Barros' ride to the top of the combined qualifying time sheets maintains his confidence on a high level after his recent race win in Japan, although Barros did not expect to perform quite so well in the steamy Malaysian heat - especially against many riders who have enjoyed Sepang experience on their four-stroke machines during winter test sessions.

"I am surprised to take pole position but I think my team of mechanics made a very good job because we had no data for this track, unlike the other Honda four-stroke riders," said a delighted Barros, enjoying the status of pole position. "We have started with a base of zero so I am especially surprised to take the pole position. The main problem on the track itself is that the rear tyre is spinning too much, so I will have to concentrate very hard when it comes to the race."

Daijiro Kato, who was in pole position for much of the final session, was deposed by Barros, although the diminutive Japanese was in his usual competitive form in qualifying and eventually took third place for a first row start. He nonetheless laboured under a small handicap in the final session, in pain from a previous crash.

"I am a lot happier today than yesterday and I have found good settings for both the machine and the tyre selection," he stated. "My only regret is that I could have been a lot faster towards the end of the session, but my neck was hurting after my Friday crash. Considering this, third was not too bad I think, and I am concentrating on tomorrow now."

Once more Loris Capirossi (West Honda Pons NSR500) performed heroics on his two-stroke, almost stealing pole right at the end after setting the fastest split times on the first three sections. The extended full throttle sprints along Sepang's two long straights dropped him to fourth overall, but his earlier cornering prowess was arguably the highlight of the final session.

"I worked so hard all day today," said Capirossi. "I was much faster in the T1, T2 and T3 splits but the straights in the last part of the track are too long and I lost a lot of time there. Anyway, I got on the front row but tomorrow it will be very difficult to be competitive on a two-stroke, even harder than at Motegi - but I will try my best."

For new World Champion Valentino Rossi (Repsol Honda Team RC211V) qualifying at Sepang was not a straightforward exercise, with the Italian rider looking fast and smooth but only taking the last place on the second row, after setting eighth best time, a significant 0.701 seconds behind Barros.

"We were not able to make the bike work better than it did this morning," said Rossi of the day's proceedings. "We have made a lot of changes to the bike but we don't seem to have got anywhere. I was waiting for a special tyre towards the end of the session. I came in and had a different one fitted so I couldn't improve! I am not satisfied with how we work. A lot of the problems we have are just like in Motegi."

Tohru Ukawa (Repsol Honda Team RC211V) outperformed his team-mate to go sixth on the time sheets, after his usual display of determination on the brakes and intense riding input. On provisional pole on Friday, Ukawa was even more pleased to have found a good set-up, rather than go all out for a single fast lap time in the frantic final session.

Said Ukawa: "From where we were on Friday morning the bike is 100 times better. I've got no problem with the clutch, the suspension set-up feels good and the tyre wear is constant. We have a good package for the race."

Jurgen van den Goorbergh (Kanemoto Racing Honda NSR500), was just over a second off the pole position pace, and tenth fastest in qualifying; two impressive statistics for the NSR rider, who is still undergoing development work for Bridgestone tyres during the racing season.

"I think we did a pretty good job today. The morning free practice was not so good, when we were chasing a better balance of front and rear. I tried a different shape rear tyre and it had better grip but upset the balance. In the afternoon we tried two tyres, both for seven laps, and I could run 2:07s with both. Overall I'm more than happy with tenth place against all the four-strokes."

Tetsuya Harada (Pramac Honda NSR500) fell in the second session, without injury, but lost any chance to improve on his 14th best qualifying position. A total of 22 riders qualified for Sunday's 21-lap MotoGP race.

Alex Barros, West Honda Pons: 1st: "I am satisfied and surprised because I must admit that I did not expect to be in pole position today. The team put in some great work as we started from zero here, without any previous references from the circuit, unlike the other Honda four-stroke riders. I would like to thank all the team for their excellent work which has given me the opportunity to be the quickest here today. Regarding the race, I have a lot of confidence because I am lapping fast and clearly the goal is to repeat the victory here. The key thing will be the tyres and the winner will be the rider with the most grip during the last laps.

