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I would like to see Ben win too, then Lorenzo and Casey a bit far to spice up the season (and because I like Lorenzo as well).
2011 Grand Prix motorcycle racing
- Thread starter Jay Adgie
- Start date
Yup if possible Lorenzo ahead Stoner, so let's hope a double from Yamaha, since Ducati can't find the solution to be between the leading group, i like Hayden but is impossible to see Ducati's on podium, so go Spies and Lorenzo aswell (= to beat the Super Honda this year. -.-
Stoner cruises to 30th MotoGP win
By Liam Marsden -mcn
28 August 2011 19:47
Repsol Honda rider Casey Stoner cruised to his 30th victory in the MotoGP class at Indianapolis, setting a new lap record on the way.
Team-mate Dani Pedrosa got the best start and led for a handful of laps before Stoner overtook him on the start/finish straight. Both Pedrosa and Stoner opened up a comfortable lead from the following riders, with Pedrosa making it two Repsol Honda's on the podium in second place.
Spies, who qualified second, got a terrible start and was back down to 10th going into turn five, but the Texan rode an excellent race to claw his way back up to third place at his home grand prix, overtaking team-mate and reigning champion Jorge Lorenzo on the way, relegating him to fourth position.
Most of the Ducati rider's struggled during the race, with both Loris Capirossi and Karel Abraham retiring mid-way through the race. Factory rider's Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden both came into the pits but rejoined the race, finishing 10th and 14th respectively.
Hayden got an excellent start and looked like he could challenge for a podium finish at one point, but problems with his Ducati saw him move rapidly back down the field.
It was a similar story for LCR Honda rider Marco Simoncelli, who was in third place at one stage, but after making a mistake on the exit of the final turn and allowing Lorenzo to retake third, his pace started to drop and he eventually finished 12th
Top Ducati was Randy de Puniet in eighth place. Hector Barbera was set to finish in ninth place but he crashed on the final turn of the last lap and was unable to finish.
Brit Cal Crutchlow, who has struggled all weekend, finished 11th.
By Liam Marsden -mcn
28 August 2011 19:47
Repsol Honda rider Casey Stoner cruised to his 30th victory in the MotoGP class at Indianapolis, setting a new lap record on the way.
Team-mate Dani Pedrosa got the best start and led for a handful of laps before Stoner overtook him on the start/finish straight. Both Pedrosa and Stoner opened up a comfortable lead from the following riders, with Pedrosa making it two Repsol Honda's on the podium in second place.
Spies, who qualified second, got a terrible start and was back down to 10th going into turn five, but the Texan rode an excellent race to claw his way back up to third place at his home grand prix, overtaking team-mate and reigning champion Jorge Lorenzo on the way, relegating him to fourth position.
Most of the Ducati rider's struggled during the race, with both Loris Capirossi and Karel Abraham retiring mid-way through the race. Factory rider's Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden both came into the pits but rejoined the race, finishing 10th and 14th respectively.
Hayden got an excellent start and looked like he could challenge for a podium finish at one point, but problems with his Ducati saw him move rapidly back down the field.
It was a similar story for LCR Honda rider Marco Simoncelli, who was in third place at one stage, but after making a mistake on the exit of the final turn and allowing Lorenzo to retake third, his pace started to drop and he eventually finished 12th
Top Ducati was Randy de Puniet in eighth place. Hector Barbera was set to finish in ninth place but he crashed on the final turn of the last lap and was unable to finish.
Brit Cal Crutchlow, who has struggled all weekend, finished 11th.
Jorge Lorenzo fights back
By Matthew Birt - mcn
02 September 2011 14:03
Jorge Lorenzo showed why he’s not going to surrender the MotoGP world title without a fight after he topped the timesheets in practice at the end of the first day of action in Misano.The Spaniard was a lowly sixth in this morning’s first session and he was almost a second adrift of title rival Casey Stoner’s best pace on the factory Honda RC212V.
But the factory Yamaha rider was in brilliant form in this afternoon’s second 45-minute session to finish with a best time of 1.33.929.
That was over 1.2s faster than his best time this morning and he finished 0.076s clear of Aussie Stoner, who holds a commanding 44-point lead over Lorenzo going into Sunday’s 28-lap race.
Stoner was quickest this morning with a best lap of 1.34.180 and though he was marginally faster with a 1.34.005, it still wasn’t good enough to deny Lorenzo.
Stoner’s Repsol Honda team-mate Dani Pedrosa was third fastest with a best lap of 1.34.205 and home favourite Marco Simoncelli ended fourth with a 1.34.444.
American Ben Spies, who was second fastest this morning, dropped three places down the order to fifth after he was a fraction slower in the second session with a lap of 1.34.469.
Valentino Rossi endured another torrid time in front of his sun-baked home crowd and the Italian was only 11th quickest again, as he was this morning.
The nine-times world champion logged a best time of 1.35.331 on his final lap to finish over 0.4s faster than his pace in the opening session.
But he was still 1.402s behind Lorenzo with Hector Barbera finishing top Ducati rider in eighth place.
British rider Cal Crutchlow finished 15th with a best time of 1.35.622.
By Matthew Birt - mcn
02 September 2011 14:03
Jorge Lorenzo showed why he’s not going to surrender the MotoGP world title without a fight after he topped the timesheets in practice at the end of the first day of action in Misano.The Spaniard was a lowly sixth in this morning’s first session and he was almost a second adrift of title rival Casey Stoner’s best pace on the factory Honda RC212V.
But the factory Yamaha rider was in brilliant form in this afternoon’s second 45-minute session to finish with a best time of 1.33.929.
That was over 1.2s faster than his best time this morning and he finished 0.076s clear of Aussie Stoner, who holds a commanding 44-point lead over Lorenzo going into Sunday’s 28-lap race.
Stoner was quickest this morning with a best lap of 1.34.180 and though he was marginally faster with a 1.34.005, it still wasn’t good enough to deny Lorenzo.
Stoner’s Repsol Honda team-mate Dani Pedrosa was third fastest with a best lap of 1.34.205 and home favourite Marco Simoncelli ended fourth with a 1.34.444.
American Ben Spies, who was second fastest this morning, dropped three places down the order to fifth after he was a fraction slower in the second session with a lap of 1.34.469.
Valentino Rossi endured another torrid time in front of his sun-baked home crowd and the Italian was only 11th quickest again, as he was this morning.
The nine-times world champion logged a best time of 1.35.331 on his final lap to finish over 0.4s faster than his pace in the opening session.
But he was still 1.402s behind Lorenzo with Hector Barbera finishing top Ducati rider in eighth place.
British rider Cal Crutchlow finished 15th with a best time of 1.35.622.
Stoner breaks lap record to take pole
By Tom Cambio -mcn
03 September 2011 14:19
Casey Stoner (Repsol Honda) set a new motorcycle lap record at Misano to take pole position ahead of Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha Factory Racing) and team mate Dani Pedrosa.
Stoner started the qualifying battle in earnest in the final fifteen minutes by setting the fastest lap on two wheels at Misano, before going on to better it with a 1.33.138, faster than his 2008 pole record of 1.33.378.
Lorenzo upped his pace to whittle down Stoner's lead to 0.120s but was unable to beat the Australian's best lap.
In the final three minutes of the session Ben Spies (Yamaha Factory Racing) secured fourth to start ahead of Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini) in fifth and Repsol Honda rider Andrea Dovizioso, who completes the second row in sixth.
Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) rode well to start tomorrow's race from seventh on the grid, whilst team mate Cal Crutchlow endured a disappointing qualifying session, in which he was thirteenth fastest, culminating in a crash in the final thirty seconds where he lost the front end at turn ten but walked away unhurt.
Alvaro Bautista (Rizla Suzuki) will start from eighth, ahead of fastest Ducati rider Hector Barbera (Mapfre Aspar Team) in ninth.
Hiroshi Aoyama completes the top ten, whilst Rossi set a 1.34.676 on his last lap to take 11th, 1.538s behind Stoner.
1. Casey STONER Repsol Honda Team Honda 274.0 1'33.138
2. Jorge LORENZO Yamaha Factory Racing Yamaha 271.7 1'33.258 0.120 / 0.120
3. Dani PEDROSA Repsol Honda Team Honda 276.6 1'33.318 0.180 / 0.060
4. Ben SPIES Yamaha Factory Racing Yamaha 269.6 1'33.947 0.809 / 0.629
5. Marco SIMONCELLI San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 267.9 1'33.990 0.852 / 0.043
6. Andrea DOVIZIOSO Repsol Honda Team Honda 273.8 1'34.026 0.888 / 0.036
7. Colin EDWARDS Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 266.4 1'34.054 0.916 / 0.028
8. Alvaro BAUTISTA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 274.6 1'34.360 1.222 / 0.306
9. Hector BARBERA Mapfre Aspar Team MotoGP Ducati 274.7 1'34.592 1.454 / 0.232
10. Hiroshi AOYAMA San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 274.8 1'34.637 1.499 / 0.045
11. Valentino ROSSI Ducati Team Ducati 271.2 1'34.676 1.538 / 0.039
12. Karel ABRAHAM Cardion AB Motoracing Ducati 273.3 1'34.727 1.589 / 0.051
13. Cal CRUTCHLOW Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 267.7 1'34.791 1.653 / 0.064
14. Randy DE PUNIET Pramac Racing Team Ducati 268.9 1'34.870 1.732 / 0.079
15. Nicky HAYDEN Ducati Team Ducati 271.8 1'34.955 1.817 / 0.085
16. Loris CAPIROSSI Pramac Racing Team Ducati 270.7 1'35.502 2.364 / 0.547
17. Toni ELIAS SPA Honda MotoGP Honda 272.6 1'36.167 3.029 / 0.665
By Tom Cambio -mcn
03 September 2011 14:19
Casey Stoner (Repsol Honda) set a new motorcycle lap record at Misano to take pole position ahead of Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha Factory Racing) and team mate Dani Pedrosa.
