Repsol Honda’s Casey Stoner takes pole position for 2011 Japanese Grand Prix – MotoGP news
Repsol Honda rider Casey Stoner took his tenth pole position in the 2011 MotoGP season at the Grand Prix of Japan.
The Aussie rider set a new best lap time for the Twin Ring Motegi circuit. Stoner marked 1 minute and 45.267 seconds to claim the pole position for Sunday’s event.
His teammates Andrea Dovizioso and Dani Pedrosa stood strong in top three positions throughout the practice days. In the Qualifying Practice session, Dovizioso settled in first row and Dani will lead the second row on the grid.
Stoner said, “Everything has gone very well so far this weekend, we've been fastest in all but one session so it's been fantastic. We tried a few different settings this afternoon and didn't really improve so we'll probably go back to this morning's setting
for tomorrow.”
Stoner added that the change in weather is very important. It is expected to rain on the raceday, and if it happens, the strategy will change completely. The race setup at the moment is at its best according to dry conditions.
He also praised the efforts of Yamaha factory rider Jorge Lorenzo. The Spaniard improved his setup to place himself in first row.
On the other side Stoner’s teammates Andrea Dovizioso and Dani Pedrosa held fourth and fifth positions respectively. The Italian Repsol Honda rider has been determined to stay ahead of Dani Pedrosa to ensue his third position in the championship.
Dovizioso said, “I'm very happy to be on the front row here in Motegi! This afternoon we improved again from this morning and I feel very confident, especially under braking. We still haven't decided on the tyre for tomorrow as we are good on both compounds
but I feel positive for the race and for the fight for the podium tomorrow.”
Dovizioso was pleased with the team efforts and feels that Honda works really well at the Motegi.
Their third Repsol teammate Dani Pedrosa finished in top three positions during practices but in QP session, a soft tyre choice let him down to the fifth place on the grid.
The initial laps in the session were going well. During the mid of the session, Pedrosa stood at top for a while until Lorenzo passed his best lap time. Later on Lorenzo’s best effort was challenged by Stoner who finally took the pole seat.
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