Daily Update MotoGP

Dani Pedrosa snatched pole position from Colin Edwards at Le Mans, ahead of tomorrow's French MotoGP.
The Repsol Honda rider set his fastest lap of 1:32.647 in the last minute of the session, after his Tech 3 Yamaha rival, who was 0.127 seconds slower, had held the top spot for the previous 20 minutes.

This is Pedrosa's first pole position of the year, and by beating Edwards he ended the stranglehold Michelin-shod Yamahas had on qualifying this season, with the American and Fiat Yamaha's Jorge Lorenzo having taken every previous pole this year.
The front row was completed by reigning champion Casey Stoner, who qualified his Ducati Marlboro in third with a time 0.347 slower than Pedrosa, but showed impressive race pace when on non-qualifying tyres.

The two Fiat Yamahas of Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo qualified in fourth and fifth position respectively.
Lorenzo, who is still recovering from the injuries sustained in an accident sustained in China two weeks ago, went through a gravel trap at high speed midway through the session.
He luckily just managed to stay on the bike as it hopped back on the track, after suffering no consequences in crashes in both yesterday's and this morning's free practice sessions.
The Spanish rookie also made a wrong turn towards the end of the session and went down a road used by the sportscar 24-hour race, forcing him to step off the bike to turn it around.
Nicky Hayden qualified his Repsol Honda in sixth place, ahead of James Toseland's Tech 3 Yamaha in seventh and Chris Vermeulen's Rizla Suzuki in eighth.
Kawasaki's John Hopkins will start the race from ninth, with JiR Team Scot Honda's Andrea Dovizioso completing the top ten.
Marco Melandri in the second works Ducati qualified in a lowly 17th place, over two seconds behind his teammate Stoner
Pos Rider Bike Time
1. Dani Pedrosa Honda (M) 1:32.647
2. Colin Edwards Yamaha (M) 1:32.774 + 0.127
3. Casey Stoner Ducati (B) 1:32.994 + 0.347
4. Valentino Rossi Yamaha (B) 1:33.157 + 0.510
5. Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha (M) 1:33.269 + 0.622
6. Nicky Hayden Honda (M) 1:33.286 + 0.639
7. James Toseland Yamaha (M) 1:33.396 + 0.749
8. Chris Vermeulen Suzuki (B) 1:33.400 + 0.793
9. John Hopkins Kawasaki (B) 1:33.628 + 0.981
10. Andrea Dovizioso Honda (M) 1:33.689 + 1.042
11. Loris Capirossi Suzuki (B) 1:33.707 + 1.060
12. Randy de Puniet Honda (M) 1:33.723 + 1.076
13. Shinya Nakano Honda (B) 1:34.077 + 1.430
14. Toni Elias Ducati (B) 1:34.561 + 1.914
15. Alex de Angelis Honda (B) 1:34.670 + 2.023
16. Sylvain Guintoli Ducati (B) 1:34.747 + 2.100
17. Marco Melandri Ducati (B) 1:35.082 + 2.434
18. Anthony West Kawasaki (B) 1:35.349 + 2.702
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After a testing start to 2008, Marco Melandri believes he is edging closer to the light at the end of the tunnel after taking fifth place in China.
Fifth place in Shanghai came as a welcome change for Marco Melandri, his best result since a difficult switch to the Ducati Marlboro team at the end of last year. Of all the tracks on the 2008 calendar, Le Mans undoubtedly features high up on the list of those at which the former World Championship runner-up would be favoured to build on such an upturn in fortunes.

Melandri finished second last year in a flag-to-flag race in France, after a win in 2006. In addition, he counts a further three podiums to his name from the lower cylinder categories and an affinity for the historic Bugatti venue. Although previous results have little bearing when confronted with a completely different machine with which to make a mark, the Italian is relishing a return to Le Mans.

`Le Mans is a track with a lot of heavy braking and it cannot be underestimated because it is quite technical, with slow turns followed by some really fast ones. Even so I think I can do well there because I won in 2006 with the 990cc bike and last year I made the podium with the 800cc,´ explains the rejuvenated 25 year-old.

