MotoGP Info 2011: Stoner smashes lap record in Silverstone qualifying

2011-06-11 12:38
Under darkening skies on Saturday afternoon Casey Stoner outran the competition to pole position in a spellbinding MotoGP qualifying session for the AirAsia British Grand Prix, setting a new lap record of 2’02.020, over a second faster than last year’s pole position record set by Jorge Lorenzo at the then brand new track. Marco Simoncelli ran a close second with a qualifying time of 2’02.208, with Lorenzo in third, 0.029s behind the Italian.

Simoncelli leapt to the top of the timesheet at the start of the session, followed by Lorenzo at the 30-minute mark with a lap 1.5s faster than his best practice time, then by Stoner, who set a time of 2’02.442, and again by Simoncelli who overtook the lead with a lap of 2’02.389, only to have Stoner set an unstoppable lap that sent him to the front of the field.

The rest of the field set far faster times than those of the previous day, with Ben Spies (Yamaha Factory Racing) heading the second row for the AirAsia British Grand Prix race with a time of 2’02.677, over a second faster than his best practice time, followed by Stoner’s team mate Andrea Dovizioso in fifth with a time of 2’03.212. Karel Abraham (Cardion AB Motoracing), who had a crash in the morning session, finished qualifying in sixth, putting his Ducati in the last spot on the second row, with a time of 2’04.151.

Nicky Hayden will start in seventh position 0.153s behind Abraham, followed by Colin Edwards (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) who continued to improve his times while still recovering from a broken collarbone. Álvaro Bautista (Rizla Suzuki) qualified ninth, 0.012s behind Edwards, and Randy de Puniet (Pramac Racing) completed the top ten times with a 2’04.589.

Valentino Rossi (Ducati Team) finished the qualifying session down in 13th, behind Hiroshi Aoyama (San Carlo Honda Gresini) in 11th and Héctor Barberá (Mapfre Aspar) in 12th. The Italian has struggled all weekend to find a set up for the GP11 while simultaneously learning his way around the track after missing last year's race due to injury.

Cal Crutchlow (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) was enjoying a good weekend until a crash after completing just two laps resulted in a broken collarbone and concussion. Toni Elías also crashed in the first half of the session.




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Moto2 qualifying began under dark skies and blustery wind, with Marc Márquez again leading the timings from early in the session, setting a new circuit Moto2 record with a time of 2'08.101 to take pole. Championship leader Stefan Bradl pushed hard in the last five minutes to challenge Márquez for the pole, sliding into corners around his second to last lap, but ended the session in third with a time of 2'08.618, behind the Suter bike of Scott Redding in second.

Jules Cluzel (Forward Racing) moved up to third in the last ten minutes, finally posting a time 0.305s behind Bradl, putting the French rider on the second row of the grid. Simone Corsi put his Ioda Racing Project bike in fifth, 0.053s behind Cluzel and 0.045s in front of the Moriwaki of Michele Pirro (Gresini Racing Moto2).

Aleix Espargaró (Pons HP 40) will start the race from the head of the third row, followed by Randy Krummenacher (GP Team Switzerland Kiefer Racing) and Mike di Meglio in ninth, a substantial improvement for the Tech 3 Racing rider, whose time earlier in the day had him down in 23rd spot.

Alex de Angelis (JiR Moto2) starts from tenth on the grid after qualifying with a time of 2'09.646, with Claudio Corti (Italtrans Racing) and Yuki Takahashi (Gresini Racing) behind the San Marino rider. Bradley Smith, who set practice times that put him 13th in the running in the earlier practice, suffered engine problems during the session, returning to the pits to solve them without great success, setting him back on the grid in 28th.

Max Neukirchner of MZ Racing crashed out around the halfway point of the session, and later Axel Pons (Pons HP 40) crashed in the last minute., though set a time earlier of 2'09.994, putting him 16th, one place in front of the German Neukirchner.




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Spanish riders Nico Terol and Maverick Viñales battled for pole position in a windy 125cc qualifying practice, with 16 year-old Viñales grabbing the top spot with three minutes to go to seal his first ever pole with a time of 2’14.684s. Terol, who finished fourth at Silverstone last year, was 0.036s behind the rookie Viñales and will start the race from second position.

Johann Zarco, Efrén Vázquez and Sandro Cortese battled for the remaining front row spot the entire session, with Zarco landing it with a time of 2’15.266. The French rider finished eighth in the 125cc race at Silverstone last year, after starting from fifth place on the grid. Vázquez will head up the second row after posting a time of 2’15.284. Cortese sits next to Vázquez on the second row in fifth place, followed by Luis Salom who posted a fast lap of 2’15.713.

Third row starts with Héctor Faubel, with Jonas Folger and Alberto Moncayo completing the top nine. Sergio Gadea, who finished 15th in the Moto2 race last year at Silverstone will lead the fourth row, with Adrián Martín next to Gadea and the first British rider on the grid, Danny Kent following Martín in 12th spot. Luigi Morciano (Team Italia FMI), who had a highside in FP3, was declared fit to participate in the qualifying practice and will start 28th on the grid.

Source: MotoGP

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