Stoner started the qualifying battle in earnest in the final fifteen minutes by setting the fastest lap on two wheels at Misano, before going on to better it with a 1.33.138, faster than his 2008 pole record of 1.33.378.
Lorenzo upped his pace to whittle down Stoner's lead to 0.120s but was unable to beat the Australian's best lap.
In the final three minutes of the session Ben Spies (Yamaha Factory Racing) secured fourth to start ahead of Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini) in fifth and Repsol Honda rider Andrea Dovizioso, who completes the second row in sixth.
Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) rode well to start tomorrow's race from seventh on the grid, whilst team mate Cal Crutchlow endured a disappointing qualifying session, in which he was thirteenth fastest, culminating in a crash in the final thirty seconds where he lost the front end at turn ten but walked away unhurt.
Alvaro Bautista (Rizla Suzuki) will start from eighth, ahead of fastest Ducati rider Hector Barbera (Mapfre Aspar Team) in ninth.
Hiroshi Aoyama completes the top ten, whilst Rossi set a 1.34.676 on his last lap to take 11th, 1.538s behind Stoner.
1. Casey STONER Repsol Honda Team Honda 274.0 1'33.138
2. Jorge LORENZO Yamaha Factory Racing Yamaha 271.7 1'33.258 0.120 / 0.120
3. Dani PEDROSA Repsol Honda Team Honda 276.6 1'33.318 0.180 / 0.060
4. Ben SPIES Yamaha Factory Racing Yamaha 269.6 1'33.947 0.809 / 0.629
5. Marco SIMONCELLI San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 267.9 1'33.990 0.852 / 0.043
6. Andrea DOVIZIOSO Repsol Honda Team Honda 273.8 1'34.026 0.888 / 0.036
7. Colin EDWARDS Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 266.4 1'34.054 0.916 / 0.028
8. Alvaro BAUTISTA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 274.6 1'34.360 1.222 / 0.306
9. Hector BARBERA Mapfre Aspar Team MotoGP Ducati 274.7 1'34.592 1.454 / 0.232
10. Hiroshi AOYAMA San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 274.8 1'34.637 1.499 / 0.045
11. Valentino ROSSI Ducati Team Ducati 271.2 1'34.676 1.538 / 0.039
12. Karel ABRAHAM Cardion AB Motoracing Ducati 273.3 1'34.727 1.589 / 0.051
13. Cal CRUTCHLOW Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 267.7 1'34.791 1.653 / 0.064
14. Randy DE PUNIET Pramac Racing Team Ducati 268.9 1'34.870 1.732 / 0.079
15. Nicky HAYDEN Ducati Team Ducati 271.8 1'34.955 1.817 / 0.085
16. Loris CAPIROSSI Pramac Racing Team Ducati 270.7 1'35.502 2.364 / 0.547
17. Toni ELIAS SPA Honda MotoGP Honda 272.6 1'36.167 3.029 / 0.665
Lorenzo dominates to take victory
By Tom Cambio -mcn
04 September 2011 13:46
Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha Factory Racing) made a very strong start at Misano to lead the race from start to finish, taking the lead from Casey Stoner early in the first lap and reducing Stoner's championship lead to 35 points.
Lorenzo rode very consistently stretch a gap of just over seven seconds ahead of Repsol Honda team mates Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa, who pursued the Spaniard throughout the race but were unable to match the reigning champion's pace.
Stoner doggedly chased Lorenzo for the majority of the race, but with six laps remaining team mate Pedrosa closed the gap, moving through to take second on the following lap. Stoner was unable to fight back and had to settle for third.
Valentino Rossi capitalised on a great start, moving up from eleventh on the grid to pass Ben Spies and take fifth behind Andrea Dovizioso with Marco Simoncelli soon following suit, pushing Spies back into seventh. Rossi's team mate Nicky Hayden endured a disappointing race, crashing out on the third lap.
Simoncelli passed Rossi on the inside to take fifth before moving through to take fourth from Dovizioso. With thirteen laps remaining, Ben Spies relegated Rossi to seventh to join the battle for fourth with Dovizioso.
Monster Yamaha Tech 3 rider Cal Crutchlow passed team mate Colin Edwards at turn one with seven laps remaining to take ninth and ended the race in tenth behind Hector Barbera and Alvaro Bautista.
Spies pushed hard to keep up with Dovizioso, who had started challenging Simoncelli for fourth with three laps remaining, before edging past to take reclaim fourth. Simoncelli fought to keep pace with Dovizioso, moving back into fourth until running slightly wide and finding both Doviziso and Spied looking likely to push the Gresini rider into sixth, however Simoncelli managed to cling on to fourth and just managed to hold off Dovizioso across the line with less than 0.04s seperating the Honda riders.
1. Jorge Lorenzo SPA Yamaha Factory Racing Yamaha 160.6 44'11.877
2. Dani Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 160.2 +7.299
3. Casey Stoner AUS Repsol Honda Team Honda 159.9 +11.967
4. Marco Simoncelli ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 159.6 +17.353
5. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Repsol Honda Team Honda 159.6 +17.390
6. Ben Spies USA Yamaha Factory Racing Yamaha 159.5 +18.092
7. Valentino Rossi ITA Ducati Team Ducati 159.2 +23.703
8. Alvaro Bautista SPA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 158.8 +30.678
9. Hector Barbera SPA Mapfre Aspar Team MotoGP Ducati 158.4 +37.502
10. Cal Crutchlow GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 158.4 +37.720
11. Hiroshi Aoyama JPN San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 158.3 +39.548
12. Karel Abraham CZE Cardion AB Motoracing Ducati 158.2 +40.506
13. Colin Edwards USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 157.5 +53.349
14. Randy De Puniet FRA Pramac Racing Team Ducati 156.9 +1'02.366
15. Toni Elias SPA LCR Honda MotoGP Honda 155.9 +1'20.156
By Tom Cambio -mcn
04 September 2011 13:46
Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha Factory Racing) made a very strong start at Misano to lead the race from start to finish, taking the lead from Casey Stoner early in the first lap and reducing Stoner's championship lead to 35 points.
Lorenzo rode very consistently stretch a gap of just over seven seconds ahead of Repsol Honda team mates Casey Stoner and Dani Pedrosa, who pursued the Spaniard throughout the race but were unable to match the reigning champion's pace.
Stoner doggedly chased Lorenzo for the majority of the race, but with six laps remaining team mate Pedrosa closed the gap, moving through to take second on the following lap. Stoner was unable to fight back and had to settle for third.
Valentino Rossi capitalised on a great start, moving up from eleventh on the grid to pass Ben Spies and take fifth behind Andrea Dovizioso with Marco Simoncelli soon following suit, pushing Spies back into seventh. Rossi's team mate Nicky Hayden endured a disappointing race, crashing out on the third lap.
Simoncelli passed Rossi on the inside to take fifth before moving through to take fourth from Dovizioso. With thirteen laps remaining, Ben Spies relegated Rossi to seventh to join the battle for fourth with Dovizioso.
Monster Yamaha Tech 3 rider Cal Crutchlow passed team mate Colin Edwards at turn one with seven laps remaining to take ninth and ended the race in tenth behind Hector Barbera and Alvaro Bautista.
Spies pushed hard to keep up with Dovizioso, who had started challenging Simoncelli for fourth with three laps remaining, before edging past to take reclaim fourth. Simoncelli fought to keep pace with Dovizioso, moving back into fourth until running slightly wide and finding both Doviziso and Spied looking likely to push the Gresini rider into sixth, however Simoncelli managed to cling on to fourth and just managed to hold off Dovizioso across the line with less than 0.04s seperating the Honda riders.
1. Jorge Lorenzo SPA Yamaha Factory Racing Yamaha 160.6 44'11.877
2. Dani Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 160.2 +7.299
3. Casey Stoner AUS Repsol Honda Team Honda 159.9 +11.967
4. Marco Simoncelli ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 159.6 +17.353
5. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Repsol Honda Team Honda 159.6 +17.390
6. Ben Spies USA Yamaha Factory Racing Yamaha 159.5 +18.092
7. Valentino Rossi ITA Ducati Team Ducati 159.2 +23.703
8. Alvaro Bautista SPA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 158.8 +30.678
9. Hector Barbera SPA Mapfre Aspar Team MotoGP Ducati 158.4 +37.502
10. Cal Crutchlow GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 158.4 +37.720
11. Hiroshi Aoyama JPN San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 158.3 +39.548
12. Karel Abraham CZE Cardion AB Motoracing Ducati 158.2 +40.506
13. Colin Edwards USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 157.5 +53.349
14. Randy De Puniet FRA Pramac Racing Team Ducati 156.9 +1'02.366
15. Toni Elias SPA LCR Honda MotoGP Honda 155.9 +1'20.156
Dani Pedrosa heads first practice
By Matthew Birt - MCN
16 September 2011 10:14
Dani Pedrosa kicked off preparations for the Motorland Aragon MotoGP race in impressive fashion this morning, the Repsol Honda rider ending first free practice on top of the timesheets in hot and sunny conditions.
A final lap of 1.50.281 saw the Spaniard claim top spot from compatriot and reigning world champion Jorge Lorenzo by 0.449s.
Lorenzo held onto second by 0.076s from title rival Casey Stoner in third after he clocked a best time of 1.50.730 on the factory Yamaha YZR-M1.
