Colin Edwards claimed pole position in the Chinese Grand Prix from Valentino Rossi with a course record of 1:58.139 in qualifying.

The American Edwards beat Rossi's time by a full 0.355 seconds to storm to the front of the grid for Sunday's race.

The Yamaha rider also improved on Rossi's previous pole record of 1:58.424, which the Italian set in last year's qualifying session.

Australian world champion Casey Stoner claimed fourth on the grid, but championship co-leader Jorge Lorenzo ran an amazing session to take fifth despite a fractured ankle.

The Spanish 20-year-old broke a bone in his left ankle in Friday's first practice session, but was back on his bike in time for the hour-long morning session ahead of qualifying.

Lorenzo ultimately claimed fifth from championship co-leader Dani Pedrosa with a late lap of 1:58.711 to continue his fantastic rookie season despite being denied pole for the first time this year.

"The big problem I think is the right ankle, where there isn't any fracture," said Claudio Macchiagodena, the doctor who examined Lorenzo.

"He has a little fracture in the left ankle, and I think we can overcome this problem because the riders are used to riding with physical injuries like this one."

British rookie and reigning World Superbike champion did well to claim the seventh place on the grid in a time of 1:59.254.

Overnight rain was expected to play havoc with the Shanghai track for Sunday's race.

Watch all the action from Shanghai LIVE on Eurosport, with free practice from 06:00 in the morning on Friday, qualifying from 06:00 on Saturday and all three races on Sunday - starting with the 125s at 04:45 and ending with the MotoGP at 07:15!!

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Jeremy Stahl / Eurosport