Pedrosa in pole position at Grand Prix de France

Repsol Honda rider heads the grid at Le Mans after an exciting MotoGP qualifying session at Le Mans.

In-form Spaniard Dani Pedrosa snatched his first pole position of 2009 right at the death of Saturday afternoon’s MotoGP qualifying session at the Grand Prix de France as the riders got the chance to give it full gas on a dry track.

With Le Mans typically experiencing four seasons in a day morning rain gave way to afternoon sunshine, with provisional pole changing hands several times, before Pedrosa made it his own with a best effort of 1’33.974 on his final lap, to take first spot by a 0.005s margin.

The factory Honda rider who appears to be getting stronger every time he gets on his RC212V at present, following an injury plagued winter, will be joined on the front row by fellow Spanish rider Jorge Lorenzo (Fiat Yamaha) and Casey Stoner (Ducati Marlboro).

Valentino Rossi made improvements as the session went on, his final position of fourth being a significant step forward having lapped eleventh fastest on Saturday morning.

Rossi’s compatriot Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda) and his former team-mate Colin Edwards, who briefly held provisional pole in the session, will line up behind him on the grid.

The third row will feature Rizla Suzuki pair Chris Vermeulen and Loris Capirossi who both qualified within a second of Pedrosa, at a track where Vermeulen took victory in 2007.

The top ten was rounded off by Italian competitor Marco Melandri (Hayate Racing) and home rider Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda) who both bounced back from crashes in the hour-long session.

The weathermen have suggested that there is an 80% chance of rain on Sunday at the time of the fourth MotoGP race of the year.

GRAND PRIX DE FRANCE - MotoGP
Le Mans Dry Session

Qualifying Practice

Rider Nation Team Motorcycle Time Lap Total Gap Top Speed
1 3 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team HONDA 1'33.974 30 30 281.8
2 99 Jorge LORENZO SPA Fiat Yamaha Team YAMAHA 1'33.979 30 30 0.005 0.005 282.2
3 27 Casey STONER AUS Ducati Marlboro Team DUCATI 1'34.049 23 25 0.075 0.070 289.7
4 46 Valentino ROSSI ITA Fiat Yamaha Team YAMAHA 1'34.106 29 29 0.132 0.057 291.2
5 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Repsol Honda Team HONDA 1'34.300 29 29 0.326 0.194 284.0
6 5 Colin EDWARDS USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 YAMAHA 1'34.330 26 30 0.356 0.030 278.2
7 7 Chris VERMEULEN AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP SUZUKI 1'34.676 26 31 0.702 0.346 280.4
8 65 Loris CAPIROSSI ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP SUZUKI 1'34.839 29 29 0.865 0.163 283.5
9 33 Marco MELANDRI ITA Hayate Racing Team KAWASAKI 1'35.008 20 22 1.034 0.169 282.0
10 14 Randy DE PUNIET FRA LCR Honda MotoGP HONDA 1'35.399 19 26 1.425 0.391 290.3
11 24 Toni ELIAS SPA San Carlo Honda Gresini HONDA 1'35.431 23 27 1.457 0.032 281.3
12 52 James TOSELAND GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 YAMAHA 1'35.524 30 30 1.550 0.093 278.4
13 69 Nicky HAYDEN USA Ducati Marlboro Team DUCATI 1'35.682 27 27 1.708 0.158 279.3
14 36 Mika KALLIO FIN Pramac Racing DUCATI 1'35.741 8 22 1.767 0.059 278.3
15 72 Yuki TAKAHASHI JPN Scot Racing Team MotoGP HONDA 1'35.774 25 29 1.800 0.033 283.1
16 15 Alex DE ANGELIS RSM San Carlo Honda Gresini HONDA 1'35.785 25 27 1.811 0.011 278.9
17 88 Niccolo CANEPA ITA Pramac Racing DUCATI 1'36.136 26 29 2.162 0.351 274.9
59 Sete GIBERNAU SPA Grupo Francisco Hernando DUCATI
Fastest Lap: Lap: 30 Dani PEDROSA 1'33.974 160.32 Km/h
Circuit Record Lap:Valentino ROSSI 1'34.215 159.910 Km/h2008
Circuit Best Lap: Dani PEDROSA 1'32.647 162.617 Km/h 2008


Dry
Air: 18°
Ground: 22°
Humidity: 57%
Practice condition:
Time limit for protest expires 60' after publication of the results - Mr.