FIM MotoGP World Championship Mugello, Italy June 5, 2010 Qualifying Results (all on Bridgestone tires): 1. Dani PEDROSA, Spain (Honda), 1:48.819 2. Jorge LORENZO, Spain (Yamaha), 1:48.996 3. Casey STONER, Australia (Ducati), 1:49.432 4. Nicky HAYDEN, USA (Ducati), 1:49.546 5. Colin EDWARDS, USA (Yamaha), 1:49.683 6. Randy DE PUNIET, France (Honda), 1:49.737 7. Ben SPIES, USA (Yamaha), 1:49.861 8. Andrea DOVIZIOSO, Italy (Honda), 1:50.065 9. Aleix ESPARGARO, Spain (Ducati), 1:50.168 10. Hiroshi AOYAMA, Japan (Honda), 1:50.224 11. Marco SIMONCELLI, Italy (Honda), 1:50.434 12. Loris CAPIROSSI, Italy (Suzuki), 1:50.479 13. Hector BARBERA, Spain (Ducati), 1:50.561 14. Marco MELANDRI, Italy (Honda), 1:50.664 15. Mika KALLIOm Finland (Ducati), 1:50.970 16. Alvaro BAUTISTA, Spain (Suzuki), 1:53.243 17. Valentino ROSSI, Italy (Yamaha), no time recorded More, from a press release issued by Bridgestone: Pedrosa on pole using hard front, soft rear slicks Round 4: Italian GP Qualifying Mugello, Saturday 5 June 2010 Bridgestone slick compounds available: Front: Medium, Hard. Rear: Medium, Hard Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa set his second pole position of the season at Mugello today using Bridgestone’s hard front and improved-for-2010 medium rear slicks. His time was almost 0.2seconds faster than pole last year. Pedrosa and fellow Spaniard Jorge Lorenzo of the Fiat Yamaha Team were the only two riders to lap under the 1m 49second barrier in what was the fastest session of the weekend. The top seven riders all lapped faster than the existing lap record set by Casey Stoner in 2008. All riders set their fastest laps towards the end of the session using the hard compound front slicks and the softer option rear slicks, which offer additional peak grip. As cloud cover increased, the temperature also fell throughout qualifying. With no qualifying tyres in the single-tyre era, all riders qualify on Bridgestone’s race tyres. From today’s performances, the hard front slicks are likely to be favoured for the race but riders’ rear compound choices remain more mixed. Fiat Yamaha rider Valentino Rossi will miss tomorrow’s Italian Grand Prix after he suffered a fractured right tibia when he fell during the morning’s free practice session. Tohru Ubukata Manager, Bridgestone Motorcycle Tyre Development Department “As expected during qualifying we saw all riders set their fastest laps on the harder front tyre, for its improved stability especially in this heat, and the softer rear, for its extra edge grip. The track temperature during the qualifying session was hot though, so if the conditions for the race are the same, many riders will favour the harder rears for their improved consistency and durability, especially with Mugello’s abrasive tarmac. “Today we did also confirm the performance of the medium rear tyre however, and I think because of these results we will still see some riders choosing this option, especially if the conditions are just a little cooler for the race tomorrow. This morning during free practice, when the track temperature was ten degrees cooler, we saw riders use the medium compound rear tyres for long runs and wear rate was good so race durability will be adequate.” Top ten from qualifying (Saturday 13:55 14:55 GMT+2) Pos Rider Team Fastest lap Gap Compounds Front, Rear 1 Dani Pedrosa Repsol Honda Team 1m48.819s Hard, Medium 2 Jorge Lorenzo Fiat Yamaha Team 1m48.996s +0.177s Hard, Medium 3 Casey Stoner Ducati Team 1m49.432s +0.613s Hard, Medium 4 Nicky Hayden Ducati Team 1m49.546s +0.727s Hard, Medium 5 Colin Edwards Monster Yamaha Tech3 1m49.683s +0.864s Hard, Medium 6 Randy de Puniet LCR Honda MotoGP 1m49.737s +0.918s Hard, Medium 7 Ben Spies Monster Yamaha Tech3 1m49.861s +1.042s Hard, Medium 8 Andrea Dovizioso Repsol Honda Team 1m50.065s +1.246s Hard, Medium 9 Aleix Espargaro Pramac Racing 1m50.168s +1.349s Hard, Medium 10 Hiroshi Aoyama Interwetten Honda MotoGP 1m50.224s +1.405s Hard, Medium Weather: Dry. Ambient 31-29°C; Track 48-44°C ( Bridgestone measurement) More, from a press release issued by Rizla Suzuki: Rizla Suzuki Racer Loris Capirossi is prepared for a race-long battle at his home Grand Prix at Mugello tomorrow after qualifying on the fourth row today. Capirossi (P12, 1’50.579, 25 laps) had a tough afternoon’s qualifying as a technical issue with his preferred Suzuki GSV-R forced him to use the other bike for most of the session. He persevered throughout