Stoner takes pole for home GP

From motogp.com

Casey Stoner will start the Iveco Australian Grand Prix on pole position for the second year running, after topping Saturday’s qualifying timesheet.

The Ducati Marlboro rider remains on course for a hat-trick of Phillip Island victories after securing pole position at his home circuit.

Stoner’s best time of 1:30.341 on his Desmosedici GP9 was just 0.050 secs. faster than nearest rival Valentino Rossi.

Former World Champion Stoner was playing down his victory chances. Instead of getting overexcited about heading the gird on the day after his 24th birthday, in front of his home fans, the pragmatic Australian was more concerned about an ongoing rear grip problem on corner exits which hindered him on Friday and was not solved on day two of the GP.

“We don’t have the same grip levels that we have had the last two years here,” Stoner explained. “With the stiffer chassis which we have now it works very well at some circuits but not so well at others. So we have lost that advantage.

“We definitely have more corner speed but we are spinning a lot as we come out of corners and we can’t get it to hook up so we’re working a lot on the rear end. We’ve shortened the bike, we’ve changed some of the pivot positions, we’ve dropped the riding height, all sorts of things, but we are still searching for something for tomorrow. The warm-up session is going to be very important.”

On the hype of continuing his comeback from illness at his home race, Stoner remained unmoved about matters, concluding, “It would be nice to win but if you get too hopeful of things they normally don’t happen. So we’re just going to see what we can do, try to play it as smart as we can in the race and come home and finish it. Then if we win obviously that is fantastic.”

The battle with Rossi – who will take his place on the front row for the ninth consecutive race – throughout Saturday afternoon’s qualifying session was an engrossing affair, as the fastest time swapped hands towards the end of the session.

“I’m happy, especially because we did a good job this afternoon," Rossi said. "We found a good setting and I feel good with the bike. We also have a good advantage over my team-mate, which is very important for the championship fight. Unfortunately I made a small mistake in the last section of the track, but second is okay.”

Rossi’s team-mate and closest rival for the world title Jorge Lorenzo missed out on third place on the grid by a thousandth of a second to Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa, and the Spaniard was unable to hide his disappointment at what has been a below-par weekend so far.

“I'm a bit disappointed to lose my 100 per cent front-row qualifying record by such a tiny amount, but today we just didn't quite have enough pace,” he said. “We still don't have enough grip on the rear and the tire is spinning too much, which makes it difficult to be fast enough. Tomorrow I will try to adapt my riding style instead in order to try to make it onto the podium.

"I feel better than yesterday but I'm still not at 100 per cent; I feel quite weak still because I haven't been able to eat much. I will have to try before tomorrow in order to have enough strength for the race. I don't feel any pressure, I will just go out and do my best.”

Pedrosa survived a crash to secure third place, a 0.679-sec. margin behind paceman Stoner, with a second bike, after his RC212V lost its nose going into Southern Loop.

Making up the second row on Sunday will be Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s Colin Edwards – just 0.025 secs. off Lorenzo’s time – with Alex de Angelis following up impressive practice sessions with sixth place, despite an early spill in qualifying.

Stoner’s Ducati Marlboro team-mate Nicky Hayden, LCR Honda rider Randy de Puniet, Mika Kallio (Pramac Racing) and Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda) all made the top 10 as well.

Raffaele de Rosa will start on pole position for the 250cc Grand Prix in Australia after beating world champion Marco Simoncelli and Scot Racing team-mate Hiroshi Aoyama to the front of the grid.

Simoncelli and Aoyama both improved on mediocre practice sessions to book spots on the front row of the Phillip Island grid.

Form 125cc rider Pol Espargaró will start the Iveco Australian Grand Prix on pole position after topping qualifying at Phillip Island.

The Derbi Racing star – who has won two of the last three GPs, at Indianapolis and Estoril – was the fastest rider in free practice, and he bettered his pace with a best lap of 1:37.770 on Saturday afternoon to secure only the third pole position of his career.

Hot on his heels was fellow Spaniard Nico Terol, who at 0.279 secs. behind pushed Julían Simón down to third place. Simón, who is bidding to seal the world title this weekend, was a further 0.018 secs. behind Terol to also secure a place on the front row of the grid.

MotoGP Qualifying Times
1. Casey STONER (AUS) Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati 1:30.341
2. Valentino ROSSI (ITA) Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha +0.050
3. Dani PEDROSA (SPA) Repsol Honda Team Honda +0.729
4. Jorge LORENZO (SPA) Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha +0.730
5. Colin EDWARDS (USA) Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha +0.755
6. Alex DE ANGELIS (RSM) San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda +0.919
7. Nicky HAYDEN (USA) Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati +0.984
8. Randy DE PUNIET (FRA) LCR Honda MotoGP Honda +1.039
9. Mika KALLIO (FIN) Pramac Racing Ducati +1.043
10. Andrea DOVIZIOSO (ITA) Repsol Honda Team Honda +1.131
11. Toni ELIAS (SPA) San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda +1.299
12. James TOSELAND (GBR) Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha +1.381
13. Loris CAPIROSSI (ITA) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki +1.532
14. Marco MELANDRI (ITA) Hayate Racing Team Kawasaki +1.849
15. Chris VERMEULEN (AUS) Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki +1.997
16. Gabor TALMACSI (HUN) Scot Racing Team MotoGP Honda +2.411