Dani Pedrosa and Jorge Lorenzo ready to hunt down Valentino Rossi

Pedrosa hoping to improve race pace
Spanish pair Dani Pedrosa and Jorge Lorenzo will both try to prevent another Valentino Rossi victory at Misano on Sunday.

Having qualified on the front row for the fourth GP in succession Dani Pedrosa will try to spoil Valentino Rossi’s party at Misano on Sunday as he goes in search of his second victory of 2009.

Pedrosa looked to have snatched pole position from the illustrious Italian at the end of Saturday’s Gran Premio Cinzano di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini qualifying session, but the Italian immediately grabbed it back with a late lap which was just over two-tenths of a second quicker than that of the Repsol Honda rider.

Reflecting on the session Pedrosa commented, “It’s great to get a front row start here and we weren’t far away from pole position which is a good result from this afternoon because our rivals are very strong again here. During the session we were working on race set-up and we still have a little way to go to improve my race pace and consistency compared to the others. In qualifying I was able to up my speed towards the end and I was pushing really hard because it’s very important to get on the front row here and give yourself the best chance of a clean getaway.”

“It’s sure to be an exciting race tomorrow and I hope we can find that little bit extra so we can challenge for the win again.”

Meanwhile, continuing his incredible run of starting on the front row at every round so far this year, this time in third place, Lorenzo added his perspective, stating, “Unfortunately I wasn't fast enough with the soft tyre right at the end, but we are still on the front row once again and this is the most important thing. My race pace is very good and I did some consistent runs, even though we still have some areas that we need to improve a bit because our setting isn’t perfect yet.”

"I think the race tomorrow is going to be quite painful in this heat and the physical condition is going to be very important! It will be a long race but we are in good shape and I am looking forward to the challenge".