Nicky Hayden On Pole Position At Estoril GP -ozzy go- sportinglife.com

Reigning MotoGP world champion Nicky Hayden denied heir apparent
Casey Stoner a fifth consecutive pole position with a blistering late lap
in qualifying for Sunday's Portuguese Grand Prix.

Hayden, on the Repsol Honda, pipped Australian Stoner by just 0.04
seconds with a lap of one minute 36.301 seconds at the Estoril circuit.

Marlboro Ducati star Stoner can claim the title this weekend if he
finishes 15 points better off than Valentino Rossi, who qualified in
third place on the Fiat Yamaha, over 0.2secs slower than his title rival.

Stoner was keen to play down expectations that he could wrap up the
title this weekend.

"It's going to be a very, very difficult race here," he told Italia 1
television. "We've got a lot of competition and there's a lot of riders
doing some very consistent lap times. "We've got another good grid
position so maybe we can have another good result tomorrow."

Hayden, winless so far this season, admitted to his delight at his return
to the sharp end of the grid after suffering a miserable 2007 campaign
to this point.

"This pole is a big thank you to the team who have stuck with me and
worked so hard during the dark times," he said. "In the last section I
knew I just had to pull out the pin and go for it because I had nothing to
lose. "It was so good to return to pit lane and see everybody smiling
again. I want to lead into the first turn tomorrow and have some fun."

Seven-time world champion Rossi, meanwhile, revealed that he was
happy to start the race on Stoner's shoulder after claiming the final
front-row berth. click on ozzy go to the full story on sportinglife.com