Stoner, who won the inaugural Aragon clash a year ago for Ducati, had dominated for the majority of the session but he was third and his best time of 1.50.806 was 0.525s behind team-mate Pedrosa.
Marco Simoncelli, Andrea Dovizioso and Randy de Puniet completed the top six with Valentino Rossi ending the 45-minute session in eighth position.
All eyes were on Italian Rossi once again as he made his first public appearance on Ducati’s latest radically revamped Desmosedici machine.
Rossi’s bike features a new aluminium chassis instead of the previous carbon fibre version, with the nine-times world champion searching to improve an understeer and vague front-end feeling issue with the Ducati.
The latest modification is the second major re-design of the bike in three months and Rossi logged a personal best of 1.51.676 to finish 1.395s behind Pedrosa.
He was actually the third fastest Ducati rider behind de Puniet and team-mate Nicky Hayden, with the trio all on different spec machinery.
French rider de Puniet is riding the GP11 that Rossi started the season on, Hayden is on the GP11.1 that was rolled out in Assen, while Rossi is on the latest spec model with the aluminium frame.
Rossi was 0.258s slower than Hayden this morning.
It was a tough first session for British rider Cal Crutchlow, who had an early off-track excursion while he tried to get to grips with the track he’d only ever seen on TV before.
The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team rider ended with a best time of 1.52.580 to finish in 14th place. He was 2.299s adrift of Pedrosa.
By Matthew Birt - MCN
16 September 2011 10:14
Dani Pedrosa kicked off preparations for the Motorland Aragon MotoGP race in impressive fashion this morning, the Repsol Honda rider ending first free practice on top of the timesheets in hot and sunny conditions.
A final lap of 1.50.281 saw the Spaniard claim top spot from compatriot and reigning world champion Jorge Lorenzo by 0.449s.
Lorenzo held onto second by 0.076s from title rival Casey Stoner in third after he clocked a best time of 1.50.730 on the factory Yamaha YZR-M1.
Stoner, who won the inaugural Aragon clash a year ago for Ducati, had dominated for the majority of the session but he was third and his best time of 1.50.806 was 0.525s behind team-mate Pedrosa.
Marco Simoncelli, Andrea Dovizioso and Randy de Puniet completed the top six with Valentino Rossi ending the 45-minute session in eighth position.
All eyes were on Italian Rossi once again as he made his first public appearance on Ducati’s latest radically revamped Desmosedici machine.
Rossi’s bike features a new aluminium chassis instead of the previous carbon fibre version, with the nine-times world champion searching to improve an understeer and vague front-end feeling issue with the Ducati.
The latest modification is the second major re-design of the bike in three months and Rossi logged a personal best of 1.51.676 to finish 1.395s behind Pedrosa.
He was actually the third fastest Ducati rider behind de Puniet and team-mate Nicky Hayden, with the trio all on different spec machinery.
French rider de Puniet is riding the GP11 that Rossi started the season on, Hayden is on the GP11.1 that was rolled out in Assen, while Rossi is on the latest spec model with the aluminium frame.
Rossi was 0.258s slower than Hayden this morning.
It was a tough first session for British rider Cal Crutchlow, who had an early off-track excursion while he tried to get to grips with the track he’d only ever seen on TV before.
The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Team rider ended with a best time of 1.52.580 to finish in 14th place. He was 2.299s adrift of Pedrosa.
Stoner storms to pole despite crash
By Liam Marsden -MCN
17 September 2011 13:57
Repsol Honda rider Casey Stoner starts from pole for tomorrow's race at the Motorland Aragon circuit despite crashing his number one bike.
Stoner had just set his best lap of the session with 15 minutes to go when he had to lay his bike down in the gravel to avoid hitting the wall. This unfazed the Aussie, who went straight out on his spare bike and improved his lap time.
Team-mate Dani Pedrosa was unable to better Stoner and had to settle for second spot. Factory Yamaha rider Ben Spies completes the front row in third.
Current champion Jorge Lorenzo heads the second row in fourth, ahead of Andrea Dovizioso and Marco Simoncelli. Nicky Hayden is the top Ducati in seventh, ahead of Karel Abraha, and Hiroshi Aoyama.
Despite using the new aluminium chassis Valentino Rossi struggled during qualifying and with just over 40 minutes remaining crashed coming out of the penultimate corner. Rossi remounted to set the 13th fastest time, behind Brit Cal Crutchlow in 12th.
1 27 Casey STONER AUS Repsol Honda Team Honda 320.3 1'48.451
2 26 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 318.1 1'48.747 0.296 / 0.296
3 11 Ben SPIES USA Yamaha Factory Racing Yamaha 311.9 1'49.155 0.704 / 0.408
4 1 Jorge LORENZO SPA Yamaha Factory Racing Yamaha 313.2 1'49.270 0.819 / 0.115
5 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Repsol Honda Team Honda 317.7 1'49.372 0.921 / 0.102
6 58 Marco SIMONCELLI ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 314.2 1'49.528 1.077 / 0.156
7 69 Nicky HAYDEN USA Ducati Team Ducati 316.7 1'49.752 1.301 / 0.224
8 17 Karel ABRAHAM CZE Cardion AB Motoracing Ducati 316.3 1'49.777 1.326 / 0.025
9 7 Hiroshi AOYAMA JPN San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 317.8 1'49.813 1.362 / 0.036
10 14 Randy DE PUNIET FRA Pramac Racing Team Ducati 313.9 1'49.826 1.375 / 0.013
11 19 Alvaro BAUTISTA SPA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 320.3 1'49.883 1.432 / 0.057
12 35 Cal CRUTCHLOW GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 310.5 1'49.893 1.442 / 0.010
13 46 Valentino ROSSI ITA Ducati Team Ducati 315.5 1'49.960 1.509 / 0.067
14 8 Hector BARBERA SPA Mapfre Aspar Team MotoGP Ducati 321.0 1'49.976 1.525 / 0.016
15 5 Colin EDWARDS USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 310.8 1'50.105 1.654 / 0.129
16 65 Loris CAPIROSSI ITA Pramac Racing Team Ducati 313.6 1'50.752 2.301 / 0.647
17 24 Toni ELIAS SPA LCR Honda MotoGP Honda 317.6 1'51.073 2.622 / 0.321
By Liam Marsden -MCN
17 September 2011 13:57
Repsol Honda rider Casey Stoner starts from pole for tomorrow's race at the Motorland Aragon circuit despite crashing his number one bike.
Stoner had just set his best lap of the session with 15 minutes to go when he had to lay his bike down in the gravel to avoid hitting the wall. This unfazed the Aussie, who went straight out on his spare bike and improved his lap time.
Team-mate Dani Pedrosa was unable to better Stoner and had to settle for second spot. Factory Yamaha rider Ben Spies completes the front row in third.
Current champion Jorge Lorenzo heads the second row in fourth, ahead of Andrea Dovizioso and Marco Simoncelli. Nicky Hayden is the top Ducati in seventh, ahead of Karel Abraha, and Hiroshi Aoyama.
Despite using the new aluminium chassis Valentino Rossi struggled during qualifying and with just over 40 minutes remaining crashed coming out of the penultimate corner. Rossi remounted to set the 13th fastest time, behind Brit Cal Crutchlow in 12th.
1 27 Casey STONER AUS Repsol Honda Team Honda 320.3 1'48.451
2 26 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 318.1 1'48.747 0.296 / 0.296
3 11 Ben SPIES USA Yamaha Factory Racing Yamaha 311.9 1'49.155 0.704 / 0.408
4 1 Jorge LORENZO SPA Yamaha Factory Racing Yamaha 313.2 1'49.270 0.819 / 0.115
5 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Repsol Honda Team Honda 317.7 1'49.372 0.921 / 0.102
6 58 Marco SIMONCELLI ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 314.2 1'49.528 1.077 / 0.156
7 69 Nicky HAYDEN USA Ducati Team Ducati 316.7 1'49.752 1.301 / 0.224
8 17 Karel ABRAHAM CZE Cardion AB Motoracing Ducati 316.3 1'49.777 1.326 / 0.025
9 7 Hiroshi AOYAMA JPN San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 317.8 1'49.813 1.362 / 0.036
10 14 Randy DE PUNIET FRA Pramac Racing Team Ducati 313.9 1'49.826 1.375 / 0.013
11 19 Alvaro BAUTISTA SPA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 320.3 1'49.883 1.432 / 0.057
12 35 Cal CRUTCHLOW GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 310.5 1'49.893 1.442 / 0.010
13 46 Valentino ROSSI ITA Ducati Team Ducati 315.5 1'49.960 1.509 / 0.067
14 8 Hector BARBERA SPA Mapfre Aspar Team MotoGP Ducati 321.0 1'49.976 1.525 / 0.016
15 5 Colin EDWARDS USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 310.8 1'50.105 1.654 / 0.129
16 65 Loris CAPIROSSI ITA Pramac Racing Team Ducati 313.6 1'50.752 2.301 / 0.647
17 24 Toni ELIAS SPA LCR Honda MotoGP Honda 317.6 1'51.073 2.622 / 0.321
Valentino Rossi to start from pitlane
Hes certainly not having any luck this year.......
By Matthew Birt - MCN
17 September 2011
Valentino Rossi will start tomorrow’s Motorland Aragon MotoGP race from the pitlane having opted to go over his engine allocation after a disastrous qualifying session.
Rossi will use a seventh engine tomorrow after qualifying in 13th place, a decision which means he will have to start the race from the pitlane, 10 seconds after the red lights have gone out to start the race.
Rossi has been forced to exceed his allocation of six engines for the entire season because of his decision to run a new aluminium frame this weekend.
