Rossi heading grid for British GP
DONINGTON PARK, England -- World champion Valentino Rossi will be on pole position for Sunday's British Grand Prix after setting the quickest time in final qualifying on Saturday.
The Italian, who leads the title race by a point from Max Biaggi, clocked a track record time of 1:28.72 on his Yamaha to claim his sixth pole of the season and the 24th of his MotoGP career.
Championship challenger Sete Gibernau was second fastest for Honda, edging out Loris Capirossi, who was third quickest.
The Italian's Australian team mate Troy Bayliss, who has failed to finish in his last four races, was fourth fastest ahead of his old world superbike rival Colin Edwards, the second fastest Honda in qualifying.
The Honda challenge, which had looked so formidable with podium sweeps in the last two races, stuttered on Saturday.
American rider Nicky Hayden failed to improve on the record time that gave him provisional pole after Friday's first qualifying session and he will round out the second row on Sunday.
Hayden's Brazilian team mate Alex Barros got back on his bike after a nasty fall and managed to qualify in ninth place, just behind a disappointed Biaggi.
Rossi revealed that he thinks he can go faster on Sunday. "I made a mistake on one of the corners with a gear, when I took fourth instead of third so, yes, I think we could go faster.
"But we're in pole position so I'm very happy because the Yamaha is working well. I love this track and the fans will be out in force so all we have do now is hope for good weather."