qualifying and although he brought his times down, he was unable to be nearer the front of the grid and he will face a tough start tomorrow to fight his way through the pack. Álvaro Bautista (P16, 1’53.243, 25 laps) is having his own personal battle this weekend as he fights through the pain to achieve at least a finish in Sunday’s race. He did manage to take over two seconds off his best time from yesterday during today’s qualifying, but will still start the 23-lap race from the rear of the grid as he continues to struggle with pain and lack of strength in his left shoulder. Today’s qualifying was held in very warm and sunny conditions, with high air temperatures of 29ºC forcing track temperatures up to 52ºC. Dani Pedrosa took pole position on his factory Honda. Tomorrow’s race is the fourth round of the 2010 season and the main event gets underway at 14.00hrs local time (12.00 GMT). Loris Capirossi: “It’s been tough today, because a setting we found this morning didn’t work at all in the warmer temperatures this afternoon and we had a little problem with one of the bikes and we couldn’t use it. Overall we tried very hard today, but it just didn’t happen, so we will need to do something in warm-up tomorrow to make things better. I am upset with my position on the grid, but I think I can do much better than that in the race tomorrow and I will be going full-out to show it!” Álvaro Bautista: “In this race I am fighting more with the pain than with other riders! I am still in a lot of pain and I can’t ride like I want to. I am not able to change direction quickly because I need more strength to do it quicker and I just don’t have that in my left side. I need to use all my body to change direction and this is very difficult and tiring. It is good that I can still ride though, I am three of four seconds off the pace but it is important to me to find some confidence and feeling in the bike. For the race I will do my best and try to finish. I need to get to the end of the race and get the full distance in and if that happens I might even manage to score some points.” Paul Denning Team Manager: “After a promising start to the weekend yesterday, the qualifying result for Loris was massively disappointing today. We have a lot of work to do to get the bike in a better position to handle the hotter track temperatures that we had this afternoon, but this is Mugello, the rider is Loris and one thing we can guarantee is 23 laps of full effort from him tomorrow afternoon. “Álvaro is very disappointed that his condition isn’t as good as he expected before the weekend. His strength hasn’t returned enough for him to push any harder and if he can see the chequered flag at the end of the Grand Prix tomorrow it will be a brave and somewhat painful effort!” More, from a press release issued by Monster Yamaha Tech 3: Edwards and Spies aim for top six at Mugello The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team is confident Colin Edwards and Ben Spies can mount a strong challenge for the top six in tomorrow’s Italian MotoGP race at the spectacular Mugello circuit. The French team’s optimism ahead of the 23-lap encounter soared after an impressive qualifying performance from the Texan duo in warm and sunny conditions this afternoon. Evaluating a new LeoVince exhaust silencer, Edwards continued his brilliant revival by clocking the fifth best time as he continued to flourish on a more comfortable 2009 setting on his YZR-M1 machine. A first front row start of the 2010 campaign looked a distinct possibility w ith Edwards holding third place as the session reached a typically exciting climax. In the frantic final few minutes Edwards dropped down to fifth but his best time of 1.49.683 enabled him to easily notch his best qualifying result of the season. He was less than 0.3s away from Casey Stoner in third and the experienced American is confident he will be able to follow up today’s eye-catching display with his best race result of 2010 having shown strong form on Bridgestone’s race tyres. Spies was equally impressive as he continued to successfully acclimatise himself with the technically challenging Mugello circuit. Despite his inexperience the 25-year-old was able to save his best form for his last lap, a time of 1.49.861 securing him his best qualifying position of the season in seventh. Spies was just 0.124s away from a second row start but painstaking work on the race set-up of his YZR-M1 