Valentino Rossi made a happy return to the front row for the first time since his mid-season injury today, with a brilliant display in an entertaining Motegi qualifying session. His Fiat Yamaha team-mate and championship leader Jorge Lorenzo was equally consistent but just missed out on the front row, the first time this season that he has qualified outside the top three.

Reigning World Champion Rossi has been in much better shape this weekend and was feeling confident after topping the time sheets yesterday afternoon. He was third this morning and determined to get back on the front row this afternoon, making the most of his upgraded M1 engine and remaining inside the top four for the entire session. As he headed out for his final run he was sitting in fourth but an excellent final lap lifted him up two places and he finished the session just 0.054 seconds off maiden pole-sitter Andrea Dovizioso.

Lorenzo had his first chance to use the new engine this afternoon and the 23-year-old seemed to be feeling its effects immediately, as he was a few tenths ahead of his rivals in the early stages. Quick laps from Dovizioso and Casey Stoner later on relegated him to third however and, despite improving his time on several occasions towards the end he was unable to catch them and was bumped to fourth when Rossi put in his quick lap. Lorenzo, who signed a new two-year contract with Yamaha this weekend, will start from the head of the second row when the race gets underway at 1500 Japanese time tomorrow.

Valentino Rossi - Position: 2ndTime: 1'47.055Laps: 27

"It is a good feeling to be back on the front row after so long, the last time was at Le Mans, before the Mugello crash! We have improved in every area here, firstly we have made a big step with our setting, then we have the new engine from Yamaha which is enabling us to push more and be faster on the straights, plus we also have slightly harder Bridgestone tyres here than in Aragon and they are working better for me. As I said yesterday I expected to suffer more with the shoulder but I am feeling quite good and when I brake in a straight line here I don't have too much pain. I am so happy about all of this. This front row is going to be very important for tomorrow, we really hope for good weather and let's see what we can do."

Jorge Lorenzo - Position: 4thTime: 1'47.206Laps: 27

"I am a little disappointed because this wasn't the result we were expecting. I would have really liked to be on the front row here in Japan, Yamaha's home, after signing with them for two more years this morning. However it's only qualifying and the most important thing is that we're ready for the race, we have a good pace and we only have one or two more small things still to work on. This afternoon I tried the new engine for the first time and it felt good in the high gears. This is the first time for me this season on the second row, but I am still close to the front and I will try to make the best start I can. The forecast for tomorrow isn't the best so we have to be prepared for rain...let's hope not though!"

Davide Brivio - Team Manager

"It's really nice to be back on the first row. We've had two good days and three strong sessions so we are feeling happy in our team. Valentino was very close to pole position and things are looking good for us to be in with a chance tomorrow. The weather is a question mark, some rain is expected and we will have to wait and see what the temperature is like before making a final tyre decision, but we're excited about the race."

Wilco Zeelenberg - Team Manager

"Despite missing out on the front row for the first time this was a good session for us. Jorge's race pace is very strong, we just weren't able to put everything together to make one perfect lap. However we are only in fourth and his rhythm is very consistent and fast so it's not a drama for us. He used the new engine for the first time and it's feeling good for him, he had to make a few small adjustments but it's definitely an improvement."


Edwards and Spies confident of strong home race for Yamaha
Colin Edwards equalled his best qualifying performance of the 2010 MotoGP world championship today, the American securing a thoroughly deserved fifth place on the grid for Yamaha's all-important home race at the Twin Ring Motegi track in Japan.

And completing an excellent afternoon for the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team, Ben Spies was just one place further back in sixth position, the 26-year-old clinching a place on the second row for the sixth successive race.

Experienced Edwards had a productive session as he continued to fine-tune a new weight distribution setting he first evaluated in yesterday's opening practice.

The modifications clearly boosted the 36-year-old's confidence with his Monster Yamaha Tech 3 machine when he elevated himself into second place on the timesheets just before the halfway stage.

It looked like his determined efforts would go unrewarded as he slipped out of the top six in the closing stages, only to deliver a stunning last lap of 1.47.464 to finish just over 0.4s away from pole position.

Today's performance has given Edwards huge encouragement that he can claim his first top six finish of the season in tomorrow's 24-lap race.

Spies was thrilled with his sixth position, a quickest time of 1.47.648 leaving him just 0.184s adrift of Edwards despite his lack of experience at the 4.801km Japanese venue. Spies steadily improved his pace throughout the session despite a small electronics issue preventing him from riding to his full potential.

Edwards and Spies helped Yamaha occupy four places in the top six today and both are confident they can play a pivotal role in tomorrow's home race for the Japanese factory. The race though may provide a completely different proposition with weather forecasts showing rain is expected tomorrow.

Colin Edwards - Position: 5thTime: 1'47.464Laps: 26

"I'm really happy to be on the second row and in fifth position. That is my best qualifying result since Mugello, but I'll admit after this morning's session I was not expecting to be so high up and as fast as I was. Yesterday when I ran the soft tyre I didn't feel like I had enough grip so I hadn't used it all today. I was a bit worried for qualifying that I'd find it hard but we'd played around with the weight distribution on the front again and when I put the soft tyre in this afternoon it felt like a differe nt motorcycle. It did everything I asked it to do and I had a lot more confidence going into the corner. The lap time wasn't easy but it was a lot easier than I'd expected. I think this is probably the happiest I've felt with the bike all year. I've been able to ride the bike to its full potential and I'm confident I can get that first top six finish of the season tomorrow. It is going to be a hard fight but I'm ready for it and I'm determined to get a good result for the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team and Yamaha. This is a massive race for Yamaha and hopefully Ben and I can put on a good show with Valentino and Jorge."

Ben Spies - Position: 6thTime: 1'47.648Laps: 27

"I am actually really happy to be on the second row again because at the start of the session I was fighting a lot of stuff with the electronics. The chassis set-up is not so bad but some issues with the electronics made the bike really hard to ride. If we can figure out the electronics the bike will be a lot easier to ride, so having the feelings I'm having with the bike, I'm super happy to be in the top six. Considering the way the bike was working, to be just over half-a-second off pole position is a big surprise because I didn't expect to be so close. The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team is working really hard to fix the problems but it hasn't made the task of learning the track any easier. I have to deal with it and I'm still confident that we can be much stronger in the race. Sometimes you have a day when things don't quite work out and it's nobody's fault. I can't complain because when I look at the guys behind me, they have been around this track a million times. That gives me a lot of encouragement for tomorrow but we'll have to see what the weather throws at us."