Hayden on second row

From Repsol Honda

DOHA, QATAR -- Repsol Honda riders Nicky Hayden and Dani Pedrosa qualified sixth and eighth fastest in Saturday night’s floodlit qualifying session at Losail to put them on the second and third rows of the grid for Sunday night’s season-opening Qatar GP.

Hayden, who is running 2007 spec RC212Vs here, rode an excellent fastest lap on qualifiers to secure the last spot on row two with a time of 1:54.880. Pedrosa, who is using 2008 bikes with revised chassis, is riding in some pain after aggravating his right-hand injury in a fall during Friday practice. The Spaniard has steadily improved machine setup but is concerned about his fitness over full-race distance.

"My first two runs on race tires I improved quite a bit and in the end I was able to get a respectable lap on qualifies, nothing great, but I was able to give ourselves a decent chance," Hayden said. "The big thing around here for us is the straightaway, we’re losing quite a bit of time, the bike I’m using is what I had at Valencia."

Sunday night’s Qatar Grand Prix will make history as the first World Championship event in almost 60 years to be run under floodlights. The race starts at 11pm.