Casey Stoner took his 11th pole position of the 2011 MotoGP season today in front of his home crowd in Australia. Stoner was more than .4 seconds ahead of the second fastest rider at Phillip Island, Jorge Lorenzo, while claiming his fourth consecutive front row start.
Stoner set a 1'29.975 lap around the Phillip Island circuit, beating out Jorge Lorenzo by .47 seconds. The Repsol Honda rider has won his last four races at the Australian circuit and put himself in a great position to take home his fifth win, and possibly the championship.
"So far so good, we have a good race pace and the bike's feeling pretty good at the moment. We still need to improve the rear grip, but I think this is the same for everyone, we'd also like to get the harder rear tyre working better for the race," Stoner said. "I think my chances of taking the Championship here tomorrow is pretty slim to be honest, we're just going to go out there and concentrate on winning the race."
Stoner looks like he's on pace to take the win tomorrow, but he'll need Jorge Lorenzo to finish off of the podium if he wants to claim the championship.
The two top riders will be joined by Marco Simoncelli, who steps onto the front row for the first time since Mugello.
Alvaro Bautista earned his best qualifying of the season with a fourth place finish. The Rizla Suzuki rider will be joined by Andrea Dovizioso and Nicky Hayden.
