Dani Pedrosa took pole position for the Polini Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix in one of the finest qualifying sessions of the season, snatching the top spot from 2008 MotoGP World Champion Valentino Rossi with the clock already run down to zero.
The 2007 Sepang poleman had been racing against time to get out for a final attempt, pulling out of the Repsol Honda Garage and warming up for a fearsome 2´01.548 lap of the Asian circuit. Rossi looked to have secured what would have been his third pole of the season with two flying laps, with his reaction suggesting that enough had been done, but Pedrosa fired back to cut the Italian´s time by 0.409.
Spain’s Jorge Lorenzo on a Yamaha finished third in 2:02.171 while Australian Ducati rider Casey Stoner could only manage seventh in 2:02.953.
Rossi tops the standings after 16 races with 332 points while Stoner stands at 245.
“We were lucky ... to go out (in wet track conditions) with the right tyre. It is great to start in the first row tomorrow,” Rossi said after the qualifying practice.
Rossi is the most successful rider at Sepang with four victories and is favourite to win again in Sunday’s penultimate race of the season.
Nicky Hayden was fourth fastest and will be joined on the second row by Colin Edwards, who took fifth, and Dovizioso - who had moved into provisional pole with two minutes of the session remaining - in sixth while Loris Capirossi, Randy de Puniet and John Hopkins completed the top 10.
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