`Personally I have always liked the track so hopefully I can get another good result. We have shown that we're able to come through a difficult situation and we've made real progress so I just can't wait to get back on track now. I feel optimistic and I hope we can confirm our progress on a very different kind of circuit to Shanghai.´
ref[motogp.com

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Valentino Rossi broke his winless 'drought' with victory over Dani Pedrosa in the Chinese round of the MotoGP world championship at Shanghai.
Rossi, whose last victory was eight rounds ago at Portugal last year, battled in the lead group in the opening laps, taking second position from Colin Edwards as he chased leader Dani Pedrosa.
Pedrosa and Rossi pulled away from the rest of the field, being led by Casey Stoner, before Rossi took the lead from Pedrosa on lap 5. Rossi and Pedrosa ran in tandem as they continued to pull away, Pedrosa able to keep up with Rossi but unable to make a pass.
On lap 17 and 18 Rossi set consecutive fastest laps, and this proved too much for Pedrosa who began to slowly fall away over the closing laps as Rossi took a comfortable victory.
Casey Stoner had a lonely race in third place on his Ducati, over 15 seconds behind Rossi at the chequered flag, a surprising result after showing competitive pace throughout the weekend.
Jorge Lorenzo's remarkable weekend continued, taking fourth place after dropping down the order at the start of the race, having to fight his way back past the other riders during the race while continuing to ride injured.
After a terrible start to the season, fifth for Marco Melandri must almost feel like a win, having run as high as fourth in the second half of the race before being passed by Lorenzo.
He was under pressure at the finish however, just holding off Nicky Hayden who had an up and down race, Colin Edwards who made two mistakes at the hairpin, Toni Elias and Loris Capirossi.
Pos Rider Bike Tyre Gap
1. Valentino Rossi Yamaha (B) 44:08.061
2. Daniel Pedrosa Honda (M) +3.890
3. Casey Stoner Ducati (B) +15.928
4. Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha (M) +22.494
5. Marco Melandri Ducati (B) +26.957
6. Nicky Hayden Honda (M) +28.369
7. Colin Edwards Yamaha (M) +29.780
8. Toni Elías Ducati (B) +30.225
9. Loris Capirossi Suzuki (B) +31.440
10. Shinya Nakano Honda (B) +35.969
11. Andrea Dovizioso Honda (M) +36.246
12. James Toseland Yamaha (M) +43.191
13. Randy de Puniet Honda (M) +43.442
14. John Hopkins Kawasaki (B) +45.855
15. Sylvain Guintoli Ducati (B) +46.330
16. Alex de Angelis Honda (B) +50.593
17. Anthony West Kawasaki (B) +1:05.593

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Tech 3 Yamaha rider Colin Edwards has taken pole position for Sunday's Chinese MotoGP round at Shanghai with a late flying lap to beat Valentino Rossi's best effort.
The American had taken provisional pole around the 40 minute mark of the hour-long session, but was soon demoted by Ducati's Casey Stoner. Stoner lowered his best again in the final ten minutes before it was almost immediately beaten by Valentino Rossi.
Rossi went faster again after the chequered flag, but as the session was ending Edwards took four tenths off Rossi's earlier mark to take pole position with a 1:58.139. His former teammate Valentino Rossi will start alongside him on the front row, along with 2007 champion Casey Stoner who was unable to improve on his final lap.
Heading the second row of the grid is the remarkable Jorge Lorenzo, almost unable to walk when not on his bike, yet able to achieve impressive feats while on it, just over half a second slower than Edwards.
Fifth fastest was Dani Pedrosa, fast on his Repsol Honda early in qualifying but unable to find that little bit extra at the end, just edging out a strong performance by Loris Capirossi on his Rizla Suzuki.
James Toseland looked set for a top-five start with just a couple of minutes remaining, but the final flurry pushed him down to seventh, just ahead of Chris Vermeulen and Randy de Puniet.
Like teammate Pedrosa, Nicky Hayden looked set for a better result than his tenth-fastest time, two places ahead of Marco Melandri on the second factory Ducati.
Shinya Nakano's efforts in practice showed more promise than his eventual qualifying position of 13th, one place better than John Hopkins who had set the second-fastest time just after the 30 minute mark of the session.
Pos Rider Bike Tyre Time Gap
1. Colin Edwards Yamaha (M) 1:58.139
2. Valentino Rossi Yamaha (B) 1:58.494 +0.355
3. Casey Stoner Ducati (B) 1:58.591 +0.452
4. Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha (M) 1:58.711 +0.572
5. Daniel Pedrosa Honda (M) 1:58.855 +0.716
6. Loris Capirossi Suzuki (B) 1:58.941 +0.802
7. James Toseland Yamaha (M) 1:59.254 +1.115
8. Chris Vermeulen Suzuki (B) 1:59.325 +1.186
9. Randy de Puniet Honda (M) 1:59.357 +1.218
10. Nicky Hayden Honda (M) 1:59.507 +1.368
11. Andrea Dovizioso Honda (M) 1:59.559 +1.420
12. Marco Melandri Ducati (B) 1:59.678 +1.539
13. Shinya Nakano Honda (B) 1:59.716 +1.577
14. John Hopkins Kawasaki (B) 1:59.740 +1.601
15. Toni Elias Ducati (B) 1:59.933 +1.794
16. Alex de Angelis Honda (B) 2:00.316 +2.177
17. Sylvain Guintoli Ducati (B) 2:00.760 +2.621
18. Anthony West Kawasaki (B) 2:00.838 +2.699
ref[AS]

