Repsol Honda rider Nicky Hayden had a good shot at pole position this afternoon, ending the tricky wet-and-dry qualifying session a close fourth fastest, just two hundredths of a second off the front row.

Qualifying got underway on a soaking track following a monumental downpour that hit Sepang before lunchtime.

Riders started out on rain tyres, then swapped to slicks with about 20 minutes remaining. The session was frantic, with pole position changing constantly and riders trying to pack as many qualifying tyres as they could into the last few minutes when the track was at its driest, with damp patches here and there. Hayden’s final run might have got him on pole. He got the fastest time of the session in the first two splits but then ran out of front grip. There hadn’t been enough time for him to fit a new front qualifier for that final outing.

Tomorrow Hayden goes for his third podium from the last four races. The American finished second in last month’s Indianapolis GP and third in the Australian GP earlier this month.

Nicky Hayden, 4th fastest, 2′02.192

“It was quite a wild day. This morning we improved quite a lot, but so did everybody else. It wasn’t spectacular but we definitely made an improvement, at times we were really competitive. This afternoon was pretty gnarly. We started on full wets and the track kept drying and drying. We ended up fourth which isn’t a disaster. At one stage near the end I was 15th, thankfully we didn’t get any big showers then, so I was able to get in a good lap, but I really wanted to be on the front row. I was fastest in T1 and T2 on my last qualifier. But lately I can only get one run out of my qualifying fronts and we didn’t have enough time to change the tyre, because with the big discs we use here it take a while to change. So I did two runs on it and midway round my last lap she was done and I lost some time. I’m a little bit bummed, I haven’t had a pole all year and every year for the last few years I’ve had at least one. The rear Michelin qualifier was amazing, it was ridiculous how much grip it had, even across the wet patches. If we can make a little step in the morning, get the bike turning a little better, I feel like I can be competitive. It’s going to be a long, hard race if I’m going to hang in there.”

Kazuhiko Yamano – Team Manager

“Nicky got the second row which is great, because I think he can fight at the front tomorrow. He still wants to make a few little improvements to improve machine turning, so the morning warm-up will be very important for him. Nicky’s motivation is very high, he wants to score another podium.”