The frame required modifications to the engine because if the way it was mounted differently to the carbon fibre chassis Rossi has been using.
The Desmosedici bike Rossi started practice on this morning was already his sixth of the season.
He then crashed in the early stages of qualifying, though he waited for his mechanics to repair that bike instead of going out on his spare GP11.1
Had he done so, that would have meant him using his seventh motor. But having only qualified in a lowly 13th place with a best time of 1.49.960, Rossi has decided to use the extra engine and incur the penalty here rather than at a future race.
The 32-year-old, who was 1.509s behind pole-setter Casey Stoner, said: “We expected more from this afternoon because this morning wasn't so bad. With the race tyre at the start of the practice I wasn't so far from the other guys.
"I don't think I deserve the 13th place because we were also unlucky because I had a crash unfortunately.
"I was one metre more on the inside and unfortunately when I touched the throttle I lose the front. That’s happened a lot of times this year and we have to understand something in the weight distribution to avoid this problem.
"With the softer tyre I was a little bit faster in T1 and maybe I can make a better lap time but I made a mistake unfortunately. Now we have to start from 13th and the seventh position is very close. This was reachable.
"For tomorrow we can use the seventh engine and start from the pits. Unfortunately to have two bikes in aluminium we have to use another engine because the aluminium parts was suitable for the engine of Misano, but the other bike had an older engine and it is not possible.
"I think to understand and for development for next year, it's better to have two bikes the same. It becomes more difficult, and it is a pity because with the race tyre we are not so far behind.
"We waited because we wanted to understand if we could reach a good position on the grid, but starting 13th or from the pits doesn't change a lot for me.”
Hes certainly not having any luck this year.......
By Matthew Birt - MCN
17 September 2011
Valentino Rossi will start tomorrow’s Motorland Aragon MotoGP race from the pitlane having opted to go over his engine allocation after a disastrous qualifying session.
Rossi will use a seventh engine tomorrow after qualifying in 13th place, a decision which means he will have to start the race from the pitlane, 10 seconds after the red lights have gone out to start the race.
Rossi has been forced to exceed his allocation of six engines for the entire season because of his decision to run a new aluminium frame this weekend.
The frame required modifications to the engine because if the way it was mounted differently to the carbon fibre chassis Rossi has been using.
The Desmosedici bike Rossi started practice on this morning was already his sixth of the season.
He then crashed in the early stages of qualifying, though he waited for his mechanics to repair that bike instead of going out on his spare GP11.1
Had he done so, that would have meant him using his seventh motor. But having only qualified in a lowly 13th place with a best time of 1.49.960, Rossi has decided to use the extra engine and incur the penalty here rather than at a future race.
The 32-year-old, who was 1.509s behind pole-setter Casey Stoner, said: “We expected more from this afternoon because this morning wasn't so bad. With the race tyre at the start of the practice I wasn't so far from the other guys.
"I don't think I deserve the 13th place because we were also unlucky because I had a crash unfortunately.
"I was one metre more on the inside and unfortunately when I touched the throttle I lose the front. That’s happened a lot of times this year and we have to understand something in the weight distribution to avoid this problem.
"With the softer tyre I was a little bit faster in T1 and maybe I can make a better lap time but I made a mistake unfortunately. Now we have to start from 13th and the seventh position is very close. This was reachable.
"For tomorrow we can use the seventh engine and start from the pits. Unfortunately to have two bikes in aluminium we have to use another engine because the aluminium parts was suitable for the engine of Misano, but the other bike had an older engine and it is not possible.
"I think to understand and for development for next year, it's better to have two bikes the same. It becomes more difficult, and it is a pity because with the race tyre we are not so far behind.
"We waited because we wanted to understand if we could reach a good position on the grid, but starting 13th or from the pits doesn't change a lot for me.”
Stoner storms to eighth win of season
By Liam Marsden - MCN
18 September 2011
Repsol Honda's Casey Stoner stormed to his eighth victory of the season at Aragon to extend his championship lead over Jorge Lorenzo to 44 points.
Team-mate Dani Pedrosa and Yamaha's Ben Spies beat Stoner in to the first corner, but by the end of the first lap Stoner was back to the front and starting to gap Pedrosa and Spies.
Pedrosa then passed Spies shortly afterwards on his way to a lonely second place. Marco Simoncelli then caught Spies and passed him on lap 9, but ran off track soon afterwards, allowing both Spies and Lorenzo through.
Spies' pace started to drop, and with 10 laps to go team-mate Lorenzo got passed, before gapping the American for a comfortable third place finish. After his earlier mistake Simoncelli again passed Ben Spies to finish fourth.
Brit Cal Crutchlow rode a good race, finishing in ninth after battling with Valentino Rossi in the later stages of the race. Despite an obvious top speed disadvantage Crutchlow rode aggresively to keep the factory Ducati rider - who started from pitlane - at bay and in 10th position.
1 25 27 Casey STONER AUS Repsol Honda Team Honda 165.7 42'17.427
2 20 26 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 165.2 +8.162
3 16 1 Jorge LORENZO SPA Yamaha Factory Racing Yamaha 164.8 +14.209
4 13 58 Marco SIMONCELLI ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 164.4 +20.646
5 11 11 Ben SPIES USA Yamaha Factory Racing Yamaha 163.9 +27.739
6 10 19 Alvaro BAUTISTA SPA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 163.7 +30.373
7 9 69 Nicky HAYDEN USA Ducati Team Ducati 163.5 +34.288
8 8 8 Hector BARBERA SPA Mapfre Aspar Team MotoGP Ducati 163.3 +37.305
9 7 35 Cal CRUTCHLOW GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 163.2 +39.652
10 6 46 Valentino ROSSI ITA Ducati Team Ducati 163.1 +39.832
11 5 7 Hiroshi AOYAMA JPN San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 163.1 +39.997
12 4 14 Randy DE PUNIET FRA Pramac Racing Team Ducati 162.2 +54.717
13 3 5 Colin EDWARDS USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 162.0 +58.430
By Liam Marsden - MCN
18 September 2011
Repsol Honda's Casey Stoner stormed to his eighth victory of the season at Aragon to extend his championship lead over Jorge Lorenzo to 44 points.
Team-mate Dani Pedrosa and Yamaha's Ben Spies beat Stoner in to the first corner, but by the end of the first lap Stoner was back to the front and starting to gap Pedrosa and Spies.
Pedrosa then passed Spies shortly afterwards on his way to a lonely second place. Marco Simoncelli then caught Spies and passed him on lap 9, but ran off track soon afterwards, allowing both Spies and Lorenzo through.
Spies' pace started to drop, and with 10 laps to go team-mate Lorenzo got passed, before gapping the American for a comfortable third place finish. After his earlier mistake Simoncelli again passed Ben Spies to finish fourth.
Brit Cal Crutchlow rode a good race, finishing in ninth after battling with Valentino Rossi in the later stages of the race. Despite an obvious top speed disadvantage Crutchlow rode aggresively to keep the factory Ducati rider - who started from pitlane - at bay and in 10th position.
1 25 27 Casey STONER AUS Repsol Honda Team Honda 165.7 42'17.427
2 20 26 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 165.2 +8.162
3 16 1 Jorge LORENZO SPA Yamaha Factory Racing Yamaha 164.8 +14.209
4 13 58 Marco SIMONCELLI ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 164.4 +20.646
5 11 11 Ben SPIES USA Yamaha Factory Racing Yamaha 163.9 +27.739
6 10 19 Alvaro BAUTISTA SPA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 163.7 +30.373
7 9 69 Nicky HAYDEN USA Ducati Team Ducati 163.5 +34.288
8 8 8 Hector BARBERA SPA Mapfre Aspar Team MotoGP Ducati 163.3 +37.305
9 7 35 Cal CRUTCHLOW GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 163.2 +39.652
10 6 46 Valentino ROSSI ITA Ducati Team Ducati 163.1 +39.832
11 5 7 Hiroshi AOYAMA JPN San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 163.1 +39.997
12 4 14 Randy DE PUNIET FRA Pramac Racing Team Ducati 162.2 +54.717
13 3 5 Colin EDWARDS USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 162.0 +58.430
Although most of the internet is bemoaning the Stoner and Honda combo, I'm loving seeing a rider and bike in total harmony. Lorenzo and the Yamaha were a fantastic combo for the majority of 2010 and while it's still brilliant in 2011, the Stoner+Honda combo are just that little bit better and that makes a world of difference.
Rossi and Ducati are still running around chasing their tails :frown:. A lot has been said before and during the 2011 season about improving the Ducati but nothing has worked. To see a 9 times world champion finishing 10th says a lot about how good the competition at the very front of the grid is and how the Rossi & Ducati marrage has been a union to forget.
Rossi and Ducati are still running around chasing their tails :frown:. A lot has been said before and during the 2011 season about improving the Ducati but nothing has worked. To see a 9 times world champion finishing 10th says a lot about how good the competition at the very front of the grid is and how the Rossi & Ducati marrage has been a union to forget.
Development is down to engineers and rider feedback so I blame them equally.
Perhaps the statement "80% rider, 20% bike" that Burgess made when he and Rossi were at Yamaha doesn't ring true for Ducati. Either way, they better get the bike sorted soon because 2012 will be as big a flop as 2011 has been.
Perhaps the statement "80% rider, 20% bike" that Burgess made when he and Rossi were at Yamaha doesn't ring true for Ducati. Either way, they better get the bike sorted soon because 2012 will be as big a flop as 2011 has been.
But the 2010 bike was bad thru most of 2010 as well, and the feedback's been from 3 world champion riders, which can't be half bad.
