Tamada takes final pole of 2004.

Double race winner Makoto Tamada has taken the final pole position of the 2004 MotoGP season after leading a Camel Honda one-two in today's tightly contested second qualifying session for the Valencia Grand Prix.

Nicky Hayden, who was left just 14th fastest on Friday after getting caught in traffic on his quick lap - but had gone on to set the pace in Saturday morning free practice, started the final hour well - by advancing up to third in the opening 15-minutes, the Repsol Honda rider having already lapped just 0.142secs from provisional pole sitter Sete Gibernau.

Thereafter, Bayliss (5th), Barros (6th) and Biaggi (7th) all improved but Gibernau's Friday time of 1min 33.531secs - which was over a second slower than Rossi's 2003 pole time due to the cold and windy conditions yesterday - would last until he himself beat it, albeit by a fraction, with 25-minutes gone.

But soon after there was a moment of greater drama when a roar from the crowd signalled that Rossi had fallen from his M1, the six times world champion having run wide through the gravel, then lost his balance and toppled to his left at a harmlessly low speed. The Italian kept his hand on the clutch throughout and was soon back in the Gauloises pits for a clean up before returning with 35-minutes gone.

By that time, countryman Max Biaggi had risen to third (+0.079secs to Gibernau), while ten-minutes later Gibernau would lose his place at the top for the first time when Telefonica Honda team-mate Colin Edwards took a slim 0.067secs advantage over the rest of the field. But the Texan's reign was short-lived as Rossi went just 0.007secs quicker as the final ten-minutes, and the appearance of qualifying tyres, began.

First to throw a set of the super sticky rubber on and attack Rossi's time was Tamada, third yesterday but still to improve today, who hurled his Camel Honda around the Spanish circuit a massive 0.613secs faster than the #46. Gibernau followed up that development by seizing second, 0.2secs from the Japanese, while Biaggi then created an all Honda top three with six-minutes to go.

Rossi broke the provisional RCV front row by claiming second, just 0.095secs from Tamada's pace setting Bridgestone machine, with three-minutes remaining - while Hayden climbed from seventh to third moments later.

Bayliss was next to threaten and took fifth, behind Gibernau, on his penultimate qualifying lap as a Ducati rider, but greater things were to come from Biaggi - who knocked Rossi from second and closed to within just 0.016secs of his team-mate, while Sete's final lap confirmed him as fourth.

But where was Rossi? With a minute to go the Italian was already in the pits and so was left to watch his rivals attack his time - but will still start third, on the outside of the front row (+0.098secs from Tamada), and has the consolation of having wrapped up the 2004 BMW Best Qualifier Award, handing the 25-year-old his third BMW road car.

Gibernau will be joined on row two by hard riding duo Hayden and Bayliss - the Australian a mere 0.268secs from pole - while John Hopkins put his Suzuki seventh, just ahead of countryman Edwards and Spaniard Carlos Checa.

Shinya Nakano completed the top ten for Kawasaki (+0.7secs) and has a good chance of taking his hoped for tenth in the championship if he can outrace Marco Melandri (16th) and Ruben Xaus (17th) tomorrow.

Alex Barros and Loris Capirossi were a disappointing 12th and 13th fastest for Repsol Honda and Marlboro Ducati respectively, while Jeremy McWilliams impressed with 14th for MS Aprilia.

Wild-card Olivier Jacque qualified 22nd, while returning Proton KR rider Kurtis Roberts didn't appear on track this afternoon and so is expected to miss tomorrow's race, leaving a grid of 24 starters.

Full times to follow...

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