Casey Stoner takes pole in mixed German conditions

Repsol Honda Team’s Casey Stoner has taken advantage of a drying circuit to take pole position at the eni Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland at the Sachsenring following a session filled with heavy rainfall.

Stoner left it late to set a time in the high 1.31s, which was just enough to displace Yamaha Factory Racing’s Ben Spies onto second on the grid.

Completing the front row is Stoner’s team-mate Dani Pedrosa, who had set the pace throughout yesterday’s free practice.

Row two is headed by Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s Cal Crutchlow, who pulled some fast laps out of the bag in the final minutes of qualifying. Yamaha’s joint-championship leader Lorenzo will start in fifth.

LCR Honda MotoGP’s local favourite Stefan Bradl had led the majority of the session but will start sixth.

Heading up the third row is Ducati Team’s Nicky Hayden from Andrea Dovizioso, Valentino Rossi and Power Electronics Aspar’s Aleix Espargaró.

The tricky conditions caught out many of the riders, which saw San Carlo’s Michele Pirro, Came IodaRacing Project’s Danilo Petrucci, Speed Master’s Mattia Pasini and Pramac Racing Team’s Héctor Barberá crash out.

See below for the full qualifying result