MotoGP Australia 2011 | Qualifying round-up from Phillip Island

Stoner surges ahead with pole at home as Honda Repsol team spread out on the grid ahead of Sunday's race.

Repsol Honda rider Casey Stoner topped the timesheets in all three practice sessions at the Phillip Island round of the 2011 MotoGP championship today. The 2007 world champion is looking to make it five-in-a-row at his home race in Australia after winning there for the past four years.

Leading by a margin of 0.473 seconds, Stoner outpaced Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) to claim the prime spot on the front row of the grid ahead of tomorrow’s race. It will be a day of celebrations if the local rider – who also celebrates his 26th birthday on Sunday – can secure the win. It is possible that Stoner could be named overall 2011 world champion if he scores ten points over defending champ Lorenzo.

Team mate Andrea Dovizioso will start from the second row after finishing in fifth place alongside Alvaro Bautista while the third team rider Dani Pedrosa had to settle for eighth place.

In qualifying for Moto2, Spanish rider Marc Marquez was unable to recover from his one-second penalty, incurred after a collision with Thai rider Ratthapark Wilairot during Friday’s practice. The time disadvantage placed Marquez at the back of the grid for Saturday’s qualifying and he finished at the bottom of the table.

In the 125cc championship, Red Bull Ajo Motorsport’s Jonas Folger made the front row in qualifying, equalling his best grid position of the season.