Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa will start tomorrow’s Australian Grand Prix from the second row of the grid following a strong performance in today’s record-breaking qualifying session.
Pedrosa wasn’t fully satisfied with his best lap this afternoon, but he is very happy with his race pace, which is always more important than a one-off qualifying lap. The Spaniard worked hard throughout the day, working with his crew and his Bridgestone technician to choose the best race tyres. Conditions were especially cool this morning, but the track warmed up for the afternoon session, allowing Pedrosa to focus on race tyre choice, before switching to qualifying mode. His best qualifying lap was just six tenths off pole position.
Dani Pedrosa, sixth fastest, 1m 29.277s“Tomorrow I will take the start from the second row – it’s important to be close to the front of the grid for this race, so you can get away with the leaders. The Bridgestone qualifying tyres worked very well in this afternoon’s qualifying session but I couldn’t exploit their potential to the maximum. We struggled a bit this morning because conditions were pretty cold, then everything improved this afternoon with warmer track temperatures All in all, it was a positive day, I have a good race pace, which is most important, and I’m feeling quite confident for the race. Tomorrow it will important to have a good start, the first laps will be crucial. Tyres consistency will be determined but it is also very physical race.”
Kazuhiko Yamano - Team Manager“Both the rider and the machine have improved during today’s two sessions and tomorrow Dani will start from the second row. He has a very good race pace and his target is victory. We are expecting a tough battle because there are many competitive riders with a similar race pace.”
Qualifying Practice: 1. Casey STONER AUS Ducati Marlboro Team DUCATI 1'28.665
2. Jorge LORENZO SPA Fiat Yamaha Team YAMAHA 1'28.734
3. Nicky HAYDEN USA Repsol Honda Team HONDA 1'28.756
4. Randy DE PUNIET FRA LCR Honda MotoGP HONDA 1'28.808
5. James TOSELAND GBR Tech 3 Yamaha YAMAHA 1'29.031
6. Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team HONDA 1'29.277 7. Colin EDWARDS USA Tech 3 Yamaha YAMAHA 1'29.513
8. Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA JiR Team Scot MotoGP HONDA 1'29.558
9. Shinya NAKANO JPN San Carlo Honda Gresini HONDA 1'29.710
10. Alex DE ANGELIS RSM San Carlo Honda Gresini HONDA 1'29.925
11. Loris CAPIROSSI ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP SUZUKI 1'29.942
12. Valentino ROSSI ITA Fiat Yamaha Team YAMAHA 1'30.014 19
13. Toni ELIAS SPA Alice Team DUCATI 1'30.202 20 24 1.537
14. Sylvain GUINTOLI FRA Alice Team DUCATI 1'30.297 5 323.4
15. Chris VERMEULEN AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP SUZUKI 1'30.545
16. John HOPKINS USA Kawasaki Racing Team KAWASAKI 1'31.157
17. Marco MELANDRI Ducati Marlboro Team DUCATI 1'31.939
18. Anthony WEST AUS Kawasaki Racing Team KAWASAKI 1'31.995
