2012 Assen MotoGP Qualifying Practice: Blistering Last Lap Nabs Pole In Rain-Hit Session

Submitted by David Emmett on

Results and summary of qualifying for the MotoGP class at Assen:

Casey Stoner has taken his third pole position of the season at Assen, posting a scorching lap in the final minutes of qualifying to secure the top spot.

The session had been difficult, with the rain coming and going throughout qualifying though it never really fell hard enough to make the tracky fully wet, and the win and occasional glimpses of the sun were strong enough to dry the track out quickly. When the rain fell the first time, Stoner had been down in 9th, climbing up to 6th after the first session of rain, but as the entire field took to the track for a final shot at setting a fast lap, Stoner seared around the track to take pole.

Repsol Honda teammate Dani Pedrosa will start from 2nd, the Spaniard ending his fastest lap a tenth of a second behind Stoner, while Yamaha's Jorge Lorenzo ended in 3rd, after leading for most of qualifying. Stefan Bradl posted a very fast lap at the end of qualifying to finish 4th, his best qualifying position of his rookie year, and ahead of the Monster Tech 3 Yamaha of Cal Crutchlow and the second factory Yamaha of Ben Spies. Andrea Dovizioso will start from 7th, with Alvaro Bautista in 8th, the San Carlo Gresini man denied a last shot at pole by a late crash, and Nicky Hayden in 9th rounding out the third row. Valentino Rossi ended the session in 10th, the two factory Ducatis failing to capitalize on the improvements made on Thursday.

Results:

Pos No. Rider Bike Time Diff Diff Previous
1 1 Casey STONER HONDA 1'33.713    
2 26 Dani PEDROSA HONDA 1'33.828 0.115 0.115
3 99 Jorge LORENZO YAMAHA 1'34.001 0.288 0.173
4 6 Stefan BRADL HONDA 1'34.035 0.322 0.034
5 35 Cal CRUTCHLOW YAMAHA 1'34.486 0.773 0.451
6 11 Ben SPIES YAMAHA 1'34.644 0.931 0.158
7 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO YAMAHA 1'34.698 0.985 0.054
8 19 Alvaro BAUTISTA HONDA 1'34.722 1.009 0.024
9 69 Nicky HAYDEN DUCATI 1'34.751 1.038 0.029
10 46 Valentino ROSSI DUCATI 1'35.057 1.344 0.306
11 8 Hector BARBERA DUCATI 1'35.289 1.576 0.232
12 14 Randy DE PUNIET ART 1'35.830 2.117 0.541
13 41 Aleix ESPARGARO ART 1'36.007 2.294 0.177
14 51 Michele PIRRO FTR 1'36.647 2.934 0.640
15 54 Mattia PASINI ART 1'36.943 3.230 0.296
16 9 Danilo PETRUCCI IODA 1'36.967 3.254 0.024
17 17 Karel ABRAHAM DUCATI 1'37.110 3.397 0.143
18 68 Yonny HERNANDEZ BQR 1'37.191 3.478 0.081
19 77 James ELLISON ART 1'37.281 3.568 0.090
20 22 Ivan SILVA BQR 1'37.554 3.841 0.273
21 5 Colin EDWARDS SUTER 1'38.305 4.592 0.751

 

2012
MotoGP
Assen, The Netherlands
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Comments

pagik replied on

Was nowhere NEAR it!! I had this down as Jorge running away with it all. I think he did too!!! You've gotta hand it to Casey, you really have..

Hugelean replied on

Good lap by Casey to just pip Dani by a 10th, reminded me of Nickys old days of being mid pack all weekend with race tyres only to put a quali in and be regular front row though he didn't get half the attention to be fair.... Is Rossi and Ducati finally over(at last!), it is hard to imagine with all the frames Honda and Yam bring and their bike is already fantastic yet Presiozi reckons his first ever twin spar was right first time and in no further need of development.. Is it true after all the talk there are hardly any updates for LS?? I had a job like Rossi once when I was younger, turned out the whole thing was bullshit just to get you on board.. Though luckily I didn't have to stay for the whole year once I found out... Hope him and Honda sort their differences, despite the rhetoric, the bike clearly is a fast as ever and the tyres work fine once you figure them out. 3 in the top 4 used to be total domination, wonder how Jorge felt knowing he'd just resigned with yam??(well done yam) still not convinced Honda have sorted their race out yet, but if Casey does go with the soft, it will be fun watching Jorge trying to reel him in later in the race if he isn't long gone....

reitboy replied on

Dani's my darkhorse here. He's got comparable race pace to Jorge on the hard compound. Stoner surprised everyone (even himself) with his blistering qualifying lap but I think he'll end up sticking with the hard tire for the race. I've guessing Jorge or Dani for the win with Stoner 3rd.

seniorbiker replied on
Site Supporter

I'm sorry, but when will Colin Edwards realise that he just has'nt got it any more. I know his supporters will jump to his defence with everything to blame except him.

Texas Tornado? More like a damp weekend in Cleethorpes.

Averagerider replied on

Isn't he injured? At the beginning of the year him and Randy DePuniet were battling for top CRT spots regularly.

3B43 replied on
Site Supporter

Stoner on pose is really surprising! Gotta to hand it to him...I'm sure he was pushing as hard are ever to make a point. Problem is, I think Jorge has this race 'covered' unless something happens unexpected e.g. someone takes him out. You guys see his expression during the interviews? He seemed surprised at Casey's pace, but looked so totally confident at his race pace, I think this one''s all but over. Come on Honda.....Fix Your Damn Bike!!!

Ducati: I think the fat lady is singing her lungs out!

calisdad replied on

faster than Major Sherman. He should just shut up and ride off into the sunset. Crutch is the guy we want to hear from.

Dani can't win races let alone championships. And yes Colin, time for you to attend to your boot camp. No one will blame you for leaving. Its time.