Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC213V) will start tomorrow’s season ending Valencia Grand Prix from pole position following a stirring performance in this afternoon’s qualifying session. The Spaniard will be joined on the front row by Casey Stoner (Repsol Honda RC213V), riding his last race before retirement.

The final qualifying session of the year became a three-way battle between MotoGP’s top three riders: Pedrosa, Stoner and recently crowned World Champion Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha). All three took their turns at the top, suggesting a thrilling final race. With the top three positions in the World Championship already decided – Lorenzo, then Pedrosa and Stoner – tomorrow’s grand finale will be a straightforward battle between the year’s fastest three riders. No need for anyone to worry about losing points, just go for the win...

During the final 15 minutes of qualifying Lorenzo and Stoner duelled for pole – Lorenzo on top, then Stoner, then Lorenzo and then Stoner again by just 0.05s. Pedrosa had yet to do his best, however, and in the final minute he produce a stunning lap, bettering his Australian team-mate by more than half a second. This lap was the fastest ever at Valencia by a motorcycle, thanks to Pedrosa’s riding, the performance of his RC213V and the fact that the entire circuit has been resurfaced. Moments later Lorenzo completed his final lap, demoting Stoner to third and closing to within 0.351s of Pedrosa.

Pedrosa’s fifth pole of the year makes him favourite for a third MotoGP win at a track where he took victory in 2007 and 2009. However, it is not been an easy two days here for the former 125 and 250 World Champion or any of his rivals. Conditions have been changeable, with today’s hour-long qualifying outing the only fully dry session, so teams have had little time to perfect their dry set-up.

Stoner did not get his RC213V working the way he wanted today. The Australian was working towards a traction-control setting that would allow him to freely spin the rear tyre to help get the bike turned around this tight circuit, but despite making chassis improvements, he was not able to get the electronics right.

Stefan Bradl (LCR Honda MotoGP RC213V) will start his final race as a MotoGP rookie from the middle of the second row. The 2011 Moto2 World Champion was close to the front throughout the session, during which he focused on improving rear traction because the bike did not feel stable in the corners. His crew did not quite fix the issue, so they will work on electronics settings to give Bradl a better bike for the race.

Alvaro Bautista (San Carlo Honda Gresini RC213V) was not at all satisfied with his qualifying. The Spaniard could only manage eighth quickest after struggling with front-end feeling that kept pushing him wide as he rode through the turns. His gearbox set-up also needs further work, so he is pinning his hopes on a good morning warm-up session.

Michele Pirro (San Carlo Honda Gresini FTR-Honda) was fourth fastest CRT rider and 15th overall. His main issue today was chatter, a problem that increased as the grip level rose this afternoon. Like his team-mate, Pirro is hoping his crew can improve things in time for tomorrow morning.

Pol Espargaro (Pons 40 HP Tuenti-Kalex) took his eighth Moto2 pole position of the year – and his fourth in a row – despite not taking part in the last 14 minutes of the 45 minute outing. Espargaro was almost half a second faster than the rest of the pack when he slid off, causing damage to his bike which prevented him from taking any further part in the session.

Espargaro’s pace was once again magnificent, the Spaniard 0.406s ahead of recently crowned World Champion Marc Marquez (Team Catalunya Caixa Repsol-Suter). Two weeks ago at Phillip Island Espargaro won the Australian Moto2 race by almost 17 seconds, a record advantage in this hotly contested Honda-powered series.

The Moto2 pace was so high that Marquez also crashed, tumbling with four minutes to go, then proving his determination by remounting and continuing his efforts to beat Espargaro’s time. Marquez’s final lap was a no-holds-barred effort but it only slightly reduced his disadvantage to his compatriot.

However fast Marquez went this afternoon it would not have made any difference to his starting position. Yesterday the 19-year-old was penalised for an incident involving another rider. His punishment is to start the race from the back of the grid. This is not the first time Marquez has suffered this penalty – he started last year’s Australian Moto2 race from the back row and finished the race in third position.

Marquez’s punishment moves Thomas Luthi (Interwetten-Paddock-Suter) from third to second on the grid, the Swiss coming back well from a series of difficult races. It also means that fourth-fastest Takaaki Nakagami (Italtrans Racing Team-Kalex) moves up to claim the last place on the front row.

The second row will be led by Nicolas Terol (Mapfre Aspar Team – Suter), the 2011 125 World Champion scoring his best grid position of his rookie year in Moto2. Terol will start the race alongside team-mate Jordi Torres (Mapfre Aspar Team – Suter) and Dominique Aegerter (Technomag-CIP Suter).

British rider Scott Redding (Marc VDS Racing Team-Kalex) was eighth fastest, less than eight tenths down on pole, to lead row three.

Miguel Oliveira (Estrella Galicia 0.0 – Suter Honda) rode brilliantly in the year’s final Moto3 qualifying session, missing out on pole position by a fraction of a second. The young Spaniard ended the outing just 0.053s behind pole-position man Jonas Folger (Kalex KTM).

Maverick Vinales (Blusens Avintia – FTR Honda) was Honda’s next best performer. He will start the season-ending Moto3 race from the middle of the second row after setting the fifth fastest time in this afternoon’s qualifying session. Vinales still has the chance to take second overall in the Moto3 series – he is currently nine points behind Luis Salom (Kalex KTM).

Alongside Vinales in sixth place will be Efren Vazquez (JHK t-shirt Laglisse – FTR Honda) who was just 0.054s behind his compatriot and fellow FTR Honda rider.

