The dynamic Fiat Yamaha duo of 2008 MotoGP World Champion Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo were poised to go one-two in qualifying today at Sepang until Repsol Honda's Dani Pedrosa snuck in and broke up the party. Dani P grabbed his second pole position of the season in a last second dash that bested Rossi's previous fast lap by 0.409 seconds.

Pedrosa barely got out in time for a final lap and crossed the finish line just as the period ended. Teams played a chess game against varying track conditions, with a downpour during the prior 125cc qualifying session leaving a slippery track. As teams tried to match tires to changing track conditions, the qualifying tires didn't come out until late in the session. It was the young Spaniard's first pole with his new Bridgestones.

Rossi and Lorenzo will join Pedrosa on the front row for tomorrow's Malaysian GP. It is the fifth consecutive race that the Fiat Yamaha tandem will start at the front of the grid.

"The conditions were incredible today and this practice was as much about strategy as it was about qualifying tires and set-up, because you had to judge the right moment to go out with the right tire. We worked very well in our garage and managed to make the right decisions every time, so I was at the top or near to it for most of the session and able to constantly make big improvements. When I saw that I'd done a 2'01.9 I thought that I might have the pole, but Dani was even faster so congratulations to him today," said Rossi.

The second row will be headed by Repsol Honda's Nicky Hayden, who finished fourth-fastest as the Hondas and Yamahas hogged the front slots on the grid. Hayden has been riding great since coming back from his broken ankle, and I'm sure his future Ducati employers are liking what they've been seeing.

The Texas Tornado backed up his fast times yesterday with the fifth-best effort today. Colin Edwards will be joined on the second row by JiR Scot's Andrea Dovizioso, who was one of a handful of riders to hold the top spot on the timesheet during a crazy qualifying session.

2008 MotoGP Sepang Qualifying:

1. Daniel Pedrosa, Honda, ESP, 2'1.548
2. Valentino Rossi, Yamaha, ITA, 2'1.957
3. Jorge Lorenzo, Yamaha, ESP, 2'3.179
4 Nicky Hayden, Honda, USA, 2'2.192
5. Colin Edwards, Yamaha, USA, 2'2.245
6. Andrea Dovizioso, Honda, ITA, 2'2.836
7. Casey Stoner, Ducati, AUS, 2'2.953
8. Loris Capirossi, Suzuki, ITA, 2'3.078
9. Randy De Puniet, Honda, FRA, 2'3.110
10. John Hopkins, Kawasaki, USA, 2'3.184
11. Chris Vermeulen, Suzuki, AUS, 2'3.271
12. James Toseland, Yamaha, GBR, 2'3.282
13. Anthony West, Kawasaki, AUS, 2'3.392
14. Marco Melandri, Ducati, ITA, 2'3.835
15. Shinya Nakano, Honda, JPN, 2'4.001
16. Sylvain Guintoli, Ducati, FRA, 2'4.378
17. Alex De Angelis, Honda, SMR, 2'4.679
18. N. Aoki Rizla Suzuki , JPN,
19. Toni Elias, Ducati, ESP, 2'5.120

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