Yamaha in charge of GP250.

The Chesterfield duo of Olivier Jacque and Shinya Nakano dominated first qualifying for the British Grand Prix at Donington Park this afternoon, leading the opposition by almost a second.

The top two in the championship proved to be the top two in qualifying, albeit in reverse order, as Jacque belied the fact that he had missed the last two British GPs through injury to claim provisional pole position. The Frenchman lapped three-tenths faster than Yamaha team-mate Nakano to provide great scope for a yellow-and-silver front row should it rain for Saturday's second session.

Alongside the two Tech 3 bikes will be the altogether darker hues of Aprilia, after Marco Melandri and Ralf Waldmann laid claim to third and fourth spots on the grid. Waldmann knows what it is like to stand on the podium at Donington, but Melandri has given himself the chance of reaching his first such honour in the 250cc class with a time three-tenths clear of his senior rival.

Row two features the two main Honda threats, with Dutch TT winner Tohru Ukawa heading impressive rookie Daijiro Katoh in fifth and sixth places. They are joined by the surprising duo of Fonsi Nieto (Yamaha) and Roberto Rolfo (Aprilia), while expected leading lights, such as Franco Battaini (13th), finished further down the order.

After free practice. it was hoped that the British contingent would put on a good show for the home crowd but, with the exception of twelfth placed Jamie Robinson, it was a disappointing session.

Full times will follow shortly....

Leading provisional qualifiers - GP250.

1. Olivier Jacque Yamaha
2. Shinya Nakano Yamaha
3. Marco Melandri Aprilia
4. Ralf Waldmann Aprilia
5. Tohru Ukawa Honda
6. Daijiro Katoh Honda
7. Fonsi Nieto Yamaha
8. Roberto Rolfo Aprilia