Stoner Takes The Pole In Home Race; Rossi Struggles After Crash
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Oct 04, 2008
MotoGP
Australia’s Casey Stoner shrugged off a persistent wrist injury and a fall in final practice to claim pole position on Saturday for the Australian MotoGP.
Valentino Rossi, who won his fifth MotoGP world title last week in Japan, fell off his Yamaha with 15 minutes remaining in qualifying for Sunday’s race. He rode off the track and on to the grass before falling heavily on his right shoulder in the gravel.
Rossi’s team mate Jorge Lorenzo was second fastest in 1:28.734, while American Nicky Hayden, who is joining Stoner at Ducati from Honda next year, qualified third in 1:28.756.
Rossi returned to the track with minutes left in the session but could only finish 12th fastest behind Australian Casey Stoner, who took pole position for Sunday’s race with a track record one minute 28.665 seconds.
Rossi, who has not won in Australia for the last two years, will now have to start off the outside of the third row of the grid in the Phillip Island GP with Stoner favorite to repeat his 2007 race win.
