MotoGP Phillip Island: Stoner takes 11th pole; Rossi 13th
MotoGP Phillip Island: Stoner takes 11th pole; Rossi 13th
15/10/2011
Stoner was once again untouchable
Repsol Honda's Casey Stoner has taken his 11th pole position of the 2011 MotoGP season at Phillip Island today and by a little under half a second from title rival Jorge Lorenzo while their auld enemy Valentino Rossi could only muster a last lap good enough to elevate him to 13th.
Stoner has cracked Nicky Hayden's long-standing lap record but is still some way off his own circuit best of 1'28.665. The Aussie's best of the qualifying session was a 1'29.975 with Lorenzo 1'30.448 and Marco Simoncelli being bumped to third by the Spaniard's last set of laps.
Rizla Suzuki's Alvaro Bautista provided the story of the session, putting his GSV-R800 in third place after following Andrea Dovizioso around a circuit the bike has been dreadful at historically and it was only quick laps late on from Lorenzo and Simoncelli that pushed him onto the second row. It is Bautista's best MotoGP qualifying position by four places and was done in front of the factory top brass.
Repsol's Dovizioso hung on to his fifth place just ahead of Nicky Hayden who, with only a handful of minutes left in the hour session, had been on the front row. He remains the fastest Ducati and sits on the outside of row two and only eight-tenths off the pace.
Ben Spies got up from a 167mph crash at turn three early in the session to record the seventh fastest time but was clearly hurt, struggling to get on and off the bike, and shaking his head a lot. The Texan was seventh and just ahead of Dani Pedrosa who had something of a shocker in eighth.
Monster Yamaha's Calon Edwards is in ninth and soon-to-be-retired Loris Capirossi ended in tenth after sitting in sixth early on. Team-mate Randy De Puniet is in 11th with World Superbike-bound Hiro Aoyama in 12th. The Japanese rider had a sizeable get off in qualifying but walked away.
Rossi put in a lap late on to raise himself from the outside of row four to the top of it but he is still a country-mile off the pace and needs some opera specs to see the lights tomorrow. He is two seconds slower than Casey Stoner. Cal Crutchlow is one place further back after having a quick lap baulked by Toni Elias.
Pacemaker Ducati's Karel Abraham is 15th and one place ahead of the aforementioned Moto2 world champion. Aussie stand-in Damian Cudlin is unlikely to race after skinning his hip and ribs in a crash during free practice three.
Repsol Honda's Casey Stoner has taken his 11th pole position of the 2011 MotoGP season at Phillip Island today and by a little under half a second from title rival Jorge Lorenzo while their auld enemy Valentino Rossi could only muster a last lap good enough to elevate him to 13th.
Stoner has cracked Nicky Hayden's long-standing lap record but is still some way off his own circuit best of 1'28.665. The Aussie's best of the qualifying session was a 1'29.975 with Lorenzo 1'30.448 and Marco Simoncelli being bumped to third by the Spaniard's last set of laps.
Rizla Suzuki's Alvaro Bautista provided the story of the session, putting his GSV-R800 in third place after following Andrea Dovizioso around a circuit the bike has been dreadful at historically and it was only quick laps late on from Lorenzo and Simoncelli that pushed him onto the second row. It is Bautista's best MotoGP qualifying position by four places and was done in front of the factory top brass.
Repsol's Dovizioso hung on to his fifth place just ahead of Nicky Hayden who, with only a handful of minutes left in the hour session, had been on the front row. He remains the fastest Ducati and sits on the outside of row two and only eight-tenths off the pace.
Ben Spies got up from a 167mph crash at turn three early in the session to record the seventh fastest time but was clearly hurt, struggling to get on and off the bike, and shaking his head a lot. The Texan was seventh and just ahead of Dani Pedrosa who had something of a shocker in eighth.
Monster Yamaha's Calon Edwards is in ninth and soon-to-be-retired Loris Capirossi ended in tenth after sitting in sixth early on. Team-mate Randy De Puniet is in 11th with World Superbike-bound Hiro Aoyama in 12th. The Japanese rider had a sizeable get off in qualifying but walked away.
Rossi put in a lap late on to raise himself from the outside of row four to the top of it but he is still a country-mile off the pace and needs some opera specs to see the lights tomorrow. He is two seconds slower than Casey Stoner. Cal Crutchlow is one place further back after having a quick lap baulked by Toni Elias.
Pacemaker Ducati's Karel Abraham is 15th and one place ahead of the aforementioned Moto2 world champion. Aussie stand-in Damian Cudlin is unlikely to race after skinning his hip and ribs in a crash during free practice three.
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