“This is fantastic for us – we have done a lot of work in a short space of time to get to the top,” said Rossi, who set a best lap of 1’33.353. “The bike is very good with the qualification tyre – we have more problems with grip on the race tyre but we already know we need time and more work to make it right. We don’t know this bike 100% yet so with each new track we find new problems and need more kilometres to work them out. Anyway, to be at the front already is a good start.”

Rossi dominated throughout the session and sealed pole with a series of fast laps at the very end to fend off the attentions of Capirossi, who wrestled the Ducati briefly to the top of the time sheets in the dying minutes. Last year’s winner Gibernau also picked up the gauntlet laid down by Rossi, closing in to within 0.025 seconds of the pole man and relegating Capirossi to third place overall.

With new rules this season seeing a change to the MotoGP grid pattern, with just three riders per row, the fourth fastest time today was only enough for the second row for Max Biaggi, who had contested second place for much of the session with Roberts. Former World Champion Roberts eventually slid to fifth in the late push for times and is joined on the second row by his compatriot Colin Edwards, making his first MotoGP appearance on the Honda RC211V.

Marco Melandri was the second fastest Yamaha rider, qualifying in seventh place to head up the third row from Nicky Hayden and Carlos Checa. Slightly further back, Alex Hofmann began his maiden MotoGP campaign in positive fashion, qualifying eleventh fastest on the Kawasaki, whilst fellow rookie Shane Byrne will take satisfaction from out-qualifying World Superbike Champion Neil Hodgson in his first official outing on the Aprilia.

Enjoying the action were a group of local children who were brought to the circuit by the Reach for a Dream Foundation. The four youngsters, all suffering from life-threatening diseases, had been welcomed to the Phakisa Freeway by John Hopkins, Kenny Roberts Jr., and Sete Gibernau, who showered them with gifts and memorabilia.

One man who missed out was MotoGP rookie Kurtis Roberts, who left the circuit after the morning practice fearing a recurrence of a recent dislocated shoulder. “This circuit demands that you get into certain positions on the bike that put a lot of strain on the shoulder,” explained the youngster. “The angle of the joint combined with the bumps made it feel very vulnerable and I was concerned it might pop out again.”

Randy De Puniet picked up where he had left off in the 250cc World Championship, following on from victory at the final round of 2003 and an impressive preseason testing period to set a new pole record at the Welkom circuit on Friday afternoon. The fast Frenchman beat his own previous record with a time of 1’35.925 to top the time sheets with a comfortable advantage of 0.544 seconds over his closest rival Sebastian Porto.

Incredibly, there was another 0.530 seconds between Porto and Manuel Poggiali, the third fastest Aprilia rider in a session completely dominated by De Puniet. 125cc World Champion Dani Pedrosa, preparing for his first quarter-litre Grand Prix, was the fastest Honda rider and completes the front row in fourth place, with the 250 and 125 classes retaining the traditional grid system.

Former World Champion Roberto Locatelli marked his return to Aprilia with provisional pole position for the 125cc race. The veteran Italian, who won the title with the Italian factory in 2000 before an unconvincing spell in 250 and an unsuccessful return to 125 with KTM last season, looked back to his best form in the South African sunshine, holding off the challenge of teenage compatriot Andrea Dovizioso by a resounding 0.568 seconds. Mika Kallio, on the KTM, and Locatelli’s fellow Aprilia veteran Steve Jenkner completed the provisional front row.