Rossi pips de Puniet for Catalan pole.

Valentino Rossi took his fourth pole position of the 2007 season at Catalunya this afternoon - after overcoming a surprise challenge from a hobbling Randy de Puniet by just 0.061secs.

de Puniet is riding with an injured shoulder, from his fall while leading in the wet at Le Mans, and a more significant knee injury sustained last weekend at Mugello - leaving him barely able to walk. As such, the Frenchman - riding in his sophomore premier-class season - limited his Saturday track time to a minimum, but delivered quality over quantity.

With pressure mounting for both Kawasaki riders to start exploiting the highly rated potential of their ZX-RR, de Puniet responded by setting the eighth fastest time on race tyres - then surged 1.121secs clear of the field with his first qualifying tyre run, set with 20-minutes to go.

That lap looked increasingly impressive as rider after rider failed to better it, until former five times champion Rossi - fast all weekend - pinched pole by just 0.061secs with nine minutes remaining. Those top two positions, and lap times, held until the end of the hour, while a frantic fight for the final front row slot saw home hero Dani Pedrosa edge out championship leader Casey Stoner - plus Rizla Suzuki's John Hopkins (riding his spare bike), Rossi's team-mate Colin Edwards and world champion Nicky Hayden - in the closing minutes.

Stoner had been fastest during free practice, but the Australian's nine point lead is looking under serious threat from Rossi in tomorrow's race - although much will depend on how their respective Bridgestone/Michelin tyres stand up to the searing Spanish heat over a full distance.

Meanwhile, Stoner's factory Ducati team-mate Loris Capirossi suffered a nightmare end to the session; the Italian running straight on at turn one with 13 minute remaining - after a possible technical problem - forcing him to abandon his number one bike and rush back to the pits. The effort proved futile and Loris will start just 17th on the grid, for an event he entered as the world championship leader one year ago.

While de Puniet will start from his best ever MotoGP grid position, team-mate Olivier Jacque may not start at all. OJ didn't ride this afternoon after suffering a heavy fall in this morning's final free practice session, during which the Frenchman - already riding with a damaged arm - sustained a neck injury.

Qualifying:

1. Rossi
2. de Puniet
3. Pedrosa
4. Stoner
5. Hopkins
6. Edwards
7. Hayden
8. Elias
9. Melandri
10. Hofmann
11. Vermeulen
12. Nakano
13. Guintoli
14. Barros
15. Checa
16. Tamada
17. Capirossi
18. Kenny Roberts
19. Kurtis Roberts