Dani Pedrosa was overjoyed to have claimed pole position for this weekend's French Grand Prix. The Barcelona-born rider claimed the top spot at Le Mans for Repsol Honda, setting a fastest time which was just five thousandths of a second quicker than compatriot Jorge Lorenzo's Yamaha.
The 23 year-old has endured a tough start to the 2009 season, with a host of injuries, but was beaming after Saturday's rain-free session, a rarity in 2009. "Obviously I'm really happy with pole today and it was a very close battle for the front row," said Pedrosa. "Right at the end we were able to set the fastest lap and I'm really pleased for the team, as well as for myself. Being on the front row is important and it's also lucky that we had good weather for this afternoon, and for most of the morning session, because it allowed us to test a few setup options and learn more about the machine at this track."
Behind the two Spaniards will be championship leaders Valentino Rosso and Casey Stoner, with - unlike in the standings - the Australian ahead of the Italian on the grid. "We still have work to do before the race, so we're not going to relax at all," Pedrosa confirmed. "It's a long race tomorrow and there are some improvements I'd like to make to the machine settings to give us a good chance.
"Of course the weather can play a big part at this circuit as we've seen many times before - we have to prepare for many conditions, so we're staying focused."
Source:
http://moto.gpupdate.net
The 23 year-old has endured a tough start to the 2009 season, with a host of injuries, but was beaming after Saturday's rain-free session, a rarity in 2009. "Obviously I'm really happy with pole today and it was a very close battle for the front row," said Pedrosa. "Right at the end we were able to set the fastest lap and I'm really pleased for the team, as well as for myself. Being on the front row is important and it's also lucky that we had good weather for this afternoon, and for most of the morning session, because it allowed us to test a few setup options and learn more about the machine at this track."
Behind the two Spaniards will be championship leaders Valentino Rosso and Casey Stoner, with - unlike in the standings - the Australian ahead of the Italian on the grid. "We still have work to do before the race, so we're not going to relax at all," Pedrosa confirmed. "It's a long race tomorrow and there are some improvements I'd like to make to the machine settings to give us a good chance.
"Of course the weather can play a big part at this circuit as we've seen many times before - we have to prepare for many conditions, so we're staying focused."
Source:
http://moto.gpupdate.net