Stoner seizes finale pole

Added on Saturday, November 6th, 2010 by Carole Nash Editor | No Comments

Casey Stoner provided the perfect send off for his last Ducati outing at Valencia this afternoon, rocketing to pole position in the final round of the 2010 season.

Stoner kick started his weekend with a strong performance during the qualifying hour, to fight off the 2010 champion Jorge Lorenzo for that all important top spot. Determined to give his Ducati team the ideal finish to their season, and his time racing for the outfit, the Australian will be looking to continue his good form into tomorrow’s race.

Joining Stoner on teh front row of the grid will be Lorenzo in second place, with the FIAT Yamaha rider showing off his one-off helmet design at Valencia. Marco Simoncelli recorded his best qualifying position of the year, achieving his first front row start in the MotoGP series, to qualify third.

A late surge left Valentino Rossi with a fourth place start for tomorrow’s race, with the Italian eager to continue his good form. Joining him on the second row of the grid are Nicky Hayden and Ben Spies, in fifth and sixth, respectively.

The third row of the grid sees Colin Edwards complete the American trio, just ahead of Dani Pedrosa and Andrea Dovizioso, whilst Marco Melandri will round out the top ten.

Randy De Puniet scored an eleventh place grid slot on his LCR Honda MotoGP machine, with Aleix Espargaro keeping him honest in twelfth place. With just five more positions up for grabs for tomorrow’s season finale, Hector Barbera got the jump in thirteenth, leaving Loris Capirossi, Hiroshi Aoyama, Carlos Checa and Alvaro Bautista to line up behind him.

The 2010 season finale is sure to be a thrilling adventure tomorrow afternoon. Despite the championship title already being decided, many riders will be keen to show what they’re made of, as they prepare to switch teams or fight for a 2011 ride.

Pos.	Rider	Nation	Team	Time
1	Casey STONER	AUS	Ducati Team	1’31.799
2	Jorge LORENZO	SPA	Fiat Yamaha Team	1’32.130
3	Marco SIMONCELLI	ITA	San Carlo Honda Gresini	1’32.244
4	Valentino ROSSI	ITA	Fiat Yamaha Team	1’32.330
5	Nicky HAYDEN	USA	Ducati Team	1’32.422
6	Ben SPIES	USA	Monster Yamaha Tech 3	1’32.566
7	Colin EDWARDS	USA	Monster Yamaha Tech 3	1’32.579
8	Dani PEDROSA	SPA	Repsol Honda Team	1’32.603
9	Andrea DOVIZIOSO	ITA	Repsol Honda Team	1’32.886
10	Marco MELANDRI	ITA	San Carlo Honda Gresini	1’32.917
11	Randy DE PUNIET	FRA	LCR Honda MotoGP	1’32.925
12	Aleix ESPARGARO	SPA	Pramac Racing Team	1’33.085
13	Hector BARBERA	SPA	Paginas Amarillas Aspar	1’33.170
14	Loris CAPIROSSI	ITA	Rizla Suzuki MotoGP	1’33.339
15	Hiroshi AOYAMA	JPN	Interwetten Honda MotoGP	1’33.343
16	Carlos CHECA	SPA	Pramac Racing Team	1’33.499
17	Alvaro BAUTISTA	SPA	Rizla Suzuki MotoGP	1’33.515