Casey Stoner sets the fastest MotoGP time at Montmeló
The Australian showed no mercy and dominated on the soft tyres. Stoner will start from pole position with Lorenzo and Crutchlow alongside him
The reigning world champion in the category, Australian Casey Stoner was the fastest in the timed practice sessions held in the MotoGP category at the Catalunya circuit. Stoner used the soft tyre to set a stratospheric time of 1:41.295.
The Australian rider knew that the soft tyre gave him extra grip to achieve that extra time and take pole for this Grand Prix. In second place will be the Mallorcan Jorge Lorenzo, who finished just 0.146 thousandths behind him. Alongside them on the front row is the Briton Cal Crutchlow with the satellite Yamaha.
The other Yamaha factory rider, Ben Spies, finished 4th, improving on his recent results, which have not been going his way much. Dani Pedrosa was 5th, having slipped in while searching for his fast lap and unable to make use of the performance of his last set of soft tyres. The first CRT was Randy de Puniet, who beat Colin Edwards, returning after the collarbone fracture he suffered at Estoril. The Frenchman finished 13th.
The rest of the Spanish riders, behind Lorenzo and Pedrosa, did not stand out as they did during the free practice sessions. Álvaro Bautista was 10th, Héctor Barberá 11th, Aleix Espargaró 15th, and the rider who closed the classification was Iván Silva, who had many problems with his BQR, finishing 21st.
Statements from Casey Stoner:
It was like any other practice session, since we could not try what we wanted, even though it was qualifying. What we have been looking for is to reduce the chatter, and when we achieved that we fitted the soft tyre. This means we are going to be very strong tomorrow.
Statements from Jorge Lorenzo:
It was very hot, but in qualifying we gave everything despite losing performance. On my first attempt at a fast lap I went off, but then I pushed hard to at least secure the front row.
Statements from Cal Crutchlow:
It was all very close. We had very tough conditions to work in. If the weather stays like this, we hope to be among the best of the private bikes tomorrow.
Photos | motogp.com
