Yorkshireman James Toseland continued his brilliant short MotoGP career by qualifying seventh fastest on his first ever visit to the long Shanghai circuit.
With his Tech 3 Yamaha team-mate Colin Edwards qualifying in pole position it was a fantastic afternoon for the French based team.
Twenty –seven year old Toseland improved every session and will start from the third row of the grid. His only worry, together with all the other riders, is the weather forecast for tomorrow.
“We’ve practised in slightly damp conditions here in Shanghai,” he explained, “I have absolutely no experience at this track in the wet so I’m hoping that the weather will not be as bad as the forecast suggests. However, having said that I live on the Isle of Man so I’m used to rain!
“We have an excellent package with Tech 3 Yamaha and Michelin as Colin has proved by securing pole. I’m really pleased for him because I know how talented he is and how hard he works, but it also provides strong motivation for me. I have to be happy with seventh place on the grid, but I still want to push myself to achieve more and demonstrate the full capabilities of the team and package.”
Smith’s Third Pole of the Season
Seventeen year old Bradley Smith grabbed his third 125 cc pole of the season and now wants to translate that qualifying success to the actual races.
“It’s great getting pole but with two non finishes in the opening three races I need to translate that into the race,” said Smith who lies11th in the Championship.” We have worked hard to find more rear wheel grip and it paid off although the actual lap times were a little slower than last year. There is nothing we can do about the weather but a dry race would be better for everybody.”
Kent-based Danny Webb will start from the third row after qualifying tenth one place in front of Championship leader Simone Corsi. Fifteen year old Scott Redding qualified 24th riding the Blusens Aprilia on his Shanghai debut.
In the 250 cc class Ulsterman Eugene Laverty improved his lap timed by half a second to qualifying 19th.
Edwards Leads Hour of Action It was a qualifying session that had everything that MotoGP had to offer crammed into an hour of track action round the 3.281 miles of the Shanghai circuit.
American Tech 3 Yamaha rider Colin Edwards set the fastest ever motorcycle lap round the Shanghai circuit to grab pole position and is joined on the front row of the grid for the 22 lap race by World Champions Valentino Rossi and Casey Stoner.
It’s the first time this season that last year’s winner Stoner has started from the front row but it was the performance of Rossi’s Fiat Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo that stole the limelight. Yesterday the Championship leader, who celebrates his 21st birthday on Sunday, suffered a massive highside which left him with a chipped bone in his left ankle and battered and bruised. Despite extreme pain and a massive slide that must have jarred every bone, broken or not, the Spaniard still qualified fourth fastest.
He will start from the second row of the grid where he is joined by World Champions Loris Capirossi and Danny Pedrosa, who shares the Championship lead with Lorenzo and who won his first MotoGP race in Shanghai two years ago.
The session also claimed plenty of fallers with Nicky Hayden, John Hopkins, Shinya Nakano Randy De Puniet and Andre Dovizioso all crashing without injury.
The only thing that could spoil what promises to be a superb fourth round of the Championship could be the weather. Rain is forecast tomorrow – let’s hope they are wrong.
