Phillip Island, Oct 18: World champion Valentino Rossi stormed into pole position for Sunday's Australian MotoGP. The Honda rider beat his rivals by almost half a second with a lap time of one minute 30.068 seconds at Phillip Island.
Rossi was 0.428 seconds quicker than the Ducati of fellow Italian Loris Capirossi.
Spanish Honda rider Sete Gibernau took third spot ahead of Australian Troy Bayliss.
"I feel very confident on the bike," said Rossi, who has been the subject of speculation over a possible switch to Yamaha or Ducati next year.
"Without the pressure of the championship I'm more relaxed."
Bayliss recovered after a fall from his Ducati midway through the session to deny Nicky Hayden a first-ever front row start.
Hayden will start from fifth spot on the grid, with Honda colleague Max Biaggi sixth and Tohru Ukawa seventh.
Rossi added he would be telling officials about a "very dangerous" corner on the track.
Newly-crowned 125cc world champion Daniel Pedrosa fractured both ankles during a morning practice session on Friday at the Phillip Island circuit.
"This track is not so bad but the point where Pedrosa crashed is very dangerous," Rossi said. Spain's Aprilia rider Toni Elias, who has won three of the last four 250cc races, claimed his fifth consecutive pole with a final lap of 1:33.771.
San Marino's Aprilia rider Manuel Poggiali, who leads the standings, qualified back in seventh place.
Aprilia rider Poggiali, 20, will become the second-youngest 250cc world champion if he finishes ahead of Elias and Italy's Robert Rolfo and is not outscored by more than 18 points by France's Randy De Puniet on Sunday.
Bureau Report