machine has bo osted Spies’ confidence of recording his second top six for the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team tomorrow. Colin Edwards 5th 1.49.683 25 laps “I’m back! And it feels so good to be back up near the front where I know I belong. In the early part of the season I knew I hadn’t forgotten how to ride a bike but nothing was really working and it has been a struggle. The first three races have been terrible but reverting back to last year’s set-up that we know works has given me a massive confidence boost and at least I know I’m not slowing down in my old age. It is still hard work but I certainly think it’s easier than the start to the season. I just feel way more comfortable, particularly with the front-end of the bike and at one stage I thought a place on the front row to wasn’t going to be out of the question. I could push like I wanted to and I feel confident for the race tomorrow. I’m ready for a fight and a good battle because all this year it feels like I’ve just been riding around and not being very fast. I feel sorry for Valentino and Yamaha and I wish him a speedy recovery because the championship is not the same without him.” Ben Spies 7th 1.49.861 25 laps “Coming to a track that is as different as Mugello, I’m quite happy with today having been so close to the second row. I’m a little upset because I did make a few mistakes on the fast lap and left a couple of tenths out there, which would have got me on the second row. But to be in the top eight with the limited track time I’ve had, I’m really happy and after Jerez and Le Mans it was good to bounce back and get back to normal. Now we’ll look at some data and try to figure out where to go faster. There are a couple places where I think I’m doing the wrong thing but overall it was good session . I definitely didn’t get the most out of the softer tyres but I stepped up a bit in qualifying and it wasn’t like I did that lap time on a perfect lap. But that happens and I’ll try and get a good start and stay in there on the first few laps and let the race come in and put my head down. It’s a shame for the championship and for Yamaha that Valentino is injured but I’m sure we’ll see him back soon and just as hard to beat.” More, from a press release issued by Marlboro Ducati: STONER ON FRONT ROW, HAYDEN FOURTH FOR DUCATI’S HOME RACE Ducati Marlboro Team riders Casey Stoner and Nicky Hayden will start the Italian Grand Prix from top four positions after today’s qualifying session following a thrilling finale that saw both riders briefly holding second place before eventually giving best to Jorge Lorenzo and eventual pole setter Dani Pedrosa. Stoner and Hayden made some progress with the setting of their Desmosedici GP10 machines, making up four and five places respectively on their free practice positions from yesterday, but both profess to still having work to do in tomorrow’s warm-up. CASEY STONER (Ducati Marlboro Team) 3rd (1’49.432) “To start from front row is always a positive thing but even if I’d love to say this lap time shows we’re ready to race tomorrow, we’re far from it. To be competitive with Jorge and Dani and to run with them consistently we’re going to have to find six tenths at least. We’ve been trying a lot of things, including going back to last year’s forks, which I’ve got a lot of feedback from, but now we are just trying to get the bike turning well and reacting well over the bumps, things like that. Qualifying doesn’t really reflect our race pace it was a bit of a banzai lap to be honest! Having said that we’ve got to be happy with a front row start and if we can find something tomorrow in warm-up we’re in a good position. We have some work to do tonight I’m going to sit down with the team and see what we can come up with for the race. I feel sorry for Valentino because all three guys on the front row know what it’s like to be injured and miss races. It will be hard for him to even train so I wish him all the best with his recovery.” NICKY HAYDEN (Ducati Marlboro Team) 4th (1’49.546) “Things haven’t been silky smooth in free practice and qualifying was tough too I really had to dig deep and take a few chances because here on the Ducati I qualified at the back last year and I’d rather have crashed than do that again. So we went for it and almost got on the front row. Considering how the weekend has gone fourth is not a disaster but we need to make it better in the warm-up. The team