Casey Stoner remains on course for a hat-trick of Phillip Island wins after taking pole position with a time of 1’30.341 at his home circuit.
Stoner was just 0.050s faster than nearest rival Valentino Rossi, who will take his place on the front row for the ninth consecutive race.
Dani Pedrosa survived a crash to secure third place, with a second bike, after his RC212V lost its nose going into Southern Loop, whilst Rossi’s Fiat Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo took fourth spot
Making up the second row on Sunday will be Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s Colin Edwards – just 0.025s off Lorenzo’s time – with Alex de Angelis following up impressive practice sessions with sixth place, despite an early spill in qualifying.
Stoner’s Ducati Marlboro team-mate Nicky Hayden, LCR Honda rider Randy de Puniet, Mika Kallio (Pramac Racing) and Andrea Dovizioso (Repsol Honda) all made the top ten as well.
AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX
MotoGP Qualifying Practice Classification Pos. Num. Rider Nation Team Motorcycle Lap time Km/h Gap 1 27 Casey STONER AUS Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati 1'30.341 322.404 2 46 Valentino ROSSI ITA Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 1'30.391 316.749 0.050 3 3 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 1'31.070 318.705 0.729 4 99 Jorge LORENZO SPA Fiat Yamaha Team Yamaha 1'31.071 316.379 0.730 5 5 Colin EDWARDS USA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 1'31.096 316.379 0.755 6 15 Alex DE ANGELIS RSM San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 1'31.260 321.161 0.919 7 69 Nicky HAYDEN USA Ducati Marlboro Team Ducati 1'31.325 318.799 0.984 8 14 Randy DE PUNIET FRA LCR Honda MotoGP Honda 1'31.380 315.642 1.039 9 36 Mika KALLIO FIN Pramac Racing Ducati 1'31.384 323.173 1.043 10 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Repsol Honda Team Honda 1'31.472 318.799 1.131 11 24 Toni ELIAS SPA San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda 1'31.640 324.043 1.299 12 52 James TOSELAND GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 1'31.722 317.213 1.381 13 65 Loris CAPIROSSI ITA Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 1'31.873 315.274 1.532 14 33 Marco MELANDRI ITA Hayate Racing Team Kawasaki 1'32.190 318.799 1.849 15 7 Chris VERMEULEN AUS Rizla Suzuki MotoGP Suzuki 1'32.338 313.632 1.997 16 41 Gabor TALMACSI HUN Scot Racing Team MotoGP Honda 1'32.752 313.723 2.411
