Honda rider Loris Capirossi snatched pole position for tomorrow’s season-opening 500cc Japanese motorcycling Grand Prix.
The Italian started today’s qualifying session ranked eighth on the provisional grid, but with just over a minute on the clock, he posted a fastest lap time of 2 minutes 04.777 seconds.
That was more than eight-tenths of a second better than Japan's Shinya Nakano, who lapped a sunny Suzuka circuit on his Yamaha in 2:05.588.
"I'm very happy to get pole but I knew I could do it," said Capirossi, a former 250cc world champion who made his grand prix debut at the age of 16.
"I came into the pits, told my mechanics to keep the same settings, fit new tyres and watch the screens."
The Japanese Grand Prix marks the start of this year's 16-race series. Nakano, gearing up for his first season in the 500cc class, said he could hardly believe he had won a place in the front row.
"We didn't have a great set-up when we came here two weeks ago, but the bike is now well balanced," he said.
Italian Max Biaggi, who rode his Yamaha to provisional pole on Friday, clocked 2:05.703. -Reuters-