Ben Spies will start a MotoGP race from pole position for the first time on Sunday after he laid down a fantastic hot lap in qualifying for the Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix. The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 rookie posted a best time of 1’40.105 on his final flying lap to delight the home crowd and mark another highlight in what has already been an eventful weekend following confirmation of his factory ride for 2011. The Texan celebrates a first pole after already having tasted podium champagne at Silverstone in June in what is quickly becoming an impressive debut season in the premier class of motorcycle racing.

Spies was 0.220s quicker than Championship leader and last year’s race winner Jorge Lorenzo who took his Fiat Yamaha M1 machine round in the second fastest time, and there was further joy for the American fans as Nicky Hayden took his first Ducati front-row place with third. Hayden was just a hundredth of a second behind Lorenzo on the timesheet in a typically action-packed and frantic hour-long session.

Riders who were quick in the morning session found the going tough as the temperature soared and grip levels decreased, with Andrea Dovizioso holding top spot briefly before his best time of 1’40.559 eventually placed him fourth on the starting grid, with his Repsol Honda team-mate Dani Pedrosa fifth just under eight-hundredths further back. A visibly frustrated Casey Stoner, who had been fastest in both free practice sessions, could only qualify in sixth as he lapped 0.559s off the pace of Spies on his Ducati Desmosedici GP10.

The third row will be headed up by Valentino Rossi (Fiat Yamaha) with the Italian left bewildered but uninjured when he fell at turn six with little over five minutes to go – his second fall of the day following an earlier one in practice. The reigning World Champion has struggled to match the speed of the front-runners this weekend and will hope to find some improvements with his crew overnight.

Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini) also had a crash in the final stages of the session but managed to secure eighth place, equalling his best qualification so far this season, with Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) and Loris Capirossi (Rizla Suzuki) completing the top ten.

Hiroshi Aoyama (Interwetten Honda MotoGP Team) was 13th in his first qualifying practice since returning from injury, whilst Aleix Espargaró (Pramac Racing) had a fall at turn 13 and subsequently qualified in 14th.

1 11 Ben SPIES USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1′40.105
2 99 Jorge LORENZO SPA Fiat Yamaha Team 1′40.325
3 69 Nicky HAYDEN USA Ducati Team 1′40.336
4 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Repsol Honda Team 1′40.559
5 26 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team 1′40.637
6 27 Casey STONER AUS Ducati Team 1′40.664
7 46 Valentino ROSSI ITA Fiat Yamaha Team 1′41.005
8 58 Marco SIMONCELLI ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini 1′41.092
9 5 Colin EDWARDS USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1′41.232
10 65 Loris CAPIROSSI ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1′41.512
11 19 Alvaro BAUTISTA SPA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1′41.534
12 33 Marco MELANDRI ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini 1′41.623
13 7 Hiroshi AOYAMA JPN Interwetten Honda MotoGP 1′41.631
14 41 Aleix ESPARGARO SPA Pramac Racing Team 1′41.649
15 36 Mika KALLIO FIN Pramac Racing Team 1′41.856
16 40 Hector BARBERA SPA Paginas Amarillas Aspar 1′41.896
17 14 Randy DE PUNIET FRA LCR Honda MotoGP 1′41.923

www.motogp.com

Dani Pedrosa will start the Cardion ab Grand Prix České republiky from pole position on Sunday after a fantastic qualifying effort at Brno. The Repsol Honda rider’s best lap of 1’56.508 delivered his third pole of the season and placed him just over three-tenths of a second clear at the top of the timesheet in a session that had a dramatic climax.

American rookie Ben Spies had looked to be on course for a sensational first ever MotoGP pole when he assumed the lead time with only a few minutes remaining. The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 rookie will not be disappointed with second spot on the grid next to Pedrosa however as he starts a premier class race from the front row for the first time.

