British MotoGP: Valentino Rossi surprised at Donington pole

Valentino Rossi said he was ‘surprised’ to have claimed his fourth pole position of 2009 at Donington Park this afternoon.

A best lap of 1.28.116 set in the final three minutes of today’s qualifying session couldn’t be bettered despite a late attack from Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa.

Rossi, who goes into tomorrow’s 30-lap race holding a 14-point lead over Fiat Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo, said: “It was quite a surprise for me to be on pole because at the beginning of the practice we tried the hard tyre for the race and I expected to have quite a good setting But unfortunately it didn’t work.

“It was quite a bad surprise because I was very slow and struggling a lot. I couldn’t ride how I want so we tried to work and modify the bike for more rear grip.

“But my pace with the hard tyre is not fantastic and this is a big issue for tomorrow if the race is dry.

“At the end I was able to do some great laps with the softer rear and I was very strong.”

Rossi’s main worry now is about the unpredictable British weather, with rain expected for tomorrow’s race, which is the last to be held at Donington Park for at least the next five years.

The 30-year-old added: ‘We have to wait and see what the weather does because it is impossible to see the sun tomorrow after today.

“Two days in a row would be incredible. Unfortunately I’m quite worried because for the F1 we race 90 minutes later and the forecast says that is when the rain is coming.

“So it looks like we’re waiting for the water.

Pedrosa took second on the grid to bolster his hopes of a first win at Donington since 2006.

His best lap of 1.28.211 was only 0.095s off the pace of Rossi and 0.191s clear of Lorenzo in third.

The 23-year-old said: “We did a good job in both sessions today and I’m happy to qualify on the front row because, in reality, that’s more important than taking pole position.

“On my last run at the end of the qualifying session I found some traffic on the circuit which caused me to lose my concentration and rhythm slightly, so I think I could have gone a little quicker.

“But still, the middle of the front row is OK. Our dry set-up is nearly there so we’ll aim to make just a few little improvements before the race.

“The weather is looking changeable for tomorrow, though at least we’ve had some practice time in the wet yesterday.

“If it’s raining I’d like to improve my riding and my pace a bit but the weather is out of our control so we’ll have to see.

“It’s the last MotoGP race at Donington tomorrow and of course I’d like a good result to sign off with – preferably a win.”

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