Pedrosa hopes for consistent weather

Practice had been plagued by changeable weather - with intermittent showers, strong winds and extremely cold temperatures disrupting the teams' attempts to hone their set-ups.

But qualifying saw dry conditions throughout, and Pedrosa leapt to pole with a 1:29.201 lap on his final run.

"It was a good lap time, I think it was my best lap time at this circuit, so I'm happy," he said.

"We improved from the first qualifying (lap) to the second one. It was a good lap time.

"For the race, I hope tomorrow the weather stays stable. We will see if we can have a good race tyre choice."

Pedrosa beat Valentino Rossi by 0.218 seconds and local hero Casey Stoner by 0.615 seconds - despite the local hero having dominated the practice sessions.

The Repsol Honda rider is confident that he can maintain his form in the race, and believes the combination of himself, Rossi and Stoner at the front of the field should create a spectacular contest.

"We can do a great pace for the race, anyway," Pedrosa said. "I think the top three riders (in the series) are on the front row, so we will see."