Record lap gives Rossi Malaysia pole

From motogp.com

Valentino Rossi will start the Shell Advance Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix in pole position, as he bids to secure the 2009 World Championship at Sepang on Sunday.

A best lap of 2:00.518 in MotoGP qualifying secured Rossi pole position with Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa completing the front row.

The Italian broke his own previous pole record at the circuit – recorded on a 990cc machine in 2006 – by 0.087 secs. and lapped 0.569 secs. faster than his Fiat Yamaha team-mate Lorenzo.

“It’s great to get the record because we worked so hard in practice and I’m very happy with the setting we have,” said Rossi. “My target was to try and go under 2:01, because in the winter test here I got to around that pace, but I managed to go even better and beat my own time from 2006 with a 990cc bike and qualifying tires. It was a great lap.”

The 30 year-old is also pleased with the set-up of his YZR-M1 bike ahead of the race.

“My Yamaha is working so well here and it’s a great track," he added. "We worked very well with Bridgestone to have a good strategy for the session and we are in the best position for starting the race tomorrow.”

With a 38-point lead over Fiat Yamaha team-mate Lorenzo, Rossi knows he could end the title battle this weekend.

“This is the target,” he said. “We have to work as though it is just a normal race and go for the victory, because we are good here. But the first objective is to get on the podium. With these three other guys who are so strong at this level, if you don’t go at 110 per cent you risk starting fourth so the way we have worked this weekend has made a difference and I think we are ready for race day.”

Lorenzo struggled in the Saturday morning practice and at the start of qualifying, spending much of both sessions outside the top four, before a change to softer Bridgestone tires allowed him to record his lap of 2:01.087, which secured second on the grid.

At over half a second off Rossi Lorenzo is aware that the race pace will be demanding on his tires.

“This practice for us was not so easy; we struggled a lot with the hard tire but fortunately at the end of the practice with the soft one we made a big step forward and we were able to finish second,” said the Spaniard. “I think it will be important to improve our pace with the hard tire if we want a good result on Sunday, but we are still not ready so we have to fight. It will be difficult because we just did a fast lap on soft tires and the race pace will be 2:01.5.

“The conditions are basically the same as yesterday so I can't blame them, but we just don't have the same levels of grip and confidence that we had before and it's hard to understand why. Now we all need to study the data and work out what we can do for the warm-up tomorrow. I am happy that we were able to be back on the front row as this will be important, now we will just try our best to be in better shape for the race. It won’t be the easiest race for us in theory but it is still possible to win.”

Lorenzo, who crashed on his MotoGP race debut at the track last season, was followed onto the front row of the grid by Pedrosa.

The Repsol Honda man had been the fastest in practice, but was unable to match the blistering pace set by Rossi, finishing a further 0.167 secs. behind Lorenzo.

“I’m happy to be on the front row again because, as always, this gives you a clear getaway when the start lights go out," Pedrosa said. "I think we’ve got a good machine setting for the race tomorrow and we just need to adjust it a little bit during the warm up.

"At the end of the qualifying session I didn't make a very good job of it with the last soft Bridgestone tire so my lap time doesn’t reflect our full potential this afternoon. First I made a couple of mistakes and then I had some traffic which caused me to lose a little bit of the concentration you need to go at maximum pace at this moment. Anyway, I’m happy to be on the front row again.

"It will be a very tough race, very demanding for sure, but we always look for the win and we will give all we have to make it happen. I'm very motivated for this race.”

Casey Stoner, who won the race at Sepang in 2007, will head up the second row after lapping at almost a full second slower than Rossi, while Loris Capirossi secured fifth spot on the grid on his Suzuki GSV-R.

Toni Elías (San Carlo Honda Gresini), Nicky Hayden (Ducati Marlboro), Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda), Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) and Alex de Angelis (San Carlo Honda Gresini) all came through inside the top 10 as well.

Hiroshi Aoyama set a new 250cc pole position lap record of 2:06.767 at Sepang as he secured front spot on the grid in qualifying.

Having posted the fastest times in both practice sessions, the Scot Honda rider was 0.332 secs. clear of Jules Cluzel (Matteoni Racing), with Mike di Meglio (Mapfre Aspar) and Héctor Barberá (Pepe World Team) completing the front row.

Metis Gilera rider Marco Simoncelli qualified in eighth spot, coming in 1.149 secs. off the pace set by his title rival Aoyama.

Marc Márquez topped qualifying in the 125cc class on Saturday, recording a best lap of 2:13.756 to secure pole position on the grid for the second time this season, and in his career.

Julián Simón secured second spot with a final lap which was 0.055 secs. off Márquez’s time, while Bradley Smith (Bancaja Aspar) and Sandro Cortese (Ajo Interwetten) completed the front row.

MotoGP Qualifying Times
1. Valentino ROSSI (ITA) Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 2:00.518
2. Jorge LORENZO (SPA) Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha +0.569
3. Dani PEDROSA (SPA) Repsol Honda Team Honda +0.736
4. Casey STONER (AUS) Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati +0.937
5. Loris CAPIROSSI (ITA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki +1.198
6. Toni ELIAS (SPA) San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda +1.400
7. Nicky HAYDEN (USA) Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati +1.462
8. Randy DE PUNIET (FRA) LCR Honda MotoGP Honda +1.580
9. Colin EDWARDS (USA) Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha +1.677
10. Alex DE ANGELIS (RSM) San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda +1.756
11. Andrea DOVIZIOSO (ITA) Repsol Honda Team Honda +1.844
12. Mika KALLIO (FIN) Pramac Racing Ducati +1.917
13. Aleix ESPARGARO (SPA) Pramac Racing Ducati +2.341
14. Chris VERMEULEN (AUS) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki +2.514
15. Marco MELANDRI (ITA) Hayate Racing Team Kawasaki +2.570
16. James TOSELAND (GBR) Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha +3.010
17. Gabor TALMACSI (HUN) Scot Racing Team MotoGP Honda +3.356