Dovizioso takes first MotoGP pole

From motogp.com

Andrea Dovizioso’s first pole position in the premier class was secured on Saturday as the Repsol Honda rider topped the qualifying session for the Grand Prix of Japan.

Having taken his first-ever MotoGP front-row start at Laguna Seca earlier this season the Italian went one better at Motegi, where he won a battle for first position on the timesheet with a lap of 1:47.001.

“I’m really happy to be on pole position and also surprised because I didn’t expect to get so close to going under a 1:47 lap here,” explained the thrilled 24-year-old. “This is like my second home race because it’s the home of the team, which makes it even more special to get my first pole position here.

“I’m also so happy about the performance of the RC212V. We’ve got the electronics working really well here - the anti-wheelie system in particular - and also the power is very strong, which helps a lot.”

Dovizioso is now looking forward to Sunday’s race and feels optimistic ahead of the Round 14 contest.

“We’re looking good for the race because my style is usually not to go at my absolute maximum pace in practice and qualifying, so I’m hopeful for tomorrow,” he stated. “I’d like to say thanks a lot to the team because they are working really well for me. It’s the race tomorrow that really counts though, so we’ll be concentrating hard to make sure we have a strong race.”

Valentino Rossi’s final lap of the session placed the Fiat Yamaha rider in second position and gave him his first front-row starting position since he took pole at Le Mans back in May. The reigning World Champion, who has looked in good shape throughout the weekend, was just 0.054 secs. off his fellow Italian.

"It is a good feeling to be back on the front row after so long,” said an extremely satisfied Rossi. “We have improved in every area here, firstly we have made a big step with our setting, then we have the new engine from Yamaha which is enabling us to push more and be faster on the straights, plus we also have slightly harder Bridgestone tires here than in Aragón and they are working better for me.”

Rossi also continued to avoid experiencing excessive pain in his shoulder and was therefore able to produce his strong form.

“As I said yesterday I expected to suffer more with the shoulder but I am feeling quite good and when I brake in a straight line here I don't have too much pain. I am so happy about all of this,” he said.

Completing the front row having battled with Dovizioso for top spot in the closing stages was Casey Stoner. The Ducati Team rider, who had a minor run off at turn five early on, was a fraction over a tenth of a second off the pole position time.

Having worked through a range of set-up options to adapt his machine to the demands of the Motegi track Stoner ended up with a setting which was vastly different from the one that helped him to victory last time out at Aragón, and managed to place third in QP at just 0.104 secs. off Dovizioso’s pole position time.

“We started out yesterday with a very similar setting to Aragón, with a similar geometry, but we had to drop the bike quite a lot because we were having a lot of problems under braking and in the exit from the corners the front was coming up,” explained Stoner. “So we dropped it down to try and get some more stability but then found that we had lost grip. The track was getting better and I was riding harder but we were getting slower.

“We had to lift the bike a little to get more weight over the rear and decided to put up with the wheelies. Immediately we found an improvement and the lap times started to tumble. From there we threw a soft tire in and we escaped the clutches of the third row so we're happy.”

Starting a race off the front row for the first time this season will be Championship leader Jorge Lorenzo, after the Fiat Yamaha man placed fourth in the session. Lorenzo had led during the early stages but eventually ended the hour 0.205 secs. off Dovizioso’s pace.

Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) equalled his best qualification of the season so far with fifth, with team-mate Ben Spies once again proving his aptitude at learning new tracks in an impressively quick manner and taking the final spot on row two.

Two run offs during the session failed to hold back Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda) as he placed seventh, with Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini Team) and Rizla Suzuki duo Álvaro Bautista and Loris Capirossi completing the top 10. The veteran Italian had a crash early on in the session but returned to the track to set his best time, which was just over a second off pole.

Héctor Barberá (Páginas Amarillas Aspar) was the only other rider to crash, with Nicky Hayden (Ducati Team), Aleix Espargaró (Pramac Racing) and Hiroshi Aoyama (Interwetten Honda MotoGP) all having run offs.

Julián Simón’s second pole of the 2010 Moto2 season came at Motegi on Saturday as the Mapfre Aspar rider’s best lap of 1:53.008 placed him at the top of the starting grid. Simón has finished second for the last three races.

In second position (+0.284 secs.) and celebrating having signed a new two-year deal with the Marc VDS Racing Team this week Scott Redding will start from the front row for the fourth successive race, thus continuing his rich vein of form.

Yuki Takahashi put his Tech 3 machine there as well with an effort that was a further 0.147 secs. back, and Championship leader Toni Elías (Gresini Racing) took the final front-row spot with a final lap that left him three-thousandths of a second in front of Claudio Corti.

Marc Márquez once again set a blistering pace in 125cc qualifying to take his ninth pole position of the season, finishing 0.417 secs. ahead of his rivals at Motegi. The Red Bull Ajo Motorsport rider, who currently lies third in the Championship, set a hot lap of 1:58.030 to ensure he will go for what could be a seventh victory of 2010 from the top of the starting grid.

Championship leader Nico Terol followed his rival on the timesheet and was the only other rider to join Márquez under 1:59, with his Bancaja Aspar team-mate Bradley Smith third at 0.996 secs. off the pole pace.

MotoGP Qualifying Results
1. Andrea DOVIZIOSO (ITA) Repsol Honda 1:47.001
2. Valentino ROSSI (ITA) Fiat Yamaha 1:47.055
3. Casey STONER (AUS) Ducati 1:47.105
4. Jorge LORENZO (SPA) Fiat Yamaha 1:47.206
5. Colin EDWARDS (USA) Monster Tech 3 Yamaha 1:47.464
6. Ben SPIES (USA) Monster Tech 3 Yamaha 1:47.648
7. Randy DE PUNIET (FRA) LCR Honda 1:47.752
8. Marco SIMONCELLI (ITA) San Carlo Gresini Honda 1:47.914
9. Alvaro BAUTISTA (SPA) Rizla Suzuki 1:48.002
10. Loris CAPIROSSI (ITA) Rizla Suzuki 1:48.068
11. Nicky HAYDEN (USA) Ducati 1:48.182
12. Marco MELANDRI (ITA) San Carlo Gresini Honda 1:48.238
13. Aleix ESPARGARO (SPA) Pramac Ducati 1:48.371
14. Hiroshi AOYAMA (JPN) Interwetten Honda 1:48.396
15. Hector BARBERA (SPA) Paginas Amarillas Aspar Ducati 1:48.535
16. Mika KALLIO (FIN) Pramac Ducati 1:49.480