Loris Capirossi put in a blistering lap almost two seconds underneath the lap record to take pole for Sunday’s 500cc Grand Prix at Suzuka Circuit, Japan.

Capirossi turned a lap at 2:04.777 in Saturday afternoon’s final 500cc qualifying session. Top times follow:

1. Loris Capirossi, Honda, 2:04.777
2. Shinya Nakano, Yamaha, 2:05.588
3. Max Biaggi, Yamaha, 2:05.703
4. Garry McCoy, Yamaha, 2:05.833
5. Tohru Ukawa, Honda, 2:05.924
6. Norick Abe, Yamaha, 2:05.927
7. Valentino Rossi, Honda, 2:06.140
8. Alex Barros, Honda, 2:06.295
9. Kenny Roberts, Suzuki, 2:06.469
10. Noriyuki Haga, Yamaha, 2:06.597
11. Alex Criville, Honda, 2:06.714
12. Carlos Checa, Yamaha, 2:06.858
13. Jose Luis Cardoso, Yamaha, 2:06.993
14. Sete Gibernau, Suzuki, 2:07.121
15. Akira Ryo, Suzuki, 2:07.580
16. Jurgen vd Goorbergh, Proton, 2:08.419
17. Haruchika Aoki, Honda, 2:08.906
18. Chris Walker, Honda, 2:09.129
19. Olivier Jacque, Yamaha, 2:09.409
20. Leon Haslam, Honda, 2:10.478