Rossi takes pole, Hayden in second row

Valentino Rossi set the fastest ever lap at the Ricardo Tormo circuit to snatch pole position in the season-ending Valencia MotoGP yesterday.

The 27-year-old Italian, bidding for his sixth consecutive world title in the premier class, clocked one minute 31.002 on his Yamaha at the tight and twisty 4-km circuit.

Nicky Hayden, the only man who can deprive Rossi of the title, was on the second row of the grid on his Honda.

Ducati duo Troy Bayliss and Loris Capirossi joined Rossi on the front row while Hayden will be accompanied by team-mate Dani Pedrosa and Kawasaki rider Shinya Nakano on the second.

Casey Stoner, Chris Vermeulen and John Hopkins are on the third row. Colin Edwards, Randy de Puniet and Marco Melandri make up the fourth.

"This is the most important race of the year," Rossi said after claiming his fifth pole position of the season.

"I will be fully concentrated from the first to the last minute. The bike is going very well and I feel comfortable."

Rossi grabbed the lead in the title race for the first time this season when he finished second in Portugal earlier this month.

He leads the championship by eight points from Hayden, who crashed out at Estoril after Pedrosa ploughed into him on a corner.

The Italian will wrap up his eighth world title in all classes if he finishes ahead of the American in today's race. But Hayden can turn the tables if he wins and the Yamaha rider fails to finish second.

World champion Alvaro Bautista claimed his eighth pole of the season in the 125cc class while Jorge Lorenzo was fastest in the 250cc qualifying.