Daniel Pedrosa returned after a three-week break to set pole position at the British Grand Prix, his fourth of the season and the seventeenth of his career.
The World Champion improved in every session and once everything was in its place he used the final few minutes of the session to smash the circuit record he set last season by almost a second and a half.
Dani was unable to complete his final lap after a crash on the entrance to the chicane. The World Champion was forced to dodge a slower rider and cross the rumble strip, losing control on the front end of his bike and crashing but luckily escaping without injury.
Hiroshi Aoyama, who was just 0.011 seconds off setting the best time in free practice, was unable to hang on to the provisional front row position he set yesterday and will start from the second row – with the clear aim of chasing the lead group from the start.
DANI PEDROSA (1st, 1’31”834): “I was on a fast lap and I had a rider in front who looked behind him in the straight but stayed on the same line, even though he knew I was on a fast lap. I arrived in the braking area and had to pass him because he was going so slowly; I had to change my line, went up onto the rumble strip and when I grabbed the brake I crashed. I was annoyed because a few laps earlier De Angelis did the same thing to me and it’s not the first time it’s happened. Luckily I didn’t hurt myself but I could easily have damaged my collarbone. Apart from that I think the weekend is going well. We improved the set-up of the bike and my level of feeling in the final session. I think it will be a tough race and if it ends up raining anything could happen. All the wet specialists would join in the fight and it won’t be at all easy.”
HIROSHI AOYAMA (8th, 1’32”826): “I wasn’t able to set a fast lap in the qualifying session and it’s a shame to have lost the front row position we had yesterday but in general I am not unhappy. The lap time is quite good and I feel comfortable on the bike. We’ll have to see what the conditions are when we get up tomorrow but I’m confident we can have a good race whether it is wet or dry.”
LAP TIMES
1. Dani Pedrosa (Esp/Honda) 1’31”834
2. Jorge Lorenzo (Esp/Honda) + 0”130
3. Alex De Angelis (RSM/Aprilia) + 0”655
4. Andrea Dovizioso (Ita/Honda) + 0”763
5. Sebastián Porto (Arg/Aprilia) + 0”781
6. Randy De Puniet (Fra/Aprilia) + 0”970
7. Héctor Barberá (Esp/Honda) + 0”978
8. Hiroshi Aoyama (Jap/Honda) + 0”992