ROOKIE STONER TAKES STUNNING FIRST MOTOGP POLE
07 April 2006 - Moto GP

With the return of intense heat to the Losail Circuit, it was left to Casey Stoner to provide the novelty factor in Qatar.

The Honda rookie took pole for the Commercialbank Grand Prix of Qatar, becoming the second youngest pole-setter in MotoGP since records began, just days older than when MotoGP Legend Freddie Spencer did so in 1982. Stoner clocked a time of 1''55.683, having already topped both yesterday and today''s morning sessions.

Last year''s pole man and current series leader Loris Capirossi was close behind the young Australian, as he looks to repeat his Jerez win tomorrow in the desert.

A late surge from Toni Elias put the Spaniard on the front row, as he continues a run of fine form. The official Honda riders will be one row back from Elias, Nicky Hayden fourth and Dani Pedrosa, who suffered a crash at the end of free practice, coming in fifth.

World Champion Valentino Rossi will be off the front row for the second successive Grand Prix, having qualified in sixth. The Yamahas looked to have made steps forward in the battle with the chattering problem they encountered in Jerez, but with both he and Colin Edwards not in the top three again, separated by Sete Gibernau on the grid, tomorrow''s race will show if all has been resolved or not.

Another rider battling with chatter in Losail was Shinya Nakano, who nonetheless managed to ride his Kawasaki inside the top ten qualifiers, who are completed by yesterday''s fastest rider Kenny Roberts Jr.

Yesterday night also saw three MotoGP stars taking to the track under the cover of darkness. Loris Capirossi, Valentino Rossi and Kenny Roberts Jr. all undertook laps of the circuit at 6.30pm local time, on behalf of the riders'' safety commission in order to assess the possibility of a cooler night race in Losail.

Jorge Lorenzo took his second consecutive pole position of the season in Qatar, coming off the back of a start-to-finish lead in Jerez. The Spaniard''s lap of 2''01.755 broke his own pole time from last year, as he finished in front of team-mate Hector Barbera.
The appearance of Roberto Locatelli and Alex de Angelis made the front row an all-Aprilia affair, with the second line comprising of Sebastian Porto, Andrea Dovizioso, Jakub Smrz and Hiroshi Aoyama. Czech rider Smrz was celebrating his birthday today, and gifted himself seventh place on the grid, his highest ever in the World Championship.

Gilera rider Marco Simoncelli suffered a crash in the final stages of qualifying, although without serious consequences.

Alvaro Bautista will defend his leadership of the 125cc Championship from pole tomorrow, snatching the front spot from Mattia Pasini at the close of the session and denying the Italian a second pole on the bounce. Finland''s Mika Kallio and Spain''s Sergio Gadea complete the front row.

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