Rossi takes French Grand Prix pole

Italy's Valentino Rossi took pole position ahead of Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo and Spain's Dani Pedrosa (Honda) in qualifying for the MotoGP French Grand Prix on Saturday.

Rossi set the session's fastest time on the 28th of his 30 laps and took pole by 0.054sec from championship leader Lorenzo.

Pedrosa, who will be competing in his 150th grand prix on Sunday, completed the front row.

Australian Casey Stoner had been competing for pole throughout the session on a Ducati but the former world champion had to settle for the first slot on the second row after finishing 0.416sec off Rossi's mark.

Stoner's team-mate Nicky Hayden took fifth place on the grid, ahead of Frenchman Randy De Puniet and Italian Andrea Dovizioso of Honda.

Defending MotoGP champion Rossi will be starting on pole for the 59th time in his career.

He had a race to forget in Le Mans last season, trailing in 16th, but his overall form at the historic French venue is excellent, with three MotoGP victories to his name.

The 31-year-old currently trails Lorenzo by four points in the riders' standings after the first two races of the 2010 season.