Rossi stays perfect with Welkom pole.

Valentino Rossi capped his so far perfect Yamaha debut by taking a thrilling pole position for tomorrow's season-opening Africa's Grand Prix, the Italian superstar defeating Honda's Sete Gibernau by just 0.035secs, while a Kawasaki made the top six.

Yesterday, Rossi began what looks like being a bright new era with his new team by taking provisional pole, after again holding off Gibernau, while Ducati's Loris Capirossi put in a typical late attack to claim third.

With new rules this season, Max Biaggi's fourth fastest time was only enough for the overnight second row, while former world champion Kenny Roberts took a superb fifth for Suzuki after outpacing compatriot Colin Edwards, making his first GP appearance on an RC211V.

Marco Melandri was the second fastest M1 rider, in seventh, to head up the third row from Nicky Hayden and Carlos Checa. Slightly further back, Alex Hofmann began his first full MotoGP campaign in positive fashion; qualifying eleventh fastest on the Kawasaki, whilst 'genuine' class rookies Ruben Xaus (d'Antin Ducati), Shane Byrne (Aprilia) and Neil Hodgson (d'Antin Ducati) qualified 16th, 17th and 18th respectively.

However, with no sign of the forecast rain and a much cleaner track surface, Rossi's Friday time wasn't expected to withstand today's sunny one hour session - but it would take right until the final ten minutes before the Italian was beaten, and it wouldn't be by a Honda, Yamaha or Ducati...

...instead, with almost no warning, Shinya Nakano shot his lime green ZX-RR over the finish line 0.006secs faster than the #46 to signal that both Kawasaki and Bridgestone tyres will be factor this season.

Nakano's superb effort triggered the start of the 'serious' part of the session, and within a minute Biaggi had claimed the position from the #56 - only for Gibernau and then Hayden to quickly supersede him at the top.

Meanwhile, Rossi had been relegated to an unlikely fifth by the time he returned from the pits for the final three-minutes, but with so much psychological advantage at stake the five-times world champion was soon pushing his M1 into shapes rarely seen as snatched pole back by 0.27secs from former Repsol Honda team-mate Hayden.

Rossi's next lap would be even quicker (by 0.181secs), but with two-minutes left he then took the brave, and apparently premeditated, decision to pull into the pits - his session over.

By the time Valentino removed his helmet and gazed towards the timing screens, Biaggi was back in second - but the Roman didn't improve on his last lap and lost the position to 2003 pole sitter, and event winner, Gibernau, who closed to within 0.035secs of Rossi with one lap in hand.

While Rossi and his Gauloises team watched nervously, the Catalan then began his final circulation, but after half a lap it was clear he would unable to repeat his earlier effort and eventually crossed the line 0.25secs down.

At that moment the Yamaha pits erupted in celebration as a clearly delighted Rossi hugged Gauloises team members, appearing genuinely delighted at having taken the M1 to the top so soon into his 'new dream'. By complete contrast, his former Repsol Honda pits were much more sombre, despite taking an improved fourth (Hayden) and eighth (Barros) for tomorrow's race.

Joining Rossi and Gibernau on the new three rider front row will be Biaggi, 0.272secs behind his countryman today, while row two will see Hayden joined by fellow American Edwards and the heroic Nakano (0.6secs from pole) - if ever a team needs proof of how quickly a poor season can be reversed, they need surely only look at today's performance by Kawasaki.

However, Nakano's team-mate Hofmann will start from 'just' thirteenth (0.5secs behind the Japanese) after his plans were upset by an early session fall: The German was kicked violently out of the seat after the rear wheel stepped out and bounced down the African asphalt before coming to rest, apparently unharmed, at the edge of the race track.

Starting behind Nakano tomorrow, on what is now row three, will be Melandri, Barros and Capirossi - Marco was again the next fastest Yamaha to Rossi (+0.64secs), while Barros at least found four places from his twelfth overnight.

Capirossi was unable to repeat his Friday form on the new Desmosedici, but his ninth fastest time looks almost incredible when compared to the disastrous showing from team-mate Troy Bayliss: Left nineteenth yesterday, the Aussie found 0.7secs this afternoon - but still slipped two positions to twenty-first.

In the Suzuki camp, Roberts was unable to match the improvements around him and slipped five places to tenth, while team-mate John Hopkins found 1.5secs to start next to his fellow American tomorrow.

Of the class rookies, Xaus has been looking the most promising until the always feared fall from the Spaniard occurred inside the last quarter. Xaus lost the rear, then the front, of his d'Antin Desmosedici at the apex of a right hander to slide off in a cloud of dust. He would remount and return to action, but his rhythm seemed shaken.

At the same time team-mate Hodgson was looking much more comfortable and a massive 2.2secs improvement over yesterday put the reigning World Superbike champion directly ahead of Xaus, in fifteenth.

Aprilia's Shane Byrne delivered one-second more from his RS Cube, but still slipped two places to nineteenth, while improvement of the day went to his team-mate Jeremy McWilliams. Mechanical problems had left the Ulsterman just twentieth on day one, but the 40-year-old went 2.4secs faster today to net seventeenth.

Rounding out tomorrow's grid will be the sole WCM entry of Michel Fabrizio, who trimmed 1.6secs from his Friday time despite completing just eight laps to be - incredibly - the only rider not to beat Bayliss, the Italian being 1.1secs adrift of the factory Ducati.

Full times to follow...

Welkom final qualifying

1. Rossi
2. Gibernau
3. Biaggi
4. Hayden
5. Edwards
6. Nakano
7. Melandri
8. Barros
9. Capirossi
10. Roberts
11. Hopkins
12. Tamada
13. Hofmann
14. Checa
15. Hodgson
16. Xaus
17. McWilliams
18. Abe
19. Byrne
20. Aoki
21. Bayliss
22. Fabrizio