Rossi surprised with British Grand Prix pole

Valentino Rossi had not topped a practice session for the British Grand Prix all weekend, but came good in qualifying for a second consecutive pole position. It is the first time since a Turkey-China double pole in 2007 that the reigning MotoGP World Champion has taken two top spots on the bounce, coming as a surprise even to the Italian himself.

“I am quite surprised to be on pole today because we had a couple of problems this afternoon! This morning unfortunately we didn’t try the hard Bridgestone tire but we weren’t worried because everyone else had good grip with it. But this afternoon when we finally tried it we found the grip to be not as we expected and our pace with it wasn’t so good," said Rossi on Saturday afternoon at Donington Park.

“We made some modifications and improved it a bit, then we made a few more and used the soft tire again and then we were very quick. Like that I could ride the bike how I wanted and it felt great, fast and flowing so this was a good job from the team," he added.

Rossi has not started from pole at Donington Park since 2005, the most recent of his victories at the British track. The series leader has won in both rain and shine in the Midlands, and is eagerly waiting to see what the weather brings for the final race at the venue.

“We need to do some work to improve our pace with the hard tire, and then we just have to wait and see what the weather does tomorrow. Whatever happens, we’re starting from the front and this is the most important thing."

Rossi has now taken four pole positions in 2009 –twice as many as his total haul from 2008.