Dani Pedrosa is determined to finish the MotoGP season with a victory despite being denied pole position for the series finale in Valencia, Spain by Casey Stoner.
Australian Stoner was 0.263 seconds faster than the 24-year-old Spaniard, who posted a time of 1minute 32.519seconds in qualifying for his home race.
Pedrosa managed to improve his best time in practice to come home ahead of compatriot Jorge Lorenzo.
'I hope I’m there at the front fighting for the win' - Dani Pedrosa
But the Repsol Honda rider knows that he will need to find more speed if he is to have any chance of catching Stoner in Valencia and in the race for third place in the championship standings.
Pedrosa, who is 11 points adrift of Stoner in the standings, said: “I’m very pleased to be on the front row here, and the qualifying session went quite well for us.
“I think our pace can be quite strong tomorrow. The front row is the important thing though, and now I’m really looking forward to the race.
“I think everyone’s motivation for this race is very high and it should be a good battle - and a difficult one. I hope I’m there at the front fighting for the win because this would be a great way to finish the season for me and for the Repsol Honda Team.
“The other riders are strong though, so it won’t be easy but I just hope I can find that little bit extra on race day.”
World champion Valentino Rossi will start from fourth on the grid, alongside Colin Edwards and Nicky Hayden while Pedrosa’s team-mate Andrea Dovizioso has much work to do after posting the 10th fastest time in qualifying.
Dovizioso said: “I need to be quick off the line tomorrow because starting from the fourth row makes everything more difficult. It’s the last race of the season though, and we’ll be giving it everything.”
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