Marco Simoncelli will start Sunday's Catalan Grand Prix from the front of the grid, setting a time of 1:42.413 to take his first ever MotoGP pole position at the Circuit de Catalunya. The Italian ended the on hour qualifying session just 16 thousandths ahead of Casey Stoner, while championship leader Jorge Lorenzo grabbed third.
Stoner had looked comfortable up front with a string of quick laps, but a late effort from Simoncelli created a dramatic change at the top of the timesheets. Ben Spies was best of the rest after Yamaha team-mate Lorenzo, securing a place at the front of row two ahead of Repsol Honda's Andrea Dovizioso.
Cal Crutchlow repeated his Le Mans qualifying performance for Tech 3 Yamaha, setting a time worthy of the final spot on the second row. Factory Ducati pair Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden secured seventh and eighth respectively after a relatively low key session, edging out Spaniards Álvaro Bautista and Héctor Barberá.
Sunday’s race begins at 2pm local time (BST +1)
Series
MotoGP
Personalities
Marco Simoncelli
Teams
Gresini Racing
Other
Get your official MotoGP tickets at Sportstadium.com
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Time | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |  M. Simoncelli | Gresini | 01:42.413 | 26 |
| 2. | C. Stoner | Repsol Honda | 01:42.429 | 24 |
| 3. | J. Lorenzo | Fiat Yamaha | 01:42.728 | 25 |
| 4. | B. Spies | Fiat Yamaha | 01:42.742 | 27 |
| 5. | A. Dovizioso | Repsol Honda | 01:42.749 | 28 |
| 6. | C. Crutchlow | Tech 3 | 01:43.202 | 22 |
| 7. | V. Rossi | Ducati | 01:43.223 | 26 |
| 8. | N. Hayden | Ducati | 01:43.228 | 26 |
| 9. | A. Bautista | Rizla Suzuki | 01:43.447 | 29 |
| 10. | H. Barbera | Aspar Team | 01:43.656 | 26 |
| Full results | ||||
| Marco Simoncelli | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 |  |  |  |
| More Marco Simoncelli photos | |||
English
Nederlands
Español
Italiano