Championship leader Jorge Lorenzo will attempt to achieve his seventh win of the campaign from the final front-row spot having qualified at 0.357s off Pedrosa’s pace. However, the Fiat Yamaha rider had a fall right at the end of the hour-long session when pushing through turn 11, a crash which thankfully left him unharmed, however his confidence may well have taken a slight knock.

Casey Stoner was not satisfied with his Ducati Team machine as he struggled with traction on corner exit, but a determined final push at the end of the session placed the Australian fourth and he and his team will work hard overnight to correct the rear grip issues he appeared to be having. Valentino Rossi (Fiat Yamaha), at just over half a second off pole, will start from fifth and the reigning World Champion was extremely frustrated to have a fall at turn 13 just moments after Lorenzo went down.

Pedrosa’s Repsol Honda team-mate Andrea Dovizioso will complete the second row after taking his factory RC212V round in the sixth best time. The third row comprises Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech 3), Nicky Hayden (Ducati Team) and rookie Héctor Barberá (Páginas Amarillas Aspar), with Loris Capirossi (Rizla Suzuki) tenth. Randy de Puniet (LCR Honda) will start from 11th on his return from injury.

Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini Team) had a fall inside the opening ten minutes but returned to the track to qualify 12th, whilst Hayden had a crash at turn three with 15 minutes remaining and suffered a chipped radius in his left forearm, however he will be fit to race. Absent from the session was Álvaro Bautista (Rizla Suzuki) following his crash in the morning practice, and a decision on his participation in the race will be made on Sunday morning.

1 26 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team 1′56.508
2 11 Ben SPIES USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1′56.846
3 99 Jorge LORENZO SPA Fiat Yamaha Team 1′56.865
4 27 Casey STONER AUS Ducati Team 1′56.868
5 46 Valentino ROSSI ITA Fiat Yamaha Team 1′57.059
6 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Repsol Honda Team 1′57.117
7 5 Colin EDWARDS USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1′57.222
8 69 Nicky HAYDEN USA Ducati Team 1′57.635
9 40 Hector BARBERA SPA Paginas Amarillas Aspar 1′57.960
10 65 Loris CAPIROSSI ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1′57.981
11 14 Randy DE PUNIET FRA LCR Honda MotoGP 1′58.089
12 58 Marco SIMONCELLI ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini 1′58.169
13 36 Mika KALLIO FIN Pramac Racing Team 1′58.182
14 33 Marco MELANDRI ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini 1′58.430
15 15 Alex DE ANGELIS RSM Interwetten Honda MotoGP 1′58.522
16 41 Aleix ESPARGARO SPA Pramac Racing Team 1′58.700
- – 19 Alvaro BAUTISTA SPA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki

Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha Sterilgarda) took a home pole position at Silverstone, with a new best lap of 2′04.091. He held off the charge of Jonathan Rea (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) by 0.672 seconds, and Michel Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox) by 0.992 seconds. Jakub Smrz (Pata B&G) moved forward impressively with some great single laps to go fourth on the grid. Smrz beat both of the official factory Aprilia machines and was one place up on championship challenger Leon Haslam (Suzuki Alstare).

Max Biaggi (Aprilia Alitalia) went sixth fastest starting from the same row as his big championship rival Haslam. Troy Corser was eighth after running wide on his fast lap, and finished seventh for BMW Motorrad Motorsport, one place up on his team-mate Ruben Xaus.

Shane Byrne (Ducati Althea) was the last rider to miss the cut into Superpole three, and now starts ninth at his home round. Carlos Checa, his team-mate, made the top ten after looking good for a front row start at one stage. Sylvain Guintoli (Alstare Suzuki) was 11th, James Toseland 12th after falling when looking set for a better placing.

A strong ride from Tom Sykes put his Kawasaki Racing Team machine on the front of the fourth row, ahead of privateer Lorenzo Lanzi (DFX Corse Ducati), Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox) and Leon Camier (Aprilia Alitalia), who had his best time deleted for cutting the chicane.

