Casey Stoner recorded his best ever MotoGP qualifying performance at the Jerez circuit to secure a front row spot for what promises to be a scintillating Spanish Grand Prix tomorrow. The Ducati MotoGP rider clocked the third fastest time in this afternoon’s qualifying session behind local pair Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa, with his team-mate Nicky Hayden set to start from sixteenth on the grid after being unsettled by a dramatic change in the track conditions this afternoon.
After a tentative first day yesterday, Hayden made improvements this morning and was tenth fastest in the final free practice session. However, with a 15ºC increase in track temperature and the arrival of high winds he was unable to maintain his progress in the afternoon, lapping almost half a second slower than he had in the morning. Stoner also struggled with the tricky conditions but increased his pace and confidence towards the end of the session, eventually closing to within half a second of Lorenzo’s pole effort.
Casey Stoner – 3rd (1:39.415)
“Our bike has never really worked well here in the past but we worked hard during the test and over the past two days to come up with a package that is at least competitive. This morning it felt really good and even though we weren’t top of the time sheets I felt confident. Unfortunately the wind tends to unsettle our bike and it was pretty hairy out there this afternoon – it certainly didn’t help me feel more confident with the bike after the front end issues we had yesterday! I set myself the target of a position on the second row so to get on the front row is an unexpected bonus and it will be really helpful for tomorrow. Until the last couple of years I’d always found it hard…

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