Daijiro Kato, Fortuna Honda Gresini, 3rd: "I am very happy because we found the perfect race set up, and I have a good feeling with my RC211V. This morning I had whiplash and my neck was locked. Luckily the Doctors could get me back into good shape. This injury held me back a little bit but I'm really hopeful and very concentrated for tomorrow."

Fausto Gresini: "I saw my rider really determined out there, despite the whiplash, but I'm satisfied, also with the work of the team: they worked very hard to improve the feeling of the bike for Kato. We are still learning, in a really difficult class, but I think that Daijiro will have a really good race. I'm sorry that we didn't totally exhaust the possibility of the tyre that we put in at the end of practice: we had only two laps and this kind of tyre gives maximum performance only on the third lap. But I don't worry because Kato made his time without difficulty. Tomorrow it will be a hard race, with really hot weather, but I hope to be celebrating."

Loris Capirossi, West Honda Pons, 4th: " I am very happy because I risked everything on the last lap and it came off. I have set a really great time today but tomorrow I will find it difficult up against the four-stroke bikes. I am able to go extraordinarily fast over the first two sections of the track, but when I get the two long straights I lose half-a-second immediately. I have to accept the fact that in Sepang it is impossible to beat the four-strokes."

Sito Pons: "Every single member of the West Honda Pons team is extremely satisfied because it seems like we are on a winning streak. Our riders have once again demonstrated supreme professionalism and were able to put into practice on the track all the great work of the team. I hope that we continue the progress tomorrow and that we can repeat the last week's results in Motegi."

Tohru Ukawa, Repsol Honda Team: 6th: "It does sound a little strange after holding provisional pole and being fastest this morning to say that I'm not unhappy at a second row start because I'm not really. From where we were on Friday morning the bike is 100 times better. I've got no problem with the clutch, the suspension set-up feels good and the tyre wear is constant. We have a good package for the race. We had a little chatter from the front this morning but not so much now. Nearly every start I've had this year has been on the second row and my position in the championship is not that bad. Tomorrow morning in warm-up we will confirm our race set-up and make any final adjustments but they will only be very minor. I'm looking forward to the race!"

Valentino Rossi, Repsol Honda Team: 8th: "We were not able to make the bike work better from this morning. We have made a lot of changes to the bike but don't seem to have got anywhere. I was waiting for a special tyre towards of the end of the session. I came in and had a different one fitted so I couldn't improve! I am not satisfied with how we work. For me the problem was the long run we made at the beginning of the session. We lost too much time to make any improvements. We still have some problem with the clutch system. I fight also with the brake. We seem to have lost all our advantage in braking from the test here. Now I have to brake much earlier. We changed the off-set to improve the braking from this morning but it makes no difference. Many of the problems we have are just like in Motegi. We will have a busy evening looking at data and an important session tomorrow morning working on race set-up. We have a great team who, like me, are very motivated. We like the fight and we will be ready for the battle tomorrow!"

Jurgen van den Goorbergh, Team Kanemoto Honda, 10th: "I think we did a pretty good job today. The morning free practice was not so good, we were chasing a better balance of front and rear. I tried a different shape rear tyre, it had better grip but upset the balance. In the afternoon we tried two tyres, both for seven laps and I could run 2m07s with both. I have to choose one of the two for thee race but I'm confident with both. I put in a softer tyre for the end of the session and went faster than yesterday, almost one full second. I'm more than happy with 10th against all the four-strokes. My race pace will be more than one second faster than I expected, so I'm looking forward to it. If I'm in the top ten after two corners then the race will really be on for me."

Team owner - manager Erv Kanemoto: "It was just as we predicted yesterday, the indications were good and final qualifying went very well. Jurgen rode really well, and the race tyres performed well as we kept the temperatures low. Everything is working well in the high-temperatures we get here. Bridgestone have been working hard to improve the they give us for all conditions and the indications are that all their hard work is paying off - but there is still a way to go yet. We are happy with the bike, which is really running well in the extremely hot air conditions. There is not a whole lot to do to the bike overnight, we're pretty much ready to race. We just hope the conditions stay within 3 - 4 degrees f the last two days."