Today’s qualifying session at the French track of Le Mans was very tight and frantic in the final minutes, but it was Fiat Yamaha’s Valentino Rossi who finally came out on top and will start first on the grid. Here’s what all the MotoGP riders had to say after qualifying:

Valentino Rossi 1st:

“This weather is really making me very happy, because for once in Le Mans we have been able to use all of the sessions properly and now here we are on pole,” said Rossi. “My setting is good, I feel comfortable on my M1 and Bridgestone tyres and my race pace is not bad either so everything is working out. I am still worried about my shoulder because sincerely today after ten or 15 laps I started to lose power, but I hope adrenaline will take over in the race and that I will be able to arrive fast right to the end.”

Jorge Lorenzo 2nd:

“This was another good session and we are very strong, although there are quite a few riders here who are fast with a good race pace. Today I was consistent and I can ride happily at around 1′34.5, so if I can keep this up during the race then we have a good chance. I need to try to get a good start tomorrow and be stronger during the first few laps, then I think I can fight for victory.”

Dani Pedrosa 3rd:

“At the end of the session we could put in a good final lap which has put us on the front row, and this is very important because the lap times are very close here. For the race we need to find some tenths of a second per lap in order to be able to keep a high pace, and at this track you have to be very focused because the race is long and it’s really important to be consistent and not to make any mistakes. Anyway, I think we are in a good position. Now we will sit down with the team and work on the improvements to up our race pace. We’ve had good weather so far this weekend and it looks like it will continue tomorrow, so we’ve been lucky this time. From the front row I hope to make a good start and give myself the best chance in the race.”

Casey Stoner 4th:

“We have a lot of work to do to try and get more performance out of the softer tyre because our rivals seem to be able to make bigger improvements on it than us. We didn’t manage to lap much faster than the times we were doing on the harder race tyre so that is a little disappointing because it would have been nice to start from the front row here but at the same time we know we have a good pace over race distance. In general the bike is going really well, our race pace is more competitive than it was at this stage of the weekend in Jerez so I’m confident we can do a good job tomorrow.”

Nicky Hayden 5th:

“The second row for us is a positive result because to be honest my race pace hasn’t been great and now we’ve given ourselves a chance because the start is so important here. We made a big step with the bike in the session this morning but weren’t really able to follow it up with another one this afternoon so we have work to do tonight because at the moment it’s looking like a really tough race for us. At least the weather is fantastic – I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many fans here and they deserve it because they’ve had to put up with a lot of rain over the years! Tomorrow they might be leaving with sunburn but they won’t be complaining.”

Randy de Puniet 6th:

“I am very happy about this result as yesterday’s session was very tough for us. Yesterday after the practice when I said I was confident for today it was not right. I felt very frustrated because I could not lap as I like and the bike was very nervous. But the guys made an excellent job and this morning I immediately felt more comfortable. Then we took a step forward in the qualifying, obtaining the second row once again for the third time this year. Everybody in the team is very pleased with this result and I want to thank them for their efforts. This race is really special for me and I hope to finish well in front of my fans, though I am a bit worried about the start as it is very difficult to overtake on this track.”

Andrea Dovizioso 7th:

“I cannot be happy to start from the third row because this has the potential to make the race more complicated. So it will it be important to make a good start and stay with the front group – that’s the plan now. Our race pace is not so bad but we need to improve it a little more. Compared to this morning the feeling with the front was not quite as good and I think this was because of some set-up changes that we made, and also the gap to the front riders was a bit bigger this afternoon. Anyway, we have some ideas of what we can improve and I’m ready to give it my best in the race.”

Colin Edwards 8th:

“I’m riding as hard as I can but I’ve only ended up in eighth position. Those guys at the front have dropped half-a-second off the pole time from last year and while I hate to say it, I couldn’t do a mid-33. The bike feels good and I feel good but it’s just really hard work trying to run the pace of the front group. We have worked really hard this weekend and we seem to have got a fix on some of the problems we’ve had at the first two races. I’m much more comfortable on the bike and the feeling with the front-end is coming better. I liked the harder tyre more than the soft tyre today. The soft tyre felt like it moved a little bit too much but the race tyre I feel really comfortable with. Getting into a rhythm quick is going to be the key tomorrow. It is going to be a long and tough race but it is a big race for Tech 3 and Monster, so as always I’ll be pushing as hard as I can for a good result.”

Loris Capirossi 9th:

“The grid position is not the best, but I am quite happy because we have worked so hard for the whole weekend. We started to adapt the bike a bit more over the two days and now I think we are close to getting what we are looking for. My rhythm today was good and I didn’t follow anybody at all in the two sessions, which is good because it helps us understand what the rhythm and performance will be like in a race. I am really optimistic for tomorrow and I think if I get a good start I can be involved in the action towards the front.”

