Team San Carlo Honda Gresini riders Marco Simoncelli and Hiroshi Aoyama will start from the second and third rows of the grid after qualifying sixth and ninth fastest at the MotorLand circuit.

It was a positive session overall for the Italian rider, although there is still work to do if he is to stand any chance of chasing Stoner and Pedrosa at the front. There is no shortage of confidence in the team, with Aoyama qualifying in an encouraging ninth place.

Marco Simoncelli:

“I’m sure I could have gone faster but on my best lap I was held up by Pedrosa, who had just come onto the track. It's a shame, and then I wasn't quite able to improve with the second soft tyre because of a couple of mistakes. The front two are a little far ahead at the moment, but with a couple of small changes we can be fighting for third place. We slightly improved the grip issues we encountered yesterday but I think this is a common problem from everybody. The thing that is setting us back the most at the moment is fuel consumption because of my size and we need to find something to reduce this problem for the race. I have faith in the guys and I am sure they will do a good job tomorrow.“

Hiroshi Aoyama:

”I am happy with ninth place in qualifying because it represents our best grid position of the season. We improved the bike from this morning and had a good balance and feeling this afternoon. Obviously the race will be different to qualifying but I am confident it can be a good one for us. Now I just want to focus on the race and make the right choices together with the team, especially regarding the predicted lower track temperatures.”

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