Although some say that putting a 1000cc engine in that chassis will change things a lot, they will be generally seen to have had a huge headstart on everybody for 2012. If Yamaha/Honda :trophy: Qatar'12 there will be :thunder:.
Although some say that putting a 1000cc engine in that chassis will change things a lot, they will be generally seen to have had a huge headstart on everybody for 2012. If Yamaha/Honda :trophy: Qatar'12 there will be :thunder:.
Dani Pedrosa sets practice pace
By Matthew Birt - MCN
30 September 2011 09:04
It was at the Japanese track 12 months ago when a major throttle malfunction on his factory Honda RC212V machine in practice smashed the Spaniard’s left collarbone, ending his faint world title hopes.
The triple world champion was then hit by further problems after surgery to repair the damage caused complications that lasted into the 2011 season, with Pedrosa struck by a numbness issue in his left arm.
Last year’s nightmare though was quickly forgotten as Pedrosa led a Honda domination of practice at the Twin Ring Motegi today, with the RC212V machine occupying the top four places on the timesheets.
A best lap of 1.46.790 secured Pedrosa top spot by just 0.054s ahead of Repsol Honda team-mate Casey Stoner, who had topped the timesheets with a 1.47.289 in the morning session.
Pedrosa was a massive 1.1s faster this afternoon with Italian duo Andrea Dovizioso and Marco Simoncelli completing Honda’s dominance by finishing third and fourth respectively.
Dovizioso set a best time of 1.46.952 to finish just 0.108s behind world championship leader Stoner.
Simoncelli, who was unhurt in a front-end crash at Turn 9 this morning, was a further 0.236s back in fourth.
Reigning world champion Jorge Lorenzo was fifth fastest with a best time of 1.47.310. He was 0.6s quicker this afternoon but he was still 0.520s behind compatriot Pedrosa’s best pace on the factory Yamaha YZR-M1.
Nicky Hayden was only 0.071s behind Lorenzo on Ducati’s GP11.1, with team-mate Valentino Rossi remaining the only Ducati rider on board a new aluminium frame the Italian rode for the first time at the previous race at the Motorland Aragon.
Hayden was third this morning and although he improved from a 1.47.732 to a 1.47.381, he still dropped three places down the rankings.
Home favourite Hiroshi Aoyama was seventh with Rossi in eighth place. The 32-year-old logged a best time of 1.47.975 to shave 0.7s off his first session time.
Continuing to work on the aluminium chassis made by British company FTR, he was still 1.185s behind Pedrosa.
Ben Spies was a lowly 12th after the American could only complete five laps this afternoon before he had to park his factory Yamaha YZR-M1 machine.
He has been suffering with food poisoning picked up on the long flight to Tokyo from America and he could only manage a best time of 1.48.567 before he stopped to undergo treatment in the medical centre for exhaustion.
British rider Cal Crutchlow was an encouraging 14th on his first visit to the Twin Ring Motegi.
The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 rider was one second faster this afternoon with a best of 1.48.379. That was just over 0.3s away from team-mate Colin Edwards in 10th.
By Matthew Birt - MCN
30 September 2011 09:04
It was at the Japanese track 12 months ago when a major throttle malfunction on his factory Honda RC212V machine in practice smashed the Spaniard’s left collarbone, ending his faint world title hopes.
The triple world champion was then hit by further problems after surgery to repair the damage caused complications that lasted into the 2011 season, with Pedrosa struck by a numbness issue in his left arm.
Last year’s nightmare though was quickly forgotten as Pedrosa led a Honda domination of practice at the Twin Ring Motegi today, with the RC212V machine occupying the top four places on the timesheets.
A best lap of 1.46.790 secured Pedrosa top spot by just 0.054s ahead of Repsol Honda team-mate Casey Stoner, who had topped the timesheets with a 1.47.289 in the morning session.
Pedrosa was a massive 1.1s faster this afternoon with Italian duo Andrea Dovizioso and Marco Simoncelli completing Honda’s dominance by finishing third and fourth respectively.
Dovizioso set a best time of 1.46.952 to finish just 0.108s behind world championship leader Stoner.
Simoncelli, who was unhurt in a front-end crash at Turn 9 this morning, was a further 0.236s back in fourth.
Reigning world champion Jorge Lorenzo was fifth fastest with a best time of 1.47.310. He was 0.6s quicker this afternoon but he was still 0.520s behind compatriot Pedrosa’s best pace on the factory Yamaha YZR-M1.
Nicky Hayden was only 0.071s behind Lorenzo on Ducati’s GP11.1, with team-mate Valentino Rossi remaining the only Ducati rider on board a new aluminium frame the Italian rode for the first time at the previous race at the Motorland Aragon.
Hayden was third this morning and although he improved from a 1.47.732 to a 1.47.381, he still dropped three places down the rankings.
Home favourite Hiroshi Aoyama was seventh with Rossi in eighth place. The 32-year-old logged a best time of 1.47.975 to shave 0.7s off his first session time.
Continuing to work on the aluminium chassis made by British company FTR, he was still 1.185s behind Pedrosa.
Ben Spies was a lowly 12th after the American could only complete five laps this afternoon before he had to park his factory Yamaha YZR-M1 machine.
He has been suffering with food poisoning picked up on the long flight to Tokyo from America and he could only manage a best time of 1.48.567 before he stopped to undergo treatment in the medical centre for exhaustion.
British rider Cal Crutchlow was an encouraging 14th on his first visit to the Twin Ring Motegi.
The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 rider was one second faster this afternoon with a best of 1.48.379. That was just over 0.3s away from team-mate Colin Edwards in 10th.
Stoner secures tenth pole of season
By MCN
01 October 2011 08:29
Repsol Honda rider Andrea Dovizioso will complete the front row, qualifying in third after setting a lap of 1’45.791 and demoting team mate Dani Pedrosa to fourth by less than 0.02 seconds.
Yamaha Factory Racing rider Ben Spies follows Pedrosa, starting from fifth on the grid having fought off food poisoning that forced the American rider to retire from the second practice session after five laps. Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini Team) completes the second row on the grid in sixth, setting his fastest lap after returning to the track following a fall at turn five halfway through the session.
Valentino Rossi (Ducati Team) qualified in seventh place, setting a best lap that was just over one second slower than Stoner's best. Spaniards Álvaro Bautista (Rizla Suzuki) and Héctor Barberá (Mapfre Aspar) complete the third row in eighth and ninth.
Nicky Hayden (Ducati Team) qualified in tenth, ahead of Hiroshi Aoyama (San Carlo Honda Gresini) in eleventh.
Cal Crutchlow (Monster Yamaha Tech 3), on his first visit to the Japanese circuit, qualified in twelfth two places ahead of team mate Colin Edwards who fell in the gravel in the first 15 minutes, but was able to rejoin the session.
1. Casey STONER AUS Repsol Honda Team Honda 295.6 1'45.267
2. Jorge LORENZO SPA Yamaha Factory Racing Yamaha 287.8 1'45.523
3. Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Repsol Honda Team Honda 293.8 1'45.791
4. Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 292.0 1'45.966
5. Ben SPIES USA Yamaha Factory Racing Yamaha 292.4 1'46.042
6. Marco SIMONCELLI ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 292.4 1'46.211
7. Valentino ROSSI ITA Ducati Team Ducati 290.9 1'46.467
8. Alvaro BAUTISTA SPA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 288.5 1'46.586
9. Hector BARBERA SPA Mapfre Aspar Team MotoGP Ducati 287.5 1'46.694
10. Nicky HAYDEN USA Ducati Team Ducati 289.5 1'46.763
11. Hiroshi AOYAMA JPN San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 290.2 1'46.811
12. Cal CRUTCHLOW GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 281.9 1'46.818
13. Randy DE PUNIET FRA Pramac Racing Team Ducati 285.5 1'46.917
14. Colin EDWARDS USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 289.3 1'47.165
15. Karel ABRAHAM CZE Cardion AB Motoracing Ducati 284.7 1'47.922
16. Toni ELIAS SPA LCR Honda MotoGP Honda 289.2 1'48.169
17. Kousuke AKIYOSHI JPN LCR Honda MotoGP Honda 286.5 1'48.367
18. Damian CUDLIN AUS Pramac Racing Team Ducati 275.0 1'48.962
19. Shinichi ITO JPN Honda Racing Team Honda 286.8 1'49.971
By MCN
01 October 2011 08:29
Repsol Honda rider Andrea Dovizioso will complete the front row, qualifying in third after setting a lap of 1’45.791 and demoting team mate Dani Pedrosa to fourth by less than 0.02 seconds.
Yamaha Factory Racing rider Ben Spies follows Pedrosa, starting from fifth on the grid having fought off food poisoning that forced the American rider to retire from the second practice session after five laps. Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini Team) completes the second row on the grid in sixth, setting his fastest lap after returning to the track following a fall at turn five halfway through the session.
Valentino Rossi (Ducati Team) qualified in seventh place, setting a best lap that was just over one second slower than Stoner's best. Spaniards Álvaro Bautista (Rizla Suzuki) and Héctor Barberá (Mapfre Aspar) complete the third row in eighth and ninth.
Nicky Hayden (Ducati Team) qualified in tenth, ahead of Hiroshi Aoyama (San Carlo Honda Gresini) in eleventh.
Cal Crutchlow (Monster Yamaha Tech 3), on his first visit to the Japanese circuit, qualified in twelfth two places ahead of team mate Colin Edwards who fell in the gravel in the first 15 minutes, but was able to rejoin the session.