Wild card rider Josh Brookes (HM Plant Honda) was 17th in Superpole, Max Neukirchner (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) was 18th, Broc Parkes (ECHO CRS Honda) 19th but Luca Scassa did not set a lap in Superpole, starting from 20th place on his Supersonic Racing Team Ducati.

Cal Crutchlow: “It’s nice to have pole again, especially here at the home race. My lap time was good, I was absolutely desperate to do 2.03, that was the target and the whole team were pumping me up to try and do it, but I made a little mistake coming out of one of the fast left handers and it wasn’t to be. We’re in the same boat as Brno, where we had a big gap in qualifying, but the bike’s hard to ride over a race distance and we know that’s going to be the case tomorrow.”

Jonathan Rea: “It’s been a great start to the weekend, front row you can’t ask for much more for the race. It was a great time but Cal was a bit too fast for me. I’m enjoying riding the bike, it’s a lot of fun and these 18 laps will surely go by quite fast compared to my Suzuka adventures. I need to pull the pin quite early, but I’m pretty confident. The new Silverstone is awesome, a little bit bumpy but the layout is phenomenal.”

Michel Fabrizio: “I am very happy with my form today, and I want to dedicate the result to all of my team. Let’s hope things will go even better tomorrow. My race pace is not bad at all, but I think Cal’s is a bit quicker than mine.”

1 35 Crutchlow C. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 2′04.091
2 65 Rea J. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 2′04.763
3 84 Fabrizio M. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 2′05.083
4 96 Smrz J. (CZE) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 2′05.168
5 91 Haslam L. (GBR) Suzuki GSX-R1000 2′05.595
6 3 Biaggi M. (ITA) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 2′05.682
7 11 Corser T. (AUS) BMW S1000 RR 2′05.740
8 111 Xaus R. (ESP) BMW S1000 RR 2′06.787
9 67 Byrne S. (GBR) Ducati 1098R 2′05.026
10 7 Checa C. (ESP) Ducati 1098R 2′05.035
11 50 Guintoli S. (FRA) Suzuki GSX-R1000 2′05.066
12 52 Toseland J. (GBR) Yamaha YZF R1 2′05.397
13 66 Sykes T. (GBR) Kawasaki ZX 10R 2′05.564
14 57 Lanzi L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 2′05.903
15 41 Haga N. (JPN) Ducati 1098R 2′06.425
16 2 Camier L. (GBR) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 2′10.663
17 25 Brookes J. (AUS) Honda CBR1000RR 2′06.271
18 76 Neukirchner M. (GER) Honda CBR1000RR 2′07.041
19 23 Parkes B. (AUS) Honda CBR1000RR 2′07.636
20 99 Scassa L. (ITA) Ducati 1098R 2′07.042
21 95 Hayden R. (USA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 2′07.677
22 8 Kiyonari R. (JPN) Honda CBR1000RR 2′08.689
23 15 Baiocco M. (ITA) Kawasaki ZX 10R 2′10.431
24 46 Bridewell T. (GBR) Honda CBR1000RR 2′11.057
25 87 Yanagawa A. (JPN) Kawasaki ZX 10R 2′11.230

www.worldsbk.com

Jorge Lorenzo took his fifth consecutive pole position of the campaign on Saturday with a fantastic display in qualifying at Laguna Seca, in which he and Casey Stoner battled to the very end for top spot on the starting grid. The World Championship leader won a marvellous contest with the Australian for pole at the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix, with a blistering late lap of 1’20.978 to take his 40th career pole.

A satisfied Lorenzo commented, “It is an impressive achievement to take five poles in a row but it was hard. It’s not so important to get pole position, but it is better to make it. Casey set some very quick lap times and I didn’t know if I was going to make it. I did one lap which wasn’t fast enough and I just thought to myself to push even harder one more time and I did it.”

Ducati’s Stoner had competed with Lorenzo and his Yamaha for the latter half of the session and led for much of it, his time of 1’21.169 the best of a consistent set of fast laps. The Australian looked to be on the verge of his second pole of the season but eventually ended the session 0.191s off the Spaniard. The battle for victory at the Californian track at 2pm local time tomorrow afternoon looks certain to feature the two rivals.

