Casey Stoner will be lining up in the first spot on the grid tomorrow for the second race of the 2011 MotoGP season in Jerez. Stoner will be joined on the front row by his teammate, Dani Pedrosa, and 2010 MotoGP champion, Jorge Lorenzo.
Stoner captured the pole position on his debut for the Repsol Honda team during the first round of the MotoGP season in Qatar. Stoner won that first race from pole, and with a pace that is more than a second faster than most of the MotoGP grid, you can bet that Stoner will be fighting for the race win tomorrow.
Stoner will have to contend with Pedrosa, however, who finished just .15 seconds behind. But the biggest question for Pedrosa isn't about his speed, it's about his endurance. Pedrosa will be undergoing surgery on his shoulder after the Jerez race, due to an injury that causes numbness in his arm. The injury hindered him in Qatar, and it could cost him a second or two tomorrow.
The final spot on the front row went to Jorge Lorenzo. Lorenzo was able to squeeze between the two Repsol riders at Qatar for a second place finish, and it looks like we could see very similar results this weekend in Jerez.
Lorenzo's teammate Ben Spies will start the second row, and will be joined by Marco Simoncelli and Andrea Dovisioso. Dovizioso was the 6th quickest rider today, and the final rider to finish within a second of the pace setter.
The MotoGP qualifying session at Jerez was a crash filled affair, seeing a number of riders, including Valentino Rossi, hit the gravel. Rossi went down early in the session, and had to finish the qualifying on a replacement bike. Rossi finished in 12th place today, and we'll have his work cut out for him tomorrow.
MotoGP Qualifying Results - Jerez
- Casey STONER - Repsol Honda Team - 1'38.757
- Dani PEDROSA - Repsol Honda Team - 1'38.915
- Jorge LORENZO - Yamaha Factory Racing - 1'38.918
- Ben SPIES -Yamaha Factory Racing - 1'39.390
- Marco SIMONCELLI - San Carlo Honda Gresini - 1'39.486
- Andrea DOVIZIOSO - Repsol Honda Team - 1'39.709
- Randy DE PUNIET - Pramac Racing Team - 1'39.892
- Colin EDWARDS - Monster Yamaha Tech 3 - 1'39.895
- Cal CRUTCHLOW - Monster Yamaha Tech 3 - 1'40.019
- Hiroshi AOYAMA - San Carlo Honda Gresini - 1'40.168
