Valentino Rossi claimed pole position for the Dutch TT at Assen as the Italian bids to record his 100th grand Prix victory in Holland on Saturday.
The Fiat Yamaha rider and defending FIM MotoGP World Champion, who is tied at the top of the current points standings with team-mate Jorge Lorenzo and Ducati Marlboro’s Casey Stoner, left it late in the qualifying session before claiming pole with a lap time of one minute 36.025 seconds. The Press Association
Spain’s Dani Pedrosa was second, while Rossi’s leading title rivals Jorge Lorenzo and Casey Stoner took third and fourth places.
Rossi’s pole is his second of the year and the for the 53rd of the eight-time world champion’s career.
“I’m so happy, because this is a real pole position with a great lap at the end,” said Rossi.
“It’s always difficult with the traffic because I always have five riders behind me. We wait for Saturday and we hope for good weather.” BBC News
Not a fan of flag-to-flag races, Rossi is praying for sunshine at the ‘Cathedral of Motorcycle Racing,’ where he believes that he can challenge for a 100th Grand Prix victory.
MotoGP: Dutch TT Grand Prix - Qualifying Race Results
“I’m in good shape, just like my M1, and I just hope for good weather tomorrow. To have the grandstands full today for practice sessions is something incredible, so we’ll try to put on a good show for the fans tomorrow.” MotoGP.com
| 
|