Rossi tops first GP qualifying session

First official practice and qualifying for the opening round of this season’s MotoGP championship has just finished in Suzuka, Japan

Valentino Rossi has provisionally qualified on pole with a time of 2:06.838, two seconds slower than his best time at last weekends IRTA test.

Rossi was closely followed by Max Biaggi and Tohru Ukawa, with Carlos Checa coming in fourth, less than a second behind Rossi.

Marco Melandri crashed heavily after only eight laps of the open practice session. The Fortuna Yamaha rider has fractured both the tibia and femur on his right leg and is expected to take as much as three months to recover fully.

Check back soon for a full report on the days action.

Saturday qualifying begins tomorrow at 5am UK time, and the racing starts at 5am Sunday UK time.

So keep checking back on motorcyclenews.com for all the latest and don’t forget to pick up your copy of MCN, out now, for your full preview of what promises to be the most exciting GP season in a long time.