LE MANS (France), May 14: World champion Valentino Rossi grabbed pole position for the French Grand Prix with a spectacular late lap in Saturday’s MotoGP qualifying. The Italian clocked the best time of one minute 33.226 seconds around the tricky, 4,180-metre Le Mans track with a few seconds left in a session held in cloudy but dry conditions.

American Colin Edwards, who looked set for pole until the final moments, was second best, 0.223 second slower than his Yamaha team mate.

Italian Marco Melandri, second to Rossi in the world championship standings after two podium finishes from three rounds, was third fastest on a Honda.

Melandri’s team mate Sete Gibernau of Spain clocked the fourth best time.

A good position on the grid is crucial at Le Mans, a track featuring many tight corners and offering very few opportunities to overtake.

Rossi’s time was well inside the circuit record lap of 1:34.088 set in last year’s race by compatriot and arch-rival Max Biaggi, who had a frustrating session on Saturday with the eighth best time on a Honda.

The Italian phenomenon won at Le Mans in 2002 but this is not his favourite track and he has often struggled here, notably last year, when he finished fourth.—Reuters