Securing third spot on the grid and taking his first ever front-row start in the MotoGP class, Repsol Honda’s Andrea Dovizioso was a fraction over six-tenths off Lorenzo’s marker, thus underlining the level to which the top two had pushed one another. The Italian set his best time on his 36th and final lap.

Heading up the second row, which was separated by 0.071s, will be last year’s race winner Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda), who was just under four-hundredths off his team-mate. Monster Yamaha Tech 3 rider Ben Spies was impressive once more and will go for home glory from fifth after his final lap slotted him in front of Valentino Rossi, as the reigning World Champion secured sixth, repeating his position from both free practice sessions as he continues his recovery from a broken leg.

The top ten was completed by American duo Nicky Hayden (Ducati Team) and Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech3), and rookies Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini Team) and Héctor Barberá (Páginas Amarillas Aspar).

Mika Kallio (Pramac Racing) had a crash at the top of the corkscrew at the very end of the session, following his fall in the morning practice, and Roger Lee Hayden (LCR Honda) had a run off at the same spot and another at turn nine in a complicated session for the stand-in.

1 99 Jorge LORENZO SPA Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 1′20.978
2 27 Casey STONER AUS Ducati Team Ducati 1′21.169
3 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Repsol Honda Team Honda 1′21.617
4 26 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 1′21.655
5 11 Ben SPIES USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 1′21.679
6 46 Valentino ROSSI ITA Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 1′21.688
7 69 Nicky HAYDEN USA Ducati Team Ducati 1′21.920
8 5 Colin EDWARDS USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 1′22.217
9 58 Marco SIMONCELLI ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 1′22.300
10 40 Hector BARBERA SPA Paginas Amarillas Aspar Ducati 1′22.366
11 33 Marco MELANDRI ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 1′22.407
12 65 Loris CAPIROSSI ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 1′22.647
13 41 Aleix ESPARGARO SPA Pramac Racing Team Ducati 1′22.712
14 19 Alvaro BAUTISTA SPA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 1′22.770
15 36 Mika KALLIO FIN Pramac Racing Team Ducati 1′23.127
16 15 Alex DE ANGELIS RSM Interwetten Honda MotoGP Honda 1′23.226
17 95 Roger Lee HAYDEN USA LCR Honda MotoGP Honda 1′23.764

www.motogp.com

Jorge Lorenzo took his fourth consecutive pole of the 2010 MotoGP campaign with the top time in qualifying for the eni Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland. The Championship leader had a dramatic session, in which an oil spill from his Yamaha M1 resulted in the session being halted after crashes for Ben Spies and Randy de Puniet, but he went on to ensure he will go for a fourth straight win from top spot on the grid on Sunday, with a fastest lap of 1’21.817.

Casey Stoner (Ducati Team) will launch his challenge for a first victory of the season from second place with Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda) will also be on the front row as he was the third and final rider under the 1’22” mark.

Stoner was looking on course to steal pole from Lorenzo until he found Colin Edwards in his path going into the final corner and as he hesitated deciding whether to pass or not he lost crucial time and eventually finished just 0.024s behind Lorenzo.

Pedrosa’s Repsol Honda team-mate Andrea Dovizioso heads up the second row as he followed three-tenths behind the Spaniard, whilst Valentino Rossi will start his first race back from his enforced break from racing in fifth spot. Having made a miraculous recovery from a broken leg at his home round in Mugello, the reigning World Champion ended up 0.578s off the pace of his Fiat Yamaha collegue Lorenzo. Héctor Barberá (Páginas Amarillas Aspar) will be alongside after he achieved his best premier class qualification to date with sixth.

The session was red-flagged with 25 minutes remaining as Lorenzo’s M1 started to spill oil, and flames then began to pour out of the side of the Spaniard’s bike as he approached turn one before he managed to pull off the track. Following behind, Spies (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) fell in the split oil, as did De Puniet (LCR Honda) and the Frenchman collided with Spies’ stationary bike as he slid off.