Eighth-fastest Niccolo Antonelli (San Carlo Gresini – FTR Honda) and ninth-placed Louis Rossi (Racing Team Germany – FTR Honda) are on row four, just ahead team-mates Alessandro Tonucci (Team Italia FMI – FTR Honda) and Romano Fenati (Team Italia FMI – FTR Honda).

As usual, the Moto3 race will kick off tomorrow’s final day of the 2012 season, followed by Moto2 and then MotoGP. There’s little rest for Moto2 and MotoGP teams after that, with Moto2 riders testing on Monday and MotoGP riders starting their preparations for 2013 on Tuesday and Wednesday.

MotoGP rider quotes

Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: pole position – 1m 30.844s

“It was almost a perfect lap and I gave 100 per cent because I knew I wouldn’t be able to improve any more as the tyres were very good for the first lap and then the drop in grip was quite severe. I’m very happy with the pole position and the new record because Valentino’s old record was done with qualifying tyres. We had only one dry session to test the new asphalt and we saw that the grip level is a little better, but the tyres dropped down very quick. We still have to decide on the tyres for tomorrow because we have used only the soft compound, but it depends on the weather – if it rains we will need to take what we learned yesterday. I really would like to win here and finish the season with a good race.”

 

Casey Stoner, Repsol Honda: 3rd – 1m 31.428s

“Qualifying didn’t really go to plan, it was a pretty frustrating session. Due to the miserable weather this weekend, we had a lot of work to do in a very short space of time, we did make some good progress, but unfortunately we couldn’t find enough before the end of the session. There is a new surface here and we expected everything to be really good and smooth, but in fact we’ve found there are a lot of bumps on the circuit. Now I’m thinking how we can improve the bike and get everything working a little easier. We need to adapt the electronics to allow me to be less restricted on this track so I can ride how I want to. Hopefully the weather is dry tomorrow and we can take that extra step in warm up.”

 

Stefan Bradl, LCR Honda MotoGP: 5th – 1m 31.757s

“It was another good qualifying for us because from the start we were very competitive. The situation out there was a bit tricky because we only lapped on soft tyres and after a couple of laps the rear started to drop and the grip was not enough. So our biggest problem right now remains the rear because it’s not stable in the corner entries and we are now working on the electronics to solve the problem for the race. If the track conditions will remain the same like today we can be very strong, but if it’s going to be wet it will be a big gamble for everybody.”

 

Alvaro Bautista, San Carlo Honda Gresini: 8th – 1m 32.585s

“I am not very happy because in our only dry session this weekend I didn't have a good feeling with the front – in fact I had zero feeling. Whenever I tried to push, the bike ran wide in the corner and I was really struggling. We tried some different forks, but I didn't get confidence from any of them. We also need to work with the gearbox setting because I'm not happy with that either. Hopefully we can make the right set-up changes ahead of the warm-up tomorrow and find some confidence in corner entry.”

 

Michel Pirro, San Carlo Honda Gresini: 15th – 1m 33.971s

“I was expecting better today after our performance yesterday, but it seems the more grip we have the more problems we have with chatter and I can't push the bike like I want to. Anyway, I am still confident I can have a good race tomorrow because the boys will work hard tonight to improve the situation ahead of tomorrow's warm-up, just as they have done all season.” Moto2 rider quotes

 

Moto2 rider quotes

Pol Espargaro, Pons 40 HP Tuenti: pole position – 1m 35.191s

“Moto2 qualifying is never easy – you have to push 100 per cent all the time. I made a mistake – I braked for a corner while I was a little bit off-line, where there is less grip. Luckily it wasn’t a big crash – I’ve no pain, but the bike was a too damaged to continue. I didn’t enjoy watching the final minutes on TV in my pit! Anyway, now I am very happy to have scored my eighth pole of the year. We are working hard in order to have the best-possible bike for 2013.”

 

Marc Marquez, Team Catalunya Caixa Repsol: 2nd – 1m 35.597s

“Of course, starting from the back row of the grid will make the race more difficult. My aim is simply to finish the race and not do anything crazy. Today we have suffered a bit with confidence in the front, so that is something we will work on overnight.”

Thomas Luthi, Interwetten-Paddock: 3rd – 1m 35.756s

“I’m happy because things are going better here. We still don’t know what the weather will do for the race, but I’m happy either way because I think we are ready to perform well in the wet or the dry. There is still a possibility for me to get third in the championship, so I will be doing everything in my power to reach that goal.”

 

Moto3 Rider Quotes

Miguel Oliveira, Estrella Galicia 0.0: 2nd – 1m 41.316s

“We knew we could be up there in the dry, though this was our first workout on a dry track. It was important to get a good set-up as soon as possible, but we struggled a bit in the beginning. We worked hard and by the end of the session I was able to run a good pace and do a good lap with Folger. I think we’ve done a good job and tomorrow we will start the race from a good position so I hope we can enjoy a good race.”

 

Maverick Vinales, Blusens Avintia: 5th – 1m 41.774s

“Of course we wanted to be on the front row, especially in front of all the Spanish fans, but it was not to be. We need a bit more speed on the long straight here in order to be fully competitive. But we will see what the race brings and the weather brings. You can be sure I will be doing everything to get a good result at this last race of 2012.”

 

Efren Vazquez, JHK T-Shirt Laglisse: 6th – 1m 41.828s

“I think qualifying went pretty well. All weekend we’ve had rain, which we handled quite well, then things dried up for qualifying, which was quite productive for us. I think I could have fought for the front row, but even so we are doing very well. Let's see what happens tomorrow, especially with the weather, and hope that we maintain a good pace in the race.”