The Losail International Circuit at Qatar saw a lot of action during MotoGP qualifying practice on Saturday evening.

Ducati Marlboro rider Casey Stoner secured Pole position for himself for the Sunday night’s race. The spectators saw a constant battle between Stoner and opponent, Yamaha’s Valentino Rossi.

Rossi was faster than Stoner around the first half of his final lap, but unfortunately for him Stoner marked a best lap of 1’55.007 and Rossi fell short by 0.355s.

Stoner said: “You never know what’s going to happen on Sunday, so we’re not playing our chances down, we’re just being realistic. We’ve been let down in the past a few times when things have looked good – it’s one thing to start the season strong but you have to finish it strong. We’re going to try and stay a bit more focused this year, and pole position is definitely the best way to start off the season.”

Reigning World Champion Valentino Rossi (Fiat Yamaha) was second fastest in the hour-long qualifying with a time of 1’55.362, as he secured his starting position on the grid.

Rossi’s Fiat Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo looks to be in good shape despite an injured left hand as he managed to put the second Yamaha on the outside of the front row.

Pos  Rider             Team               Time       Gap
 1.  Casey Stoner      Ducati             1m55.007s
 2.  Valentino Rossi   Yamaha             1m55.362s  + 0.355s
 3.  Jorge Lorenzo     Yamaha             1m55.520s  + 0.513s
 4.  Randy de Puniet   LCR Honda          1m55.831s  + 0.824s
 5.  Loris Capirossi   Suzuki             1m55.899s  + 0.892s
 6.  Andrea Dovizioso  Honda              1m55.963s  + 0.956s
 7.  Dani Pedrosa      Honda              1m55.990s  + 0.983s
 8.  Colin Edwards     Tech 3 Yamaha      1m56.005s  + 0.998s
 9.  Nicky Hayden      Ducati             1m56.163s  + 1.156s
10.  Hiroshi Aoyama    Interwetten Honda  1m56.227s  + 1.220s
11.  Ben Spies         Tech 3 Yamaha      1m56.271s  + 1.264s
12.  Mika Kallio       Pramac Ducati      1m56.283s  + 1.276s
13.  Alvaro Bautista   Suzuki             1m56.450s  + 1.443s
14.  Aleix Espargaro   Pramac Ducati      1m56.652s  + 1.645s
15.  Marco Simoncelli  Gresini Honda      1m56.957s  + 1.950s
16.  Hector Barbera    Aspar Ducati       1m57.130s  + 2.123s
17.  Marco Melandri    Gresini Honda      1m57.325s  + 2.318s