Sete Gibernau and Marco Melandri set the first and second fastest times in the official MotoGP qualifying practice today and will both start as serious contenders to take their first victory of the season.

The Italian dominated all three free practice sessions but conceded pole to his team-mate by just one tenth of a second.

Sete set a perfect lap on his way to his fourth pole of the season, his first since Brno. Melandri made a small mistake on his final lap but has never previously demonstrated the kind of consistent form he has shown at Istanbul Park, a circuit where he hopes to take a major step towards the runner-up spot in the championship.

The riders had an extended 90-minute session to get used to the track this morning, allowing Sete to complete a full race simulation with a consistent rhythm in high 1’53s and low 1’54s.

SETE GIBERNAU (1^st, 1’52”334): “This is a technical and difficult circuit which has a bit of everything – fast corners, slow sections, drops, rises, hard braking… More than having a perfect bike in each section, you need a good general balance. I like the track, you can have fun here and that always makes the job easier, which you can see in the result. The team have worked well from the start, we’ve been fast and set a good pace, something we’ve been missing for the last few rounds. In the afternoon we made a few changes which weren’t quite right but we went back to the setting from the morning and I was able to fight for pole. Tomorrow will be a tough and long race but hopefully I can make a good start and fight until the end.”

MARCO MELANDRI (2^nd, 1’52”463): “The weekend started well and we have made progress in every session. After dominating the three free practice sessions I’m sorry not to have got pole but I am calm and I feel good. The bike is working well and Michelin have given me some good tyres which have adapted perfectly to the characteristics of the track. Tomorrow will be a tough race and we’ll see what the best tactic is because we have to think about finishing second in the championship.”

LAP TIMES
1. Sete Gibernau (Esp/Honda) 1’52”334
2. Marco Melandri (Ita/Honda) 1’52”463
3. Nicky Hayden (USA/Honda) 1’52”976
4. Valentino Rossi (Ita/Yamaha) 1’53”177
5. Colin Edwads (USA/Yamaha) 1’53”219