Stoner takes MotoGP pole

Championship leader Casey Stoner is back on top in the Czech Grand Prix, taking pole position ahead of the two Repsol Hondas. The Ducati rider ended the session 0.280 seconds ahead of reigning champion Nicky Hayden. Hayden's teammate Dani Pedrosa took third.

Nicky Hayden: “This weekend, even though we haven’t put in the one quick lap in every session, we’ve quietly been reasonably close to the pace and perhaps a bit better than it looked on paper. This afternoon the warmer temperature helped us, the tires worked better and straight away we were able to get down into those 1m 58s laps where we need to be. I quite enjoyed my qualifying laps. My first run went pretty well and on my second one I hung it out a little bit further and was able to go a couple of tenths faster – it was fun. For the afternoon session we changed the bike geometry around which seemed to help us. We’ll see what happens in the race tomorrow, but nonetheless that’s my first front row of the season so I’ll try to get a good start and turn it into a good result."

Pos Rider Make Time
1. Casey Stoner Ducati (B) 1:56.884
2. Nicky Hayden Honda (M) 1:57.164 + 0.280
3. Daniel Pedrosa Honda (M) 1:57.179 + 0.295
4. John Hopkins Suzuki (B) 1:57.567 + 0.683
5. Randy de Puniet Kawasaki (B) 1:57.599 + 0.715
6. Valentino Rossi Yamaha (M) 1:57.640 + 0.756
7. Loris Capirossi Ducati (B) 1:57.665 + 0.781
8. Chris Vermeulen Suzuki (B) 1:57.699 + 0.815
9. Colin Edwards Yamaha (M) 1:57.702 + 0.818
10. Sylvain Guintoli Yamaha (D) 1:57.732 + 0.848
11. Shinya Nakano Honda (M) 1:57.969 + 1.085
12. Carlos Checa Honda (M) 1:58.143 + 1.259
13. Alex Barros Ducati (B) 1:58.204 + 1.320
14. Toni Elias Honda (B) 1:58.264 + 1.380
15. Makoto Tamada Yamaha (D) 1:58.399 + 1.515
16. Anthony West Kawasaki (B) 1:59.386 + 2.502
17. Kurtis Roberts KR (M) 1:59.446 + 2.562
18. Ivan Silva Ducati (B) 1:59.721 + 2.837