Hiroshi Aoyama picked up his second consecutive pole position in Sepang just seven days after clinching his first of the season at Motegi.

Daniel Pedrosa will be right alongside him on the starting grid after completing an extraordinary job in the qualifying session that will enable him to look forward to the race in much more confident mood than he did at Motegi.

Despite persistent pain in his left shoulder at a circuit which is actually more physically demanding than Motegi, the World Champion was able to work more on the set-up of his Honda and if the conditions don’t change for tomorrow he is confident of being able to give his best in the race.

Hiroshi Aoyama set the best time of the day in the slipstream of his team-mate after an early fall interrupted his programme for the session. The Japanese rider picked up his second bike and returned to the track and tagged on to the Spaniard to clock a time just 0.081 seconds faster. 

DANI PEDROSA (2nd, 2’07”941): “In general we’ve had two good sessions today and I can say that I feel more confident about the set-up of the bike here than I was in Japan. In the afternoon it was more difficult because the heat made the bike slide more and the wind picked up a little but even so we have a good setting for the race. The important thing is to be on the front row and, even though I lost pole at the end, I’m hoping to get a good start and achieve the best possible result.”

HIROSHI AOYAMA (1st, 2’07”860): “This second consecutive pole is very important for me after the victory in Japan. At the start of the session I made a mistake and I crashed. From then on I found it really hard to get back into the session and I didn’t have any rhythm. In the end I changed my bike and changed my mind! I just gave it plenty of gas although it is true that Dani helped me. I expect it will be very hot in the race and it won’t be easy, but I hope to maintain a good pace until the end of the race.” 

 LAP TIMES

1. Hiroshi Aoyama (Jap/Honda) 2’07”860
2. Dani Pedrosa (Esp/Honda) + 0”081
3. Alex De Angelis (RSM/Aprilia) + 0”335
4. Casey Stoner (Aus/Aprilia) + 0”426
5. Sebastián Porto (Arg/Aprilia) + 0”576