has done a good job but still we need to soak up the bumps a little better because this track has got really bumpy in a few places. The good thing is our engine is really fast and that’s going to be important tomorrow. We’ll try our best and just give everything for those Ducati fans, I’m looking forward to seeing them out there. It’s a real bummer about Valentino because on the track he’s a warrior. He’s good for the racing, he’s good for the show and even though he never makes it easy for us we all respect him and nobody wants to see a colleague in pain like that. I’m sorry for him and his fans and just wish him to get well soon.” More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda: PEDROSA FLIES TO MUGELLO POLE POSITION, DOVIZIOSO EIGHTH Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa blasted to his second pole position of the 2010 season today as qualifying took place for the Grand Prix of Italy at Mugello. The Spaniard was consistently quick throughout the day and headed the timesheets for long sections of both the morning practice period and qualifying this afternoon – before claiming his 33rd Grand Prix pole in all classes and his 15th since joining MotoGP in 2006. Pedrosa’s Repsol Honda team-mate will be looking for a lightning start in tomorrow’s race from eight on the grid after struggling to replicate his improved pace from the morning session in the afternoon’s qualifying shoot-out. The 24-year-old Italian remains confident for his home event however after establishing a good race set-up. Dovizioso led last year’s race at Mugello and will be looking for a repeat of that form when the start lights for round four of the MotoGP World Championship go out at 14.00 (GMT +2 hours). It was an unfortunate day for yesterday’s fastest rider, Valentino Rossi, who broke his leg during a fall in the morning practice and will miss tomorrow’s Italian Grand Prix. DANI PEDROSA Pole Position 1m 48.819s “It’s great to be on pole here and we’ve been working very hard through free practice and in qualifying this afternoon to improve things from yesterday. We have achieved this, so I’m satisfied. Being on the front row is the important thing and we have to keep our concentration because to win the race is the target – we have to make it tomorrow! We were pushing very hard right to the end of the session and we were able to do a good final lap, but the most important factor is that we’ve been able to be consistent too. Lorenzo will be the man to beat tomorrow, but we are confident, the machine is working better here and we are in better shape than at the last race in Le Mans. So tomorrow for the race we hope to maintain our performance right to the end. We still have to improve our race pace a little but I’m feeling very well here, I like this circuit, and I t hink it will be a fun race with a great atmosphere generated by the fans. I didn’t see Rossi’s crash, but what I’ve heard about the injury doesn’t sound good. It’s a pity because all of us riders know how you feel when you are hurt, and I just hope that the operation goes well for him because the first operation is always the most important.” ANDREA DOVIZIOSO 8th 1m 50.065s +1.246s “This morning we did a good job, improved the performance from yesterday and we finished second on the timesheets. In the afternoon however, the track conditions changed and, even though I pushed very hard, I couldn’t use all the potential of the bike. The gap to Dani and Lorenzo has increased a bit and unfortunately I wasn’t able to use the soft tyre at its best, which means tomorrow we will start from the third row. This is an area where I have to improve because starting in this position makes things more difficult for the race. Anyway I’m still confident for tomorrow. If we can stay with the front group of riders I think we can make a good race. Mugello is a very special place and I’m sure the Italian fans will give me an extra boost for the race. It’s a real shame about Valentino’s injury. It’s always very bad when a rider crashes like thi s and I’m very sorry for him. I wish him a quick recovery and send him all the best.” TOSHIYUKI YAMAJI – REPSOL HONDA TEAM MANAGER “Both Dani and Andrea were on the pace today and the Repsol Honda Team is looking in quite good shape after qualifying. Dani was very strong and he’s on pole position for the second time this season, which is encouraging. There are still some adjustments to make to his race set-up