1. Casey STONER AUS Repsol Honda Team Honda 295.6 1'45.267
2. Jorge LORENZO SPA Yamaha Factory Racing Yamaha 287.8 1'45.523
3. Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Repsol Honda Team Honda 293.8 1'45.791
4. Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 292.0 1'45.966
5. Ben SPIES USA Yamaha Factory Racing Yamaha 292.4 1'46.042
6. Marco SIMONCELLI ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 292.4 1'46.211
7. Valentino ROSSI ITA Ducati Team Ducati 290.9 1'46.467
8. Alvaro BAUTISTA SPA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 288.5 1'46.586
9. Hector BARBERA SPA Mapfre Aspar Team MotoGP Ducati 287.5 1'46.694
10. Nicky HAYDEN USA Ducati Team Ducati 289.5 1'46.763
11. Hiroshi AOYAMA JPN San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 290.2 1'46.811
12. Cal CRUTCHLOW GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 281.9 1'46.818
13. Randy DE PUNIET FRA Pramac Racing Team Ducati 285.5 1'46.917
14. Colin EDWARDS USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 289.3 1'47.165
15. Karel ABRAHAM CZE Cardion AB Motoracing Ducati 284.7 1'47.922
16. Toni ELIAS SPA LCR Honda MotoGP Honda 289.2 1'48.169
17. Kousuke AKIYOSHI JPN LCR Honda MotoGP Honda 286.5 1'48.367
18. Damian CUDLIN AUS Pramac Racing Team Ducati 275.0 1'48.962
19. Shinichi ITO JPN Honda Racing Team Honda 286.8 1'49.971
Pedrosa takes third victory of season
By MCN -
02 October 2011 09:46
The race started with Dovizioso jumping the start, leading Cal Crutchlow and Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini Team) to follow suit, whilst Stoner made a strong start to take the lead.
Valentino Rossi had a disappointing start to the race, crashing out of the first lap and pushing Ben Spies (Yamaha Factory Racing) into the gravel. Spies was able to rejoin, whilst Rossi was forced to retire.
Stoner stretched a gap at the lead, looking set to maintain first until the Australian ran out of track on lap five. Héctor Barberá (Mapfre Aspar) then crashed out and Nicky Hayden (Ducati Team) lost fifth place after running off the track and dropping back to tenth.
Damian Cudlin crashed out of fourteenth and Bautista then crashed out of fourth on lap fourteen before Elias crashed out of sixth.
Pedrosa maintained the lead to take the win and Lorenzo took second, with the pair the only riders in the top seven not to run off track or receive a ride through penalty for jumping the start, whilst Stoner managed to secure third.
Simoncelli and Dovizioso took their ride through penalties before fighting for fourth. Simoncelli managed to hang on to fourth, with Dovizioso being made to settle for fifth.
Spies recovered from his early trip in to the gravel to take sixth place, finishing ahead of fellow Americans Nicky Hayden and Colin Edwards who took seventh and eighth respectively.
Despite running off the track and being made to take a ride through penalty Cal Crutchlow finished in eleventh on his first trip to the Japanese circuit.
1. Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 161.6 42'47.481
2. Jorge LORENZO SPA Yamaha Factory Racing Yamaha 161.1 +7.299
3. Casey STONER AUS Repsol Honda Team Honda 160.4 +18.380
4. Marco SIMONCELLI ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 160.1 +23.550
5. Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Repsol Honda Team Honda 160.1 +23.691
6. Ben SPIES USA Yamaha Factory Racing Yamaha 159.2 +37.604
7. Nicky HAYDEN USA Ducati Team Ducati 159.1 +39.167
8. Colin EDWARDS USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 158.8 +45.023
9. Hiroshi AOYAMA JPN San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 158.5 +49.074
10. Randy DE PUNIET FRA Pramac Racing Team Ducati 157.9 +59.022
11. Cal CRUTCHLOW GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 157.0 +1'13.964
12. Kousuke AKIYOSHI JPN LCR Honda MotoGP Honda 156.6 +1'21.709
13. Shinichi ITO JPN Honda Racing Team Honda 156.3 +1'26.381
Not Classified
24 Toni ELIAS SPA LCR Honda MotoGP Honda 158.8 7 Laps
19 Alvaro BAUTISTA SPA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 159.7 11 Laps
6 Damian CUDLIN AUS Pramac Racing Team Ducati 156.7 11 Laps
8 Hector BARBERA SPA Mapfre Aspar Team MotoGP Ducati 147.6 23 Laps
46 Valentino ROSSI ITA Ducati Team Ducati 0 Lap
By MCN -
02 October 2011 09:46
The race started with Dovizioso jumping the start, leading Cal Crutchlow and Marco Simoncelli (San Carlo Honda Gresini Team) to follow suit, whilst Stoner made a strong start to take the lead.
Valentino Rossi had a disappointing start to the race, crashing out of the first lap and pushing Ben Spies (Yamaha Factory Racing) into the gravel. Spies was able to rejoin, whilst Rossi was forced to retire.
Stoner stretched a gap at the lead, looking set to maintain first until the Australian ran out of track on lap five. Héctor Barberá (Mapfre Aspar) then crashed out and Nicky Hayden (Ducati Team) lost fifth place after running off the track and dropping back to tenth.
Damian Cudlin crashed out of fourteenth and Bautista then crashed out of fourth on lap fourteen before Elias crashed out of sixth.
Pedrosa maintained the lead to take the win and Lorenzo took second, with the pair the only riders in the top seven not to run off track or receive a ride through penalty for jumping the start, whilst Stoner managed to secure third.
Simoncelli and Dovizioso took their ride through penalties before fighting for fourth. Simoncelli managed to hang on to fourth, with Dovizioso being made to settle for fifth.
Spies recovered from his early trip in to the gravel to take sixth place, finishing ahead of fellow Americans Nicky Hayden and Colin Edwards who took seventh and eighth respectively.
Despite running off the track and being made to take a ride through penalty Cal Crutchlow finished in eleventh on his first trip to the Japanese circuit.
1. Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 161.6 42'47.481
2. Jorge LORENZO SPA Yamaha Factory Racing Yamaha 161.1 +7.299
3. Casey STONER AUS Repsol Honda Team Honda 160.4 +18.380
4. Marco SIMONCELLI ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 160.1 +23.550
5. Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Repsol Honda Team Honda 160.1 +23.691
6. Ben SPIES USA Yamaha Factory Racing Yamaha 159.2 +37.604
7. Nicky HAYDEN USA Ducati Team Ducati 159.1 +39.167
8. Colin EDWARDS USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 158.8 +45.023
9. Hiroshi AOYAMA JPN San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 158.5 +49.074
10. Randy DE PUNIET FRA Pramac Racing Team Ducati 157.9 +59.022
11. Cal CRUTCHLOW GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 157.0 +1'13.964
12. Kousuke AKIYOSHI JPN LCR Honda MotoGP Honda 156.6 +1'21.709
13. Shinichi ITO JPN Honda Racing Team Honda 156.3 +1'26.381
Not Classified
24 Toni ELIAS SPA LCR Honda MotoGP Honda 158.8 7 Laps
19 Alvaro BAUTISTA SPA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 159.7 11 Laps
6 Damian CUDLIN AUS Pramac Racing Team Ducati 156.7 11 Laps
8 Hector BARBERA SPA Mapfre Aspar Team MotoGP Ducati 147.6 23 Laps
46 Valentino ROSSI ITA Ducati Team Ducati 0 Lap
Casey Stoner fastest after early crash
By Matthew Birt - MCN
14 October 2011 09:27
Casey Stoner bounced back from an early crash to top the timesheets on the opening day of practice for his home race at the spectacular Phillip Island circuit today.
But the home favourite, who could wrap up his second MotoGP world title on his 26th birthday on Sunday, joined a chorus of criticism at Phillip Island’s bumpy track surface.
The Aussie crashed his Repsol Honda RC212V at Turn 4 in this morning’s session on only his fourth lap but finished quickest at the end of two 45-minute sessions run in gloriously sunny conditions.
It was a slow speed front-end crash for Stoner and came just after he’d clocked a best time of 1.30.475. That actually turned out to be the fastest time of the day, with Stoner quickest again in the second practice session. But this afternoon he could only get down to a best lap of 1.30.535.
His best time was still 0.289s faster than Jorge Lorenzo and Marco Simoncelli in third, the Italian crashing twice at Turn 10 today.
Only Simoncelli and Ben Spies who finished inside the top six today managed to improve their pace in the second session and Stoner said: "Nobody really went quicker this afternoon than they did this morning. I think it is tyre degradation. The conditions were a little bit warmer this afternoon than they were this morning and with a little bit more wind as well, it was just more difficult to get the times. I’m surprised only myself Marco and Jorge are really fast enough. Everybody else seems to be struggling a little bit more than us. I don’t feel too comfortable with the bike today. I think we can improve the bike a lot, so that’s something good to look forward to."
Stoner, who must score 10 points more than Lorenzo to clinch Honda’s first world title in the 800cc era, described the bumpy surface at his beloved Phillip Island as ‘terrible’.
Stoner has never lost in the 800cc era at his home track but like many of his rivals, he was less than complimentary about the state of the surface.
He added: "This year the track’s terrible. It’s always been a little bit bumpy into Turn One and maybe one or two other small bumps, but this year there are a lot more aggressive than they were in the past. I’m not too happy with the condition of the track. I don’t know what they’ve been racing around here, but it’s made the track a lot worse.
"The last corner I lost the front this morning and also Turn Six, there’s a lot more bumps. It is almost like they’ve been driving Formula One cars around here. It seems to be really close to the kerb we’re fine, so it’s definitely cars that have done it. But one or two metres out from the kerb seems to be really, really bumpy. You can’t go into the corner, go wide, and come back in for the exit, because you go out there and you hit the bumps and you lose a lot of time. For such a fast track, it’s a little scary."
