Double joy for Biaggi in Rio.

As Max Biaggi fired his Yamaha M1 bike onto provisional pole position for this weekend's Cinzano Rio Grand Prix, for once the talking point was not about the Italian's supreme ability to set flying laps at breakneck speeds, but about the simultaneous announcement that he had signed a three-year contract with the Pramac Honda team.

Just 0.012secs separate Biaggi from his great rival Valentino Rossi, and this result is a great shot in the arm for the rider, as he aims to finish his season with Yamaha on a high. The Pramac deal will see him on similar machinery to his compatriot from the start of next year, and Biaggi wants to end 2002 firmly in Rossi's consciousness.

"It feels great to do this well on the first day of qualifying - the track makes it difficult to control the rear, but I managed to do so," Biaggi smiled, "With under one second covering the first thirteen riders today, I focused on getting the best out of my strongest parts of the track, because I know that tomorrow everyone will improve their times. My team are working really hard and, tomorrow, I aim to go out there to get pole for certain."

In a statement released earlier in the afternoon, Biaggi stated that the deal he had signed 'made my dream come true', as he returns to the factory with whom he battled so hard to claim second-place in the championship during his first season in the blue riband class. He will be on the same machine as Rossi, who could wrap up the MotoGP title this weekend if he were to score eleven points more than his team-mate Tohru Ukawa and Biaggi were to finish behind him. Rossi was second ahead of the other M1 of Carlos Checa, while Alex Barros claimed fourth place at his home circuit.

Yamaha had a good day in general, as Norick Abe, Olivier Jacque and Shinya Nakano all made the second row, with Nobuatsu Aoki pushing the latter back into eighth position. They were in front of the RCVs of Ukawa and Daijiro Kato, who finished eleventh and thirteenth respectively, but it must be remembered that the two Japanese Honda riders will be expected to improve, this being the first time they have ridden at the track on the 2002 machine. The third row was filled by Kenny Roberts, Garry McCoy, Ukawa and Jeremy McWilliams, with Kato, Jurgen vd Goorbergh, Loris Capirossi and Tetsuya Harada behind.

Toni Elias took provisional top spot in the 250 class, having lost the lead with just 15 seconds of the forty-five minute session remaining. As Marco Melandri surpassed his previous time and went into first, Elias set off on the fast lap that would the decide the top order after the chequered flag had ended the session, with his team-mate Fonsi Nieto finishing in third behind himself and Melandri.

Nieto is hoping to close the gap on Melandri this weekend, after a rousing win in Estoril which will certainly give the Italian something to think about despite him holding a solid 32-point lead. Sebastian Porto rounded off the front four positions, the Argentinean in search of his fourth consecutive podium on Saturday.

Manuel Poggiali returned to the scene of his 2001 world championship crowning with only one thing on his mind - making up ground on current standings leader Arnaud Vincent to stand a good chance of bringing the title back to San Marino for the second successive year. Poggiali was quickest in the 125 class just ahead of the Frenchman, who carries a 23-point advantage into this Brazilian race, with the only other real candidate for the title, Dani Pedrosa, back in fifth. Pablo Nieto finished third quickest, while Hungary's Gabor Talmacsi provisionally lines up on the front row after he made waves around the track with a superb final lap.