Pedrosa wins Mugello pole

Added on Saturday, June 5th, 2010 by Carole Nash Editor | No Comments

Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa will start tomorrow’s Mugello round of the MotoGP from pole position, after beating rivals to the position this afternoon.

Still eager to take a win yet this season, Pedrosa is aiming to turn his pole position into his first victory of 2010, but he will have some fierce competition to fend off first.

Championship leader, Jorge Lorenzo recorded the second fastest time of the qualifying hour, to ensure he will start tomorrow’s race from second on the grid, whilst Casey Stoner will complete the front row in third. Lorenzo’s FIAT Yamaha and chief rival in the standings, Valentino Rossi, suffered a crash ealier in the day during the practice session. As a result of his misfortune, the reigning champion was due to receive an operation this afternoon on a fractured right tibia.

Securing a second row start, Nicky Hayden was inches away from his teammate Stoner, whilst fellow American Colin Edwards will start alongside in fifth. Randy De Puniet set the sixth fastest time of the session on his LCR Honda machine, leaving him to complete the second row of the grid.

Edwards’ Monster Yamaha Tech 3 teammate, Ben Spies stormed through to the seventh quickest time, just ahead of Andrea Dovizioso in eighth. Aleix Espargaro and Hiroshi Aoyama completed the top ten, each making an appearance in ninth and tenth, respectively.

With Rossi unable to set a time, the remaining six places on the grid were awarded to Marco Simoncelli, Loris Capirossi, Hector Barbera, Marco Melandri, Mika Kallio and finally Alvaro Bautista.

Tomorrow is looking set to be a tough battle at the front, but a spectacular showing for the fans. Everyone will be eager to see how the hole Rossi has left will be filled, if Pedrosa will succeed with his first victory of the season and if Lorenzo can hold onto his championship lead.

MotoGP, Qualifying Results, Mugello:

Pos.	Rider	Nation	Team	Time
1	Dani PEDROSA	SPA	Repsol Honda Team	1’48.819
2	Jorge LORENZO	SPA	Fiat Yamaha Team	1’48.996
3	Casey STONER	AUS	Ducati Marlboro Team	1’49.432
4	Nicky HAYDEN	USA	Ducati Marlboro Team	1’49.546
5	Colin EDWARDS	USA	Monster Yamaha Tech 3	1’49.683
6	Randy DE PUNIET	FRA	LCR Honda MotoGP	1’49.737
7	Ben SPIES	USA	Monster Yamaha Tech 3	1’49.861
8	Andrea DOVIZIOSO	ITA	Repsol Honda Team	1’50.065
9	Aleix ESPARGARO	SPA	Pramac Racing Team	1’50.168
10	Hiroshi AOYAMA	JPN	Interwetten Honda MotoGP	1’50.224
11	Marco SIMONCELLI	ITA	San Carlo Honda Gresini	1’50.434
12	Loris CAPIROSSI	ITA	Rizla Suzuki MotoGP	1’50.479
13	Hector BARBERA	SPA	Paginas Amarillas Aspar	1’50.561
14	Marco MELANDRI	ITA	San Carlo Honda Gresini	1’50.664
15	Mika KALLIO	FIN	Pramac Racing Team	1’50.970
16	Alvaro BAUTISTA	SPA	Rizla Suzuki MotoGP	1’53.243
	Valentino ROSSI	ITA	Fiat Yamaha Team