Casey Stoner’s blistering MotoGP form has continued in qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix at Motegi.
The Australian edged out reigning World Champion Jorge Lorenzo by 0.26s to take his 10th pole position ahead of the 15th race of the season.
Andrea Dovizioso will start third on the second of the Repsol Honda’s, while yesterday’s fast-man Dani Pedrosa was fourth.
Ben Spies (Yamaha) secured fifth, while a last-gasp effort for Marco Simoncelli (Gresini Honda) knocked Ducati’s Valentino Rossi from the second row.
Simoncelli finished the session on his spare bike after an earlier fall – a fate mirrored by Tech 3 Yamaha’s Colin Edwards, who qualified back in 14th.
Alvaro Bautista (Suzuki), Hector Barbera (Aspar Ducati) and Nicky Hayden (Ducati) rounded out the top 10, while Australian Damian Cudlin (Pramac Ducati) continued to improve – beating Honda wildcard Honda rider Shinichi Ito into 18th.
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See below for the full session result
|
Pos. |
Rider |
Team |
Bike |
Time |
Gap 1st/Prev. |
| 1 | Casey STONER | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 1’45.267 | |
| 2 | Jorge LORENZO | Yamaha Factory Racing | Yamaha | 1’45.523 | 0.256 / 0.256 |
| 3 | Andrea DOVIZIOSO | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 1’45.791 | 0.524 / 0.268 |
| 4 | Dani PEDROSA | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 1’45.966 | 0.699 / 0.175 |
| 5 | Ben SPIES | Yamaha Factory Racing | Yamaha | 1’46.042 | 0.775 / 0.076 |
| 6 | Marco SIMONCELLI | San Carlo Honda Gresini | Honda | 1’46.211 | 0.944 / 0.169 |
| 7 | Valentino ROSSI | Ducati Team | Ducati | 1’46.467 | 1.200 / 0.256 |
| 8 | Alvaro BAUTISTA | Rizla Suzuki MotoGP | Suzuki | 1’46.586 | 1.319 / 0.119 |
| 9 | Hector BARBERA | Mapfre Aspar Team MotoGP | Ducati | 1’46.694 | 1.427 / 0.108 |
| 10 | Nicky HAYDEN | Ducati Team | Ducati | 1’46.763 | 1.496 / 0.069 |
| 11 | Hiroshi AOYAMA | San Carlo Honda Gresini | Honda | 1’46.811 | 1.544 / 0.048 |
| 12 | Cal CRUTCHLOW | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | 1’46.818 | 1.551 / 0.007 |
| 13 | Randy DE PUNIET | Pramac Racing Team | Ducati | 1’46.917 | 1.650 / 0.099 |
| 14 | Colin EDWARDS | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | 1’47.165 | 1.898 / 0.248 |
| 15 | Karel ABRAHAM | Cardion AB Motoracing | Ducati | 1’47.922 | 2.655 / 0.757 |
| 16 | Toni ELIAS | LCR Honda MotoGP | Honda | 1’48.169 | 2.902 / 0.247 |
| 17 | Kousuke AKIYOSHI | LCR Honda MotoGP | Honda | 1’48.367 | 3.100 / 0.198 |
| 18 | Damian CUDLIN | Pramac Racing Team | Ducati | 1’48.962 | 3.695 / 0.595 |
| 19 | Shinichi ITO | Honda Racing Team | Honda | 1’49.971 | 4.704 / 1.009 |
