Rossi: Gibernau and Barros look strong.

Gauloises Yamaha rider Valentino Rossi may have taken provisional pole position for the Portuguese Grand Prix at Estoril this afternoon, but the Italian was left looking over his shoulder at Honda riders Sete Gibernau and Alex Barros.

Rossi went to the top of the time sheets ten-minutes into the hour-long session, and would set the pace until - with fifteen-minutes remaining - Gibernau, and then Barros, moved into provisional pole.

Gibernau then claimed the top spot back, but it would prove only good enough for second as Rossi delivered a flying lap just 0.031secs quicker than the Catalan, while free practice pace setter Barros finished a threatening third (+0.15secs).

"We are ahead now but there is still more work to do, although we did some really good work today and finished first," said Rossi afterwards. "It's difficult to set up here because it's an old style track; very tight and full of bumps.

"For sure it will be tough here, especially against Gibernau and Barros who are looking strong," he added. "We have found the right tyre today and this was very important. It's going to be a hard race."

Rossi's crew chief Jeremy Burgess later underlined how important it was for the Yamaha team to qualify well in today's first qualifying session.

"It was imperative for us to get on the front row, and that's what we did," stated the Australian. "In Brno we had limited dry track time during the race weekend, but in the test there on Monday we had some time to test Michelin tyres and the ones we selected were ready for here. Our priority here today was front row, especially because it might rain tomorrow."

Meanwhile, team-mate Carlos Checa touched tyres with Gibernau as he unsuccessfully attempted to pass his fellow Spaniard on his flying lap.

"I touched tyres with Gibernau on my last lap when I had qualifying tyres on and couldn't pass him. This meant I missed my chance to improve my last lap time," said Carlos, who finished 11th today. "I hope the weather stays okay tomorrow. At the Brno test we changed the balance of the bike slightly and it feels more comfortable, so I am confident for the weekend."