Qualifying mishap leaves Rossi on fourth row down under

An unfortunate mistake in the later stages of this afternoon's qualifying session means that Fiat Yamaha rider Valentino Rossi will start tomorrow's Australian Grand Prix from the outside of the fourth row. The new world champion ran off onto the grass approaching turn three and fell awkwardly when he hit the gravel trap, suffering slight whiplash and some damage to the muscles in his neck in the process. He will undergo some intensive physiotherapy this evening but should be fit to race tomorrow.

With sunny but cool temperatures replacing yesterday's downpour, Rossi was sixth fastest this morning. This afternoon he was confident of making a play for the front row and had set the fastest sector one time yet with his second qualifying tyre when he ran wide onto the slightly-damp grass and was unable to bring his M1 back onto the track. He returned to the pits and, after being checked by the doctor, went out on his second bike but was a few seconds late crossing the line and unfortunately out of time for another flying lap.

With the championship title already under his belt, there is no pressure for the Italian tomorrow but he is nonetheless keen for a good result and will be hoping he is in good enough shape to attempt a charge through the field

"I was pushing a lot with the qualifying tyre but unfortunately I went too wide at turn two and I came onto the grass on the exit. I thought I could take the bike back onto the track but, as soon as I touched the muddy grass I lost control and I couldn't stop it. Then I bumped my head and neck pretty hard when I landed in the gravel. It's a pity that I will have to start from 12th tomorrow, because this afternoon, with my Bridgestone race tyres, I had a very good pace.

Now Dr. Costa and the Clinica Mobile staff will work to put me in good shape again - I am having treatment on my neck and then I will go immediately back to the hotel to rest until tomorrow. Tomorrow I am sure I will feel a lot better; we have good tyres and a good set-up so I will try to ride a good race!"

"Everything was going very well until this happened! It wasn't really a crash, Valentino just went a little bit off track, couldn't come back on and then hit the gravel. It was a pity because we were looking quite strong and our pace this afternoon was good. Valentino has some pain in his neck and he is now having some treatment to make him more comfortable for the night. Tomorrow morning he will have more treatment to make sure he is in the best shape possible for the race, and then we will see!"

Fiat Yamaha Team rider Jorge Lorenzo sealed the seventh front row start of his rookie season today, qualifying second for tomorrow's Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island. The Spaniard, who has won the last two 250cc races here, will start behind Casey Stoner with Nicky Hayden rounding out the front row.

After finding himself in better shape in the wet than the dry yesterday, a few overnight set-up changes to his M1 put the youngster in fine form today, which was dry and sunny. Lorenzo was third fastest this morning and carried on in the same fashion this afternoon, improving his race pace throughout the early part of the session before setting consecutively faster times with each of his four Michelin qualifying tyres. His final lap was just 0.069 seconds off Stoner's and, with the first four this afternoon all under the previous pole record, it looks like being an exciting battle when the race gets underway at the later time of 1600 local time tomorrow.

I've been fairly consistent throughout the sessions here and we made another step this morning which allowed me to be quite fast this afternoon. The weather was more complicated than it looked because the wind was very strong, but anyway my bike worked very well. I am disappointed to miss out on the pole position by such a tiny amount but anyway I am happy to be on the front row and also to have such a good race pace.

My rivals are fast too and we know that it is going to be a hard battle, but I am really looking forward to it. Yesterday we tried some practice starts, because this has been an issue for me lately, so now I hope I can get a good start tomorrow, stay at the front and try to fight. Thanks to my team and Michelin for getting us onto the front row again; the fourth race in a row!"

"It's very good to be starting on the front row here; tomorrow we have a real chance of a good race. We improved quite a lot in the dry from yesterday, but we still have to improve the rear traction a little more. Our pace today was pretty good and we selected the best tyre, hopefully the conditions will allow us to use this one tomorrow. With the Michelin qualifiers Jorge was very fast and unfortunately we missed the front row by just 0.069 seconds! We will use tomorrow's warm-up to refine the setting a little bit more but we're in good shape and we're looking forward to an exciting race."

