Rossi takes third pole of 2009

From motogp.com

Valentino Rossi added a third pole position to an enviable haul from 2009 at Sachsenring on Saturday, coming out on top in a drenched qualifying session for the Alice Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland.

Rossi’s last gasp 1:32.520 lap was not only enough to head the timesheet by over six-tenths of a second, but it was also sufficient to give him a first ever MotoGP pole at the German track.

Rossi relegated Fiat Yamaha teammate Jorge Lorenzo to second on the grid, and the two share the front row for the sixth time this season.

“I’m really happy for this pole because it means I’ve already got more than in the whole of last year,” beamed the Italian. “Getting the pole position here is very important for the race because it’s such a hard place to overtake, so I’m really happy. We’ve done some good work today and my team has done a great job to set-up the bike. We’ve made a few small modifications, which have improved the feeling for me and I felt very confident today despite the bad conditions.”

Of the two rivals, Rossi is certainly in the best shape. Lorenzo had a tough Friday and had to face the rain while already sore from a collarbone and ankle injury, but rose to the top with a reinvigorated performance on Saturday after putting fears of another fall to the back of his mind.

“Yesterday I was quite worried about my injuries but I am happy to say that today I feel a lot better and I was able to ride much more strongly and brake much later,” said the Spaniard, who leads the BMW M Award competition for qualifying results. “I was really fast in the dry this morning and then this afternoon I did a lot of consistent laps, improving all the time, which is very good because often I struggle in the wet. At the end it was very easy to crash so I didn’t want to push too much or take too many chances, it was important to be careful.”

Joining them in the first line of attack will be fellow title contender Casey Stoner, a further six-tenths down on Rossi’s marker in the qualifying run.

"That was a crazy session because of all the standing water on the track and the grip levels were minimal," he said. "There were riders crashing all over the place so once we knew we had a decent lap time in the bag I decided to sit out the last few minutes of the session because the last thing I needed was a crash. I’m still feeling the effects of the qualifying crash at Laguna two weeks ago so to be honest the first thing I’m pleased about is to have stayed upright today, the second thing is to be on the front row.

"I have to take my hat off to Rossi and Lorenzo today because while everybody else was sliding around all over the place those two looked like they were on rails. They are clearly the guys to beat again tomorrow in wet or dry conditions although to be honest I’d prefer it to be wet – at least that way I know I am physically fit enough to be strong to the end of the race."

Lorenzo and Stoner had experienced big crashes at Laguna Seca last time out, but this time they were two of the few riders not to have experienced a moment in preparation for the Sachsenring race. The area at and ahead of turn eight proved costly for a number of riders on Saturday afternoon, with falls for Marco Melandri, Toni Elías, Randy de Puniet, Alex de Angelis, Nicky Hayden and Niccolò Canepa adding to Chris Vermeulen’s Friday hit and James Toseland’s morning moment.

Canepa first hit the gravel of his own accord, then later became involved in Hayden’s crash when the American speared him off track. All riders escaped unhurt.

Hayden took his best qualifying result as a Ducati Marlboro rider to date with fourth place, ahead of San Carlo Gresini Honda’s De Angelis and LCR Honda man De Puniet on the second row.

“In some ways the session was a complete disaster but I ended up with my best grid position of the year so I’ll take it," Hayden said. "I went out on the first bike and immediately something happened to the gearbox going into turn one and I almost went down. It was stuck in second gear so I had to ride it all the way back to the pits like that.

"I didn’t feel as comfortable on my second bike but I knew that was all I had to work with for the rest of the session so I was a little tentative. Then we made a couple of changes and got going pretty good. Things were coming together so I went out with 10 minutes to go, got right on the pace and felt I could do something special. I set my best time through the first split but then in the downhill section I lost the rear and there was no way of getting it back, unfortunately it took Niccolo out too.

"I’m basically okay from the crash and I hope Niccolo is okay too because it was my fault. I was trying too hard when it was getting too slippery – it was raining harder but I felt like I could go faster.”

Marco Simoncelli took his second pole position of the year in a wet qualifying session for the German round of the 250cc World Championship. The reigning World Champion cannot take the leadership of the series with a win at Sachsenring, but needs a strong result in order to move back into the title frame.

The Metis Gilera rider’s task will be made more difficult by the men joining him on the front row. Héctor Barberá’s run of pole positions came to an end, but he still placed alongside his Italian rival and showed a promising pace in the wet.

The top two in the class, Hiroshi Aoyama and Álvaro Bautista, made marked improvements from a disappointing Friday session to come good in qualifying. Mapfre Aspar rider Bautista used a late push to maintain his perfect record of front row starts thus far in 2009.

With one of his slowest times of the weekend, Julián Simón followed up his timing screen-topping exploits in both 125cc Free Practice sessions with the quickest lap of the Sachsenring qualifying session. The Bancaja Aspar rider did so after riding round in 1:38.671 on a drenched track, just edging out teammate and title rival Bradley Smith.

MotoGP Qualifying Results
1. Valentino ROSSI (ITA) Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 1:32.520 (269.326 km/h)
2. Jorge LORENZO (SPA) Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha +0.640
3. Casey STONER (AUS) Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati +1.239
4. Nicky HAYDEN (USA) Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati +1.884
5. Alex DE ANGELIS (RSM) San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda +1.970
6. Randy DE PUNIET (FRA) LCR Honda MotoGP Honda +2.044
7. Colin EDWARDS (USA) Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha +2.087
8. Dani PEDROSA (SPA) Repsol Honda Team Honda +2.205
9. Loris CAPIROSSI (ITA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki +2.221
10. Mika KALLIO (FIN) Pramac Racing Ducati +2.251
11. Andrea DOVIZIOSO (ITA) Repsol Honda Team Honda +2.372
12. Chris VERMEULEN (AUS) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki +2.417
13. Marco MELANDRI (ITA) Hayate Racing Team Kawasaki +2.418
14. James TOSELAND (GBR) Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha +2.485
15. Niccolo CANEPA (ITA) Pramac Racing Ducati +3.492
16. Gabor TALMACSI (HUN) Scot Racing Team MotoGP Honda +3.535
17. Toni ELIAS (SPA) San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda +4.011