Stoner wipes up in Germany qualifying

Casey Stoner completed his dominance of the practice timesheets at Sachsenring with his fourth consecutive pole position, setting a new record along the way. The reigning MotoGP World Champion –chasing his third victory in a row- set the fastest time ever recorded at the track with a 1´21.067 lap of the German circuit. Stoner had previously gone round lower than the existing record using race tires on Friday.

Stoner had done enough to confirm his place at the head of the grid with over fifteen minutes remaining in the qualifying session, but further left his mark with an audacious final hot lap that further lowered his time by nearly three-tenths of a second. Last year he suffered from a tire problem that ruled him out of the running for victory, but it appears that it will take something special to defeat the Australian on Sunday afternoon.

Many riders looked to be in a position to push the Ducati Marlboro rider when the qualifying rubber was fitted, although none were able to match his pace on the final section of the tight Sachsenring circuit. The closest to doing so was World Championship leader and 2007 race winner Dani Pedrosa, some 0.353 down on Stoner’s time. The Repsol Honda rider had experienced problems with his first selection of qualifying tires, and several late laps saw Pedrosa falling short with his attempts at a second pole position of the season.

Back on the front row after four races away, Tech 3 Yamaha´s Colin Edwards emerged from the hour-long session as the third quickest rider. The `Texan Tornado´ was just under a tenth of a second from Pedrosa, and was the fastest Yamaha rider once again with the satellite M1.

Andrea Dovizioso and Jorge Lorenzo will start from the same row on the grid for the first time since their arrival in the premier class, having battled at Sachsenring in the 250cc class in the past. The final spot on the second line went to LCR Honda’s Randy de Puniet.

Fiat Yamaha rider and World Championship challenger Valentino Rossi heads the third row, unable to find the second necessary to join up with the frontliners. Nicky Hayden and Shinya Nakano line up alongside the Italian.

Results