MotoGP news

Bridgestones good for front row

Fiat Yamaha's Valentino Rossi and Ducati Corse's Casey Stoner used Bridgestone's latest generation rear qualifying tyres to score competitive front row results in this afternoon's qualifying practice at the Shanghai International Circuit. Tech 3 Yamaha rider Colin Edwards took pole position. 

Rossi will start tomorrow's Chinese Grand Prix from second on the grid, his second consecutive front row using Bridgestone qualifying tyres, while Stoner enjoys his debut front row of the season in third place. The Rizla Suzuki MotoGP riders were both also on good form this afternoon with Loris Capirossi and Chris Vermeulen in sixth and eighth positions respectively, their best qualifying showing of the season so far. It is the first time this season that two Bridgestone riders frequent the front row of the grid and, with three teams inside the top six, the results mark a notable improvement in qualifying performance, with a reduced gap to the pole position time.

Tohru Ubukata from Bridgestone commented, "Yes, I am quite happy with the results of this afternoon's qualifying session. We brought new rear construction qualifying tyres for this race, based on encouraging performances in recent post-race tests, and we were able to see some good improvements compared to qualifying in the first three races of the season. Although we were not able to get pole, we have reduced the gap and have three riders in the top six, which is encouraging."

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