Print

Mail

wiki links

Pedrosa clinches pole position for Malaysian MotoGP

Spain's Dani Pedrosa riding a Honda edged Australian world champion Casey Stoner on a Ducati to clinch the MotoGP pole position for today's Malaysian Grand Prix at the Sepang track.

Pedrosa clinched his third pole position in a row by clocking 2 minutes, 01.877 seconds on the newly laid 5.4km circuit in hot conditions yesterday.

Pedrosa has won just one race this season and lies in third spot in the overall standings with 188 points, behind five times world champion Valentino Rossi.

"[The track] was a bit slippery. But we have a good position for race day," Pedrosa said.

"It's great to have three pole positions in a row and gives us a good chance for the start tomorrow," he said.

Stoner took second position with a time of 2:01.918.

"I think the race [today] is looking good. The bike is working well. I think I could have gone faster except for some bumps on the track that affects the electronic system on the bike," he said.

"I am a little bit disappointed we didn't get pole position but we're second on the grid and on the front row, so we will try to get a good start," he said.

With the individual, team and constructors titles already in the bag for Stoner and Ducati, the main interest in the MotoGP class lies in whether the Australian can chalk up another win, and who will take second place in the premier class.

Rossi holds a 29-point advantage over Pedrosa with 50 points still up for grabs as they head to a track where both riders were on the podium last season.

But Rossi, who has had a bad season, struggled with his bike and took the ninth starting position on the grid with a time of 2:02.466, 0.589 seconds behind Pedrosa.

Marco Melandri of Italy, riding a Honda was third in 2:01.944 while Frenchman Randy de Puniet who was quickest in Friday's practice took fourth position on the grid with a time of 2:02.107 after suffering a minor crash.
This story has been viewed 937 times.