but with those made I think he can fight for the victory tomorrow. For Andrea, qualifying didn’t reflect his true pace and I hope that with a good start he can run near the front tomorrow. He was faster this morning but the changing track conditions meant he didn’t get the best out of qualifying. If he can get away with the leaders we’re quite confident about his race pace too.” More, from a press release issued by Honda: Italian Grand Prix, Mugello MotoGP and Moto2 qualifying June 5 2010 Weather: hot and sunny Track temperature: 51 degrees Ambient Temperature: 30 degrees PEDROSA GRABS MUGELLO POLE IN FINAL SECONDS Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC212V) won a thrilling battle for pole position during this afternoon’s Italian Grand Prix qualifying session, beating compatriot Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) by just under two tenths of a second. This was Pedrosa’s second pole position of the year, following his brilliant qualifying performance at last month’s Spanish Grand Prix. The former 125 and 250 World Champion enjoyed an intense battle for pole with his fellow Spaniard, the pair lapping considerably faster than final front-row qualifier and 2009 Mugello winner Casey Stoner (Ducati). Pedrosa led most of the session, Lorenzo taking over at the top with 11 minutes to go, before Pedrosa fought back in the final seconds to better the Yamaha rider by 0.177 seconds. Tomorrow Pedrosa will bid to score his first Grand Prix victory of the year. He is confident that he will be able to run a fast and consistent pace but expects a serious challenge from current points leader Lorenzo. The 2010 Italian GP will go ahead without reigning World Champion Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) who crashed heavily during this morning’s session, breaking his right tibia. Pedrosa and team mate Andrea Dovizioso were among the many MotoGP riders who wished Rossi all the best for a speedy recovery. Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda RC212V) was today’s second best Honda qualifier, securing a place on the second row of the grid during a determined final run. The Frenchman is proving to be an impressively consistent qualifier this year sixth quickest today, he was also sixth on the grid at Jerez and Le Mans and now has four second-row starts from four attempts. Today he had hopes of making the front row but he lost time when another rider crashed ahead of him during his best lap. Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda RC212V) will start the fourth race of the 18-round series from the third row after struggling to get the best out of his softer rear tyre at the end of the session. Dovizioso had been second fastest in this morning’s practice session but had to be content with eighth place in qualifying. He will be doing everything in his power to get a good start tomorrow so he can get away with the leaders. Hiroshi Aoyama (Interwetten Honda MotoGP RC212V) qualified tenth, missing row three by a tantalising 0.056 seconds. Nevertheless it was an impressive performance from the rookie, equalling his amazing tenth place during qualifying for his debut MotoGP race at Qatar earlier this year. Aoyama and his crew worked well and improved their understanding of the RCV during today’s sessions. Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V) also learned much at this most challenging of circuits, the Italian ending up 11th on the grid, two tenths behind fellow rookie Aoyama. Team-mate Marco Melandri (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V) had an altogether more difficult today, unable to find a set-up that gives him confidence over the bumps. Moto2 continues to throw up surprises, with Andrea Iannone (Fimmco Speed Up, Speed Up) scoring his first pole position in the class at Mugello this afternoon. The Italian’s previous best qualifying performance in Moto2 was 14th at Le Mans two weeks ago. Moto2 is so close and competitive that there is very little difference to being fastest and being way down the qualifying order. At Le Mans the grid was the closest in GP history, with less than a second separating the fastest 27 qualifier. Here the top 18 men are covered by just 1.067s. Iannone, three times a pole sitter in 125cc, was impressive in front of his home crowd, lapping more than a quarter of a second faster than anyone else, a big gap in the frantically close world of Moto2. Iannone’s crew had to work