2011 MotoGP
Two significant things happened in Saturday’s qualifying for the 2011 Silverstone MotoGP: Casey Stoner took his fourth pole out of six rounds, shattering the track record, and Cal Crutchlow broke his collarbone.
With the threat of rain, Casey Stoner piloted his Repsol Honda RC212V to a new lap record of 2:02.020, over a second quicker than last year’s pole-record set by Yamaha Factory Racing’s Jorge Lorenzo.
Finishing the front row for Sunday’s AirAsia British Grand Prix was last week’s pole sitter Marco Simoncelli and the reigning MotoGP Champion, Jorge Lorenzo. Simoncelli was 0.188 of a second behind Stoner, with Lorenzo only 0.029 behind Simoncelli. Both Lorenzo and Simoncelli also posted laps under last year’s pole-record.
Starting at top of the second row is the American Ben Spies. The Yamaha Factory Racing rider posted a 2:02.677, and was followed by Stoner’s teammate Andrea Dovizioso. After a crash, Karel Abraham (Cardion AB Motoracing Ducati) posted the sixth-fastest time, taking the final spot on the second row.
Abraham’s Ducati was followed by another on the grid, Nicky Hayden. The American posted the seventh-fastest time aboard the Ducati Team GP11. He was joined on the third row by Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s Colin Edwards, who is recovering from a broken collarbone at Catalunya, and the sole Suzuki rider, Rizla’s Alvaro Bautista on the GSV-R.
As for Valentino Rossi, the Ducati Team rider qualified 13th on the grid.
During qualifying, Crutchlow crashed his Monster Tech 3 on the second lap, breaking his left collarbone. The Brit will miss his home race at Silverstone. Due to the absence of Crutchlow and Dani Pedrosa, Sunday’s Silvestone MotoGP grid will only contain 15 riders.
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2011 Silverstone MotoGP: Qualifying Results
| Pos. | Num. | Rider | Nation | Team | Bike | Km/h | Time | Gap 1st/Prev. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 27 | Casey STONER | AUS | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 308.9 | 2’02.020 | Â |
| 2. | 58 | Marco SIMONCELLI | ITA | San Carlo Honda Gresini | Honda | 306.6 | 2’02.208 | 0.188 / 0.188 |
| 3. | 1 | Jorge LORENZO | SPA | Yamaha Factory Racing | Yamaha | 305.3 | 2’02.237 | 0.217 / 0.029 |
| 4. | 11 | Ben SPIES | USA | Yamaha Factory Racing | Yamaha | 304.1 | 2’02.677 | 0.657 / 0.440 |
| 5. | 4 | Andrea DOVIZIOSO | ITA | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 309.4 | 2’03.212 | 1.192 / 0.535 |
| 6. | 17 | Karel ABRAHAM | CZE | Cardion AB Motoracing | Ducati | 303.2 | 2’04.151 | 2.131 / 0.939 |
| 7. | 69 | Nicky HAYDEN | USA | Ducati Team | Ducati | 302.7 | 2’04.304 | 2.284 / 0.153 |
| 8. | 5 | Colin EDWARDS | USA | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | 300.6 | 2’04.508 | 2.488 / 0.204 |
| 9. | 19 | Alvaro BAUTISTA | SPA | Rizla Suzuki MotoGP | Suzuki | 304.0 | 2’04.520 | 2.500 / 0.012 |
| 10. | 14 | Randy DE PUNIET | FRA | Pramac Racing Team | Ducati | 302.2 | 2’04.589 | 2.569 / 0.069 |
| 11. | 7 | Hiroshi AOYAMA | JPN | San Carlo Honda Gresini | Honda | 306.7 | 2’04.919 | 2.899 / 0.330 |
| 12. | 8 | Hector BARBERA | SPA | Mapfre Aspar Team MotoGP | Ducati | 305.8 | 2’05.164 | 3.144 / 0.245 |
| 13. | 46 | Valentino ROSSI | ITA | Ducati Team | Ducati | 302.3 | 2’05.781 | 3.761 / 0.617 |
| 14. | 24 | Toni ELIAS | SPA | LCR Honda MotoGP | Honda | 304.5 | 2’05.862 | 3.842 / 0.081 |
| 15. | 65 | Loris CAPIROSSI | ITA | Pramac Racing Team | Ducati | 304.2 | 2’06.256 | 4.236 / 0.394 |
| 16. | 35 | Cal CRUTCHLOW | GBR | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | 297.1 | 2’07.911 | 5.891 / 1.655 |
