By clinching pole at the Spanish Grand Prix in Jerez, Casey Stoner continued his remarkable early-season performance.
The Australian, who triumphed in Qatar the previous month, recorded a time of one minute 38.757 seconds, which was 0.158 seconds faster than his Repsol Honda teammate Dani Pedrosa.
Completing the front row, just as in the season opener last month, was world champion Jorge Lorenzo in third place.
Valentino Rossi, a nine-time world champion, unfortunately crashed during qualifying, leaving him to settle for 12th position.
The Italian had to switch to his spare bike after an early incident in the qualifying session, resulting in a performance that was well below par for the 32-year-old.
Struggling to keep pace with the Hondas, Ducati’s Nicky Hayden ended up in 11th position on the starting grid.
Ben Spies, Lorenzo’s Yamaha teammate, secured the fourth spot on the grid, just ahead of Gresini Honda’s Marco Simoncelli and Andrea Dovizioso of Repsol.
However, none of the riders managed to match the incredible speed set by Repsol Hondas Stoner and Pedrosa.
While 25-year-old Stoner has only reached the podium once in Andalucia back in 2009, the 2007 world champion laid down an impressive benchmark for his competitors amid overcast conditions.
“After I got my 28th career pole, I tried to push for another lap but made a slight error on the brakes and almost hit the wall,” he remarked.
“Although this isn’t my favorite track, I feel we are well-prepared for the race.”
