VALENTINO ROSSI STARTS FROM POLE FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE THE BRITISH GP LAST YEAR
18 June 2006 - Moto GP

Gran Premi Cinzano de Catalunya - Sunday Guide

· From the 30 previous times that Rossi has started on pole in the premier-class, he has gone on to win on 25 occasions.

· The top seven riders have lapped faster than Sete Gibernau’s pole record from last year and the top fifteen riders have lapped faster that the lap record set in the race last year by Rossi.

· Six different manufacturers are represented in the top seven places on the grid.

· Suzuki has two riders in the top four places on the grid for the first time since the Portuguese GP in 2000, when their riders were Nobuatsu Aoki and Kenny Roberts.

· This is the fourth time John Hopkins has qualified in second place, although he has yet to score pole position. This is the best qualifying result for a Suzuki rider at the Catalunya circuit since Kevin Schwantz was second on the grid in 1993.

· Kenny Roberts Jr. has qualified on the front row for the first time since the German Grand Prix in 2004. This is the first time that Team Roberts has had a front row since the same race in 2003 with Jeremy McWilliams.

· Fourth place for Chris Vermeulen, represents his best result from a dry qualifying session. His only other top ten grid position was when he was on pole in Turkey after wet qualifying.

· Shinya Nakano finished ninth last year at the Catalunya, the highest place finisher on Bridgestone tyres.

· If Loris Capirossi finishes in the top fifteen he will set a new record of 194 point scoring finishes in Grand Prix racing. He currently shares the record of 193 with Alex Barros.

· Nicky Hayden’s fifth place finish last year at Catalunya is his best finish at the circuit.

· Hayden has finished on the podium nine times in the last ten MotoGP races.

· Casey Stoner’s lap time for eighth place on the grid is less than half a second slower than the pole position time.

· Eleventh place for Dani Pedrosa represents his lowest grid position in MotoGP from a dry qualifying session.

· Sete Gibernau will be starting from thirteenth on the grid, his lowest qualifying position since the USGP last year.

· Andrea Dovizioso starts from pole for the second time in the 250cc class, the other was at Le Mans earlier this year.

· A top three finish in the race for Dovizioso will match Max Biaggi’s achievement in 1996, when he also scored podium finishes at the first seven races of the year.

· Jorge Lorenzo is starting from the front row for the sixth time in 2006.

· Alex Debon will be making his 100th Grand Prix start, all of which have been in the 250cc class.

· Debon is on the front row for the first time since qualifying third at Suzuka in 2003.

· Alex de Angelis continues his good qualifying record, having been on the front row eleven times in the last thirteen races.

· Four riders have scored points at each of the first six 250cc races of the year; Andrea Dovizioso, Yuki Takahashi, Roberto Locatelli and Sylvain Guintoli.

· Jules Cluzel, in just his seventh 250cc GP start, has qualified in front of his team-mate Guintoli for the first time.

· Alvaro Bautista starts from pole for the third time in 2006.

· Bautista has finished in the top four at each of the first six races, including five podiums.

· Mika Kallio is starting from the front row for the 20th time in his Grand Prix career.

· Pablo Nieto is on the front row for the first time since qualifying second at the Dutch TT in 2004.

· Hector Faubel has failed to score points in his previous four Grand Prix starts at Catalunya.

· Last year’s winner Mattia Pasini, has failed to qualify on the front row for only the second time in the last nineteen races.

· Nicolas Terol has qualified in the top ten for the first time in his Grand Prix career. His previous best was 18th at Donington last year and Le Mans earlier this season.

· Thomas Luthi is the top Honda qualifier in tenth place on the grid.

· This is the first time since the single cylinder formula was introduced to the 125cc class in 1988 that no Honda rider has qualified in the top nine.

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