After a tough final qualifying session contested under 30º heat , Sete Gibernau took his third straight MotoGP pole to consolidate his position as the strongest rider going into the Catalunya Grand Prix. Sete heads up the front row from Valentino Rossi, whom he leads in the championship by 10 points, and Nicky Hayden.

The Telefónica MoviStar Honda MotoGP rider managed to improve on his extraordinary provisional time to stop the clock at 1’42”596, smashing the track record by 2.9 seconds. The good work again completed by the team allowed him to prepare for a race which, as in Italy, is sure to be not for the faint-hearted. The series leader is confident in the set-up of his Honda RC211V, the rhythm he put together in today’s final session and his current form, which gives him a realistic chance of a home win to match that of earlier this season at Jerez. American Colin Edwards also improved his time from yesterday by 0.8 seconds and will start from the fourth row.

SETE GIBERNAU

(1st, 1’42”596): “We did a good job again this morning and even though we did another great time on qualifying tyres this afternoon, I am not as happy as I would like. We tried a few things that I didn’t like but hopefully with the data we gathered this morning we can get the feeling back and be completely prepared for the race, which will be very tough. After winning at Jerez I’m sure I don’t have to say how much I would like to do it again, so close to my home”.

COLIN EDWARDS

(11th, 1’43”832): “We found a good compromise with the set-up this morning which allowed me to set the fourth fastest time, solving some of the chattering problems. In the official session we tried a few other solutions and we didn’t make progress, so we will go back to this morning’s setting for the race. I am still hopeful because I showed this morning that I can be up there”.

FAUSTO GRESINI

(Team manager): “Another fantastic day for our team. Sete was at the front the whole way through and, as well as working on his set-up for the race, at the end he was able to improve his time from yesterday. I think we are ready for another very tough race. Colin, meanwhile, managed to improve his time by eight tenths but it still wasn’t enough. Hopefully we can find something in the morning warm-up than can help him go faster in the race”.

LAP TIMES

1. Sete Gibernau (Spa/Honda) 1’42”596
2. Valentino Rossi (Ita/Yamaha) a 0”363
3. Nicky Hayden (USA/Honda) a 0”528
4. Max Biaggi (Ita/Honda) a 0”967
5. Marco Melandri (Ita/Yamaha) a 1”005

….

11. Colin Edwards (USA/Honda) a 1”236