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May 1st, 2005. The heavens open in Shanghai, and the first ever MotoGP race in China is a wet affair. At the height of his form, Valentino Rossi shows his mastery of the 990cc Yamaha M1 to take a memorable victory from wildcard Olivier Jacque and continue his leadership of the MotoGP World Championship.
Jump forward three years, and things look very different for the Italian star. Rossi is now on his longest winless streak in the premier class since his maiden victory in 2000, and has seen rookie teammate Jorge Lorenzo outshine him thus far in the present season. The five-time MotoGP World Champion is, however, still a potent force as proved by his first Bridgestone-assisted podiums in Jerez and Estoril, and the Fiat Yamaha package is assumed by many to be favourable to the odds of victory in Shanghai.
One of those predicting a Rossi resurgence is the rider himself, who came close to taking the win last year in a jaw dropping battle with Casey Stoner. Another Bridgestone rider, John Hopkins, completed the rostrum.
`Last year in China we weren´t quite able to win, but this year our bike is working very well and, together with our tyre package, I think we should be fighting for the victory,´ proclaims Rossi. `The race in 2007 was very exciting I think, a long battle with Stoner; this year I hope for a similar battle with my rivals but with a different outcome!´

The 29 year-old´s decision to switch from Michelin rubber to his current associates brought him in for some flack, and the jury is still out over the success of the change as the French manufacturer post some impressive results in early 2008. Rossi, who experienced a freak front tyre problem in the 2006 Chinese visit, is hopeful that the critics can be silenced this weekend.
`After Estoril we had a test and the primary focus was tyre testing with Bridgestone, working on material for Shanghai. We found some good things and I hope that we´ll be starting in good shape. We´ve had three races together now and I think the last two podiums, especially in Estoril which isn´t such a good track for Bridgestone, have shown that we´re making good progress in our relationship,´ continues Rossi.
`I hope that Shanghai is going to be the place where it finally all comes together. We´re not in such a bad place in the championship and there is a very long way to go, but our rivals are very strong so we can't afford to make mistakes and we need to try to take as many points as possible from now on.
ref [motogp.com]
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will rossi have good result in GP China.

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World champion Casey Stoner says he is not dwelling on the past as he tries to fight back following two disappointing races in a row.
The Ducati rider, who last year won ten races on the way to the title, has endured a shaky start to the 2008 season despite having won the season opener in Qatar.
After that, Stoner finished 11th in Jerez and sixth in Estoril, dropping down to fourth place in the standings.
But ahead of this weekend's Chinese Grand Prix, the Australian says is ready to move on.
"After such a great start in Qatar the last two races in Spain and Portugal have been tough, and to be honest a little unlucky too, but we made a few set-up changes in the Estoril test that should prove helpful in China," said Stoner.
"At Shanghai we should also have some new tyres available from Bridgestone.
"Our package worked really well at this track last year but there's no point looking into the past - we have to look to get the most out of what we have available to us right now."
Teammate Marco Melandri is hopeful he will have a good race in China, despite his dismal start to the season.
The Italian is yet to finish higher than 11th in a race this year.
"Shanghai is a circuit I like a lot," he said. "The first time we went there I managed a podium and went really strong in the wet - in fact my overriding memory from that race is the rain, there was so much of it.
"Last year I finished fifth and that was a good result for me because I remember I was losing a lot of ground in the straights, on top speed. That shouldn't be the case this year and in general the track should be good for our bike so hopefully we can have a good race at last."
ref [AS]

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