British MotoGP: Stoner takes pole position

Repsol Honda rider Casey Stoner will start tomorrow’s Silverstone MotoGP from pole position after battling with Jorge Lorenzo and Marco Simoncelli for the entirity of the session.

Stoner set the fastest lap with a 2’02.020 to beat Simoneclli by 0.188sec but Italian Simoncelli came close to taking pole position on his final lap. The Honda rider was 1.001sec faster than Stoner, but lost time in the final sector.

World champion Jorge Lorenzo completes the front row in third position.

Factory Yamaha rider Ben Spies heads the second row ahead of Andrea Dovizioso and Karel Abraham.

Brit hopeful Cal Crutchlow may not start tomorrow after he crashed at the start of his third lap. The Tech 3 rider was taken to the medical centre where he was found to have fractured his left collarbone and had suffered a concussion.

Colin Edwards, who broke his right collarbone at Catalunya last week, qualified in eighth place.

The big surprise of the session was that Valentino Rossi will start the race tomorrow from 13th on the grid, 3.761secs behind Stoner, with only Toni Elias and Loris Capirossi behind him.

1 27 Casey STONER AUS Repsol Honda Team Honda 308.9 2’02.020 
2 58 Marco SIMONCELLI ITA San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 306.6 2’02.208 0.188 / 0.188
3 1 Jorge LORENZO SPA Yamaha Factory Racing Yamaha 305.3 2’02.237 0.217 / 0.029
4 11 Ben SPIES USA Yamaha Factory Racing Yamaha 304.1 2’02.677 0.657 / 0.440
5 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Repsol Honda Team Honda 309.4 2’03.212 1.192 / 0.535
6 17 Karel ABRAHAM CZE Cardion AB Motoracing Ducati 303.2 2’04.151 2.131 / 0.939
7 69 Nicky HAYDEN USA Ducati Team Ducati 302.7 2’04.304 2.284 / 0.153
8 5 Colin EDWARDS USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 300.6 2’04.508 2.488 / 0.204
9 19 Alvaro BAUTISTA SPA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 304.0 2’04.520 2.500 / 0.012
10 14 Randy DE PUNIET FRA Pramac Racing Team Ducati 302.2 2’04.589 2.569 / 0.069
11 7 Hiroshi AOYAMA JPN San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 306.7 2’04.919 2.899 / 0.330
12 8 Hector BARBERA SPA Mapfre Aspar Team MotoGP Ducati 305.8 2’05.164 3.144 / 0.245
13 46 Valentino ROSSI ITA Ducati Team Ducati 302.3 2’05.781 3.761 / 0.617
14 24 Toni ELIAS SPA LCR Honda MotoGP Honda 304.5 2’05.862 3.842 / 0.081
15 65 Loris CAPIROSSI ITA Pramac Racing Team Ducati 304.2 2’06.256 4.236 / 0.394
16 35 Cal CRUTCHLOW GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 297.1 2’07.911 5.891 / 1.655