Submitted by David Emmett on
Results and summary of qualifying for the MotoGP class at Valencia:
Casey Stoner has tied Mick Doohan's record for the most pole positions in a season, by dominating qualifying and securing pole by over a second at Valencia. The Repsol Honda rider took charge of the session early, and was never challenged, putting in a blistering lap with five minutes to go to leave him a second clear of the field.
Stoner's Repsol Honda teammate Dani Pedrosa will start from beside the Australian on Sunday, the Spaniard a second slower than Stoner but nearly two tenths faster than Ben Spies, the Yamaha rider rounding out the front row of the grid. The Ducatis continue to shine in the fickle weather conditions and slippery surface at Valencia, with Randy de Puniet continuing his impressive final outing with the Pramac team to take 4th, ahead of another strong showing from Rizla Suzuki's Alvaro Bautista.
The Marlboro Ducati's had a good session too. Valentino Rossi equaled his best qualifying of the year to take 6th, and the final spot on the second row, while teammate Nicky Hayden starts from 7th and heads up the third row, ahead of Repsol's Andrea Dovizioso and two more Ducatis, the Mapfre Aspar bike of Hector Barbera and the Cardion AB machine of Karel Abraham. Dovizioso had a fairly rough tumble through the gravel at the end of the session, though he got up and walked away from the crash.
Results:
| Pos | No. | Rider | Bike | Time | Diff | Diff Previous |
| 1 | 27 | Casey STONER | HONDA | 1'31.861 | ||
| 2 | 26 | Dani PEDROSA | HONDA | 1'32.875 | 1.014 | 1.014 |
| 3 | 11 | Ben SPIES | YAMAHA | 1'33.057 | 1.196 | 0.182 |
| 4 | 14 | Randy DE PUNIET | DUCATI | 1'33.118 | 1.257 | 0.061 |
| 5 | 19 | Alvaro BAUTISTA | SUZUKI | 1'33.443 | 1.582 | 0.325 |
| 6 | 46 | Valentino ROSSI | DUCATI | 1'33.478 | 1.617 | 0.035 |
| 7 | 69 | Nicky HAYDEN | DUCATI | 1'33.656 | 1.795 | 0.178 |
| 8 | 4 | Andrea DOVIZIOSO | HONDA | 1'33.824 | 1.963 | 0.168 |
| 9 | 8 | Hector BARBERA | DUCATI | 1'34.186 | 2.325 | 0.362 |
| 10 | 17 | Karel ABRAHAM | DUCATI | 1'34.265 | 2.404 | 0.079 |
| 11 | 35 | Cal CRUTCHLOW | YAMAHA | 1'34.329 | 2.468 | 0.064 |
| 12 | 65 | Loris CAPIROSSI | DUCATI | 1'34.671 | 2.810 | 0.342 |
| 13 | 24 | Toni ELIAS | HONDA | 1'34.680 | 2.819 | 0.009 |
| 14 | 7 | Hiroshi AOYAMA | HONDA | 1'34.838 | 2.977 | 0.158 |
| 15 | 89 | Katsuyuki NAKASUGA | YAMAHA | 1'35.999 | 4.138 | 1.161 |
| 16 | 41 | Josh HAYES | YAMAHA | 1'36.042 | 4.181 | 0.043 |
Comments
A difference of over one
A difference of over one second...you just have to read that and weep.
Kevin
I have just read that tomorrow they will do a special lap in honour of Marco Simoncelli with Schwantz riding it.
Maybe Fausto can sign it for next year. :)
Seriously I like the idea of the special lap.
1 second
is some sort of record, right?
Record?
When was the last time someone scored a pole by over 1 second from second place? I can't recall anyone doing that, and I've been watching since the mid 80's. Maybe it's happened in the rain, but in the dry? Sheesh...
Over a second
@chrisvermeulen7 the last person to be out qualified for pole by over a second. Mugello 2007 1.022 behind CS27. Best of the rest!
1 second
That has got to hurt. Pedrosa must be loosing confidence with every outing. Stoner on that Honda for 1 year, and makes it look like there was never a problem with that bike at all. Stoner just continues to amaze. Hope someone steps up to the plate next year to challenge, not just for A race, but the whole year long.
Awesome Stoner
Devastating is the word to describe Stoner`s performance in qualifying, the amount of control and confidence he has in the bike and tyres is almost unbelievable.
De Puniet was i thought most impressive on the GP11, i hope he can turn that into a strong race result and remind teams he is well worthy of a ride next year in Motogp.
Sic, Lorenzo and Edwards
make the factory Duc boys look a lot better...
Stunning!
Stoner makes everyone else look pedestrian! Over one second? DId you guys see the difference between Dani & Casey going through the same turn? His ability is simply overwhelming!
In one of his columns on .............
Superbike Planet, Julian Ryder quoted Keith Huewen saying he could " happily watch Stoner ride around by himself ! "
Him, and many others..............Imagine Stoner on a mile.......
The f+*+*g Sport 1 assholes didn't show the interview with Stoner after qualifying, prattling on about Moto 2...........
What a Difference a Year Makes !?
A year (plus a couple of days ..) ago all eyes were on Vale Rossi
http://motomatters.com/news/2010/11/10/motogp_valencia_day_1_notes.html
The MotoMatters.com 2011 Calendar (Yes, it rocks, and Yes, I'm buying the 2012 version!) for November - photo of Casey Stoner on GP10 with wings @ Indianapolis :
"There is no bigger enigma in MotoGP than Casey Stoner. On any day, at any circuit, Stoner can destroy the competition and put a second a lap on everybody. But he can also just as easily throw away a huge lead by crashing out, his "favorite" method being to lose the front end. ... His crew fixed part of the problem by reverting to an older, narrower and more flexible version of the Ohlins front forks the Ducati Desmosedici uses, which drastically reduced the crashes, then further improved Stoner's fortunes with a revised seating position aimed at accommodating his wrist. The fix bagged another three race wins, but it didn't eliminate the crashing altogether."
A year later and Rossi has found the Ducati to be the worst mistress ever - confusing, mysterious and unwilling to be tamed or understood. Perhaps it should be named "Katherina Minola" - (see Shakespeare for his words on fiery redheads!).
A year later and the "a second a lap on everybody" is still there (see Casey atop QP).
A year later and the enigma seems not be Casey Stoner, but the Ducati itself.
PS - my less than 2 pence opinion .. the GP10 was a heck of a look sexier looking than the various versions of the GP11.x with the "shark gills" .. ugh!
One waits to see what 2012 will bring ...
Taking it easy
In the QP press conference, Stoner said he was taking it easy. Poll by over 1 sec is taking it easy?!
Yeah I heard that too
Quite daunting for his rivals to head such things. He said he could have gone faster. I think what he needed was someone to push him (Jorge - we miss you).
Yes he also said that if the
Yes he also said that if the conditions were more stable, the other riders would have done faster times. It seems he was the most comfortable in the tricky conditions. Evidenced by the fantastic loooong slides he was laying down on his fast laps.