Pedrosa happy with first Bridgestone pole

The qualifying session in Malaysia began on a wet track following heavy rain during the 125cc session, before gradually drying as the hour progressed.

Honda rider Pedrosa was the last of the major contenders to set a flying lap and duly vaulted up to pole position, beating champion Valentino Rossi by 0.409 seconds.

"It was changing all the time," said Pedrosa. "At the beginning it was wet, then little by little it was getting drier, so you had to be awake and ready to change the bike and tyres. Finally we could do good lap times."

Pedrosa controversially switched from Michelin to Bridgestone tyres after the Misano race, and admitted that it had taken him time to figure out how to get the best from the Japanese tyres in qualifying.

"Pole position for the first time on Bridgestones is good for me," he said. "I struggled a little bit in qualifying for the first races, but now we did a good lap time, which is good. It's also very important to be on the front row."

But he remains cautious about his race prospects given the possibility of rain returning.

"For tomorrow's race we have to look at the weather - if it's going to be a mixed race, dry or wet," said the Spaniard.