Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa continued his domination of the MotoGP proceedings at Brno, qualifying on pole with Jorge Lorenzo second and Casey Stoner third; Spies fourth, Rossi sixth, Edwards eighth, Hayden ninth, Hopkins crashes in morning practice, out for weekend
Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa continued his domination of the Brno MotoGP weekend by grabbing pole position at the Czech Republic circuit with a time that put the Spaniard firmly on top of the qualifying timesheets, yet still didn’t approach his stunning lap of Friday morning. A morning rain put the field on wet tires for the third free practice session, but it also washed off some of the rubber buildup on the track, reducing traction a bit and forcing everyone to struggle for grip. Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo found some additional speed to put himself in second spot on the grid, while Pedrosa’s teammate Casey Stoner managed to take the last position on the front row after crashing in the morning.
Ben Spies is still suffering from numbness resulting from the pinched nerve in his neck, but somehow coped well enough to grab fourth spot on the second factory Yamaha, while San Carlo Honda Gresini’s Marco Simoncelli came in just ahead of vastly improved Valentino Rossi on the Ducati, whose sixth-place qualifying position is his best of the year. Monster Tech 3 Yamaha’s Colin Edwards finished the session in eighth spot after going back to last year’s settings, with Nicky Hayden managing to put in a quick lap to qualify ninth.
Unfortunately for wildcard John Hopkins, his promising weekend on the Rizla Suzuki came to an early end when he crashed in the wet morning practice. What appeared to be a harmless front-end lowside turned badly when he caught his hand as he slid into the gravel trap outside the turn. Hopkins suffered three fractured fingers on his right hand, with one separation at the knuckle making it impossible for him to grip the throttle, ruling him out for the weekend.
Photo Gallery: 2011 MotoGP Brno qualifying report results—Pedrosa gets first pole of season - Sport Rider Magazine
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