James Toseland boosted his hopes of celebrating his 28th birthday in style tomorrow after he qualified his Tech 3 Yamaha in a superb fifth place on the grid for the Australian MotoGP race. The British rider was in sparkling form in gloriously sunny conditions to miss out on a maiden pole position by only 0.366s. And a second front row start of his impressive rookie campaign only eluded him by 0.2s, with a determined Toseland able to lap close to the leading times on race and qualifying tyres.

Toseland, who won on his last race appearance at the spectacular Phillip Island circuit at the 2007 World Superbike event, is confident he can challenge for a podium finish having taken full advantage of the improved conditions today to fine-tune the race set-up on his YZR-M1 machine. Minor adjustments in race trim reaped big dividends this afternoon with Toseland able to lap comfortably in the high 1.30 bracket.

Edwards warmed up for his 100th MotoGP appearance in tomorrow's 27-lap race with a solid performance to finish seventh quickest with a best lap of 1.29.513. The American led the session after running his first Michelin qualifying tyre, and although he was able to improve his lap time by 0.5s, he missed the second row by just 0.236s having looked on course to claim his first second row start since the Assen race in late June until the closing moments. Edwards is still confident of a strong race following an impressive showing this morning when he was fifth quickest in final free practice.

"For once it feels nice to be slightly miserable because I know I could have been on the front row. I went wide at the second corner and I had a bit of a slide coming out of Siberia on my last qualifier but I came across the line and saw a 29 flat. I was pleased with that, but when I saw the front row was a 28.7 and pole was a 28.6, I realised I could have perhaps got pole being only three-tenths off even with a couple of mistakes.

At least it is nice to know where I lost those three-tenths and that with a bit more time I could have found them rather than wondering where I need to make up time on the quick guys. I've got to thank my guys at Tech 3 because we have worked well all weekend. The bike has been brilliant in the dry and it is a long time since I have come to such a familiar track and been comfortable with the bike.

And when it all comes together it is a great feeling to show people what I'm capable of. If I can't do well at these tracks then I'm in trouble.

So it is nice to prove that on a track I've got some experience on with this bike, I can get the job done. We have got a great set-up for the race having made a small change on the rear. The new setting helped me use the tyre a bit better on the corner exit, so rather than spinning and going sideways it was just hooking up a bit better and on these long apex corners it is better for the tyre life, which is crucial at this track.

If we can get a good start, there is no reason why I can't run at the front. It is an exciting prospect because it has been a long time since I've been able to push at the front, and that's all I came to MotoGP for. Looking at the times it could be a cracking race and I will be giving it my all to celebrate my birthday with a good result."

"I thought it was going to be much better after I got fifth this morning when I was really happy. We just reverted back to our standard setting this morning and instantly I felt good. I was running a good pace and I felt really confident for qualifying.

But we had to change bikes for this afternoon and I just didn't have the same feel. Normally changing bikes isn't a big deal, but I think on a track like this where everything is so fast and it all feels so sensitive, I felt the change a lot more. It just felt rigid and I couldn't get much feel.

And when you have got push so much harder on the qualifying tyres, it is hard to go fast when you don't have feel. After all that happened, to come out of it with seventh, I'm actually really happy. It could have been a lot worse given how uncomfortable I felt so I can't complain too much.

I'm still looking forward to tomorrow and I believe I can get in the fight, because it is crucial to hang in the slipstream around here. It's my 100th Grand Prix tomorrow and I've had some memorable moments since 2003. Hopefully I can make tomorrow one of them."

1 Casey Stoner Ducati AUS 1'28.665

2 Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha ESP 1'28.734

3 Nicky Hayden Honda USA 1'28.756

4 Randy De Puniet Honda FRA 1'28.808

5 James Toseland Yamaha GBR 1'29.031

6 Daniel Pedrosa Honda ESP 1'29.277

7 Colin Edwards Yamaha USA 1'29.513

8 Andrea Dovizioso Honda ITA 1'29.558

9 Shinya Nakano Honda JPN 1'29.710

10 Alex De Angelis Honda SMR 1'29.925

11 Loris Capirossi Suzuki ITA 1'29.942

12 Valentino Rossi Yamaha ITA 1'30.014

13 Toni Elias Ducati ESP 1'30.202

14 Sylvain Guintoli Ducati FRA 1'30.297

15 Chris Vermeulen Suzuki AUS 1'30.545

- Yamaha Racing -