Stoner wins pole in Valencia

As the track in Valencia dried this afternoon, it was Casey Stoner who capitalised on the situation, and will start tomorrow’s final round of the season from pole position.

The Australian’s time of 1’31"502 was marginally quicker than his closest rival, Dani Pedrosa, who will start the race from the center of the front row, alongside his Repsol Honda teammate, Nicky Hayden.

Hayden, who was the quickest man on the circuit all weekend in the wet, will start tomorrow’s race from the outside of the front row.

The second row for tomorrow’s race is made up of the Tech 3 Yamaha riders, with Colin Edwards and James Toseland starting from fourth and fifth respectively.

After a surprisingly quick qualifying session, Randy de Puniet will start from the outside of the second row on his LCR Honda.

Jorge Lorenzo, Loris Capirossi and Andrea Dovizioso make up the third row, with World Champion Valentino Rossi rounding out the top ten.

Results

1 Casey STONER AUS Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati 1'31.502
2 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 1'31.555
3 Nicky HAYDEN USA Repsol Honda Team Honda 1'31.703
4 Colin EDWARDS USA Tech 3 Yamaha Yamaha 1'32.212
5 James TOSELAND GBR Tech 3 Yamaha Yamaha 1'32.518
6 Randy DE PUNIET FRA LCR Honda MotoGP Honda 1'32.572
7 Jorge LORENZO SPA Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 1'32.594
8 Loris CAPIROSSI ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 1'32.614
9 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA JiR Team Scot MotoGP Honda 1'32.734
10 Valentino ROSSI ITA Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 1'32.962
11 Toni ELIAS SPA Alice Team Ducati 1'32.983
12 Chris VERMEULEN AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 1'33.017
13 Sylvain GUINTOLI FRA Alice Team Ducati 1'33.352
14 John HOPKINS USA Kawasaki Racing Team Kawasaki 1'33.681
15 Shinya NAKANO JPN San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 1'33.767
16 Alex DE ANGELIS RSM San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 1'33.848
17 Anthony WEST AUS Kawasaki Racing Team Kawasaki 1'33.879
18 Marco MELANDRI ITA Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati 1'34.174