De Puniet went for X-rays on his right leg in the medical centre, which confirmed no breaks, and he will be hopeful of taking his seventh spot on the grid having started 189 consecutive races since 1999.

Riding as a replacement for Hiroshi Aoyama, Alex de Angelis (Interwetten Honda MotoGP) had a crash towards the end of the session and was uninjured. He will start from last place on the grid in seventeenth, whilst compatriot Loris Capirossi (Rizla Suzuki) had a run-off late on but will start fourteenth.

2010 MotoGP Sachsenring qualifying

1 99 Jorge LORENZO SPA Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 1′21.817
2 27 Casey STONER AUS Ducati Team Ducati 279.7 1′21.841
3 26 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 1′21.948
4 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Repsol Honda Team Honda 1′22.263
5 46 Valentino ROSSI ITA Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 1′22.395
6 40 Hector BARBERA SPA Paginas Amarillas Aspar Ducati 1′22.454
7 14 Randy DE PUNIET FRA LCR Honda MotoGP Honda 1′22.610
8 58 Marco SIMONCELLI ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 1′22.624
9 41 Aleix ESPARGARO SPA Pramac Racing Team Ducati 1′22.910
10 33 Marco MELANDRI ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 1′22.917
11 36 Mika KALLIO FIN Pramac Racing Team Ducati 1′22.961
12 5 Colin EDWARDS USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 1′23.026
13 11 Ben SPIES USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 1′23.028
14 65 Loris CAPIROSSI ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 1′23.040
15 69 Nicky HAYDEN USA Ducati Team Ducati 1′23.090
16 19 Alvaro BAUTISTA SPA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 1′23.193
17 15 Alex DE ANGELIS RSM Interwetten Honda MotoGP Honda 1′23.515

www.motogp.com

Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha Sterilgarda) saved his best for last to take a new track best and head up Superpole qualifying, his fourth pre-race ‘win’ of the 2010 season. Crutchlow was over 0.7 seconds faster than the next best rider, and in nine Superpoles this year, he has the best individual record. Behind him, Max Biaggi (Aprilia Alitalia) was second at his favourite circuit on the calendar, as he prepares to go out tomorrow and defend a 37-point championship lead. A resurgent Jonathan Rea (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda) was a positive third, as he rebuilds from some less than satisfying recent results. Ruben Xaus (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) finished an impressive fourth, earning himself a front row start. He had crashed heavily here last year but today’s result wiped out many memories of his 2009 misfortune.

Xaus’s BMW being fourth means that there are four different machines on the front row, and with Sylvain Guintoli (Suzuki Alstare) and Luca Scassa (Supersonic Ducati) fifth and sixth restively, there are six different bikes in the top six grid slots. Scassa, a privateer, was top Ducati rider of any kind, with Ducati Xerox factory pilot Michel Fabrizio one place behind. Carlos Checa (Althea Ducati) will start from row two, taking eighth place as the last rider home in the final Superpole session. Lorenzo Lanzi (DFX Corse Ducati) just missed the final eight places of Superpole three, with James Toseland (Yamaha Sterilgarda) tenth. Max Neukirchner went 11th for Hannspree Ten Kate Honda and Tom Sykes ended a fruitful day 12th and on the third row for the Kawasaki Racing Team. Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox) crashed in two Superpole sessions, and now starts from the fourth row; championship contender Leon Haslam (Suzuki Alstare) is only one place ahead of him.

Cal Crutchlow: “I definitely hoped to be here and I’d rather give away a pole for a race win, but you’ve got to take them when you can. I enjoyed that, it was a good session for us. Most of the sessions have been strong and my Yamaha is working well. Max is hard to beat in the championship and especially round here. I can see a big battle tomorrow, maybe ten guys at least at the start. I thought I could have got into the 57s because I was riding very deep into the corners, and I actually had another qualifier left but I’m happy with that.”

