Casey Stoner celebrated his 25th birthday by taking pole in qualifying for Sunday’s Australian MotoGP.
The Ducati rider clocked the fastest lap of one minute 30.107 seconds in the final minutes just before rain began to slow his rivals at Phillip Island.
The Australian is chasing a fourth consecutive win in his home race.
New world champion Jorge Lorenzo will be second on the grid, with American Yamaha rider Ben Spies third. Valentino Rossi could only manage eighth.
Spain’s Lorenzo briefly threatened to spoil Stoner’s party when he recorded the fastest lap with fewer than 15 minutes remaining in the session.
But the Australian bettered his time twice in chilly conditions to underscore his mastery of the circuit. BBC Sport
Another rookie also thrived in the cool and windy conditions, with Marco Simoncelli claiming fourth on the grid for San Carlo Honda Gresini. Spies’ team-mate Colin Edwards was fifth and Stoner’s factory Ducati team-mate Nicky Hayden sixth.
Hayden crashed at low speed in the final five minutes, but the rain meant the tumble didn’t cost him as much as it might have.
Rossi, who will start just behind LCR Honda’s Randy de Puniet, was 1.520sec slower than Stoner.
Another Italian, Andrea Dovizioso, also had a session to forget. The Repsol Honda riders, second at the last two races, managed only ninth place and was almost two seconds from Stoner.
Team-mate Dani Pedrosa, returning just two weeks’ after a multiple collarbone fracture, qualifying 15th on the grid, ahead of only Hector Barbera (Aspar Ducati) and Loris Capirossi (Rizla Suzuki), who both limped away from sizeable falls. Yahoo! Eurosport
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