hard following a difficult morning session to fine tune his machine for the qualifying outing. Points leader Toni Elias (Gresini Racing Moto2, Moriwaki) also had to fight set-up issues, having completed the two free practice sessions 21st fastest. But his Gresini crew worked miracles for qualifying and the Spaniard was able to move up to the front row on his very last lap of the session, though he still needs to work to improve his race pace. He ended the day three tenths up on Alex De Angelis (RSM Team Scot, Force GP210). De Angelis has had a luckless and so far point-less start to Moto2, but the San Marinese hopes to turn that luck around this weekend. Last man on the front row is Jules Cluzel (Forward Racing, Suter) who has already enjoyed podium success in Moto2 at the Qatar GP but crashed out of the recent French round while battling for the win in front of his home crowd. Shoya Tomizawa (Technomag-CIP, Suter), winner of the historic Qatar round, was fifth quickest, missing out on a front-row start by a slender 0.012 seconds. To underline the closeness of the competition, Tomizawa’s fastest lap was exactly the same as that of Sergio Gadea (Tenerife 40 Pons, Pons Kalex). On his first ever visit to the Mugello circuit Marcel Schrotter, Interwetten Honda, qualified in 18th place on his first ever visit to the Mugello circuit. The German youngster steadily improved his lap time with each practice session concentrating on finding the best possible race set up for his RS125R. Schrotter is aiming for a top 15 finish and to improve upon his 12th place at Jerez, his best result to date this season. HONDA MotoGP RIDER QUOTES Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda RC212V: pole position at 1m 48.819s, said: “It’s great to be on pole here and we’ve been working very hard through free practice and in qualifying this afternoon to improve things from yesterday. We have achieved this, so I’m satisfied. Being on the front row is the important thing and we have to keep our concentration because to win the race is the target – we have to make it tomorrow! We were pushing very hard right to the end of the session and we were able to do a good final lap, but the most important factor is that we’ve been able to be consistent too. Lorenzo will be the man to beat tomorrow, but we are confident, the machine is working better here and we are in better shape than the last race in Le Mans . So tomorrow for the race we hope to maintain our performance right to the end. We still have to improve our race pace a little but I’m feeling very well here, I like this circuit, and I think it will be a fun race with a great atmosphere created by the fans. I didn’t see Rossi’s crash, but what I’ve heard about the injury doesn’t sound good. It’s a pity because all of us riders know how you feel when you are hurt, and I just hope that the operation goes well for him because the first operation is always the most important.” Randy de Puniet, LCR Honda RC212V: 6th at 1m 49.737s, said: “I am a bit disappointed because I had the potential to start from the front row but I did lose some time at the end of my best flying lap because somebody crashed in front of me and after that I made a small mistake on turn five. We could have improved a couple of tenths there. Anyway considering the overall package we are very pleased about this fourth consecutive second row. We still have to fix something about the race tyres because we had some small grip issues on the maximum angle in this afternoon session but it looks like everybody has to face the same problem on race set-up.” Andrea Dovizioso, Repsol Honda RC212V: 8th at 1m 50.065s, said: “This morning we did a good job, improved the performance from yesterday and we finished second on the timesheets. In the afternoon however, the track conditions changed and, even though I pushed very hard, I couldn’t use all the potential of the bike. The gap to Dani and Lorenzo has increased a bit and unfortunately I wasn’t able to use the soft tyre at its best, which means tomorrow we will start from the third row. This is an area where I have to improve because starting in this position makes things more difficult for the race. Anyway I’m still confident for tomorrow. If we can stay with the front group of riders I think we can make a good race. Mugello is a very special place and I’m sure the Italian fans will give me an extra boost for the race. It’s a real shame about Valentino’s