Gibernau takes pole at inaugural Chinese Moto GP
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-04-30 19:41

Spain's Sete Gibernau took the Moto GP pole position Saturday for the inaugural Chinese Grand Prix on Sunday, clocking a qualifying time of 1 minute, 59.710 seconds.

Fellow Honda rider Marco Melandri of Italy was 0.163 seconds behind in second place on the 5.451-kilometer (3.388-mile) Shanghai International Circuit, followed by countryman Loris Capirossi on a Ducati in 2"``We are very focussed, the team has been doing great and every time we are competitive,'' Gibernau said.

Yamaha rider Valentino Rossi, the season leader, was sixth on the grid with a time of 2:00.821 seconds, while Honda's Alex Barros, the winner two weeks ago in Portugal, was 11th at 2"It was the seventh career pole for Gibernau, but his first this season. Gibernau, with nine career victories, finished third in the opener in Spain and fourth in Portugal.

Results so far had been disappointing, but the team's hard work was starting to pay off, Gibernau said.

``We did a great step again today once again. We improved quite a bit the bike. Being a new race track I think it's difficult for everyone,'' he said.

Although not as wet as Friday, variable conditions challenged crews over tire choices and other setup decisions. The Shanghai circuit's 14 turns also revealed equipment problems, with Honda rider Max Biaggi complaining than poor cornering by his bike was costing him more than a second per lap.

Max Checa set the track speed record at 342.9 kph (213.08 mph) on his Ducati.

``I've never been as fast as I was today, except on a plane,'' said the Spaniard, who will start sixth on Sunday.

Aprilia rider Casey Stoner of Australia took pole in the 250cc division with a time of 2 minutes, 6.196 seconds. Honda's Daniel Pedrosa of Spain was second at 2:06.214, followed by Italian Andrea Dovizioso on a Honda, whose fastest lap was 2"In the 125cc class, Mika Kallio of Finland rode his KTM to a time of 2 minutes, 13.535 seconds to take pole. Aprilia rider Marco Simoncelli of Italy was second at 2:13.631, with Hungarian KTM rider Gabor Talmacsi third at 2:14.293.

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