2009 Valencia MotoGP – qualifying
08-11-09 by Bracksy
It comes as no surprise to see Casey Stoner (Ducati) grab the top slot in qualifying as he dominated all three sessions to continue his remarkable comeback from the illness that saw him miss three races mid-season and the chance of another world championship.
A three win hat-trick looks a distinct possibility for the Kurri Kurri kid to further cement the fact that whatever afflicted him this year is well and truly behind him as he sets the foundation for a dominant off season of testing that will be mirrored in his title chase in 2010.
“We’ve been fastest in every session so far so we have to be pleased with that and the fact we were able to do most of the lap times we did on a race tyre today is a good sign,” Stoner explained.
“I felt pretty comfortable out there but one of the softer rear tyres pushed the front that bit harder and it folded on me in four or five corners. It’s a shame because potentially we could have gone that bit quicker but I can’t complain. We’re on pole position again, in good shape for the race tomorrow and looking forward to it. Hopefully the weather holds out because it would be nice for everybody to end the season with a good race.”
Dani Pedros on his Repsol Honda was second quickest – nearly three tenths of a second off Stoner’s, 1:32.256 lap – with fellow Spaniard Jorge Lorenzo (Fiat Yamaha) rounding out the front row.
Newly crowned World Champion, Valentino Rossi heads the front row just ahead of fellow Yamaha rider Colin Edwards and Nicky Hayden (Ducati) continuing his late season resurgence. Hayden has shown that with time there is another rider who can control the fickle beast that the Ducati is and will be a definite threat in 2010.
“We have made a lot of progress from yesterday but we have had to work hard and make huge changes to the bike,” Hayden said.” I know it’s not usually a good sign when you can’t roll something competitive out on a Friday but that’s what we’re aiming for and for the moment my team are doing a great job in the time we have available. The bike was more much enjoyable to ride today and after being fifth this morning I was hoping for the same result this afternoon because that is my worst qualifying result here at Valencia. We’ll take sixth though – it’s not my best qualifying position but from where we started the year in Qatar I think I was last on the grid and in the hospital so to end it with a second-row start is pleasing. Tomorrow is going to be a tough one as always but we’ll try to get a good start, make sure we don’t get squeezed in down in turn one and have some fun. I’m looking forward to it.”
Ben Spies who is treating this weekend as a test on the MotoGP Yamaha after winning the Superbike World Championship demonstrated to the world that he will be another threat this year, qualifying ninth fastest nearly half a second in front of the man he will replace James Toseland who is back in 14th spot.
The battle mid pack is shaping as a corker as between Edwards in fifth and Alex De Angelis (Gresini Honda) in 12th there is less than 0.8 second.
The disappointment of the weekend would surely have to be Chris Vermeulen who has posted his worst qualifying performance of his MotoGP career when he qualified in 18th and last place. He has been suffering from a severe dose of flu that has seen the Queenslander coughing and sneezing in his helmet while trying to qualify. Valencia is such a tight and technically demanding track that you have to be right on the ball to extract the best form the bike.
As predicted on dailybike.com on Friday it will be a battle between the Aussie and the diminutive Pedrosa as the pair have been the dominate pair at Valencia in recent years sharing the top spots in the last two years but there will be plenty of attention from the FIAT Yamaha’s of Lorenzo and Rossi. Lorenzo has stated that he is more interested in securing second in the championship than going for the win but once the lights go out expect to see something different. Rossi on the other hand hasn’t got anything to lose and seeing he hasn’t won at Valencia since 2004 will be keen to make amends.
1 Casey Stoner Ducati MotoGP 1:32.256
2 Dani Pedrosa Honda HRC 1:32.519
3 Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha Factory 1:32.537
4 Valentino Rossi Yamaha Factory 1:32.922
5 Colin Edwards Yamaha Tech3 1:33.085
6 Nicky Hayden Ducati MotoGP 1:33.154
7 Randy De Puniet Honda LCR 1:33.391
8 Toni Elias Honda Gresini 1:33.475
9 Ben Spies Yamaha MotoGP 1:33.539
10 Andrea Dovizioso Honda HRC 1:33.678
11 Mika Kallio Ducati Pramac 1:33.809
12 Alex De Angelis Honda Gresini 1:33.844
13 Loris Capirossi Suzuki MotoGP 1:34.097
14 James Toseland Yamaha Tech3 1:34.107
15 Marco Melandri Hayate Racing 1:34.188
16 Aleix Espargaro Ducati 1:34.308
17 Gabor Talmacsi Honda Scot 1:34.357
18 Chris Vermeulen Suzuki MotoGP 1:34.537
- Bracksy
Tags: Ben Spies, Casey Stoner, Lorenzo, MotoGP, Pedrosa, qualifying, Rossi, Valencia