Max Biaggi: “A first row result is good for me, but compared to last year’s race we’ve got a lot more work to do this weekend. Something we changed on the bike makes it a bit different so it’s not the same feeling. It’s better in other tracks but here we’ve got some difficulties. It’s getting a little bit better, the bike is not where I want, but I’m happy with my pace. We’ll see tomorrow.”

Jonathan Rea: “It is hot out there, but there’s a lot of breeze so it’s not too bad. I actually didn’t really know where to go after Superpole because I haven’t been in the top 3 for some time. I’d just like to thank all of my team, our package isn’t perfect but what we do have in the Ten Kate garage is a really hard work ethic and we’re trying. Hopefully we can get away good tomorrow and try and stay with these two guys as long as we can. I’ve got nothing to lose!”

Ruben Xaus: “First of all I’d like to give my best to Troy and hope he recovers as soon as possible because when two riders are on the team on fire, they go ahead. We did a good job today, the bike is now working well, we made a big step in Imola and physically I’m not feeling perfect but I was able to ride fast.”

Results next page.

Jorge Lorenzo put in a strong run at the end of qualifying to take pole position for Sunday’s Gran Premi Aperol de Catalunya at Montmeló, coming out on top in an hour-long battle for supremacy in the session. The Fiat Yamaha rider’s best time of 1’42.046 ended up placing him 0.364s clear, but only after top spot had changed hands a number of times.

Lorenzo commented, “I’m really happy with this third pole position, it seems we’re doing a very good job and it’s very special to get it at my home round. It was a hard session but finally I was able to do some quick laps at the end with the soft tyre. It is so hot here and I think it’s easy to say that tomorrow will be the hardest race so far this season.”

Second position was Casey Stoner’s after the Ducati rider overcame what was a clear dissatisfaction with his bike to move up several places on his 19th of 21 laps. The Australian did snatch first spot with his time of 1’42.410, but only momentarily as Lorenzo hit back with his penultimate lap.

Completing the front row after another superb qualifying practice will be Randy de Puniet, and the LCR Honda rider’s consistency throughout the session was impressive. The Frenchman led until ten minutes before the end when the battle heated up, eventually lapping a tiny 0.102s behind Stoner to make it three front-row starts in succession.

Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa also made a late surge and he sat on the provisional front row for a few minutes before eventually finishing fourth, just eight hundredths of a second off De Puniet in a breathless final few laps. Ben Spies also made a charge at the end of the session and improved his standing considerably, the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 rider following up impressive work on his first viewing of the Catalunya circuit in free practice with fifth place on the starting grid.

Andrea Dovizioso completed the second row as he took his Repsol Honda round in the sixth best time. Loris Capirossi will have been pleased with the marked improvement on the GSV-R of the Rizla Suzuki team as he placed seventh, with rookies Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini) and Álvaro Bautista (Rizla Suzuki) also taking third row places.Bautista had been as high as fourth midway through the session but still took his best qualification so far this season.

Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech3) and Nicky Hayden (Ducati Team) were 10th and 11th respectively as they were bumped down the order in the latter stages. Their positions reflected a penalty applied to Aleix Espargaró (Pramac Ducati), who originally was classified eighth but had his fastest lap cancelled after having cut the corner between turns one and two.

The Gran Premi Aperol de Catalunya MotoGP race gets underway at 2pm local time on Sunday.

