Edwards surges to stunning Shanghai pole

From Yamaha Racing

Tech 3 Yamaha rider Colin Edwards produced a brilliant late attack to claim pole position for Sunday's 22-lap China MotoGP clash in Shanghai.

Edwards powered his Tech 3 YZR-M1 to a best lap of 1:58.139, which makes the American the fastest rider ever to lap the challenging 5.281km circuit. Edwards' best time comfortably secured him the third pole position of his MotoGP career with closest challenger Valentino Rossi 0.355s adrift in second.

Edwards' pole position was the first for the Tech 3 team since the 2002 German MotoGP race at the Sachsenring, and secured him a third front row start in four races during his first season with the French-based squad.

Edwards' stunning performance also preserved Yamaha and Michelin's 100% pole position record in 2008 as he took full advantage of a radical overnight set-up change by his team and senior Japanese engineers to help solve a grip issue that hindered his progress on Friday.

James Toseland will start from seventh on the grid after the British rider continued to make big progress in his quest to master the Shanghai circuit. His best lap of 1:59.254 put him as high as fifth place at one stage before he dropped back to the third row.

Sunday's race could be the first wet encounter of 2008, with weather forecasts predicting a strong chance of rain.

"I've got to say big thanks to my team, Yamaha and Michelin," Edwards said. "I struggled yesterday but today it really came good. My guys and the Japanese got together last night and they came up with a set-up scenario to get the bike working which is completely foreign to what I've been riding. I haven't used this set-up in all my time at Yamaha, but based on the problems I was describing they suggested a plan and when I was thinking about it I was like 'do what'?

"We were just looking for more traction because I struggled so badly in that area yesterday. We made a big change to the bike to get some weight on the rear and it worked. It was a great team effort and it definitely worked because when I went out this morning I was a second faster instantly. And it felt easy because I had no issues from the front like yesterday and my comfort level went up from 50% to 95%."

Valentino Rossi put his Fiat Yamaha M1 onto the front row of the grid for the second time this season in Shanghai, qualifying second with a time of 1:58.494. Rossi looked to have pole position sewn up before Edwards took his third career pole.

Rossi continued in the same vein as Friday by setting the pace in Saturday morning's free practice and continuing to do so through most of the afternoon's session. Three-quarters of the way through a strong flying lap put him in provisional pole position and the Italian was confident that a slight improvement with the next qualifying tire could be enough to take the front slot. He improved again but a last-minute lap from Edwards was 0.355 seconds faster, and Rossi will now have to wait a little longer for his 50th career pole.

"I've been fast here since Friday morning and we've worked so hard with the team and with Bridgestone lately to improve the situation with the qualifying tire, so we definitely deserve to be here," Rossi said. "Today I had fun and I was able to fight with my rivals, plus I really enjoyed having the chance to ride at the maximum around this track. When I saw 58.5 on the clock I thought that I had a chance to try for the pole, but then Colin did 58.1 and this was a bit too much for us!"

Meanwhile Rossi's teammate Jorge Lorenzo stunned onlookers by qualifying fourth with a lap at 1:58.711, despite riding with a broken left ankle and having missed the most of the day yesterday following a crash in first practice.

The Mallorcan, who celebrates his 21st birthday Sunday, fractured a bone in his left ankle and caused severe trauma to various parts of his right ankle and foot when high-siding just 11 laps into the first practice session Friday but he showed his spirit and determination today to qualify just over half a second off pole.

"The way I felt yesterday, I couldn't even imagine a result like this today," Lorenzo said. "In fact it was all I could do to believe that I would be able to ride at all. This result is amazing for me, as good as my other pole positions, and it's given me a lot of confidence despite the pain.

"I have a lot of pain in both feet and ankles and it's difficult to change down with the left and to change direction with the right, but I showed I am able to do it. Yesterday's crash was big, probably the biggest of my career, but I think I was actually quite lucky not to have worse injuries."