injury. It’s always very bad when a rider crashes like this and I’m very sorry for him. I wish him a quick recovery and send him all the best.” Hiroshi Aoyama, Interwetten Honda MotoGP RC212V: 10th at 1m 50.224s, said: “Today we finished in the top ten. This was a really good qualifying for us. We still have to be even stronger and have to keep improving, but the set-up and the bike did work well today and I was able to fight from the beginning. We learnt to understand the bike during this session better. I hope we will have a similar good or even better race tomorrow.” Marco Simoncelli, San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V: 11th at 1m 50.434s, said: “This afternoon went much better than yesterday and this morning. You could say we have finally seen the light and now we hope to improve a little more for tomorrow. I am satisfied and happy. At the end of the technical debrief we will make a few decisions about the plan for tomorrow’s warm-up and try to gain a few more tenths. The circuit and the atmosphere are both fantastic here, the only bad thing is the bumps. Obviously the incident with Valentino will take away from the show. Ever since I began watching racing I’ve never seen a race without him in it. I’m really gutted for him and all I can say is ‘get well soon’.” Marco Melandri, San Carlo Honda Gresini RC212V: 14th at 1m 50.664s, said: “That was a really bad session for us and since we arrived at Mugello we haven’t found anything to make even the slightest improvement. We started out badly and only got worse. It will be a difficult race tomorrow but in the warm-up we’ll try again to find something. At the moment I’m not very confident and it will be difficult for me to even fight for the top six.” MOTO2 RIDER QUOTES Andrea Iannone, Fimmco Speed Up, Speed Up: pole position at 1m 55.598s, said: “I am delighted because my fastest lap was a really good lap. This morning we had a few difficulties with the bike but we were able to solve them thanks to the good work of the team. The bike was much better in qualifying and that helped me to do that lap. Tomorrow there will be other problems most likely Toni and Alex! It will be a difficult race, especially if we end up fighting in a big group. My aim is to get a good start and to try and go ahead on my own, but this will not be easy. I send my best wishes to Valentino [Rossi] for a speedy recovery from his injuries.” Toni Elias, Gresini Racing Moto2, Moriwaki: 2nd at 1m 55.858s, said: “It’s been a difficult weekend so far. We’ve struggled with the balance of the bike, especially in the faster sections of the track. We have some ideas to improve things but we didn’t want to risk trying them in qualifying, so we will see how they work in warm-up. We need to find half a second more of race pace, so we will see. The good thing is that I have a good grid position. I expect lots of fighting in the race.” Alex De Angelis, RSM Team Scot, Force GP210: 3rd at 1m 56.222, said: “We’ve already had quite a bit of bad luck so far this season and we had some more today. Just before we put in my final soft tyre we had some issues with the brakes. That still bothered me on my final run but I was able to be quite fast, which makes me happy and quite confident.” Jules Cluzel, Forward Racing, Suter: 4th at 1m 56.272s, said: “I am very happy to make the front row because we had some problems in qualifying practice. We had a problem with the clutch, so my crew had to work very hard to get the bike fixed. Then right at the end of the session, on my best lap, I had to pass three riders. I hope we can make a good race.” 125cc rider quotes: Marcel Schrötter, INTERWETTEN Honda 125: 18th 2m 01.312s: “I am quite satisfied with the qualifying. I improved my times a lot and I think I could have gone even faster if there wouldn’t have been one slow rider that was holding us all behind. I was in the fast group, but I could not overtake this rider until the last corner. I could have been further in front, but it was not possible, so I am satisfied with this qualifying and confident for the race.” More, from a press release issued by Dorna Communications: Dani Pedrosa will start the 2010 Gran Premio d’Italia TIM from pole position, his second of the season, after a superb late lap deposed current championship leader, Jorge Lorenzo, from the top of the timesheet. “It’s great to take pole here,” declared Pedrosa. “We’ve been working very hard through