Capirossi on pole as Rossi gains an edge

Italian Loris Capirossi stormed to pole position for today's Japanese Grand Prix with a lap of one minute 45.724 seconds in qualifying.

Capirossi's Ducati edged out world champion Valentino Rossi, who clocked the second quickest time of 1:45.991 on his Yamaha to gain an edge over MotoGP championship leader Nicky Hayden.

American Hayden will start from seventh on the grid after recording a time of 1:46.489 on his Honda.

Rossi, aiming for a sixth straight premier-class title, cut Hayden's lead to 21 points by taking third at Phillip Island last weekend.

Capirossi will be aiming for a Motegi double today after winning last year's race from pole.

The MotoGP season concludes with races in Portugal and Spain.