Tissot Pole Position Awards

Dani Pedrosa signed off 2012 MotoGP™ qualifying with a stunning record lap round the Ricardo Tormo circuit and starts from pole position at the Grand Prix of the Comunitat of Valencia in Spain tomorrow.

It was the fifth pole position of the season for the Spanish Honda rider who smashed the six year old lap record on the re-surfaced 4.005 kms circuit that has staged grand prix racing since 1999.

Pedrosa, who has won six grands prix this season, has already secured the runner-up position in the World Championship. He is joined on the front row of the grid for the 30 lap race, the final round of the 18 round championship, by World Champion Jorge Lorenzo and Australian Casey Stoner who makes his last ever MotoGP appearance tomorrow.

After three damp practice sessions Pedrosa took full advantage of the dry track to receive his Tissot T Touch Expert pole setting watch from Marco Rocha, the MotoGP anchorman and Mediaset MotoGP Team Coordinator.

Tissot Ambassador Nicky Hayden, who clinched his 2006 MotoGP World Championship in Valencia, was the best placed Ducati rider in seventh place and will start from the third row of the grid.

Life is never that simple in the Moto2™ World Championship and the final qualifying session was no exception. Pol Espargaro received his eighth Tissot T race watch of the season despite a crash less than ten minutes from the finish. As he sat it out in the pits his great rival World Champion Marc Marquez also crashed but still qualified second fastest with Tissot Ambassador, Tom Luthi third as he chases third place in the championship.

Despite qualifying in second place Marquez will start from the back of the grid. He was penalised by Race Direction following an incident involving Simone Corsi in the second practice session on Friday. Luthi moves up to second place with Takaaki Nakagami moving onto the front row.

German teenager Jonas Folger has turned his season on its head since joining the Aspar team in Indianapolis. He won the Czech Republic Grand Prix in Brno and received his second Tissot Racing-Touch watch of the season after qualifying in pole position at the final Moto3™ session of the season.

Folger is joined on the front row of the grid for the 24 lap race by Miquel Oliveira and Luis Salom. World Champion Sandro Cortese starts from the second row after qualifying fourth.

The big concern for the final round of all three Championships is the weather. Heavy rain is forecast which could play a massive part in the outcome.

Fast Facts
Dani Pedrosa –
• This was the 42nd pole position of his career – 24 in MotoGP and nine apiece in 125 and 250 cc
• It was his fifth pole position of the season as he chases his seventh grand prix win of the year
• The pole setter is the only rider to have won 125, 250 and MotoGP races in Valencia
• He has won five times at the Ricardo Tormo circuit including two MotoGP victories
• This is the 100th grand prix to be held in Spain – the highest number of any country
Pol Espargaro –
• This was the 11th pole position of his career – eight in Moto2 and three in 125 cc
• It was the eighth pole position of the season
• The Spanish rider has two 125 cc podium finishes in Valencia – third in 2009 and second in 2010
• The pole setter has finished on the podium seven times in the last eight races including two wins
Jonas Folger -
• This was just the second pole position of his career – his first came at Aragon in Spain earlier in the season
• The German teenager has won two grands prix – the 125 British Grand Prix last year and the Moto3 Czech Republic Grand Prix this year
• Since returning to the Moto3 World Championship with the Aspar team at Indianapolis the pole setter has finished on the podium four times including one win