Simoncelli nabs pole from Spies
Added on Friday, June 24th, 2011 by Carole Nash Editor
Simoncelli nabs pole from Spies
Marco Simoncelli will start on pole position for tomorrow’s Dutch TT in Assen after edging out Ben Spies by just 0.009 seconds in qualifying.
The Gresini Honda rider put in a fastest lap of 1:34.718 to secure pole position for Saturday’s race, just nine thousandths of a second ahead of Yamaha’s Spies.
Spies was however left to rue a heavy crash for Loris Capirossi during the session, which disrupted him during a fast lap.
Championship leader Casey Stoner was third fastest on the Repsol Honda whilst defending champion Jorge Lorenzo will lead the second row.
He will be joined by Andrea Dovizioso and Britain’s Cal Crutchlow, who gave a gutsy performance to claim sixth place, just two weeks after suffering a broken collarbone in a fall at Silverstone.
| Pos | Rider | Nat | Team | Time |
| 1 | Marco Simoncelli | ITA | San Carlo Honda Gresini | 1:34.718 |
| 2 | Ben Spies | USA | Yamaha Factory Racing | + 0.009 |
| 3 | Casey Stoner | AUS | Repsol Honda | + 0.290 |
| 4 | Jorge Lorenzo | SPA | Yamaha Factory Racing | + 0.425 |
| 5 | Andrea Dovizioso | ITA | Repsol Honda | + 0.526 |
| 6 | Cal Crutchlow | GBR | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | + 0.611 |
| 7 | Karel Abraham | CZE | Cardion AB Ducati | + 1.024 |
| 8 | Colin Edwards | USA | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | + 1.100 |
| 9 | Nicky Hayden | USA | Ducati | + 1.148 |
| 10 | Randy de Puniet | FRA | Pramac Ducati | + 1.717 |
| 11 | Valentino Rossi | ITA | Ducati | + 1.846 |
| 12 | Hiroshi Aoyama | JAP | Repsol Honda | + 1.862 |
| 13 | Hector Barbera | SPA | Mapfre Aspar Ducati | + 1.872 |
| 14 | Alvaro Bautista | SPA | Rizla Suzuki | + 2.102 |
| 15 | Loris Capirossi | ITA | Pramac Ducati | + 2.412 |
| 16 | Toni Elias | SPA | LCR Honda | + 2.933 |
| 17 | Kousuke Akiyoshi | JAP | San Carlo Honda Gresini | + 4.288 |
