SEPANG, Malaysia (AFP) - World champion Valentino Rossi took pole position at the Malaysian Grand Prix with a record qualifying lap time here while rival Sete Gibernau was relegated to the second row.
The 25-year-old Yamaha rider, seeking his fourth straight title, set a new qualifying lap record of 2min 01.833 on the 5.5-kilometer (3.40 mile) Sepang circuit, the venue for the 14th round of the 16-race world motorcycle championship.
Rossi's lap time was almost two full seconds better than his own circuit lap record from the 2003 event.
The Italian, bidding for his sixth world title but his first with Yamaha, made a series of scorching laps and significantly improved his time in the final session to take pole for Sunday's race on his YZR-M1.
"The condition of the tyres and track were good. I look forward for a good race tomorrow. I wait for tomorrow," he said.
Rossi said he was happy with his bike and hoping for similar dry condition on Sunday.
"We did a great job and we worked a lot on the race set-up. My rhythm is good, and I think it will be possible to make 2:02 seconds laps at the beginning, and it will then be down to the condition of the tyres," he said.
The Italian said he hoped for a dry race Sunday as the Michelins were running well on the circuit.
"I love the track here and in Phillip Island races," he told reporters, referring to the races in Malaysia and Australia.
Rossi has finished on the podium in Sepang during his last three visits with two wins in 2001 and 2003.
Spain's Gibernau on a Honda, who is just 14 points behind leader Rossi in the championship standings with three races to go, finished fourth in 2min 02.283 and starts on the second row directly behind Rossi.
"We'll keep working in the warm-up tomorrow to see if we can improve the pace even further and have a good race," Gibernau said.
Alex Barros of Brazil came closest to threatening Rossi's superiority to second place in an impressive time of 2min 02.228, improving his provisional time by 2.850 seconds.
The Honda rider will join Rossi in the front row for Sunday's race along with Shinya Nakano on Kawasaki who came third.
This is the first time Nakano is the from row on a Kawasaki.
"I had engine problems in Qatar. But it has been solved but tyre tractions are not as good as Honda or Yamaha. I will have difficulties chasing Rossi," he said.
Joining Gibernau in the second row are Honda rider Makoto Tamada of Japan and American Nicky Hayden also of Honda.
Australian Troy Bayliss on a Ducati crashed his number-one machine midway through the session but was uninjured and would start from the 14th position.
In the 250cc event Sebastian Porto of Argentina, who is second in the standings with four victories, secured pole posiiton.
Andrea Dovizioso of Italy who will be crowned world champion in the 125cc event if he wins in Sepang is first on the pole.