. During my fast lap I lost a couple of tenths through the last corner but I’m happy; we’ve worked well and I’m satisfied with the results. We have a good race pace but a lot will depend on Sunday’s weather.”

Noriyuki Haga 1m32.7s
“We’ve tested the different rear tyres that Pirelli make available to us this weekend but we are still undecided as to which will have the best durability in these hot conditions. Tomorrow we’ll try a different solution for the setting but overall I’m happy. The lap times have been consistent but today was very hot and although I felt I could have pushed a little more, I didn’t want to risk it, also because I saw that several riders crashed.”

TIMES: 1. Checa (Ducati) 1.32.1; 2. Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox) 1’32.1, 3. Haslam (Suzuki) 1’32.3; 4. Byrne (Ducati) 1’32.6; 5. Haga (Ducati Xerox) 1’32.7; 6. Biaggi (Aprilia) 1’32.8; 7. Rea (Honda) 1’32.8; 8. Guintoli (Suzuki) 1’32.9…

Valentino Rossi took pole for the second race running at Donington Park this afternoon, his fourth of the season and the 56th of his career. Jorge Lorenzo qualified third and, with four poles for him also this year, the Fiat Yamaha Team has now taken the front grid slot in eight out of the ten races. It is also the fifth consecutive race at which both riders have been on the front row.

After yesterday’s downpours, today was dry with sunny intervals and this morning saw Lorenzo second and Rossi third as they got their first chance to work on their dry settings around the 4km track. In this afternoon’s hour-long qualifying session Lorenzo held pole position for most of the session until briefly surrendering it to Dani Pedrosa ten minutes from the end, whilst Rossi struggled slightly to find the best set-up with the hard Bridgestone tire.

22-year-old Lorenzo moved back to the top just a couple of laps later but was then edged off by Rossi with three minutes to go, as the Italian found his best form at the perfect time. The Spaniard was unable to match the pace of his championship-leading team-mate with the soft tire and finished 0.286 seconds adrift, whilst a strong charge from Dani Pedrosa edged the Spaniard into third but was not good enough to knock Rossi off pole.

Tomorrow’s race will start at the later time of 1530 local time, which is 1630 CET.

Valentino Rossi – Position: 1st Time: 1′28.116 Laps: 32
“I am quite surprised to be on pole today because we had a couple of problems this afternoon! This morning unfortunately we didn’t try the hard Bridgestone tire but we weren’t worried because everyone else had good grip with it. But this afternoon when we finally tried it we found the grip to be not as we expected and our pace with it wasn’t so good. We made some modifications and improved it a bit, then we made a few more and used the soft tire again and then we were very quick. Like that I could ride the bike how I wanted and it felt great, fast and flowing so this was a good job from the team. We need to do some work to improve our pace with the hard tire, and then we just have to wait and see what the weather does tomorrow. Whatever happens, we’re starting from the front and this is the most important thing.”

Jorge Lorenzo – Position: 3rd Time: 1′28.402 Laps: 35
“With the harder tire, we’re definitely ready and I feel very good on the bike. With the softer tire and on my last run I wasn’t so fast, but we are not too concerned about this. Anyway I feel confident on my M1 and I am enjoying riding here. Tomorrow we don’t know about the weather but I was fast also in the rain yesterday so I know that I can be competitive even if the weather is bad. I am really hoping for a good race here since it’s the last time we will come.”

Davide Brivio – Team Manager
“At the end everything worked out okay and we got a nice pole position, the second in a row. We still have some work to do to improve the race setting to finalise the package in case we have dry conditions tomorrow, but we have the warm-up in to try to fine-tune everything. It looks like it’s more likely that it’s going to rain however, in which case we will use what we learned yesterday.”

Daniele Romagnoli – Team Manager
“We are on target, because starting from the front row will be very important for this race. Today we concentrated mostly on our race setting and Jorge’s pace is very fast and consistent. Maybe we should have considered something a bit different for qualifying with the softer tire, but the most important thing is that we’re in good shape for the race. We hope that we can have the same weather as today tomorrow, but if the rain does come then we have yesterday’s good session to help us.”

Edwards and Toseland confident ahead of British battle
Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team duo Colin Edwards and James Toseland will do battle in the last British MotoGP race to be staged at Donington Park from sixth and ninth on the grid respectively.

Edwards secured his seventh top six qualifying result of the season with a best lap of 1.28.865, the American using dry and warm conditions to further evaluate new front fork settings and a revised body position on his Yamaha YZR-M1 machine.

Bidding to score a third MotoGP podium at Donington Park in tomorrow’s 30-lap race, Edwards was one of only seven riders to lap within a second of Valentino Rossi’s impressive pole position pace.

Toseland gave his hopes of a scoring a top six finish in front of a passionate home crowd a huge boost this afternoon. Working closely with his Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team crew to improve the setting of his YZR-M1 machine, the 28-year-old performed superbly to equal his best qualifying result of the season.

A lap of 1.29.270s was just 1.154s away from pole position and Toseland was just over four-tenths-of-a-second away from a top six spot on the grid after he’d been as high as fifth position on the timesheets.

The British rider is confident of fighting for his best result of the season, though all eyes will be on the skies tomorrow, with a repeat of the rain that disrupted yesterday’s practice forecast for the race.

Colin Edwards – Position: 6th Time: 1′28.865 Laps: 30
“I’m happy with the way I rode but getting close to those guys at the front is getting tough. They are running a pretty fast pace but I’m confident if I can get a good start that I’ll be able to stay with them for the race. If I can get away with them then they might pull me around for a few laps. I’m moving in the right direction with the setting and the changes we’ve made to the front forks and experimenting with my body position has improved the front feeling. But with no testing now it is difficult to get used to something so different quickly and I just need a bit more time to adapt because I know we can make the feeling much better. I’m still not sure which race tire I’m going to run. I’d like to have the best of both compounds on one tire. We need the left side of the softer tire and the right side of the hard one. But deliberating that might be for nothing because I hear we’re probably going to be under water here tomorrow anyway on rain tires. We got some time in the rain yesterday so I’m happy I’ve got a set-up for rain or dry conditions. I really want a good result with it being the last British GP at Donington Park. I’ve had a lot of success here in the past and it would be good to sign off in style.”

James Toseland – Position 9th Time: 1′29.270 Laps: 30
“I’m happy but at the same time a little bit frustrated because we didn’t have a really good base setting this morning. That meant we had quite a bit of work to do this afternoon, but thanks to my guys because they did a great job again. I improved quite a bit but if we had started this morning like we ended this afternoon then I’m sure I could have qualified on the second row. The base set-up didn’t work so well because we were too hard on the front and rear. I didn’t have much feel at all and I was only doing low 1.32s, so to do 1.29s this afternoon I’m really happy. At least I’ve given myself a good chance of battling for that top six tomorrow and that was always my target. Today was definitely better than last year’s qualifying, although it couldn’t really have been much worse. The new electronics are working brilliantly round here, particularly out of the slow hairpins at the end of the lap, so I’ve got say thanks to Yamaha for that again. Obviously I’m desperate t o get a good result tomorrow. I want to make amends for the disappointment of last year and give the British fans something to cheer about. The support out there today was amazing, and they deserve a good result. I can promise them I’ll be giving it my absolute maximum.”