A nailbiting last two minutes of qualifying saw Dani Pedrosa seize a front-row spot for tomorrow’s French MotoGP at Le Mans.
The Repsol Honda man had posted solid but unspectacular times that had seemingly secured him at least a second row start from which to launch his trademark start-line dash for the lead, but then with just over two minutes on the clock, Dani smashed the top mark on a track where he holds the lap record.
It looked momentarily as if it might be enough to clinch pole, but then a stunning lap from Valentino Rossi and another from his Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo that was almost its equal meant that they would start ahead of the Spaniard.
Pedrosa admitted after the session that the Honda is still a work in progress.
“We still need to find three-tenths per lap,” he commented.
Pedrosa’s Honda team-mate Andrea Dovizioso also made a last-minute dash up the timesheets, having been on the pace in the earlier practice sessions. He starts seventh tomorrow.
Interwetten Honda rider Hiroshi Aoyama qualified 14th, but there was more woe for Pramac Ducati’s Mika Kallio after the Finn suffered a painful fall in practice. Despite avoiding the broken collarbone initially feared, Kallio struggled uncomfortably and will line up in 16th, the last of the starters for the second successive grand prix.
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