Aleix Espargaro 10th:

“I am delighted with the result that I obtained, I have reduced by almost a second the best lap time I had yesterday, I also kept the same gap that I had from the leader of the first free practice. So I start out with an enormous charge for tomorrow, I hope to be able to finally repay the confidence that the team has placed in me during this difficult start of the championship. I have a good bike and the technicians have worked to make my bike perfect for this race. Too bad for not being able to make another qualifying lap, maybe I could further lower my lap time. This is absolutely the best position I have got on the grid since I race in MotoGP, I have a good feeling with this track and I hope to do a good race tomorrow. ”

Marco Melandri 11th:

“It was a difficult session and the things that we found that worked at Jerez didn’t really happen today. Unfortunately we are down on corner speed because I am struggling to get off the brakes on the way into the turns. We struggled with this yesterday and even though I thought we’d found the solution we had similar problems again today. My riding style relies on corner speed so we need to work on this. Tomorrow will be a tough race and we may have to be on the defensive.”

Ben Spies 12th:

“After missing most of the morning session, I ‘m not too upset to be where I’m at. Even injury free I wasn’t going to be on the front row or anything like that. I just made a mistake this morning. I definitely wasn’t starting a fast lap but I might have been going a little too hard for the rear tyre at the time. When it flicked me, my foot was half off the peg and when it snapped back it just completely rolled the ankle and the knee. There are no broken bones and it’s nothing major. The pain level is not that bad on the bike but it is mainly downshifting gears. It’s a matter of getting my foot back into position for the corner after shifting. I have to move my whole leg to do it. It’ll be a little tough race but it won’t hold me back. The foot doesn’t feel good now but hopefully for 28 laps I can put it out of my mind and get a good result for Tech 3 and Monster.”

Marco Simoncelli 13th:

“I’m pretty happy, to be honest, because we did a good job this morning and I thought I could have done a better time on the softer tyre. Unfortunately a couple of problems emerged with the rear end and I wasn’t able to make the improvement that could have lifted me a few places on the grid. Having said that, I am still confident because my race pace is decent; not quick enough to go with the front guys, but certainly to improve on my position on the grid. I think I can improve on my eleventh place finish from Jerez, and with a bit of luck maybe even challenge for the top eight. That would be great!”

Hiroshi Aoyama 14th :

The feeling with my bike improved a bit today and I could push a little harder at the end of the session, but we still have problems in the tight corners and we really need to find a solution for that. I think we still have the possibility to work on the bike and I will also try to find a better riding line. But it could be difficult tomorrow morning as it always is colder in the mornings here and this won’t help to find the right set-up for the race if the temperature rises again in the afternoon. We will do our best to find the best solution for that.”

Héctor Barberá 15th:

We made a few changes to my Ducati today and it is working much better. We have got the power delivery working more how we hoped and I can open the throttle when I want. We have also been working to improve the handling of the bike in mid-corner, just to try and get more comfortable. I tried to follow a couple of riders at the end to improve my lap time but I was losing too much to them. It is annoying because I know I can go faster and I don’t like being near the back. We’re satisfied with the set-up we have now and we won’t change anything for tomorrow – I’ll just ‘throw all the meat on the grill’ and do my best to stay with the group. The good thing is the bike is working well, it is just a case of improving my riding now.”

Mika Kallio 16th:

“During this morning’s free practice I crashed after just two laps this caused me a shoulder problem and has not allowed me to try on the track the set up that the team had prepared for my bike. Fortunately, the shoulder is not broken, the doctors of the Clinica Mobile have made me shot to allow me to do the qualifying session. Despite the pain, I really wanted to take part in qualifying and I try to make the perfect balanced bike for the race of tomorrow. Unfortunately, the shoulder pain and the time that I have lost this morning, have just allowed me to reduced just half a second the time that I have achieved in the yesterday’s practice. To start again from the bottom of the grid is not so nice, but I will give my best to repay the tremendous work that the team have done for me. ”

Álvaro Bautista DNS:

“It is not a good way to say bye-bye to a MotoGP race! This morning I had an injection to help with the pain and for two laps the feeling was a little bit better, not a big difference, but better. Then I crashed and I don’t really know why because I was not going very fast and I just lost the rear tyre. After that I felt more pain down my left side and I decided not to race here and make sure I make a full recovery for the next race. In the future we have lots of races together so it is better to be 100% in all of them, than be 50% or less in one!”

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