1 99 Jorge LORENZO SPA Fiat Yamaha Team 1′42.046
2 27 Casey STONER AUS Ducati Team 1′42.410
3 14 Randy DE PUNIET FRA LCR Honda MotoGP 1′42.512
4 26 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team 1′42.592
5 11 Ben SPIES USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1′42.710
6 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Repsol Honda Team 1′42.866
7 65 Loris CAPIROSSI ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1′42.903
8 58 Marco SIMONCELLI ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini 1′42.994
9 19 Alvaro BAUTISTA SPA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP 1′43.025
10 5 Colin EDWARDS USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1′43.059
11 69 Nicky HAYDEN USA Ducati Team 1′43.068
12 41 Aleix ESPARGARO SPA Pramac Racing Team 1′43.380
13 40 Hector BARBERA SPA Paginas Amarillas Aspar 1′43.417
14 33 Marco MELANDRI ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini 1′43.621
15 36 Mika KALLIO FIN Pramac Racing Team 1′43.685
16 64 Kousuke AKIYOSHI JPN Interwetten Honda MotoGP 1′45.577
17 8 Wataru YOSHIKAWA JPN Fiat Yamaha Team 1′45.759

www.motogp.com

Troy Corser (BMW Motorrad Motorsport) posted a brilliant 1 minute 35.001 seconds to take the new track best lap and BMW’s first ever Superpole win. In doing so he extended his own record of pole wins in WSBK racing to 43 and he did it in some style, finishing half a second clear of his nearest rival. Second on the grid for Sunday’s races will be championship leader Max Biaggi (Aprilia Alitalia) who was surprised and delighted to be so far forward at a circuit like Misano. Third went to Michel Fabrizio (Ducati Xerox) and fourth to the charging Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha Sterilgarda). BMW, Aprilia, Ducati and Yamaha machines share the front row places, after the usual close competition for grid places in a class with seven competing manufacturers.

Carlos Checa (Althea Ducati) was not able to get into contention with Corser and Biaggi in the final Superpole contest and went fifth, but Sylvain Guintoli overcame the result of an earlier qualifying collision with Corser to put his Alstare Suzuki sixth on the grid. Leon Haslam, second in the championship, took his Alstare Suzuki machine to seventh place in a tough Superpole for man and machine.

Luca Scassa (Supersonic Racing Ducati) put in another great performance for a privateer rider as he posted a top eight time; he now starts Sunday’s races as last man on row two. Noriyuki Haga (Ducati Xerox) battled hard to go ninth, just missing the final Superpole knockout session; Pata B&G Ducati privateer Jakub Smrz was tenth. James Toseland (Yamaha Sterilgarda) struggled in qualifying and Superpole and thus went 13th fastest, joined by fellow British riders Leon Camier (Aprilia Alitalia), Shane Byrne (Althea Ducati) and Jonathan Rea (Hannspree Ten Kate Honda). Once again Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) was top Kawasaki rider, 18th, while his team-mate Chris Vermeulen was 21st fastest.

Troy Corser: “I don’t know who’s older, Max or me but here we are! I’m very happy with what we did today, it’s been a long time since I was on pole, but the team has put in a lot of work since Miller and this is a really good result. I am happy with the set-up of the bike, it’s easier to ride and it has a more balanced position. It was very hot this afternoon and the surface was a bit more slippery but it is the same for everybody. If we get a good start tomorrow I will go from the front and see what happens.”

Max Biaggi: “I’m very satisfied with this result which, to be quite honest, I didn’t even really expect. This is a track where it is very difficult to overtake, so starting up front was important. I’m quite pleased. In the last lap I gave it my all and was very quick, but what counts now is being strong for the entire race. There are a lot of riders here, not only Troy, who are capable of making very fast laps and they showed that today as well, so we’ll have to try to stick close to the leaders.

Michel Fabrizio: “It is very important to start on the front row of the grid here in Misano, where I have never really gone very well. I made a little mistake on the final lap when I saw the chequered flag a little bit too late to put in anything extra. In tomorrow’s races the early laps are going to be difficult, I don’t want to be controversial because once again we’re missing a bit in engine power with respect to the fours, but we’ll see how it goes.”

Cal Crutchlow: “Testing here went OK, but we’d like to have some new parts because now we’ve come here to race we’re doing the same pace as in all the tests with the same set-up. We do need to find something extra because everyone else is going really well here, but in any case congratulations to Corser and I’m satisfied to be on the front row for tomorrow’s races.”

Results next page.