POLINI GRAND PRIX OF CHINA - SUNDAY GUIDE
14 May 2006 - Moto GP

Dani Pedrosa’s debut pole position in MotoGP is also his first front row start in the top class.

·Pedrosa is the third youngest rider on record to have started from pole in the premier-class of Grand Prix racing, after Freddie Spencer and Casey Stoner.

· John Hopkins has equalled his best ever qualifying result which he achieved at the Japanese GP at Motegi in both 2004 and 2005.

· Colin Edwards is starting from the front row for the only the second time in his MotoGP career, the other was at the French GP last year.

· Two riders from the USA have qualified on the front row for the first time since Rio 2004 when Hayden and Roberts both qualified in the top three.

· For each of the top three riders on the grid it is their first front row start of 2006, making it ten different riders who have started on the front row in the first four MotoGP races of the year.

· With Shinya Nakano qualifying in fourth place riding his Kawasaki, there are four different manufacturers on the top four places of the grid.

· For the first time since the Grand Prix of Argentina in 1998 there are no Italian riders qualified in the top seven places on the grid. Riders from Italy have won the last twelve races in the MotoGP class.

· Nicky Hayden’s fifth place on the grid is his lowest qualifying position since the Qatar GP last year. Hayden has finished on the podium at the last seven races.

· Casey Stoner won the 250cc race in China last year having been in the lead on every lap of the race.

· Loris Capirossi’s tenth place on the grid is his lowest qualifying result since he was eleventh on the grid at the British GP last year.

· Valentino Rossi has failed to qualify on the front row for the sixth successive race.

250cc

· Hector Barbera, who had his first 250cc podium at the last race in Turkey, has qualified on pole for the first time since moving to the 250cc class at the start of last year.

· For the first time this year, Jorge Lorenzo will not be starting from pole position.

· Shuhei Aoyama’s third place on the grid equals his previous best ever qualifying result which he achieved as a wild-card rider at the Japanese Grand Prix last year.

· Andrea Dovizioso, who is leading the championship after finishing on the podium at the first three races of this year, will be aiming to score his first victory since joining the 250cc class at the start of 2005.

· Alex de Angelis continues his good qualifying form, this being the tenth successive race where he has qualified in the top five places on the grid.

· Yuki Takahashi will be aiming to finish on the podium for the first time since becoming a full time Grand Prix rider at the start of last year.

125cc

· Mika Kallio starts from pole for the first time since the Qatar Grand Prix last year. Kallio started from pole last year in China after a wet first qualifying and a second dry one, but faded to 11th in the wet race.

· Lukas Pesek’s second place on the grid is his best ever qualifying result; his previous best was third on the grid at Jerez in the opening race of this year.

· Julian Simon has equalled his best ever qualifying result that he achieved at the Czech GP in 2004. For the first time this year two KTM riders have qualified on the front row.

· Alvaro Bautista is the only rider in the 125cc class to have qualified on the front row at each of the four races this year.

· Gabor Talmacsi’s third place finish in China last year was his first ever podium appearance in GP racing. Talmacsi has been the top Honda rider on the grid at all four 125cc races this year.

· Mattia Pasini has failed to qualify on the front row for the first time since the French GP last year.

· World Champion Thomas Luthi’s seventh place on the grid is his best qualifying position so far in 2006.

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