Spaniard Pedrosa edges out Lorenzo for Czech pole

Brno: Spaniard Dani Pedrosa denied MotoGP championship leader Jorge Lorenzo his sixth straight pole by clocking the fastest lap in qualifying for Sunday`s Czech Grand Prix.

The 24-year-old Honda rider, who trails compatriot Lorenzo by 72 points in the standings, secured the top spot with a best lap of one minute 56.508 seconds at the 5.4-km Brno circuit.American Ben Spies will start from second position after a best lap of one minute 56.846 seconds on his Yamaha. Lorenzo crashed his Yamaha in the final minutes of qualifying and will aim for his seventh victory of the season from third spot. Teammate and MotoGP world champion Valentino Rossi also crashed in the final minutes and will start from fifth position in his third race back after a broken leg kept him out for four races.The 31-year-old Italian, last year`s Czech winner, is set to announce who he will race for in 2011 on Sunday. Bureau Report