Pedrosa takes dramatic pole

From motogp.com

Dani Pedrosa took pole position for the Polini Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix in one of the finest qualifying sessions of the season on Saturday, snatching the top spot from 2008 MotoGP World Champion Valentino Rossi with the clock already run down to zero.

The 2007 Sepang poleman had been racing against time to get out for a final attempt, pulling out of the Repsol Honda garage and warming up for a fearsome 2:01.548 lap of the Asian circuit.

Rossi looked to have secured what would have been his third pole of the season with two flying laps, with his reaction suggesting that enough had been done, but Pedrosa fired back to cut the Italian's time by 0.409.

A frenetic final five minutes saw numerous changes in the leadership of the session, as the riders brought their qualifying tires to the game in search of pole position. Casey Stoner, Andrea Dovizioso and Rossi had all seen their names at the head of the timesheet, although only the latter could keep a spot on the front row for the Malaysian showdown.

Nearly the gamut of weather conditions were experienced on track after some heavy rainfall and intense humidity, with the track still not completely dry by the time Pedrosa earned his first pole position with Bridgestone tires.

Rossi will start from second on the grid, with Fiat Yamaha teammate Jorge Lorenzo on the front row for the fifth consecutive race. The positions will be an important boost for all three, with the knowledge that every premier class winner in Malaysia since 1999 has come from the first line.

Second Repsol Honda rider Nicky Hayden will take off from the head of the second row, joined by Friday´s fastest man, Tech 3 Yamaha´s Colin Edwards. JiR Team Scot man Dovizioso completes the line, with 2007 victor Stoner relegated to row three alongside Loris Capirossi and Randy de Puniet.

Qualifying Results
1. D. PEDROSA SPA (Repsol Honda Team) 2:01.548
2. V. ROSSI ITA (Fiat Yamaha Team) +0.409
3. J. LORENZO SPA (Fiat Yamaha Team) +0.623
4. N. HAYDEN USA (Repsol Honda Team) +0.644
5. C. EDWARDS USA (Tech 3 Yamaha) +0.697
6. A. DOVIZIOSO ITA (JiR Team Scot MotoGP) +1.288
7. C. STONER AUS (Ducati Marlboro Team) +1.405
8. L. CAPIROSSI ITA (Rizla Suzuki MotoGP) +1.530
9. R. DE PUNIET FRA (LCR Honda MotoGP) +1.562
10. J. HOPKINS USA (Kawasaki Racing Team) +1.636
11. C. VERMEULEN AUS (Rizla Suzuki MotoGP) +1.723
12. J. TOSELAND GBR (Tech 3 Yamaha) +1.734
13. A. WEST AUS (Kawasaki Racing Team) +1.844
14. M. MELANDRI ITA (Ducati Marlboro Team) +2.287
15. S. NAKANO JPN (San Carlo Honda Gresini) +2.453
16. S. GUINTOLI FRA (Alice Team) +2.830
17. A. DE ANGELIS RSM (San Carlo Honda Gresini) +3.131
18. N. AOKI JPN (Rizla Suzuki MotoGP) +3.287
19. T. ELIAS SPA (Alice Team) +3.572