BERLIN, 16 July 2006 — Spain’s Dani Pedrosa grabbed pole position for the fourth time in his debut MotoGP season at the German Grand Prix yesterday.
Pedrosa, the reigning 250cc champion, recovered from a crash during practice to set the fastest lap time of 1:21:815 at a sweltering Sachsenring. American Kenny Roberts was second quickest 0.092 behind while Pedrosa’s Honda teammate and championship leader Nicky Hayden was third.
“It’s important to be on the front row on this track,” Pedrosa said. “The set-up of the machine is not so bad, so let’s see if we can do a great race.” With today’s victory the 20-year-old, who triumphed in the British Grand Prix two weeks ago, will be the youngest back-to-back winner in MotoGP, taking the record from American Freddie Spencer.
Hayden, who leads the standings on 153 points ahead of Pedrosa on 127, was pleased with the way his bike performed and said his team had not had to make any big adjustments during the qualifying session.
“We’ve just been trying to sweeten it up,” Hayden said. “The pace isn’t quite there yet but I’m happy to be on the front row. It’s definitely really important here. I’ll have to get a good start tomorrow so I don’t waste it.”
The twisting Sachsenring circuit offers spectators some impressive views, but its contrasting fast and slow sections and predominantly left-hand curves present a stiff challenge to riders and put major strain on their tires.
Reigning champion Valentino Rossi, bidding to crank up the faltering defense of his title, was more than a second down on Pedrosa and will start from 11th spot. The Italian, who won in Germany for Yamaha last year, conjured a stunning ride at Donington Park, starting 12th and finishing in second despite hand and ankle injuries.
