Makoto Tamada of Japan claimed provisional pole position Friday for tomorrow's Malaysian Grand Prix ahead of Sete Gibernau of Spain and world Moto GP champion Valentino Rossi.
Tamada who won the Rio Grand Prix in July and the Japan Grand Prix last month, clocked 2 minutes 2.394 seconds on his Honda at the Sepang International Circuit. He finished 10th in Malaysia last year after starting third on the grid.
Tamada's teammate Gibernau clocked 2:2.629 seconds, ahead of Rossi, who ended the qualifying practice with 2:2.7 seconds.
Gibernau won the Grand Prix of Qatar last week after Rossi crashed out in the sixth lap, cutting the Italian Yamaha rider's overall lead to just 14 points with three races to go.
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