free practice and in qualifying this afternoon to improve things from yesterday. We’ve achieved this, so I’m satisfied. Lorenzo will be the man to beat tomorrow, but we are confident that we are in better shape than for the last race in Le Mans. I think it will be a fun race tomorrow.” Lorenzo had taken provisional pole position with ten minutes of the session remaining, becoming the first rider of the weekend to get under the 1’49″ barrier by four-thousandths of a second, but Pedrosa’s effort means Lorenzo will go for his third straight win of the campaign from second position on the grid tomorrow. “I am very happy about how my bike is feeling at Mugello,” said Lorenzo. “I have a good race pace, the Bridgestone tyres feel good and I think I can make a fight tomorrow.” Joining the Spanish duo on the front row will be Casey Stoner, who overcame problems with his Ducati Desmosedici that have plagued him all weekend to jump up from ninth to third in the final moments of this afternoon’s qualifying session, knocking his team-mate, Nicky Hayden, back to the second row of the grid. “I’d love to say we’re ready for the race tomorrow, but the reality is we’re far from it,” explained Stoner. “It was a bit if a banzai lap in qualifying to be honest; we still need to find around six tenths if we are to be competitive with Jorge and Dani tomorrow. But, if we can find something in warm-up, then we could be in a good position.” Hayden will start alongside Colin Edwards and Randy de Puniet, who both enjoyed a positive qualifying session at a sun-drenched Mugello this afternoon. Ben Spies will start his first MotoGP race at Mugello from seventh place, after an impressive weekend learning yet another new circuit, and Andrea Dovizioso will also be on the third row for his home race. Aleix Espargaró continued to improve on his satellite Pramac Ducati to claim ninth place, his best qualifying position to date, while another rookie, Hiroshi Aoyama, rounded out the top ten. A notable absence from the session was Valentino Rossi. The reigning World Champion was taken to hospital earlier in the day after a crash in the morning practice, and will have an operation this evening on a fractured right tibia. “I didn’t see Rossi’s crash, but what I’ve heard about the injury doesn’t sound good,” said Pedrosa. “I just hope the operation goes well for him, because the first operation is always the most important.” Moto2 Andrea Iannone gave the home crowd something to cheer about at Mugello today, by taking pole position for the Moto2 race at the Italian circuit after a hectic qualifying session. Iannone’s lap of 1’55.598 secured him the fourth pole of his career his first in the new intermediate category by a margin of 0.260s. Joining him on the front row will be current championship leader Toni Elías who put in a hot final lap of the session to rise to second, having been much further down the timesheet for most of practice and qualifying. Alex de Angelis and Jules Cluzel were separated by just five-hundredths of a second in third and fourth, as they completed the front row. Shoya Tomizawa, who is lying second in the overall standings and 18 points off Elías going into tomorrow’s race, will lead the second row after setting the fifth best time, with Sergio Gadea, Gabor Talmacsi and Axel Pons also inside the top eight. Talmacsi had a fall towards the end of the session, which severely damaged his bike, but left the former 125cc World Champion uninjured Thomas Lüthi and Julián Simón also set top-ten times, with the latter sliding out at the very end of the session but returning to his bike immediately. 125cc Sandro Cortese will start tomorrow’s 125cc race from pole position, after stealing the number one slot on the grid from Pol Espargaró right at the end of this afternoon’s qualifying session. Espargaró was unable to respond, having crashed without injury with just ten minutes of the session left to run. Bancaja Aspar team-mates Bradley Smith and current World Championship leader Nico Terol complete the front row, as both came within three-tenths of the top time. Randy Krummenacher, Marc Márquez, Esteve Rabat and Efrén Vázquez will all be present on the second row after good qualification performances, although Vázquez experienced a fall at the very end of the session. Johann Zarco and Tomoyoshi Koyama were inside the top ten, with British rider Danny Webb 13th. There were crashes for Adrián Martín and Luigi Morciano.