Casey Stoner easily takes pole position during qualifying for Phillip Island MotoGP, with Jorge Lorenzo second and Dani Pedrosa third; Valentino Rossi eighth, Nicky Hayden 10th, Colin Edwards 16th
PHILLIP ISLAND, AUSTRALIA, OCT 27 – The Australian Grand Prix will be historic, regardless of the result. Whether favored son Casey Stoner (Repsol Honda) wins the race for a record sixth time or whether Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo clinches his second MotoGP World Championship, the race won’t soon be forgotten.
The race on Phillip Island has been marked on the calendar ever since Stoner announced earlier this MotoGP season that it would be his last. There were races many wanted to see, but none had the appeal of Phillip Island. Stoner and the track have a connection like few others. Before Stoner won five in a row Valentino Rossi had run off five in a row. In between the two Marco Melandri won the race for his one and only time. If he wins for a sixth time, it will be yet another marker Stoner can put between himself and Rossi.
When Stoner was forced to undergo surgery following his MotoGP qualifying crash in the Red Bull Indy GP, he penciled the Japanese Grand Prix at Motegi as the race for his return, but mostly to get race fit for Phillip Island. Neither Motegi nor Sepang were satisfying. And despite the passing of time, his surgically repaired right ankle has gotten worse. But Philip Island is mostly lefts—dirt trackers, and Stoner is a former dirt tracker, love it—with only two rights.
Stoner managed to fall in one of the rights about 20 minutes into the MotoGP qualifying session. Ironically it was in the Honda hairpin right. An engine braking glitch was the culprit, Stoner would later say. The crash came as he was entering the corner on an out lap. The bike somersaulted down the track with Stoner making sure to avoid it. The bike was heavily damaged, Stoner walked away.
aPhoto Gallery: MotoGP Phillip Island qualifying report—Stoner on pole - Sport Rider Magazine
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