Valentino Rossi was also critical of the surface and he told MCN: "The track is not in fantastic condition and this afternoon was worse than this morning. There are a lot of bumps and it is difficult to ride. Also it is because the rear slide a lot very quickly. Maybe it is more the marriage between tyres and this type of asphalt that is not fantastic."
Free Practice 1 results
1. 27 Casey Stoner AUS Repsol Honda Team Honda 323.5 1'30.475
2. 1 Jorge Lorenzo SPA Yamaha Factory Racing Yamaha 320.1 1'30.744 0.269 / 0.269
3. 58 Marco Simoncelli ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 318.3 1'30.951 0.476 / 0.207
4. 5 Colin Edwards USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 320.4 1'31.480 1.005 / 0.529
5. 4 Andrea Dovizioso ITA Repsol Honda Team Honda 323.9 1'31.532 1.057 / 0.052
6. 26 Dani Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 315.6 1'31.571 1.096 / 0.039
7. 69 Nicky Hayden USA Ducati Team Ducati 319.8 1'31.662 1.187 / 0.091
8. 11 Ben Spies USA Yamaha Factory Racing Yamaha 318.1 1'31.824 1.349 / 0.162
9. 7 Hiroshi Aoyama JPN San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 322.2 1'31.935 1.460 / 0.111
10. 65 Loris Capirossi ITA Pramac Racing Team Ducati 325.9 1'32.052 1.577 / 0.117
11. 14 Randy De Puniet FRA Pramac Racing Team Ducati 316.7 1'32.096 1.621 / 0.044
12. 46 Valentino Rossi ITA Ducati Team Ducati 319.2 1'32.114 1.639 / 0.018
13. 19 Alvaro Bautista SPA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 321.0 1'32.393 1.918 / 0.279
14. 35 Cal Crutchlow GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 317.9 1'32.583 2.108 / 0.190
15. 17 Karel Abraham CZE Cardion AB Motoracing Ducati 321.2 1'32.615 2.140 / 0.032
16. 24 Toni Elias SPA LCR Honda MotoGP Honda 318.9 1'33.641 3.166 / 1.026
17. 6 Damian Cudlin AUS Mapfre Aspar Team MotoGP Ducati 314.8 1'34.121 3.646 / 0.480
Free Practice 2 results
1. 27 Casey Stoner AUS Repsol Honda Team Honda 318.8 1'30.535
2. 58 Marco Simoncelli ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 314.4 1'30.912 0.377 / 0.377
3. 1 Jorge Lorenzo SPA Yamaha Factory Racing Yamaha 313.0 1'31.111 0.576 / 0.199
4. 11 Ben Spies USA Yamaha Factory Racing Yamaha 312.7 1'31.495 0.960 / 0.384
5. 26 Dani Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 311.3 1'31.543 1.008 / 0.048
6. 7 Hiroshi Aoyama JPN San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 317.0 1'31.582 1.047 / 0.039
7. 14 Randy De Puniet FRA Pramac Racing Team Ducati 313.4 1'31.670 1.135 / 0.088
8. 19 Alvaro Bautista SPA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 317.5 1'31.777 1.242 / 0.107
9. 5 Colin Edwards USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 310.2 1'31.805 1.270 / 0.028
10. 4 Andrea Dovizioso ITA Repsol Honda Team Honda 318.4 1'31.825 1.290 / 0.020
11. 69 Nicky Hayden USA Ducati Team Ducati 313.9 1'31.899 1.364 / 0.074
12. 35 Cal Crutchlow GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 314.1 1'31.969 1.434 / 0.070
13. 46 Valentino Rossi ITA Ducati Team Ducati 316.5 1'32.014 1.479 / 0.045
14. 65 Loris Capirossi ITA Pramac Racing Team Ducati 310.9 1'32.082 1.547 / 0.068
15. 17 Karel Abraham CZE Cardion AB Motoracing Ducati 313.4 1'32.360 1.825 / 0.278
16. 24 Toni Elias SPA LCR Honda MotoGP Honda 317.8 1'32.639 2.104 / 0.279
17. 6 Damian Cudlin AUS Mapfre Aspar Team MotoGP Ducati 310.1 1'33.658 3.123 / 1.019
By Matthew Birt - MCN
14 October 2011 09:27
Casey Stoner bounced back from an early crash to top the timesheets on the opening day of practice for his home race at the spectacular Phillip Island circuit today.
But the home favourite, who could wrap up his second MotoGP world title on his 26th birthday on Sunday, joined a chorus of criticism at Phillip Island’s bumpy track surface.
The Aussie crashed his Repsol Honda RC212V at Turn 4 in this morning’s session on only his fourth lap but finished quickest at the end of two 45-minute sessions run in gloriously sunny conditions.
It was a slow speed front-end crash for Stoner and came just after he’d clocked a best time of 1.30.475. That actually turned out to be the fastest time of the day, with Stoner quickest again in the second practice session. But this afternoon he could only get down to a best lap of 1.30.535.
His best time was still 0.289s faster than Jorge Lorenzo and Marco Simoncelli in third, the Italian crashing twice at Turn 10 today.
Only Simoncelli and Ben Spies who finished inside the top six today managed to improve their pace in the second session and Stoner said: "Nobody really went quicker this afternoon than they did this morning. I think it is tyre degradation. The conditions were a little bit warmer this afternoon than they were this morning and with a little bit more wind as well, it was just more difficult to get the times. I’m surprised only myself Marco and Jorge are really fast enough. Everybody else seems to be struggling a little bit more than us. I don’t feel too comfortable with the bike today. I think we can improve the bike a lot, so that’s something good to look forward to."
Stoner, who must score 10 points more than Lorenzo to clinch Honda’s first world title in the 800cc era, described the bumpy surface at his beloved Phillip Island as ‘terrible’.
Stoner has never lost in the 800cc era at his home track but like many of his rivals, he was less than complimentary about the state of the surface.
He added: "This year the track’s terrible. It’s always been a little bit bumpy into Turn One and maybe one or two other small bumps, but this year there are a lot more aggressive than they were in the past. I’m not too happy with the condition of the track. I don’t know what they’ve been racing around here, but it’s made the track a lot worse.
"The last corner I lost the front this morning and also Turn Six, there’s a lot more bumps. It is almost like they’ve been driving Formula One cars around here. It seems to be really close to the kerb we’re fine, so it’s definitely cars that have done it. But one or two metres out from the kerb seems to be really, really bumpy. You can’t go into the corner, go wide, and come back in for the exit, because you go out there and you hit the bumps and you lose a lot of time. For such a fast track, it’s a little scary."
Valentino Rossi was also critical of the surface and he told MCN: "The track is not in fantastic condition and this afternoon was worse than this morning. There are a lot of bumps and it is difficult to ride. Also it is because the rear slide a lot very quickly. Maybe it is more the marriage between tyres and this type of asphalt that is not fantastic."
Free Practice 1 results
1. 27 Casey Stoner AUS Repsol Honda Team Honda 323.5 1'30.475
2. 1 Jorge Lorenzo SPA Yamaha Factory Racing Yamaha 320.1 1'30.744 0.269 / 0.269
3. 58 Marco Simoncelli ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 318.3 1'30.951 0.476 / 0.207
4. 5 Colin Edwards USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 320.4 1'31.480 1.005 / 0.529
5. 4 Andrea Dovizioso ITA Repsol Honda Team Honda 323.9 1'31.532 1.057 / 0.052
6. 26 Dani Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 315.6 1'31.571 1.096 / 0.039
7. 69 Nicky Hayden USA Ducati Team Ducati 319.8 1'31.662 1.187 / 0.091
8. 11 Ben Spies USA Yamaha Factory Racing Yamaha 318.1 1'31.824 1.349 / 0.162
9. 7 Hiroshi Aoyama JPN San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 322.2 1'31.935 1.460 / 0.111
10. 65 Loris Capirossi ITA Pramac Racing Team Ducati 325.9 1'32.052 1.577 / 0.117
11. 14 Randy De Puniet FRA Pramac Racing Team Ducati 316.7 1'32.096 1.621 / 0.044
12. 46 Valentino Rossi ITA Ducati Team Ducati 319.2 1'32.114 1.639 / 0.018
13. 19 Alvaro Bautista SPA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 321.0 1'32.393 1.918 / 0.279
14. 35 Cal Crutchlow GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 317.9 1'32.583 2.108 / 0.190
15. 17 Karel Abraham CZE Cardion AB Motoracing Ducati 321.2 1'32.615 2.140 / 0.032
16. 24 Toni Elias SPA LCR Honda MotoGP Honda 318.9 1'33.641 3.166 / 1.026
17. 6 Damian Cudlin AUS Mapfre Aspar Team MotoGP Ducati 314.8 1'34.121 3.646 / 0.480
Free Practice 2 results
1. 27 Casey Stoner AUS Repsol Honda Team Honda 318.8 1'30.535
2. 58 Marco Simoncelli ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 314.4 1'30.912 0.377 / 0.377
3. 1 Jorge Lorenzo SPA Yamaha Factory Racing Yamaha 313.0 1'31.111 0.576 / 0.199
4. 11 Ben Spies USA Yamaha Factory Racing Yamaha 312.7 1'31.495 0.960 / 0.384
5. 26 Dani Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 311.3 1'31.543 1.008 / 0.048
6. 7 Hiroshi Aoyama JPN San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 317.0 1'31.582 1.047 / 0.039
7. 14 Randy De Puniet FRA Pramac Racing Team Ducati 313.4 1'31.670 1.135 / 0.088
8. 19 Alvaro Bautista SPA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 317.5 1'31.777 1.242 / 0.107
9. 5 Colin Edwards USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 310.2 1'31.805 1.270 / 0.028
10. 4 Andrea Dovizioso ITA Repsol Honda Team Honda 318.4 1'31.825 1.290 / 0.020
11. 69 Nicky Hayden USA Ducati Team Ducati 313.9 1'31.899 1.364 / 0.074
12. 35 Cal Crutchlow GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 314.1 1'31.969 1.434 / 0.070
13. 46 Valentino Rossi ITA Ducati Team Ducati 316.5 1'32.014 1.479 / 0.045
14. 65 Loris Capirossi ITA Pramac Racing Team Ducati 310.9 1'32.082 1.547 / 0.068
15. 17 Karel Abraham CZE Cardion AB Motoracing Ducati 313.4 1'32.360 1.825 / 0.278
16. 24 Toni Elias SPA LCR Honda MotoGP Honda 317.8 1'32.639 2.104 / 0.279
17. 6 Damian Cudlin AUS Mapfre Aspar Team MotoGP Ducati 310.1 1'33.658 3.123 / 1.019
Casey Stoner storms to home pole position
By Matthew Birt - MCN
MotoGP
15 October 2011 09:00
Casey Stoner will start his home race tomorrow as a red-hot favourite to claim a fifth successive victory at the spectacular Phillip Island circuit after he stormed to pole position earlier today.
