Capirossi set a new lap record at Jerez

Italy's Capirossi posted a time of 1:39.064 to lead the grid's front row, ahead of Ducati team-mate Sete Gibernau and Kawasaki rider Shinya Nakano.

World champion Valentino Rossi, bidding for a sixth consecutive title, posted only the ninth fastest time in a stop-start qualifying session.

Rossi's time puts him on the third row of the grid for Sunday's race.

American Nicky Hayden leads the second row, ahead of fellow Honda riders Dani Pedrosa and Toni Elias.

The 27-year-old Rossi, who had vibration problems on his Yamaha in testing at Jerez, has won the opening grand prix for the last five seasons.

The qualifying session was halted after only four minutes when the engine on Alex Hofman's Ducati blew.

This left a trail of oil on the track, causing Rossi and a number of other riders to slide off into the gravel at the Angel Nieto curve.

Nakano briefly took pole from Capirossi on the much-improved Kawasaki, but the Italian responded by posting a new lap record.

"I'm really happy with the bike, it's going extremely well and is very fast," Capirossi said.

In the 125cc class Italy's Mattia Pasini grabbed pole position ahead of fellow Aprilia rider Alvaro Bautista, with Lukas Pesec and Julian Simon completing the front row.

Spanish MotoGP qualifying results:
1. Loris Capirossi (Italy) Ducati One minute 39.064 seconds
2. Sete Gibernau (Spain) Ducati 1:39.285
3. Shinya Nakano (Japan) Kawasaki 1:39.526
4. Nicky Hayden (US) Honda 1:39.666
5. Daniel Pedrosa (Spain) Honda 1:39.734
6. Toni Elias (Spain) Honda 1:39.875
7. Marco Melandri (Italy) Honda 1:39.932
8. Randy de Puniet (France) Kawasaki 1:40.146
9. Valentino Rossi (Italy) Yamaha 1:40.160
10. Colin Edwards (US) Yamaha 1:40.181