Nov 7, 2009 12:25 pm US/Eastern
Stoner Fastest In Valencia GP Qualifying
VALENCIA, Spain (AP) ―
Casey Stoner will start the season-ending Valencia Grand Prix from pole position after running fastest in qualifying on Saturday.
Stoner, who won here last year, set a quickest lap time of 1 minute, 32.256 seconds around the Cheste circuit on his Ducati bike.
The Australian rider will start ahead of Honda rival Dani Pedrosa and Yamaha pair Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi, who has already clinched the season championship.
"I'm feeling pretty good and the bike feels good, we just need to make sure tomorrow morning that everything is still going smoothly and we're happy with the setting," Stoner said.
He is trying for a third straight win after having missed three races this season due to illness.
"It's going to be a very hard race, there are a lot of people going for this win and trying to get the best result they can," he said. "There's hopefully going to be fireworks tomorrow."
Pedrosa trails third-place Stoner by 11 points in the overall standings, while Lorenzo needs only a single point to clinch second in the championship.
Spanish rider Alex Debon took pole in the 250cc category, while Marco Simoncelli of Italy improved his chances of catching series leader Hiroshi Aoyama after qualifying second. Aoyama was fifth. The Japanese rider holds a 21-point lead over his Gilera rival.
In the 125cc category, champion Julian Simon of Spain will start from pole position after edging Simone Corsi of Italy for the top qualifying time.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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