The Australian set a best time of 1.29.975 to clinch his fifth successive pole in 2011 and his 11th of a brilliant world championship campaign.
The Repsol Honda rider was the only man to break into the 1.29 barrier and he finished a massive 0.473s clear of factory Yamaha rival Jorge Lorenzo.
Stoner can win his second MotoGP world title in tomorrow’s race if he scores 10 points or more than reigning champion Lorenzo, who ended qualifying with a best lap of 1.30.448.
That saw him claim second spot from Italian Marco Simoncelli by 0.151s. The San Carlo Gresini Honda, who had crashed in each practice session at Turn 10, finished with a best time of 1.30.599.
That denied Suzuki’s Alvaro Bautista a shock front row as the Spaniard occupied third on the factory GSV-R machine until the final stages. Bautista claimed his first second row start of the campaign though with a best time of 1.30.714.
He set his quickest lap while getting a tow off Repsol Honda rider Andrea Dovizioso, who finished fifth with a time of 1.30.780.
Nicky Hayden completes the second row as he finished top Ducati rider. The American was also in the top three at one stage but a lap of 1.30.792 was good enough to secure him his best qualifying result of the season.
Ben Spies clinched a brave seventh place on his factory Yamaha YZR-M1 after he’d suffered a horrifying high-speed crash at Turn 3 in the opening few minutes.
He bounced back superbly to set a best time of 1.30.835 to finish 0.860s behind Stoner.
Dani Pedrosa struggled to get his Honda RC212V machine to run smoothly over some of the bumpy sections at the Phillip Island track and he was a lowly eighth.
Valentino Rossi’s horrendous weekend continued and the nine-times world champion will only start from a lowly 13th on the grid. The Italian struggled again to find a comfortable set-up with his Desmosedici machine and he could only set a best time of 1.31.980. That left him a massive 2.005s behind Stoner, who took pole position on the Ducati a year ago with a best time of 1.30.107.
British rider Cal Crutchlow will start from one place further back in 14th after he encountered major set-up issues with his Monster Yamaha Tech 3 YZR-M1 machine.
He ended with a best time of 1.32.023, which was slower than his best practice pace set yesterday afternoon of 1.31.969.
1. 27 Casey Stoner AUS Repsol Honda Team Honda 321.4 1'29.975
2. 1 Jorge Lorenzo SPA Yamaha Factory Racing Yamaha 314.9 1'30.448 0.473 / 0.473
3. 58 Marco Simoncelli ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 316.5 1'30.599 0.624 / 0.151
4. 19 Alvaro Bautista SPA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 319.3 1'30.714 0.739 / 0.115
5. 4 Andrea Dovizioso ITA Repsol Honda Team Honda 320.6 1'30.780 0.805 / 0.066
6. 69 Nicky Hayden USA Ducati Team Ducati 314.7 1'30.792 0.817 / 0.012
7. 11 Ben Spies USA Yamaha Factory Racing Yamaha 315.7 1'30.835 0.860 / 0.043
8. 26 Dani Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 316.1 1'30.871 0.896 / 0.036
9. 5 Colin Edwards USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 314.2 1'31.237 1.262 / 0.366
10. 65 Loris Capirossi ITA Pramac Racing Team Ducati 310.3 1'31.583 1.608 / 0.346
11. 14 Randy De Puniet FRA Pramac Racing Team Ducati 313.9 1'31.635 1.660 / 0.052
12. 7 Hiroshi Aoyama JPN San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 318.9 1'31.889 1.914 / 0.254
13. 46 Valentino Rossi ITA Ducati Team Ducati 315.4 1'31.980 2.005 / 0.091
14. 35 Cal Crutchlow GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 316.5 1'32.023 2.048 / 0.043
15. 17 Karel Abraham CZE Cardion AB Motoracing Ducati 321.1 1'32.054 2.079 / 0.031
16. 24 Toni Elias SPA LCR Honda MotoGP Honda 321.6 1'32.503 2.528 / 0.449
6 Damian Cudlin AUS Mapfre Aspar Team MotoGP Ducati 303.8 1'36.666 6.691 / 4.163
By Matthew Birt - MCN
MotoGP
15 October 2011 09:00
Casey Stoner will start his home race tomorrow as a red-hot favourite to claim a fifth successive victory at the spectacular Phillip Island circuit after he stormed to pole position earlier today.
The Australian set a best time of 1.29.975 to clinch his fifth successive pole in 2011 and his 11th of a brilliant world championship campaign.
The Repsol Honda rider was the only man to break into the 1.29 barrier and he finished a massive 0.473s clear of factory Yamaha rival Jorge Lorenzo.
Stoner can win his second MotoGP world title in tomorrow’s race if he scores 10 points or more than reigning champion Lorenzo, who ended qualifying with a best lap of 1.30.448.
That saw him claim second spot from Italian Marco Simoncelli by 0.151s. The San Carlo Gresini Honda, who had crashed in each practice session at Turn 10, finished with a best time of 1.30.599.
That denied Suzuki’s Alvaro Bautista a shock front row as the Spaniard occupied third on the factory GSV-R machine until the final stages. Bautista claimed his first second row start of the campaign though with a best time of 1.30.714.
He set his quickest lap while getting a tow off Repsol Honda rider Andrea Dovizioso, who finished fifth with a time of 1.30.780.
Nicky Hayden completes the second row as he finished top Ducati rider. The American was also in the top three at one stage but a lap of 1.30.792 was good enough to secure him his best qualifying result of the season.
Ben Spies clinched a brave seventh place on his factory Yamaha YZR-M1 after he’d suffered a horrifying high-speed crash at Turn 3 in the opening few minutes.
He bounced back superbly to set a best time of 1.30.835 to finish 0.860s behind Stoner.
Dani Pedrosa struggled to get his Honda RC212V machine to run smoothly over some of the bumpy sections at the Phillip Island track and he was a lowly eighth.
Valentino Rossi’s horrendous weekend continued and the nine-times world champion will only start from a lowly 13th on the grid. The Italian struggled again to find a comfortable set-up with his Desmosedici machine and he could only set a best time of 1.31.980. That left him a massive 2.005s behind Stoner, who took pole position on the Ducati a year ago with a best time of 1.30.107.
British rider Cal Crutchlow will start from one place further back in 14th after he encountered major set-up issues with his Monster Yamaha Tech 3 YZR-M1 machine.
He ended with a best time of 1.32.023, which was slower than his best practice pace set yesterday afternoon of 1.31.969.
1. 27 Casey Stoner AUS Repsol Honda Team Honda 321.4 1'29.975
2. 1 Jorge Lorenzo SPA Yamaha Factory Racing Yamaha 314.9 1'30.448 0.473 / 0.473
3. 58 Marco Simoncelli ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 316.5 1'30.599 0.624 / 0.151
4. 19 Alvaro Bautista SPA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 319.3 1'30.714 0.739 / 0.115
5. 4 Andrea Dovizioso ITA Repsol Honda Team Honda 320.6 1'30.780 0.805 / 0.066
6. 69 Nicky Hayden USA Ducati Team Ducati 314.7 1'30.792 0.817 / 0.012
7. 11 Ben Spies USA Yamaha Factory Racing Yamaha 315.7 1'30.835 0.860 / 0.043
8. 26 Dani Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 316.1 1'30.871 0.896 / 0.036
9. 5 Colin Edwards USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 314.2 1'31.237 1.262 / 0.366
10. 65 Loris Capirossi ITA Pramac Racing Team Ducati 310.3 1'31.583 1.608 / 0.346
11. 14 Randy De Puniet FRA Pramac Racing Team Ducati 313.9 1'31.635 1.660 / 0.052
12. 7 Hiroshi Aoyama JPN San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 318.9 1'31.889 1.914 / 0.254
13. 46 Valentino Rossi ITA Ducati Team Ducati 315.4 1'31.980 2.005 / 0.091
14. 35 Cal Crutchlow GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 316.5 1'32.023 2.048 / 0.043
15. 17 Karel Abraham CZE Cardion AB Motoracing Ducati 321.1 1'32.054 2.079 / 0.031
16. 24 Toni Elias SPA LCR Honda MotoGP Honda 321.6 1'32.503 2.528 / 0.449
6 Damian Cudlin AUS Mapfre Aspar Team MotoGP Ducati 303.8 1'36.666 6.691 / 4.163
